Self-propelled cleaning machine with fuzzy logic control
First Claim
1. A self-propelled cleaning machine for cleaning a floor of a room enclosed by a wall perimeter, comprising:
- a body having first and second sides and a front;
a motor drive for causing the body to move over said floor;
a cleaning unit carried by the body for cleaning said floor;
first, second and third sensors carried by the body for sensing distances from said first and second sides and said front thereof to said wall perimeter and producing first, second and third sensor signals in response thereto respectively; and
a fuzzy logic computer for receiving said first, second and third sensor signals and controlling the motor drive to move the body in accordance therewith adjacently parallel to and store data representing said wall perimeter; and
subsequently controlling the motor drive to move the body in a computed pattern within said wall perimeter as represented by said data such that the cleaning unit cleans said floor;
the computer processing said first or second signal from whichever of the first and second sensors is closer to said wall perimeter using a first number of fuzzy values, and processing the other of said first or second signal and said third signal using a second number of fuzzy values that is smaller than said first number of fuzzy values.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A self-propelled cleaning machine for cleaning a floor of a room enclosed by a wall perimeter includes a body having first and second sides and a front. A motor drive causes the body to move over the floor. A cleaning unit is carried by the body for cleaning the floor. First, second and third sensors are carried by the body for sensing distances from the first and second sides and the front thereof to the wall perimeter and producing first, second and third sensor signals in response thereto respectively. A fuzzy logic computer receives the first, second and third sensor signals and controls the motor drive to move the body in accordance therewith adjacently parallel to and store data representing the wall perimeter, and subsequently controls the motor drive to move the body in a computed pattern within the wall perimeter as represented by the data such that the cleaning unit cleans the floor. The computer processes the first or second signal from whichever of the first and second sensors is closer to the wall perimeter using a first number of fuzzy steps, and processes the other of the first or second signal and the third signal using a second number of fuzzy steps that is smaller than the first number of fuzzy steps.
252 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A self-propelled cleaning machine for cleaning a floor of a room enclosed by a wall perimeter, comprising:
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a body having first and second sides and a front; a motor drive for causing the body to move over said floor; a cleaning unit carried by the body for cleaning said floor; first, second and third sensors carried by the body for sensing distances from said first and second sides and said front thereof to said wall perimeter and producing first, second and third sensor signals in response thereto respectively; and a fuzzy logic computer for receiving said first, second and third sensor signals and controlling the motor drive to move the body in accordance therewith adjacently parallel to and store data representing said wall perimeter; and
subsequently controlling the motor drive to move the body in a computed pattern within said wall perimeter as represented by said data such that the cleaning unit cleans said floor;
the computer processing said first or second signal from whichever of the first and second sensors is closer to said wall perimeter using a first number of fuzzy values, and processing the other of said first or second signal and said third signal using a second number of fuzzy values that is smaller than said first number of fuzzy values. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for controlling a self-propelled cleaning machine within a wall perimeter, said machine having a first and second side, a front side and a motor drive, comprising the steps of:
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sensing a first distance signal from the first side of the cleaning machine to the wall perimeter; ascertaining a second distance signal from the second side of the cleaning machine to the wall perimeter; detecting a third distance signal from the front side of the cleaning machine to the wall perimeter; determining the smaller of said first and second distance signals; controlling the motor drive to move the cleaning machine in a computed pattern based on data received from said sensing, ascertaining, detecting and determining steps by processing the smaller of said first or second distance signals using a first number of fuzzy steps and processing the other of said first or second distance signals using a second number of fuzzy steps. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A control system for use in a self-propelled cleaning machine within a wall perimeter, said machine having a first and second side, a front side and a motor drive, comprising:
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first, second, and third sensors for sensing distances from said first and second sides and said front thereof to said wall perimeter, thereby producing first, second, and third signals in response thereto, respectively; and a fuzzy logic computer for receiving said first, second and third sensor signals and controlling the motor drive to move the machine in accordance therewith adjacently parallel to said wall perimeter; and
subsequently controlling the motor drive to move the machine in a computed pattern within said wall perimeter;
the computer processing said first or second signal from whichever of the first and second sensors is closer to said wall perimeter using a first number of fuzzy steps, and processing the other of said first or second signal and said third signal using a second number of fuzzy steps. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification