MASTER AND SLAVE POOL CLEANING ROBOTS

• US 20180071908A1
• Filed: 09/13/2017
• Published: 03/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maytronics Ltd (Kibbutz Yizreel)
• Original Assignee: Maytronics Ltd (Kibbutz Yizreel)
• Inventors: Goldenberg, Sharon, Hadari, Yair, Regev, Ofer, Witelson, Shay
• Granted Patent: US 10,538,932 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/0085 Cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 3/00 Manipulators of master-slave type, i.e. both controlling unit and controlled unit perform corresponding spatial movements
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/1654 Self-propelled cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0027 involving a plurality of vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling fleet control of land vehicles from a control room G05D1/0297; traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00; for marine craft G08G3/00; for aircraft G08G5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0214 in accordance with safety or protection criteria, e.g. avoiding hazardous areas monitoring the location of vehicles within a certain area, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas, in traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/13
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0219 ensuring the processing of the whole working surface
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0295 by at least one leading vehicle of the fleet
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/10 Simultaneous control of position or course in three dimensions G05D1/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

A set of pool cleaning robots for cleaning a pool, wherein the set includes a master pool cleaning robot and a slave pool cleaning robot.

Claims

1. A set of pool cleaning robots for cleaning a pool, wherein the set comprises a master pool cleaning robot and a slave pool cleaning robot.

2. The set according to claim 1 wherein the master pool cleaning robot and the slave pool cleaning robot are configured to clean different regions of the pool.

3. The set according to claim 1 wherein the master pool cleaning robot and the slave pool cleaning robot are configured to a clean same region of the pool.

4. The set according to claim 1 wherein the slave pool cleaning robot and the master pool cleaning robot are configured to apply collision avoidance maneuvers to prevent collisions between the slave and master pool cleaning robots.

5. The set according to claim 1 wherein the master pool cleaning robot is configured to control at least one cleaning related operation of the slave pool cleaning robot.

7. The set according to claim 1 wherein the master pool cleaning robot is configured to apply collision avoidance maneuvers to prevent collisions between the master pool cleaning robot and the slave pool cleaning robot.

9. The set according to claim 1 wherein the master pool cleaning robot has cleaning elements that equal to cleaning elements of the slave pool cleaning robot.

13. The set according to claim 1 wherein only one of the master pool cleaning robot and the slave pool cleaning robot is configured to climb on a sidewall of the pool and clean the sidewall of the pool.

14. The set according to claim 1 wherein only one of the master pool cleaning robot and the slave pool cleaning robot is configured to travel slippery surfaces of a pool.

15. The set according to claim 1 wherein both master pool cleaning robot and the slave pool cleaning robot is configured to travel slippery surfaces of a pool.

17. The set according to claim 1 wherein both the master pool cleaning robot and the slave pool cleaning robot comprise a jet propulsion unit.

18. The set according to claim 1 wherein the master pool cleaning robot comprises a jet propulsion unit that differs from a jet propulsion unit of the slave pool cleaning robot.

19. The set according to claim 1 wherein at least one pool cleaning robot of the set is configured to generate information about a status of a pool, and wherein the master pool cleaning robot is configured to allocate a cleaning task to the slave pool cleaning robot based on the information about the status of the pool.

25. The set according to claim 1 wherein the master pool cleaning robot is configured to allocate a cleaning task to the slave pool cleaning robot based a status of the slave pool cleaning robot and a status of the master pool cleaning robot.

27. The set according to claim 1 wherein the master pool cleaning robot is configured to receive a definition of the different regions of the pool and to define overlap areas of the pool that are cleaned, at different points in time, by more than a single pool cleaning robot.

28. The set according to claim 1 wherein the master pool cleaning robot is configured to communicate information about the overlap areas to the slave pool cleaning robot.

30. The set according to claim 1 wherein each pool cleaning robot of the set is configured to track a position of at least one other pool cleaning robot of the set.

32. The set according to claim 1 wherein the master pool cleaning robot is configured to receive information about a location of a cord that is connected to the slave pool cleaning robot and to allocate a region to be cleaned by the slave pool cleaning robot based on the information about the location of the cord that is connected to the slave pool cleaning robot and based on estimated or actual location of another cord that is connected to the master pool cleaning robot.

35. The set according to claim 1 wherein the master pool cleaning robot comprises an image sensor that is not included in the slave pool cleaning robot.

36. The set according to claim 35 wherein the master pool cleaning robot comprises an image sensor that is a detachable modular sensor to be reattached to a slave pool cleaning robot.

37. The set according to claim 1 wherein slave pool cleaning robot and the master pool cleaning robot are configured to perform cable entanglement avoidance steps for preventing an entanglement of a cable connected to the slave pool cleaning robot with a cable connected to the master pool cleaning robot.

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38. A method for cleaning a pool, the method comprises cleaning a pool by a set of pool cleaning robots that comprises a master pool cleaning robot and a slave pool cleaning robot, wherein cleaning comprises controlling a cleaning operation of the slave pool cleaning robot by the master pool cleaning robot;

wherein each one of the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot comprises a filtering unit, a housing, and a controller.

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