CLEANING DIFFERENT REGIONS OF A POOL

• US 20180073266A1
• 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 11,401,725 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 a first pool cleaning robot of the set and a second pool cleaning robot of the set are configured to clean different regions of the pool.

Claims

1. A set of pool cleaning robots for cleaning a pool, wherein a first pool cleaning robot of the set and a second pool cleaning robot of the set are configured to clean different regions of the pool.

2. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first and second pool cleaning robots are configured to clean the different regions of the pool in a cooperative manner.

3. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot has cleaning elements that equal to cleaning elements of the second pool cleaning robot.

4. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot has cleaning elements that differ from each cleaning element of the second pool cleaning robot.

5. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot has coarser cleaning elements than the second pool cleaning robot.

6. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot has finer cleaning elements than the second pool cleaning robot.

7. The set according to claim 1 wherein only one of the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot is configured to climb on a sidewall of the pool and clean the sidewall of the pool.

9. The set according to claim 1 wherein both the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot is configured to travel slippery surfaces of a pool.

10. The set according to claim 1 wherein only one of the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot comprises a directional jet propulsion unit.

11. The set according to claim 1 wherein both the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot comprise a directional jet propulsion unit.

13. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot comprises a jet propulsion unit that differs from a jet propulsion unit of the second pool cleaning robot.

14. The set according to claim 1 wherein only the first pool cleaning robot is configured to climb on a sidewall of the pool and clean the sidewall of the pool, wherein only the second pool cleaning robot is configured to clean one or more slippery surfaces of the pool and a third pool cleaning robot is configured to clean only a bottom of the pool.

20. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot are configured to communicate with each other.

22. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot are configured to repetitively allocate, in a distributed manner, cleaning tasks between the first and second pool cleaning robots.

28. The set according to claim 1 wherein only one of the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot is configured to perform sideways waterline cleaning.

29. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot are configured to perform waterline cleaning.

30. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot are configured to independently recognize pool underwater features.

31. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot are configured to independently generate a map of the pool.

32. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot is configured to merge maps of the pool generated by the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot.

33. The set according to claim 1 wherein only one of the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot is configured to independently recognize pool underwater features.

34. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot are configured to determine a spatial relationship between the first and second pool cleaning robots.

35. The set according to claim 1 wherein only one of the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot is configured to determine a spatial relationship between the first and second pool cleaning robots.

36. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot is configured to change a communication parameter related to communication attempts with the second pool cleaning robot when the first pool cleaning robot reaches a demarcation between regions allocated to the first and second pool cleaning robots.

37. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot is configured to determine a communication parameter related to communication attempts with the second pool cleaning robot based on a distance between the first pool cleaning robot and the second pool cleaning robot.

39. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot comprises at least one sensor for sensing locations of cables connected to the first and second pool cleaning robots.

40. The set according to claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor for sensing locations of connected pool cleaner cables comprises a repetitive pre-configuring of the propagation of the cables so that they do not entangle and twist with one another.

53. The set according to claim 1 wherein the first pool cleaning robot is a cordless pool cleaning robot.

54. The set according to claim 1 wherein at least one pool cleaning robot of the set is configured to perform a collision avoidance step.

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55. A method for cleaning a pool, the method comprises cleaning a pool by a set of pool cleaning robots that comprises a first pool cleaning robot and a second pool cleaning robot, wherein the cleaning comprises cleaning by the first pool cleaning robot at least one region of the pool that differs from at least one other region of the pool that is cleaned by the second 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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