SELF-MOVING SOIL TILLAGE EQUIPMENT WITH AN ENVIRONMENTAL MAP

Description

field of technology

[0001] The invention relates to a self-propelled soil tillage implement comprising a drive device for self-propelled movement of the soil tillage implement within an environment, an energy storage device, a data storage device comprising a map of the environment, and a navigation device for navigating and self-locating the soil tillage implement within the environment using the map of the environment, wherein the map of the environment comprises sub-areas of the environment.

[0002] Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for operating such a soil cultivation device. State of the art

[0003] Soil cultivation devices of the aforementioned type are well known in the prior art. These can be, for example, soil cultivation robots such as cleaning robots, mowing robots, polishing robots, sanding robots, floor polishing robots, or the like. A soil cultivation device typically has at least one soil cultivation element used for the soil cultivation activity of the soil cultivation device, for example, a cleaning element such as a brush or a wiping element, a polishing element, a sanding element, a mowing tool, or the like. It is known to equip such soil cultivation devices with a navigation device designed to navigate and localize the soil cultivation device within an environment. For this purpose, the soil cultivation device accesses a map of the environment, which is, for example, created by the soil cultivation device itself.For this purpose, the tillage implement can use a so-called SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) process. During tillage work, the tillage implement can determine its own position within the surrounding area map and trace a movement path. It is also known to note on the surrounding area map which areas of the surrounding area are visited during a tillage route.

[0004] Furthermore, it is known that the control and evaluation device of the soil tillage implement controls the soil tillage activity(ies) based on a pre-planned soil tillage program. The soil tillage program, for example, provides for a plurality of soil tillage activities in several environmental sub-areas, which the soil tillage implement then executes sequentially. To provide energy for the consumers of the soil tillage implement, for example, motors of a drive device and / or a soil tillage element, the soil tillage implement typically has an energy storage device, in particular an accumulator, which is rechargeable by means of a charging device.For this purpose, the tillage implement can, for example, automatically connect to the charging device, for example, a charging device integrated into a service station for the tillage implement. Alternatively, a user can also manually connect the tillage implement and / or its energy storage unit to the charging device.

[0005] In order to perform a variety of soil tillage activities as efficiently as possible within the environment, various navigation strategies for soil tillage implements are known. One strategy involves controlling the soil tillage implement in such a way that the amount of energy stored in the energy storage device is used to till the largest possible area of ​​the environment, ideally 100 percent of all the environmental sub-areas to be tilled. Alternatively, the aim can be to achieve the tillage of the environment within the shortest possible time period.

[0006] A disadvantage of the previously known soil cultivation strategies is that the energy extraction from the energy storage for soil cultivation activities is not adapted to the electrochemical properties of a battery, i.e. the service life of the energy storage may be unintentionally shortened and / or an existing maximum capacity may not be used optimally.

[0007] KR 2020 / 0002747 A discloses a self-propelled soil tillage implement designed to communicate with electrical devices located in a house, such as an air conditioner, a refrigerator, etc. Furthermore, a home monitoring device is provided that receives information from both the self-propelled soil tillage implement and the electrical devices and can also use this information to control the energy consumption of the electrical devices. For the content of this publication, reference is also made to US 2014 / 0324271 A1. Summary of the invention

[0008] Based on the aforementioned prior art, it is the object of the invention to provide a self-propelled soil tillage device and a method for its operation, which takes into account the electrochemical properties of accumulators, in particular lithium-ion batteries, whereby in particular the service life of the energy storage device and / or the maximum possible energy storage capacity of the energy storage device is improved.

[0009] To achieve the above-mentioned object, it is proposed that the environmental map of the soil tillage device has an energy specification for at least two environmental sub-areas, which specifies the amount of energy the soil tillage device will require to till the soil in the respective environmental sub-area, and that a control and evaluation device is provided which is configured to access the environmental map, to compare the stored energy quantities with one another and, depending on the stored energy quantities, to determine an order in which the environmental sub-areas are to be worked successively.

