Method for cleaning or processing a room by means of an autonomously mobile device

• US 9,911,226 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2015
• Issued: 03/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vorwerk & Company Interholding Gesellschaft Mit Beschrã¤Nkter Haftung (Vorwerk & Company KG)
• Original Assignee: Vorwerk & Company Interholding Gesellschaft Mit Beschrã¤Nkter Haftung (Vorwerk & Company KG)
• Inventors: Hillen, Lorenz, Meggle, Martin, Scheffel, Jenny
• Primary Examiner(s): Mott, Adam R
• Application Number:
  US14/804,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20160027207A1
• Time in Patent Office: 959 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4011 Regulation of the cleaning machine by electric means; Control systems and remote control systems therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/06 Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0016 characterised by the operator's input device input arrangements for computing systems in general G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/00 Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/08 involving all processing steps from image acquisition to 3D model generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10004 Still image; Photographic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10028 Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30244 Camera pose
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/50 Depth or shape recovery
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 involving reference images or patches

Abstract

A method for cleaning or processing a room uses an autonomously mobile device. In order the relieve the user of the task of finding the exact subarea to which the device must travel, or avoid, on a map of the room, the user in order to select a subarea takes a photograph of the subarea and transmits it to a processing unit. In this way a method is provided that is less time-consuming and more convenient for the user.

Claims

1. A method for cleaning or processing a room via an autonomously mobile device, including the method steps:

Creating a map of the room,

Storing the map of the room in a data memory,

Selection of a subarea of the room by a user in that the user takes a photograph of the subarea,

Transmitting the photograph containing location data for the selected subarea or transmitting the photograph which can be processed to determine location data for the selected subarea to a processing unit connected to the data memory,

Comparing the location data for the selected subarea with the location data contained in the map for identification of the subarea by the processing unit, and

Cleaning or processing the room taking into account a user command with regard to the selected subarea,

wherein the user takes the photograph using a mobile end device,

wherein the map is displayed on the mobile end device,

wherein alternatively calculated subareas matching most closely the location data of the subarea selected by the user are marked on the map, and

wherein if the subarea selected by the user is not identified unambiguously, the user chooses one of the alternatively calculated subareas.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein following identification the autonomously mobile device travels to the selected subarea and carries out a cleaning or processing activity.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selected subarea is excluded from the room cleaning or processing activities by the autonomously mobile device.

4. The method according to claim 1, herein the map of the room is stored in the data memory of the autonomously mobile device.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit is contained in the autonomously mobile device.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the location data contained in the map includes three-dimensional information, particularly information about the obstacles present in the room.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the map of the room is created by the device, and

wherein a camera of the device takes single images of adjacent subareas, which are then joined to each other during compilation of the map.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile end device is a mobile telephone.

9. The method according to claim 1, herein the processing unit is contained in the mobile end device.

10. A method for cleaning or processing a room via an autonomously mobile device, including the method steps:

Creating a map of the room,

Storing the map of the room in a data memory,

Selection of a subarea of the room by a user in that the user takes a photograph of the subarea,

Transmitting the photograph containing location data for the selected subarea or transmitting the photograph which can be processed to determine location data for the selected subarea to a processing unit connected to the data memory,

Comparing the location data for the selected subarea with the location data contained in the map for identification of the subarea by the processing unit, and

Cleaning or processing the room taking into account a user command with regard to the selected subarea, wherein the user selects a subarea of the room by taking a photograph of the subarea and transmitting it to the processing unit,

wherein the user takes the photograph using a mobile end device,

wherein the map is displayed on the mobile end device, and

wherein if the subarea selected by the user is not identified unambiguously, the user specifies the location data of the selected subarea more precisely by marking the map on the mobile end device as to size and position of the area to be cleaned or avoided in the map.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein following identification the autonomously mobile device travels to the selected subarea and carries out a cleaning or processing activity.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the selected subarea is excluded from the room cleaning or processing activities by the autonomously mobile device.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the map of the room is stored in the data memory of the autonomously mobile device.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the processing unit is contained in the autonomously mobile device.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein the location data contained in the map includes three-dimensional information, particularly information about the obstacles present in the room.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein the map of the room is created by the device, and

wherein a camera of the device takes single images of adjacent subareas, which are then joined to each other during compilation of the map.

17. The method according to claim 10, wherein the mobile end device is a mobile telephone.

18. The method according to claim 10, wherein the processing unit is contained in the mobile end device.