Base station for a floor treating device and system comprising a base station and floor treating device

Abstract

The invention relates to a base station (1) for performing a service operation on a soil cultivation implement (2), wherein the base station (1) has a base housing (3) with a guide boom (4) having a predominant longitudinal extension for guiding a docking movement of the soil cultivation implement (2), wherein the guide boom (4) has a surface (5) traversable by the soil cultivation implement (2) with at least two electrical contacts (6) for connection with corresponding electrical contacts (7) of the soil cultivation implement.In order to also enable fine adjustment of the soil cultivation device (2) at the base station (1), it is proposed that the surface (5) with respect to the docking movement of the soil cultivation device (2) directed along the longitudinal extent of the guide boom (4) has two guide elements (8) positioned in front of the electrical contacts (6) and spaced apart from each other, wherein each guide element (8) has a chamfered side edge (9) viewed in the direction of the longitudinal extent of the guide boom (4), which has at least one inclined edge section (10.1, 10.2) that is not oriented orthogonally to the surface (5) of the guide boom (4).

Description

field of technology

[0001] The invention relates to a base station for performing a service operation on a soil cultivation implement, wherein the base station has a basic housing with a guide arm having a predominantly longitudinal extension for guiding a docking movement of the soil cultivation implement, wherein the guide arm has a surface traversable by the soil cultivation implement with at least two electrical contacts for connection with corresponding electrical contacts of the soil cultivation implement, wherein the surface has two guide elements positioned in front of the electrical contacts and spaced apart from each other with respect to the docking movement of the soil cultivation implement directed along the longitudinal extension of the guide arm.

[0002] Furthermore, the invention relates to a system comprising such a base station and a self-propelled soil cultivation device, wherein the soil cultivation device has a device housing, a suction chamber and a suction blower for drawing material into the suction chamber, wherein an underside of the device housing facing the guide arm of the base station has two drive wheels, at least one support roller, at least two electrical contacts, a suction interface in flow connection with the suction chamber, a soil cultivation element and a protective grid covering the soil cultivation element in the direction of the guide arm of the base station. State of the art

[0003] Self-propelled soil cultivation equipment and base stations for performing service work on these are known in the prior art. The base station can, for example, be configured to charge a battery of the soil cultivation equipment, empty a suction chamber of the soil cultivation equipment, or perform similar tasks.

[0004] These floor cultivation machines are used, for example, in households or office environments for automated floor cultivation, such as floor cleaning and / or floor maintenance. The machines are driven by electrically powered drive wheels.

[0005] Furthermore, it is known that tillage equipment can autonomously travel to a base station for servicing. For this purpose, tillage equipment known in the prior art uses software solutions that control the docking of the tillage equipment at the base station. It is also known to equip the base station with a mechanical guide device along which sections of the docking tillage equipment can be aligned.

[0006] For example, EP 3 505 036 B1 discloses a base station and a cleaning device that automatically docks to the base station. The base station has a platform with charging contacts for charging a battery of the cleaning device and a ramp for lifting a front panel of the cleaning device. The cleaning device can be moved from an approach position, in which the cleaning device is spaced away from the front panel of the platform, to a docked position, in which the cleaning device is on the platform and the charging contacts of the base station engage with the charging contacts of the cleaning device. As the cleaning device moves from the approach position to the docked position, it follows the ramp and a cleaning module of the cleaning device is lifted over the charging contacts of the base station.In the docking position, ribs formed on the base station engage in corresponding recesses on the housing of the cleaning device.

[0007] EP 3 236 827 B1 discloses a base station with guide elements which rise in the direction of the docking movement of the soil cultivation implement.

[0008] A disadvantage of the aforementioned systems and base stations is that contact between corresponding adjustment elements (ribs and recesses) only occurs the moment the cleaning device reaches its final position on the base station. This severely limits the range and time available for fine-tuning, potentially leading to misalignment of the cleaning device, particularly a rib becoming misaligned in its corresponding recess. Summary of the invention

[0009] Based on the aforementioned prior art, the object of the invention is therefore to improve the docking result of the soil cultivation device at the base station, in particular to fine-tune the interfaces of the soil cultivation device relative to the corresponding interfaces of the base station.

