SUBMERGED ROBOT WITH LEARNING CAPABILITIES

• US 20140096329A1
• Filed: 12/31/2012
• Published: 04/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maytronics Ltd (Kibbutz Yizreel)
• Original Assignee: Maytronics Ltd (Kibbutz Yizreel)
• Inventors: Garti, Efraim, Cohen, Itamar, Eisner, Oz
• Granted Patent: US 10,138,646 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/1.7
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/1636 Suction cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/1654 Self-propelled cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 11/38 Control circuits or drive circuits associated with geared commutator motors of the worm-and-wheel type
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 5/12 specially adapted for operating in liquid or gas combined with cooling arrangements H02K9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 5/132 Submersible electric motors H02K5/128 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/11 with dynamo-electric clutches
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/116 with gears
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/1823 structurally associated with turbines or similar engines

Abstract

A suction-powered pool cleaning robot that may include a fluid outlet, adapted for connection to a suction hose; a fluid inlet, with a fluid path between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet; a turbine at least partially disposed within the fluid path so as to extract energy from flow of fluid through the fluid path; an electrical generator for providing power thereto and adapted to be driven by the turbine; a sensor arranged to generate rotation information indicative of a speed of rotation of the turbine; and an electronic controller that is arranged to control an operation of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot in response to at least the rotation information.

Claims

1. A suction-powered pool cleaning robot comprising:

a fluid outlet, adapted for connection to a suction hose;

a fluid inlet, with a fluid path between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet;

a turbine at least partially disposed within the fluid path so as to extract energy from flow of fluid through the fluid path;

an electrical generator for providing power thereto and adapted to be driven by the turbine;

a sensor arranged to generate rotation information indicative of a speed of rotation of the turbine; and

an electronic controller that is arranged to control an operation of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot in response to at least the rotation information.

2. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the electronic controller is arranged to trigger a rotation of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot if the rotation information indicates that the suction-powered pool cleaning robot attempts to climb a wall of the pool.

3. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 2, wherein the electronic controller is arranged to trigger the rotation of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot by triggering a movement of a flexible axle that selects which gear out of a pair of gears will drive a driving wheel of the suction-powered pool cleaning, wherein the pair of gears rotate at opposite directions.

4. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 1, further comprising a suction sensor that is arranged to generate suction information indicative of suction applied via the suction hose.

5. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 12, wherein the electrical controller is arranged to update an expected inter-wall propagation rotational value in response to the suction information.

6. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 13, wherein the electrical controller is arranged to update the expected inter-wall propagation rotational value in response an expected decline of the suction resulting from clogging of a filter of a device that applies the suction.

7. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 12, wherein the electrical controller is arranged to compare the suction information and the rotation information and evaluate a status of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot suction-powered pool cleaning robot based upon a result of the comparison.

8. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the generator is a brushless generator that is without a Hall effect circuit.

9. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 16, wherein the generator comprises a rotor that is supported by one or more brushless bearings.

10. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the generator comprises a rotor that is rotated in a contactless manner.

11. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the generator is a three-phase brushless alternating current generator and is wired to a voltage rectifier in a star configuration.

12. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the turbine is a cross flow turbine.

13. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 12, wherein the cross flow turbine comprises multiple blades, wherein openings defined between any pair of blades are not smaller than the input inlet.

14. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 1, comprising a flexible axle that is movable between different first and second positions such as to cause the suction-powered pool cleaning robot to change a direction of propagation.

15. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 14, comprising a hydraulic circuit that selectively provides suction, wherein a provision of suction causes the flexible axle to move to a first position and wherein a lack of provision of the suction to a diaphragm allows the flexible axle to move to the second position.

16. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 15, wherein the hydraulic circuit is arranged to receive suction applied via the fluid outlet.

17. A suction-powered pool cleaning robot comprising:

a fluid outlet, adapted for connection to a suction hose;

a fluid inlet, with a fluid path between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet;

a turbine at least partially disposed within the fluid path so as to extract energy from flow of fluid through the fluid path;

an electrical generator for providing power thereto and adapted to be driven by the turbine;

at least one sensor that is arranged to generate sensor signals indicative of propagation parameters of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot; and

an electronic controller that is arranged to learn propagation patterns of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot and control an operation of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot in response to the sensor signals and the propagation patterns.

18. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 17, wherein the electronic controller is arranged to calculate and update the propagation patterns in response to values of the sensor signals.

19. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 17 wherein at least a portion of the sensor signals provide rotation information indicative of a speed of rotation of the turbine.

20. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 17 wherein at least a portion of the sensor signals provide suction information indicative of a suction applied via the fluid outlet.

21. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 17 wherein the propagation patterns comprise an expected time required to cross between walls of the pool.

22. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 17 wherein the propagation patterns comprise an expected time required to rotate the pool cleaning robot suction-powered pool cleaning robot.

23. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 17 wherein the propagation patterns comprise an expected time that passes from an initial contact of pool cleaning robot suction-powered pool cleaning robot with a wall of the pool to a propagation of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot away from the wall.

24. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 17, wherein the electronic controller is arranged to control the operation of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot within a large range of turbine rotational speeds.

25. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 17, wherein the electronic controller is arranged to provide propagation pattern data to a transceiver of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot for a transmittal of the propagation pattern data by the transceiver.

26. The suction-powered pool cleaning robot according to claim 17 wherein the propagation patterns comprise the learning of propagation patterns of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot and control an operation of the suction-powered pool cleaning robot in response to the sensors signals and the propagation patterns.