Systems and methods for cleaning interior portions of a vehicle

• US 10,793,291 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2016
• Issued: 10/06/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Brown, Douglas Alan, Hills, Karen L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Golightly, Eric W
• Application Number:
  US15/175,239
• Publication Number:
  US 20170283092A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/02 Toilet fittings of general application A47K
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 5/30 Cleaning aircraft

Abstract

A vehicle includes an internal cabin, and an autonomous cleaning system located within an interior chamber of the internal cabin. The autonomous cleaning system includes a cleaning robot configured to clean a portion of the interior chamber.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

an internal cabin including a lavatory having a lavatory water supply and a waste disposal system;

a docking station within the lavatory; and

an autonomous cleaning system located within the lavatory of the internal cabin, wherein the autonomous cleaning system comprises a cleaning robot that cleans a portion of the lavatory,

wherein the cleaning robot is housed within the docking station, wherein the cleaning robot is deployed from the docking station during a cleaning cycle,

wherein the cleaning robot directly couples to the lavatory water supply and the waste disposal system when the cleaning robot is housed within the docking station.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the docking station comprises a charger that charges a battery of the cleaning robot when the cleaning robot is housed within the docking station.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a presence sensor that detects a presence of an individual within the lavatory, wherein the cleaning robot is deployed to clean the portion of the lavatory when the lavatory is unoccupied.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot comprises a debris collector that collects debris from the lavatory during a cleaning cycle.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot comprises an agitator having a mechanical scrubber that agitates the portion of the lavatory during a cleaning cycle.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot comprises a dispenser in fluid communication with a fluid reservoir, wherein the dispenser dispenses fluid onto the portion of the lavatory during a cleaning cycle.

7. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the cleaning robot comprises the fluid reservoir.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot comprises an ultraviolet light that irradiates the portion of the lavatory with ultraviolet light during a cleaning cycle.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot comprises a conveyance sub-system and a navigation sub-system, wherein the conveyance sub-system moves the cleaning robot within the lavatory based on signals received from the navigation sub-system.

17. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot comprises a dryer that dries the portion of the lavatory.

18. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein the presence sensor comprises a magnetic switch coupled to a door of the lavatory.

19. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot is moveably secured to one or more tracks within the lavatory.

20. The vehicle of claim 19, wherein the one or more tracks are embedded within one or both of a floor or at least one wall of the lavatory.

10. A method, within a vehicle, of cleaning a lavatory of an internal cabin of the vehicle, the method comprising:

locating an autonomous cleaning system and a docking station within the lavatory of the internal cabin of the vehicle;

housing a cleaning robot of the autonomous cleaning system within the docking station before and after a cleaning cycle;

directly coupling the cleaning robot to a lavatory water supply and a waste disposal system of the lavatory when the cleaning robot is housed within the docking station;

deploying the cleaning robot from the docking station within the lavatory during the cleaning cycle; and

cleaning a portion of the lavatory with the cleaning robot during the cleaning cycle.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising charging a battery of the cleaning robot within the docking station.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising detecting a presence of an individual within the lavatory, and wherein the deploying and the cleaning cycle occur when the lavatory is unoccupied.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the cleaning comprises collecting debris from the lavatory during the cleaning cycle.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the cleaning comprises agitating the portion of the lavatory during the cleaning cycle.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the cleaning comprises:

dispensing fluid onto the portion of the lavatory during the cleaning cycle;

irradiating the portion of the lavatory with ultraviolet light during the cleaning cycle; and

moving the cleaning robot within the lavatory based on signals received from a navigation sub-system.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the detecting the presence comprises detecting the presence of the individual with a presence sensor including a magnetic switch coupled to a door of the lavatory.

16. A vehicle comprising:

an internal cabin including a lavatory having a lavatory water supply and a waste disposal system; and

an autonomous cleaning system located within a lavatory of the internal cabin, wherein the autonomous cleaning system comprises;

a cleaning robot that cleans a floor of the lavatory, wherein the cleaning robot includes;

(a) a conveyance sub-system in communication with a navigation sub-system, wherein the conveyance sub-system moves the cleaning robot within the lavatory based on signals received from the navigation sub-system, (b) a debris collector that collects debris from the lavatory during a cleaning cycle, (c) an agitator that agitates a portion of the lavatory during the cleaning cycle, (d) a dispenser in fluid communication with a fluid reservoir, wherein the dispenser dispenses fluid onto the portion of the lavatory during the cleaning cycle, and (e) an ultraviolet light that irradiates the portion of the lavatory with ultraviolet light during the cleaning cycle;

a docking station within the lavatory, wherein the cleaning robot is housed within the docking station, wherein the cleaning robot is deployed from the docking station during the cleaning cycle, wherein the docking station comprises a charger that charges a battery of the cleaning robot when the cleaning robot is housed within the docking station, and wherein the cleaning robot directly couples to the lavatory water supply and the waste disposal system when the cleaning robot is housed within the docking station; and

a presence sensor that detects a presence of an individual within the lavatory, wherein the cleaning robot is deployed to clean the floor of the lavatory when the lavatory is unoccupied.

22. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the presence sensor comprises a magnetic switch coupled to a door of the lavatory.