[0010] To solve this problem, it is proposed that each guide element, viewed in the direction of the longitudinal extension of the guide boom, has a chamfered side edge which has at least one slanted edge portion that is not oriented orthogonally to the surface of the guide boom, wherein the slanted edge portion extends in a direction that is oriented orthogonally to the longitudinal extension of the guide boom.

[0011] According to the invention, the base station now features a fine adjustment mechanism for aligning the tillage implement with the base station, provided by the guide elements. This fine adjustment is effective transversely to the direction of the docking movement. The further geometric design of the guide arm can preferably first effect a coarse pre-alignment of the tillage implement to ensure that corresponding sections of the tillage implement come into contact with the chamfered side edges of the guide elements, thus achieving precise mechanical guidance of the tillage implement orthogonal to the longitudinal extent of the guide arm.By arranging the guide elements, which have beveled side edges, in front of the electrical contacts of the base station in the docking direction, a section of the tillage implement that advances during docking is first aligned laterally before the corresponding electrical contacts of the base station and tillage implement can make contact. The guide elements can be formed integrally with the guide arm, for example, by injection molding. Alternatively, the guide elements can be glued, screwed, or similarly attached to the guide arm. According to a particularly simple embodiment, the guide elements can be flat, planar components with a triangular shape. The surface plane of the guide elements is preferably orthogonal to the longitudinal extent of the guide arm.orthogonal to the direction in which the tillage implement moves along the surface of the guide boom towards the docking position during the docking movement. Since the fine adjustment of the tillage implement occurs simultaneously with its movement on the guide boom, the alignment of the tillage implement continues until a final position is reached in which the corresponding electrical contacts of the base station and tillage implement are optimally aligned. Furthermore, the guide elements can also have guide ramps that oppose the docking movement. This allows a side edge of the guide element to be chamfered in such a way that it provides a slight ramp for a section of the tillage implement sliding onto it.This allows for both a slight lifting of the tillage implement and fine centering in the direction of the docking movement. Furthermore, it is recommended that two guide elements of the base station be designed and arranged symmetrically to each other, with the plane of symmetry preferably lying longitudinally on a geometric center line of the guide boom of the base station.

[0012] It is particularly proposed that the inclined edge section of the guide element forms an angle between 30° and 60° with the surface of the guide arm. Angles in this proposed range are particularly suitable for optimally aligning the soil cultivation implement, which bears its weight on the guide elements. The speed of the fine-tuning process is slowed by the fact that the side edge of the guide element is not nearly perpendicular to the guide arm, which would otherwise lead to a sudden drop of the previously raised section of the soil cultivation implement. In particular, the angle can be approximately 45°. 45° ± 5° is especially preferred.

[0013] Furthermore, it is proposed that the opposite side edges of the guide element each have a beveled edge section. According to this embodiment, the guide element has a beveled edge section in two opposite directions, which are oriented orthogonally to the docking direction. Particularly preferably, the guide element is designed such that it stands on the surface of the guide arm like an upright triangle – or other polygon with an odd number of vertices – with one apex pointing upwards. The angles of the beveled edge sections of the guide elements can be either the same or different from each other.Furthermore, it is also possible that the guide element has only a single angled edge section on one side edge, while the opposite side edge has several angled edge sections with different angles, or one angled edge section and one edge section that is orthogonal to the surface of the guide arm. The specific design of the guide element can be optimally adapted to corresponding sections of the tillage implement to achieve perfect fine-tuning during the docking movement.

[0014] It is proposed that the guide element have an end stop on the side opposite the docking movement of the tillage implement for contacting a corresponding stop element of the tillage implement. The end stop is opposite to the docking movement of the tillage implement and projects beyond the surface of the guide element, so that a corresponding section of the tillage implement, in an end position, preferably rests only against the end stop, but not against the entire frontal surface of the guide element. Furthermore, the end stop can also be wedge-shaped and engage in a corresponding recess on the tillage implement.

