System and method for monitoring of floor conditions

• US 10,458,938 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ecolab USA Incorporated (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Ecolab USA Incorporated (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wold, Andrew S., Hei, Robert D., Hanson, Catherine F., Drake, Ryan J., Balsubramanian, Ramakrishnan
• Primary Examiner(s): Alkafawi, Eman A
• Application Number:
  US13/828,719
• Publication Number:
  US 20140278252A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,420 Days
• Field of Search: 702104, 702134, 702150, 702175, 702180, 702184, 702189, 15319, 31856812, 340521
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/94 Investigating contamination, e.g. dust G01N21/85 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/048 for determining moisture content of the material
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0219 ensuring the processing of the whole working surface

Abstract

A floor monitoring device monitors the condition of various flooring substrates. The floor monitoring device may traverse a route through an environment and collect data concerning the condition of the floor. The device may also communicate the floor condition data to another computing device. In some examples, the floor monitoring device may analyze the floor condition data and identify any notable floor conditions within the monitored environment. Alternatively or in addition, the computing device may analyze the floor condition data and identify and/or address notable floor conditions within the monitored environment.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a floor monitoring device that moves around an environment to be monitored, the floor monitoring device including one or more floor condition sensors that sense a first level of soil on a flooring substrate at each of a plurality of locations within the environment, and wherein the floor monitoring device further stores one or more maps corresponding to routes within the environment to be traversed by the floor monitoring device; and

a computing device separate from the floor monitoring device and associated with the environment that receives the first level of soil sensed at each of the plurality of location within the environment from the floor monitoring device, the computing device including;

an analysis module that, when executed by the computing device, compares the first level of soil sensed at each of the plurality of locations within the environment with baseline floor condition data representative of a clean floor condition to identify a notable floor condition within the environment, and determines a location within the environment corresponding to the notable floor condition, wherein the notable floor condition includes soil on the flooring substrate; and

a reporting module that, when executed by the computing device, generates one or more reports indicating the notable floor condition and the location within the environment corresponding to the notable floor condition,

wherein the analysis module further, when executed by the computing device, generates a command for receipt by the floor monitoring device to clean the flooring substrate at the location within the environment corresponding to the notable floor condition,

wherein the floor monitoring device moves to the location within the environment corresponding to the notable floor condition and cleans the location within the environment associated with the notable floor condition upon receipt of the command generated by the analysis module,

wherein subsequent to the floor monitoring device cleaning the flooring substrate at the location within the environment corresponding to the notable floor condition, the floor monitoring device senses a second level of soil on the flooring substrate at the location within the environment corresponding to the notable floor condition; and

wherein the analysis module further, when executed by the computing device, compares the second level of soil with the baseline floor condition data representative of a clean floor to determine whether or not the notable floor condition was adequately cleaned.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more floor condition sensors include at least one of a colorimeter, an imaging device, a photocell, a reflectometer, a conductivity sensor, a thickness gauge, a moisture sensor, a salt sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor, or a sensor that measures a concentration of a chemical.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the floor condition data includes data concerning one or more of a gloss, a film thickness, a distinctness of image (DOI), a color, a surface profile, a coefficient of friction, an image, a moisture level, a salt content, or a soil level.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the floor monitoring device further includes one or more navigation sensors that sense obstacles in a path of the floor monitoring device.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the reporting module generates the one or more reports at periodic intervals.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the reporting module generates the one or more reports on demand in response to a user request.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more reports include at least one of a table, a graph, a bar chart, or a text report.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more reports include at least one of a text message, a page, or an email.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the floor monitoring device is associated with an apparatus, and wherein the apparatus comprises one of a floor cleaning machine, an auto scrubber, a mop bucket, a floor finish applicator, a forklift, a pallet truck, a laundry cart, a housekeeping cart, or a shopping cart.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the floor monitoring device further includes a rechargeable battery, and wherein the computing device is further configured to recharge the rechargeable battery.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the reporting module further, when executed by the computing device, generates a report concerning how the notable floor condition was addressed.

12. The system of claim 1 further including an accessory device associated with the floor monitoring device, that moves the floor monitoring device around the environment to be monitored.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the accessory device is one of a floor cleaning machine, a mop bucket, a floor finish applicator, a laundry cart, a housekeeping cart, or a shopping cart.

14. The system of claim 10 wherein the accessory device comprises a floor cleaning device configured to address at least one of the notable floor conditions.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the reports include identification of suggested cleaning products or tools to address the identified notable floor conditions.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the analysis module further, when executed by the computing device, analyzes the collected floor condition data in comparison to baseline floor condition data to determine a type of soil on the floor or a color of soil in the floor.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the computing device includes at least one of a base station, a docking station, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, and a cell phone.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein the baseline floor conditions and the notable floor conditions are customized based on the environment.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein the floor monitoring device is further associated with a floor cleaning machine, and wherein the computing device further sends a command signal to the floor cleaning machine to clean the location within the environment corresponding to the identified notable floor condition.

20. A system that monitors presence of soil on a flooring substrate, comprising:

a floor monitoring device that moves around an environment to be monitored and that senses a first level of soil on the flooring substrate at each of a plurality of locations within the environment to be monitored; and

a computing device that analyzes the first level of soil sensed at each of the plurality of locations to identify one or more notable floor conditions within the environment to be monitored and an associated location within the environment for each of the one or more notable floor conditions, wherein each notable floor condition is identified when the first level of soil on the flooring substrate exceeds a threshold level of soil, and wherein the computing device further generates notifications concerning the notable floor conditions, the notifications including the locations within the environment associated with each of the notable floor conditions,

wherein the computing device further generates a command for receipt by the floor monitoring device to clean the flooring substrate at the locations within the environment associated with each of the notable floor conditions,

wherein the floor monitoring device moves to the locations within the environment associated with the notable floor conditions and cleans the locations within the environment associated with the notable floor conditions upon receipt of the command generated by the computing device,

wherein subsequent to cleaning the flooring substrate at the locations within the environment associated with the notable floor conditions, the floor monitoring device senses a second level of soil on the flooring substrate at each of the locations within the environment associated with the notable floor condition, and

wherein the computing device further compares the second level of soil with the threshold level of soil to determine whether or not the identified floor condition was adequately cleaned.