[0010] According to the invention, the environmental map, in particular a persistent environmental map of the soil tillage implement, stores information indicating the amount of energy required to till the soil in the assigned environmental sub-area using the soil tillage implement. The energy information can either be stored in the environmental map itself, namely in connection with the assigned environmental sub-area, or linked to the environmental map, so that the energy information is stored in a file that is different from the environmental map.The amount of energy required to cultivate the soil in the respective environmental sub-area is related to a defined soil cultivation activity of a specific soil cultivation device. The defined soil cultivation activity can, for example, be a standard soil cultivation activity that the soil cultivation device automatically performs in the absence of a specific selection activity by a user. Such a standard soil cultivation activity, with respect to a soil cultivation device designed as a vacuum cleaner, can, for example, be a vacuum cleaning activity with a preset, specific power level, namely the suction level and, if applicable, the speed of a cleaning element.Furthermore, it can also be provided that several energy data items are stored for each environmental sub-area, which relate to different soil cultivation activities, for example, soil cultivation activities with different soil cultivation intensities or soil cultivation activities carried out using different cleaning elements of the same soil cultivation device. Such energy data can be stored activity-related, for example, in a table that is linked to the environmental map and / or the respective environmental sub-area. Based on the environmental map provided with energy data, a control and evaluation device of the soil cultivation device can now, for example, designate such an environmental sub-area as the location for cultivation, which is particularly advantageous with regard to the current status parameters of the energy storage device.Particularly preferably, such an environmental sub-area can be cultivated as part of a subsequent soil cultivation activity, which requires a relatively large amount of energy for the optimal execution of the defined soil cultivation activity. By extracting a relatively large amount of energy, an energy storage device that is in a cold state can be advantageously heated. The underlying principle is that the energy storage device should be loaded as heavily as possible at the start of a working operation so that the energy storage device heats up as quickly as possible and the specific internal resistance of the energy storage device decreases. By selecting a particularly energy-intensive environmental sub-area, the energy storage device can thus be heated up from a cold state particularly quickly, so that efficient energy release can be achieved.Of course, it should also be ensured that the energy storage device is never heated above a certain maximum temperature, which would otherwise negatively affect the service life and quality of the energy storage device.

[0011] In particular, it can be provided that the amount of energy is determined as a function of a soil type present in the surrounding sub-area, and / or that the amount of energy is determined as a function of an empirically determined amount of energy for processing the surrounding sub-area. According to a first embodiment, a characteristic amount of energy can be calculated that is usually required for a standard floor processing defined in this way to process a specific soil type. The floor type can be divided into one of several categories, for example hard floors and carpets, with further subclassifications being possible. Subclasses of hard floors include, for example, tiled floors, wooden floors, PVC floors, and others. Carpets can be divided into deep-pile carpets, low-pile carpets, and others.The soil type-dependent energy quantity relates, on the one hand, to a specific environmental sub-area, in particular its area, and, on the other hand, to a defined tillage activity for the execution of which the relevant energy quantity is required. The tillage activity can be defined by a specific tillage intensity, by a specific tillage parameter of the tillage implement set for the tillage activity, in particular specific power levels of tillage elements and / or drive devices, or other parameters of the tillage implement. Furthermore, the energy quantity can additionally or alternatively be determined empirically. The empirically determined energy quantity is preferably determined based on a tillage history of the tillage implement.In particular, several energy quantities determined from the tillage history of the tillage implement can be averaged in order to define a characteristic average value of the required energy quantity for a defined tillage activity.

[0012] Furthermore, it is proposed that the environmental map contain soil type information for a soil type present in the environmental sub-area, with the soil type being selected, in particular, from hard flooring, short-pile carpeting, or deep-pile carpeting. Thus, soil type information is stored in the environmental map, or alternatively linked to the environmental map, which identifies environmental sub-areas whose soil cultivation requires a certain amount of energy. Particularly energy-intensive soil types include, for example, carpeting, as opposed to hard flooring. Furthermore, cultivating deep-pile carpeting requires a greater amount of energy than cultivating short-pile carpeting.If the soil cultivation device is a robotic lawnmower, for example, the soil type can vary depending on the height of the grass to be mown and / or its composition of different grass species, which require different amounts of energy for mowing. Likewise, soil type information can be defined that is relevant, for example, for a polishing machine or floor-waxing machine, whereby the soil types can be characterized, for example, by the mechanical resistance generated by the surface. The soil type information stored in the environmental map always enables a control and evaluation system of the soil cultivation device to quickly determine the required amount of energy for one of the surrounding areas.