[0015] The end stop defines the final position of the tillage implement at the base station. In some situations, contact between the end stops of two guide elements occurs with a time delay, for example, if the tillage implement does not reach the guide elements parallel to a symmetry line of the guide boom during the docking movement. Final alignment of the tillage implement then takes place using the previously described chamfered side edges of the guide elements, with the drive wheels of the tillage implement being driven until all end stops of the tillage implement and base station meet. Until the tillage implement reaches this defined end position, there is no conductive contact between the electrical contacts of the tillage implement and the electrical contacts of the base station.In this case, the drive wheels of the tillage implement continue to be driven until the docking process is finally completed and can be detected by a detection device of the base station and / or the tillage implement based on the conductive connection of the electrical contacts.

[0016] Advantageously, the surface of the guide boom has a suction interface which, with respect to the docking movement of the tillage implement along the longitudinal extent of the guide boom, is located upstream of the guide elements. According to this design, the base station is configured to extract material from a suction chamber of the tillage implement. For this purpose, the base station preferably has its own blower, which can generate a vacuum at the suction interface. In the docked end position of the tillage implement on the base station, the suction interfaces of the base station and the tillage implement are preferably airtightly connected, so that material can be drawn from the suction chamber of the tillage implement into a corresponding suction chamber of the base station.The previously suggested fine-tuning of the tillage implement at the base station allows the extraction ports to be optimally aligned, preventing any loss of suction flow. The extraction ports or suction channels can be precisely aligned. A sealing lip can be used to enhance the seal. In particular, the sealing lip is protected from wear during the docking process and compensates for any misalignment of the extraction ports relative to each other. This is because the shape of the guide arm and the guide elements prevents the interfaces of the base station and tillage implement from contacting each other until the final position is reached.To protect the sealing lip from wear caused by mechanical stress, the suction interface on the guide arm can be positioned between two functional surfaces rising from the guide arm. The suction interface is thus recessed in a notch between two opposing sections of the guide arm. This protects the suction interface and its seal from contact with the underside of the tillage implement when it is driven over. The recessed position of the suction interface ensures that the connection between the suction interface of the base station and the corresponding suction interface of the tillage implement only occurs at the very last moment of the tillage implement's docking movement in its final position.This not only protects the sealing element from horizontal friction during the docking movement, but also prevents the sealing element from flipping over, which could otherwise cause the connection of the corresponding suction interfaces to leak.

[0017] The surface of the guide boom may have tracks for each drive wheel of the tillage implement to travel on, and a functional surface formed between the tracks and rising above them for travel by at least one support roller of the tillage implement. This functional surface has a ramp extending in the direction of the tillage implement's docking movement, with an ascending flank and a descending flank. The descending flank is positioned in front of the guide elements in relation to the direction of the tillage implement's docking movement. The guide boom thus has different guide planes for the drive wheels of the tillage implement on the one hand, and for the at least one support roller on the other. As previously explained, the suction interface is preferably lowered relative to the functional surface.Both the driving tracks and the functional surface preferably have a positive incline in the docking direction, with the inclines of the driving tracks and the functional surface being designed differently from each other, such that the incline of the functional surface is greater than the incline of the driving tracks, at least in a section along the longitudinal extent of the guide boom. Both the driving tracks and the functional surface can have several sections of varying steepness in a direction parallel to the longitudinal extent of the guide boom. Overall, the guide boom is thus designed such that the support roller is spaced relative to the drive wheels, resulting in a leading section of the tillage implement, supported by the support roller, being positioned higher than the drive wheels.Preferably, the suction interface of the tillage implement is located, relative to the docking direction of the tillage implement, between a straight line connecting the two drive wheels and the support roller. As soon as the support roller of the tillage implement reaches the descent slope on the working surface during the docking movement, the section of the tillage implement that is advancing in the direction of travel is lowered and comes into contact with the guide elements of the base station, thus initiating the fine adjustment of the tillage implement. The guide boom's tracks can be structured, for example, with a studded surface. This structure is preferably designed to correspond to a structure of the tillage implement's drive wheels, so that the corresponding profiles can engage with each other.This ensures that the soil cultivation device has sufficient traction to reach its final position, even if the guide boom of the base station is heavily soiled.

