Floor treatment system

• US 20050166352A1
• Filed: 01/04/2005
• Published: 08/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alfred Kã¤Rcher GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Alfred Kã¤Rcher GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Keppler, Joachim, Skoumal, Roger, Math, Jochen
• Granted Patent: US 7,055,210 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/319
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/022 Recharging of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/024 Emptying dust or waste liquid containers
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/009 Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/106 Dust removal
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2805 Parameters or conditions being sensed
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2842 Suction motors or blowers
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2852 Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2857 User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2873 Docking units or charging stations for autonomous or robotic vacuum cleaners A47L2201/02
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2884 Details of arrangements of batteries or their installation
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/24 resilient; resiliently-mounted

Abstract

The invention relates to a floor treatment system with a self-propelled and self-steering floor treatment unit, which comprises an electrically driven floor treatment assembly and also a rechargeable power supply unit, and with a central charging station for recharging the power supply unit, the floor treatment unit being capable of being electrically connected to the charging station by means of electrical connecting elements that are associated with one another and are disposed on the charging station and the floor treatment unit. In order to develop the floor treatment system in such a way that improved electrical coupling of the connecting elements that are associated with one another is made possible, it is proposed according to the invention that at least one of the connecting elements that are associated with one another is mounted in a sprung manner.

Claims

1. Floor treatment system with a self-propelled and self-steering floor treatment unit, which comprises an electrically driven floor treatment assembly and also a rechargeable power supply unit, and with a central charging station for recharging the power supply unit, the floor treatment unit being capable of being electrically connected to the charging station by means of electrical connecting elements that are associated with one another and are disposed on the charging station and the floor treatment unit and at least one of the connecting elements that are associated with one another being mounted in a sprung manner, wherein the floor treatment unit comprises a collision detection sensor with which there is associated a sprung-mounted sensing element, the movement of which in relation to a chassis of the floor treatment unit can be sensed to provide a collision detection signal, the sprung mounting of the at least one electrical connecting element having a lower spring constant than the sprung mounting of the sensing element.

2. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the connecting elements that are associated with one another form electrical contact elements for the resistive coupling of the floor treatment unit to the charging station.

3. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the floor treatment system has at least two first connecting elements, with which at least one second connecting element is respectively associated.

4. Floor treatment system according to claim 3, wherein the first connecting elements are vertically spaced apart.

5. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein a number of spaced-apart second connecting elements are associated with at least one first connecting element.

6. Floor treatment system according to claim 5, wherein, depending on the alignment of the floor treatment unit in relation to the charging station, one or more of the second connecting elements can be electrically connected to the associated first connecting element.

7. Floor treatment system according to claim 5, wherein the second connecting elements respectively associated with a first connecting element are disposed in a plane.

8. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the connecting elements that are associated with one another is configured in an areal form.

9. Floor treatment system according to claim 8, wherein the at least one areal connecting element takes the form of a strip.

10. Floor treatment system according to claim 8, wherein the areal connecting element is sprung-mounted.

11. Floor treatment system according to claim 8, wherein the areally configured connecting element forms a leaf spring.

12. Floor treatment system according to claim 8, wherein the areally configured connecting element is disposed on the charging station.

13. Floor treatment system according to claim 8, wherein a number of contact pins are associated with the areally configured connecting element.

14. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein two horizontally aligned, leaf-spring-like connecting elements are disposed on the charging station one above the other, respectively associated with which are at least two contact pins mounted on the floor treatment unit.

15. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the floor treatment unit forms a mobile suction device with a suction turbine and a dirt collecting container having a suction inlet.

16. Floor treatment system according to claim 15, wherein the charging station comprises a suction-extraction assembly and a dirt receiving container, it being possible during the recharging of the power supply unit for the dirt collecting container to be emptied at the same time by the suction-extraction assembly via the suction inlet.