[0013] Furthermore, it is proposed that the environmental map indicate a characteristic amount of energy per unit area required for soil cultivation for each environmental sub-area. According to this embodiment, a characteristic amount of energy per unit area can already be calculated for each of the environmental sub-areas, which is preferably calculated simultaneously as a function of defined soil cultivation parameters, for example, for a standard soil cultivation defined in this way. In this case, it is no longer necessary for a control and evaluation device to first calculate a required amount of energy ad hoc from a soil type specification before the start of the next soil cultivation activity.Rather, based on the characteristic energy quantity per unit area and a known area size of the surrounding area to be worked, the amount of energy required for a defined soil cultivation by the soil cultivation implement can be directly determined. The defined soil cultivation follows predefined parameters, which correspond, for example, to a certain speed of movement of the soil cultivation implement during soil cultivation, a certain soil cultivation intensity, and possibly other parameters. Based on the environmental map and the associated stored characteristic energy quantities per unit area, it is thus possible to directly identify which environmental areas are relatively energy-intensive and which, in contrast, require a lower amount of energy per unit area for soil cultivation.

[0014] The soil tillage device has a control and evaluation device configured to access the environmental map, compare the stored energy quantities, and, based on the stored energy quantities, determine a sequence in which the environmental sub-areas are to be worked sequentially. The control and evaluation device thus establishes a processing sequence for multiple environmental sub-areas. The processing sequence includes a plurality of soil tillage activities to be performed in multiple environmental sub-areas. The temporal sequence of the soil tillage activities is determined according to predefined rules that depend on the energy quantities stored in the environmental map that are required to work the respective environmental sub-areas.The rule for determining the sequence takes the energy quantities into account in terms of their magnitude, so that energy-intensive environmental sub-areas are processed at a different time within the processing sequence than low-energy environmental sub-areas.

[0015] In this context, it is particularly proposed that the control and evaluation device is configured to determine the sequence such that a first environmental sub-area, the soil cultivation of which requires a larger first amount of energy, is cultivated before a second environmental sub-area, the soil cultivation of which requires a smaller second amount of energy than the first amount of energy. This planning rule for the sequence of soil cultivation operations in several environmental sub-areas takes into account that the energy storage device of the soil cultivation device should be loaded as heavily as possible at the beginning of a sequence of soil cultivation activities in order to heat the energy storage device as quickly as possible and bring it up to operating temperature. The initial power peak of the energy extraction reduces the internal resistance of the energy storage device, which protects the energy storage device and increases its service life.The surrounding areas with a relatively low energy requirement are treated last within the defined sequence, while the surrounding areas requiring a relatively large amount of energy are treated first. The surrounding areas are thus treated in descending order of energy requirement. After the first or first few soil treatment activities, the energy storage unit is already preheated, and the remaining surrounding areas can be cleaned efficiently while following the specified soil treatment sequence.Cultivating the low-energy surrounding areas at the end of the defined sequence also causes the energy storage to cool down slightly again – relative to the energy maximum of the defined sequence – and the cooling phase of the energy storage begins early, for example, before the next recharging of the energy storage. This further protects the energy storage. Furthermore, this measure ensures that the energy storage is quickly available for the next work assignment.

[0016] It is advantageously proposed that the control and evaluation device is configured to distribute a total amount of energy stored in the energy storage device among a plurality of environmental sub-areas, so that energy-intensive environmental sub-areas are processed first, and less energy-intensive environmental sub-areas are subsequently processed in descending order based on the required amount of energy until the total amount of stored energy is completely distributed. When determining the sequence, the control and evaluation device can already take into account the total amount of energy available, so that, if necessary, soil cultivation parameters and / or device parameters of the soil cultivation device can be adapted for some or more environmental sub-areas and the total amount of energy is preferably sufficient to be able to completely cultivate all environmental sub-areas in a planned sequence.This variant is particularly recommended where several alternative energy quantities are defined for a sub-area of ​​the environment, which relate to different (alternative) tillage parameters. From this selection of tillage parameters, the control and evaluation system could select those that are suitable for enabling the complete execution of the sequence of tillage activities and that are sufficient with the total amount of energy stored in the energy storage device.

[0017] Furthermore, it can be provided that the soil tillage device has an obstacle sensor for detecting environmental features and / or a map creation device for creating the environmental map based on environmental features and / or a soil type sensor which is configured to determine a soil type present in a sub-area of ​​the environment. In this case, the soil tillage device has one or more of its own detection devices which detect parameters which are suitable for creating the environmental map and for storing additional information in the environmental map or linking additional information to the environmental map. For example, the soil tillage device can have an obstacle sensor which, on the one hand, detects the existence of obstacles in the environment and, on the other hand, preferably also detects their absolute position in the environment or their relative position to the location of the soil tillage device.On this basis, a map creation device of the soil tillage implement can then create a map of the surroundings itself. It is no longer necessary to operate external obstacle sensors in the surroundings or to have the environmental map created by an external device. The obstacle sensor can, for example, be a distance measuring device of the soil tillage implement, which measures distances to obstacles present in the surroundings. Such a distance measuring device preferably measures using optical measuring methods. In particular, a laser measurement can be carried out, which measures distances to obstacles all around the soil tillage implement. A laser triangulation measuring device is particularly suitable for this purpose. Furthermore, as proposed, the soil tillage implement can also have a soil type sensor, which detects and identifies the soil type of the surrounding sub-areas of the environment.The floor type sensor can, for example, detect whether the floor type in a sub-area of ​​the environment is a hard floor or a carpet. Particularly preferably, the floor type sensor can further differentiate between floor types according to subgroups of hard floors and carpets, for example, low-pile or deep-pile carpets, tiled floors, wooden floors, and the like. The floor type can be determined using image processing techniques, with the floor type sensor being, for example, a camera that takes images of the surrounding floor area to be treated. The camera images can then be compared with floor type references stored in a memory, whereby the floor type of a sub-area of ​​the environment is recognized if a current floor matches a reference.In addition, a floor type can also be determined through reflection measurements, taking into account that carpets and rugs have a lower reflectivity than hard floors. Furthermore, a floor type can also be detected tactilely, for example, by determining the sinking property of a sensor into the floor material.

[0018] In addition to the soil tillage implement described above, the invention further proposes a method for operating such a soil tillage implement, wherein information is stored for at least two surrounding sub-areas of the environmental map, indicating the amount of energy the soil tillage implement will require to till the soil in the respective surrounding sub-area. The features and advantages previously described with regard to the soil tillage implement also apply accordingly to the method according to the invention. To avoid repetition, reference is also made to the aforementioned explanations with regard to the method.

[0019] In particular, the method can be carried out by providing that a control and evaluation device of the soil tillage device accesses the environmental map, compares the stored energy quantities with each other, and, depending on the stored energy quantities, determines a sequence in which the environmental sub-areas are worked sequentially. In particular, the sequence can be determined such that a first environmental sub-area, whose soil tillage requires a larger first energy quantity, is worked before a second environmental sub-area, whose soil tillage requires a smaller second energy quantity than the first energy quantity.Overall, energy-intensive environmental sub-areas are therefore preferably worked first within the specified sequence in order to load the energy storage device, preferably an accumulator, as intensively as possible at the beginning of the sequence of soil tillage activities in order to preheat the energy storage device and thus bring it up to operating temperature. This extends the service life of the energy storage device in particular and ensures efficient energy provision for the consumers of the soil tillage device. In contrast to strategies known in the prior art for processing a plurality of soil tillage activities, the soil tillage device does not first travel to the environmental sub-area closest to its own position and carry out a soil tillage activity there, but travels within the environment to such an environmental sub-area that requires a relatively high or highest amount of energy for soil tillage.Such a sub-area of ​​the environment can be a sub-area of ​​the environment that is remote from the current location of the soil tillage implement and is not adjacent, so that the soil tillage implement has to drive through other sub-areas of the environment that are not currently being worked on in order to reach the sub-area of ​​the environment that is to be worked on first. Short description of the drawings

