Cleaning machine with collision prevention
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A floor cleaning machine, comprising:
- a drive wheel;
a motor that, in operation, causes the drive wheel to turn;
a speed controller that controls the motor;
one or more motion sensors that, in operation, detect a speed and a direction of movement of the machine;
one or more obstacle sensors that, in operation, detect data representative of an object that is external to the machine;
a processor, communicatively coupled to the speed controller and the sensors; and
a memory containing programming instructions that are configured to instruct the processor to;
receive an operator command to drive the machine;
receive the speed and direction of movement of the machine;
receive the data representative of the object;
determine a distance between the object and the machine;
use the speed, direction of movement and distance to determine whether the machine is expected to collide with the object and whether the machine is expected to collide with the object in less than a threshold time period; and
in response to determining that the machine is expected to collide with the object in less than the threshold time period, generate one or more instructions to override the operator command and reduce the speed of the machine.
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Abstract
A floor cleaning machine includes a set of obstacle sensors that detect when the machine is approaching an obstacle. If the obstacle is less than a threshold distance away from the machine, the machine may output an alert and override the operator'"'"'s command with a command to reduce the speed of the machine. If the obstacle is less than a minimum threshold distance away from the machine, the machine may come to a complete stop to prevent the collision.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A floor cleaning machine, comprising:
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a drive wheel; a motor that, in operation, causes the drive wheel to turn; a speed controller that controls the motor; one or more motion sensors that, in operation, detect a speed and a direction of movement of the machine; one or more obstacle sensors that, in operation, detect data representative of an object that is external to the machine; a processor, communicatively coupled to the speed controller and the sensors; and a memory containing programming instructions that are configured to instruct the processor to; receive an operator command to drive the machine; receive the speed and direction of movement of the machine; receive the data representative of the object; determine a distance between the object and the machine; use the speed, direction of movement and distance to determine whether the machine is expected to collide with the object and whether the machine is expected to collide with the object in less than a threshold time period; and in response to determining that the machine is expected to collide with the object in less than the threshold time period, generate one or more instructions to override the operator command and reduce the speed of the machine. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A floor cleaning machine, comprising:
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a drive wheel; a motor that, in operation, causes the drive wheel to turn; a speed controller that controls the motor; one or more motion sensors that, in operation, detect a speed and a direction of movement of the machine; an obstacle sensor that, in operation, detects data representative of an object that is external to the machine; a processor, communicatively coupled to the speed controller and the sensors; and a memory containing programming instructions that are configured to instruct the processor to; receive an operator command to drive the machine; receive, from the obstacle sensor, data representative of an object within a range of the sensor; determine that the direction of movement of the machine is consistent with a direction of the obstacle sensor; in response to determining that the direction of movement of the machine is consistent with the direction of the obstacle sensor and receiving the data representative of the object; generating an alert; determining a maximum speed for the machine; and issuing a command to the speed controller to override the operator command and reduce a speed of the machine to the determined maximum speed. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of operating a floor cleaning machine, comprising, by a processor of the machine:
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receiving an operator command to drive the machine; receive, from an obstacle sensor of the machine, data representative of an object within a range of the sensor; determining that a direction of movement of the machine is consistent with a direction of the obstacle sensor; in response to receiving the data representative of the object and determining that the direction of movement of the machine is consistent with the direction of the obstacle sensor; generating an alert; determining a maximum speed for the machine; and issuing a command to a drive controller to override the operator command and reduce a speed of the machine to the determined maximum speed. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification