Floor treatment system

• US 7,053,578 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2005
• Issued: 05/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alfred Kã¤Rcher GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Alfred Kã¤Rcher GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Diehl, Ralph, Benzler, Gottfried, Keppler, Joachim, Skoumal, Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Ip, Paul
• Application Number:
  US11/030,013
• Publication Number:
  US 20050150074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 511 Days
• Field of Search: 318/568.12, 318/568.13, 318/587, 153/19, 180/167, 700/258, 700/259, 446/175
• US Class Current: 318/568.12
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0225 involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay parking aids B62D15/027
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0242 using non-visible light signals, e.g. IR or UV signals

Abstract

The invention relates to a floor treatment system with a self-propelled and self-steering floor treatment unit, which comprises an electrically driven floor treatment assembly and also a rechargeable power supply unit and an electrical control system, and with a central charging station for recharging the power supply unit, the charging station having a transmitting device for emitting an infrared target radiation, and it being possible for the target radiation to be sensed in a directionally dependent manner by a receiving device of the floor treatment unit for the automatic alignment and positioning of the floor treatment unit at the charging station. In order to develop the floor treatment system in such a way that the floor treatment unit can reliably steer toward the central charging station, it is proposed according to the invention that the transmitting device has a first transmitting unit for the formation of a far field of the target radiation and a second transmitting unit for the formation of a near field of the target radiation, the near field extending over a wider and shorter area from the charging station than the far field.

Claims

1. Floor treatment system with a self-propelled and self-steering floor treatment unit, which comprises an electrically driven floor treatment assembly and also a rechargeable power supply unit and an electrical control system, and with a central charging station for recharging the power supply unit, the charging station having a transmitting device for emitting an infrared target radiation, and it being possible for the target radiation to be sensed in a directionally dependent manner by a receiving device of the floor treatment unit for the automatic alignment and positioning of the floor treatment unit at the charging station, wherein the transmitting device has a first transmitting unit for the formation of a far field of the target radiation and a second transmitting unit for the formation of a near field of the target radiation, the near field extending over a wider and shorter area from the charging station than the far field.

2. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the far field is configured in a lobar manner.

3. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the first transmitting unit has at least two transmitting elements, the emitted infrared radiation of which is superposed on one another.

4. Floor treatment system according to claim 3, wherein the transmitting elements of the first transmitting unit have an associated optical element for beam guidance.

5. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the near field has at least two field regions disposed beside one another.

6. Floor treatment system according to claim 5, wherein the field regions are configured in a lobar manner and in each case have an axis of symmetry.

7. Floor treatment system according to claim 5, wherein the field regions are aligned mirror-symmetrically in relation to an axis of symmetry of the far field.

8. Floor treatment system according to claim 6, wherein the axes of symmetry of two field regions are each inclined at an angle β

of approximately 10°

to approximately 20°

to the axis of symmetry of the far field.

9. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the second transmitting unit has at least two transmitting elements, the infrared radiations emitted by the transmitting elements being aligned in different directions.

10. Floor treatment system according to claim 9, wherein the infrared radiations emitted by the transmitting elements of the second transmitting unit form in each case a field region of the near field.

11. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting elements of the first and/or second transmitting unit are configured as infrared-emitting diodes.

12. Floor treatment system according to claim 11, wherein the infrared-emitting diodes respectively associated with a transmitting unit are aligned parallel to one another and the diodes are in each case preceded by an optical element for focusing and/or deflecting the emitted infrared radiation.

13. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the charging station has a third transmitting unit for the formation of a guiding field of the target radiation for guiding the floor treatment unit during docking onto the charging station.

14. Floor treatment system according to claim 13, wherein the third transmitting unit has a single transmitting element, a visual link existing between the transmitting element and the receiving device during the docking of the floor treatment unit onto the charging station.

15. Floor treatment system according to claim 14, wherein the transmitting element of the third transmitting unit is formed as an infrared-emitting diode.

16. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the receiving device has at least two infrared-sensitive sensors, which are disposed in a central region of the floor treatment unit.

17. Floor treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the floor treatment unit forms a suction device with a dirt collecting container having a suction inlet and with a suction turbine, and the central charging station has a suction-extraction assembly and also a dirt receiving container, it being possible for the dirt collecting container to be emptied by the suction-extraction assembly via the suction inlet and at the same time the power supply unit to be recharged by the charging station.