[0020] The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments. They show: Fig. 1 shows a soil tillage device according to the invention, Fig. 2 shows an environmental map of an environment with several environmental sub-areas, Fig. 3 shows a table with parameters of the environmental sub-areas and a sequence of the environmental sub-areas along a movement route, Fig. 4 shows the environmental map with a movement route for the soil tillage device. Description of the embodiments

[0021] Figure 1shows an exemplary self-propelled soil tillage device 1, which can be designed, for example, as a cleaning robot. The soil tillage device 1 has a drive device 2 in the form of wheels driven by an electric motor (not shown). The electric motor and other electrical consumers of the soil tillage device 1 are supplied with energy by an energy storage device 3. The energy storage device 3 is preferably a rechargeable battery. The soil tillage device 1 further has an obstacle sensor 14, which is configured to measure distances to objects present in the vicinity of the soil tillage device 1. Here, the obstacle sensor 14 is, for example, an optical distance measuring device in the form of a laser triangulation measuring device.The obstacle sensor 14 emits a rotating laser beam, which strikes objects and is reflected by them. Based on the reflected radiation, the distance between the soil tillage implement 1 and the objects can be determined. The detection signals of the obstacle sensor 14 are used to generate a (exemplary in . Figure 2 shown) environment map 4, which, in addition to a floor plan of the environment, can also contain the position of objects within several environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10 in the environment. The environment map 4 is stored in a data memory 5 of the soil tillage device 1 and is used by a navigation device 6 to determine a route 19 of the soil tillage device 1 (see Figure 4) through one or more environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10 of the environment. The movement route 19 is defined in order to be able to carry out several soil cultivation activities within the environment by the soil cultivation device 1, in particular with a temporally and spatially defined sequence that allows efficient soil cultivation of several environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10 of the environment. The energy storage device 3 of the soil cultivation device 1 is preferably a rechargeable battery that can be recharged at a base station 17, which provides a charging device. The energy storage device 3 is preferably a lithium-ion battery.

[0022] To perform one or more soil cultivation activities, the soil cultivation device 1 has one or more soil cultivation elements 18. Here, the soil cultivation device 1 has, for example, a cleaning roller that rotates essentially about a horizontal axis and is suitable for cultivating hard floors and carpets. The soil cultivation activities as well as the movement of the soil cultivation device 1 are controlled by a control and evaluation device 13 of the soil cultivation device 1. Furthermore, the soil cultivation device 1 has a soil type sensor 16, which is designed to detect and recognize soil types present in the surrounding sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10.Here, the soil type sensor 16 is, for example, an optical sensor which is configured to emit light signals and to detect, based on the light components reflected from the surfaces to be treated, the soil type in the respective sub-area 7, 8, 9, 10. As an alternative to detecting the soil type by evaluating the degree of reflection, an alternative soil type sensor 16 can function on the basis of digital image processing, wherein images of the soil surface recorded by the soil type sensor 16 are compared with reference images of known soil types, wherein a soil type is identified as soon as a recorded image matches a reference image or resembles it to a certain degree.

[0023] Figure 2shows an environmental map 4, which was created by the map creation device 15 of the soil tillage device 1. Alternatively, however, it is also possible for an external map creation device 15, for example a computing device present on a server, to take over the creation of the environmental map 4 and make it available to the soil tillage device 1 or its control and evaluation device 13 as well as the navigation device 6 for planning a travel route 19. The environmental map 4 shows the four environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10 of the environment, for example. Located in the environmental sub-area 8 are the soil tillage device 1 and a base station 17, which is configured to carry out service activities on the soil tillage device 1, including charging the energy storage device 3 of the soil tillage device 1.The environmental map 4 also stores soil type information 12 relating to the soil types detected by the soil type sensor 16 of the soil tillage device 1, with the environmental sub-area 7 comprising a deep-pile carpet, the environmental sub-area 8 comprising a hard floor, the environmental sub-area 9 comprising a hard floor, and the environmental sub-area 10 comprising a short-pile carpet. Furthermore, an energy information 11 is stored in the environmental map 4, assigned to each environmental sub-area 7, 8, 9, 10, which indicates the amount of energy the soil tillage device 1 will require to till the soil area there. The energy information 11 relates, for example, to a standard soil tillage activity defined in this way for the respective soil type. For hard floors, for example, a specific suction power level of a fan and a speed of the soil tillage element 18 are defined.Likewise, standard soil cultivation activities for deep-pile and short-pile carpets or rugs are defined, which the soil cultivation device 1 automatically applies, i.e. carries out, without any other specifications from a user of the soil cultivation device 1. The energy data 11 defined for soil cultivation activities are stored directly in the environmental map 4, here, for example, as x 1 kWh, x 2 kWh, y 1 kWh and y 2 kWh. The energy quantities refer to the entire soil cultivation activity in the respective environmental sub-area 7, 8, 9, 10. Alternatively, it would be possible to store a required energy quantity per unit area in addition to the size of the environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10, so that the control and evaluation device 13 can calculate the energy quantity required for the respective environmental sub-area 7, 8, 9, 10 from this information.If necessary, a surrounding sub-area 7, 8, 9, 10 can also be divided into sub-areas in order to advantageously determine a movement route 19 for tilling the soil in the surrounding sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10. The amount of energy required to till the surrounding sub-area 7, 8, 9, 10 can be determined empirically based on a large number of tillage activities performed in the past by the tillage device 1. Furthermore, the amount of energy can also be calculated theoretically from the soil type present in the surrounding sub-area 7, 8, 9, 10, knowledge of the energy requirements of electrical consumers of the tillage device 1, a time period typically required for the tillage activity, and other factors.

[0024] Figure 3shows a table which contains the parameters of the environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10. The first column contains the environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10. The column to the right shows the floor type present in the respective environmental sub-area 7, 8, 9, 10, differentiated into deep-pile carpet, hard floor, short-pile carpet. The floor type can basically be further subdivided into various hard floors and the like. Furthermore, the next column to the right shows the energy value 11, which contains the amount of energy required to work the floor in the respective environmental sub-area 7, 8, 9, 10, given here as x 1 , x 2 , y 1 , y 2 . Based on the data entered in the "Amount of Energy" column, the control and evaluation device 13 of the soil tillage implement 1 determines a sub-area 7, 8, 9, 10 with the greatest energy requirement for tilling the soil in the respective sub-area 7, 8, 9, 10.This is, for example, the environmental sub-area 7 with the energy quantity "x 1" required to cultivate the soil in the environmental sub-area 7 with a deep-pile carpet. The control and evaluation device 13 of the soil cultivation device 1 then determines a sequence of the environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10 for a movement route 19, within which the soil cultivation device 1 moves through the environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10 in order to perform soil cultivation activities there in chronological order. The control and evaluation device 13 selects the sequence of the environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10 such that particularly energy-intensive environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10 are cleaned first, followed by lower-energy environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10.Here, according to the rightmost column of the table, an order is defined which first provides for soil cultivation of the surrounding sub-area 7, then soil cultivation of the surrounding sub-area 10, then soil cultivation activity in the surrounding sub-area 9 and finally soil cultivation of the surrounding sub-area 8. The surrounding sub-area 8, which has hard soil, requires the smallest amount of energy "y 1 ", which is less than the energy amounts "x 1 " required to cultivate the other surrounding sub-areas 7, 9, 10. ,"y 2 " and x 2 ". Prioritizing the processing of energy-intensive environmental sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10 ensures that the energy storage unit 3 of the soil tillage implement 1 is quickly heated to operating temperature at the beginning of the travel route 19 and that the internal resistance of the energy storage unit is reduced, which contributes to optimal operation and an extension of the service life of the energy storage unit 3. Because, for example, the environmental sub-area 8, which requires the least amount of energy for soil tillage, is cleaned last, the energy storage unit 3 can also slowly cool down again at the end of the travel route 19 before the energy storage unit 3 is recharged at the base station 17. This saves time for the entire soil tillage and recharging process, since the energy storage unit 3 does not have to be cooled down separately before the actual charging process can take place.

[0025] Figure 4Finally, the movement route 19 is shown, which the control and evaluation device 13 of the soil tillage device 1 has defined for processing the surrounding sub-areas 7, 8, 9, 10. It can be seen that, starting from a current location of the soil tillage device 1, the surrounding sub-area 7 is first cleaned, which does not correspond to the surrounding sub-area 8 in which the soil tillage device 1 is located at the start of the movement route 19. Rather, the soil tillage device 1 first moves into the adjacent surrounding sub-area 7, from there into the surrounding sub-area 10, which also has a carpeted floor, and only then into the surrounding sub-areas 9 and 8, which have a hard floor to be processed. List of reference symbols

[0026] 1Soil tillage implement 2Drive device 3Energy storage 4Environmental map 5Data storage 6Navigation device 7Environmental sub-area 8Environmental sub-area 9Environmental sub-area 10Environmental sub-area 11Energy information 12Soil type information 13Control and evaluation device 14Obstacle sensor 15Map creation device 16Soil type sensor 17Base station 18Soil tillage element 19Route

Claims

1. Self-propelled surface treatment unit (1) with a drive device (2) for the autonomous travel of the surface treatment unit (1) within an environment, an energy storage device (3), a data storage device (5) having an environmental map (4) of the environment, and a navigation device (6) for the navigation and self-location of the surface treatment unit (1) within the environment, on the basis of the environmental map (4), wherein the environmental map (4) has environmental zones (7, 8, 9, 10), wherein the environmental map (4) has energy data (11) for at least two environmental zones (7, 8, 9, 10), which indicates the amount of energy that the surface treatment unit (1) will require for the surface treatment of the respective environmental zone (7, 8, 9, 10) and characterized in that a control and evaluation device (13) is provided, which is equipped to access the environmental map (4), to compare the stored amounts of energy with one another, and, as a function of the stored amounts of energy, to determine a sequence in which the environmental zones (7, 8, 9, 10) are treated in succession.

2. Surface treatment unit (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that, the amount of energy is determined as a function of a surface type present in the environmental zone (7, 8, 9, 10), and / or in that the amount of energy is determined as a function of an empirically determined amount of energy for the treatment of the environmental zone (7, 8, 9, 10).

3. Surface treatment unit (1) according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that, the environmental map (4) has surface type data (12) for a surface type represented in the environmental zone (7, 8, 9, 10), wherein the surface type is, in particular, selected from a hard surface, a short-pile carpeted surface, or a long-pile carpeted surface.

4. Surface treatment unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, for the environmental zone (7, 8, 9, 10) in question, the environmental map (4) indicates a characteristic amount of energy per unit surface area required for the surface treatment.

5. Surface treatment unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, the control and evaluation device (13) is equipped to determine the sequence, such that a first environmental zone (7, 8, 9, 10), the surface treatment of which requires a larger first amount of energy, is treated before a second environmental zone (7, 8, 9, 10), the surface treatment of which requires a smaller second amount of energy, compared to the first amount of energy.

6. Surface treatment unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, the control and evaluation device (13) is equipped to apportion a total amount of energy stored in the energy storage device (3) amongst a plurality of environmental zones (7, 8, 9, 10), so that energy-intensive environmental zones (7, 8, 9, 10) are treated first and, in contrast, less energy-intensive environmental zones (7, 8, 9, 10) are subsequently treated with respect to the required amount of energy in descending order, until the total amount of energy stored is fully apportioned.

7. Surface treatment unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, the surface treatment unit (1) has an obstacle sensor (14) for the detection of environmental features, and / or a map generation device (15) for the creation of the environmental map (4) on the basis of environmental features, and / or a surface type sensor (16), which is equipped to determine a surface type that is present in an environmental zone (7, 8, 9, 10).

8. Method for the operation of a surface treatment unit (1) designed according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, data is stored for at least two environmental zones (7, 8, 9, 10) of the environmental map (4), which data indicates the amount of energy that the surface treatment unit (1) will require for the surface treatment of the respective environmental zone (7, 8, 9, 10).

9. Method according to Claim 8, characterised in that, a control and evaluation device (13) of the surface treatment unit (1) accesses the environmental map (4), compares the stored amounts of energy with one another, and, as a function of the stored amounts of energy, determines a sequence with which the environmental zones (7, 8, 9, 10) are treated in succession, wherein in particular, the sequence is determined such that a first environmental zone (7, 8, 9, 10), the surface treatment of which requires a greater first amount of energy, is treated before a second environmental zone (7, 8, 9, 10), the surface treatment of which requires a smaller second amount of energy, compared to the first amount of energy.