[0018] It is further advantageous that each travel path is laterally bounded by at least one flank of the functional surface running lengthwise along the guide boom. The flanks of the guide boom serve for an initial, rough alignment of the tillage implement relative to the base station. For example, the tillage implement approaches the base station from an arbitrary angle and not parallel to the longitudinal axis of the guide boom, resulting in a non-zero angle between an imaginary central axis of the tillage implement and the base station. To align the tillage implement with the longitudinal axis of the guide boom, the first drive wheel of the tillage implement, in the docking direction, contacts the flank of the functional surface with its inner edge. This causes the forward movement of this drive wheel to be disrupted, resulting in increased slippage.Since the other drive wheel can rotate freely, the tillage implement changes direction around the drive wheel contacting the edge of the functional surface until the implement has rotated far enough that the freely moving drive wheel can rotate again without increased resistance. This also results in this drive wheel engaging in a track of the base station. The docking movement of the tillage implement at the base station can then continue.

[0019] In addition to the base station described above, the invention further proposes a system consisting of such a base station and a self-propelled soil cultivation device, wherein the soil cultivation device comprises a device housing, a suction chamber and a suction blower for drawing material into the suction chamber, wherein an underside of the device housing facing the guide arm of the base station has two drive wheels, at least one support roller, at least two electrical contacts, a suction interface in flow connection with the suction chamber, a soil cultivation element and a protective grid covering the soil cultivation element in the direction of the guide arm of the base station.The system's base station can be configured according to one of the aforementioned designs, with the base station corresponding to the tillage implement in such a way that the tillage implement can receive service input from the base station, for example, charging the tillage implement's battery via corresponding electrical contacts between the base station and the tillage implement. Furthermore, the base station and the tillage implement have corresponding suction interfaces, allowing the base station to draw material from a suction chamber of the tillage implement. The guide arm of the base station is designed so that the tillage implement comes to rest on the guide arm in a final position where the electrical contacts and suction interfaces of the tillage implement and base station are optimally aligned.To roughly align the tillage implement on the guide boom, the base station has the previously described tracks, functional area, and guide elements. Correspondingly, the tillage implement is equipped with drive wheels, at least one support roller, and a protective guard for the tillage element.

[0020] Preferably, the protective guard, when the soil cultivation implement is docked to the base station, has protective lamellae oriented parallel to the longitudinal extension of the guide boom. These lamellae are assigned to the guide elements of the guide boom in such a way that they slide along a chamfered side edge of the guide element as the soil cultivation implement moves along the guide boom in the docking direction. The protective lamellae of the guard can, in particular, be curved convexly towards the soil surface to be cleaned or the surface of the guide boom.Thus, as the protective lamella slides along the inclined edge section of the guide element during the docking movement of the soil cultivation implement into its end position, the housing section leading the implement housing lowers, thereby connecting the electrical contacts or extraction interfaces of the base station and the soil cultivation implement. The protective lamellae can be oriented parallel to each other, preferably also parallel to the longitudinal extension of the guide arm of the base station and thus parallel to the direction of movement of the soil cultivation implement during the docking movement.Adjacent protective lamellae can have a distance between them which is less than the width of the contacting guide element, so that two adjacent protective lamellae slide equally on the same guide element, wherein a first protective lamella lies on a first inclined edge part of the guide element, and a second protective lamella lies on a second inclined edge part of the guide element which is opposite to the first edge part, i.e. slopes in the opposite direction.

[0021] In particular, the system is designed such that the electrical contacts, the extraction interface, the guide tracks, the functional surface, and the guide elements of the base station, arranged on the surface of the guide boom, are designed and arranged correspondingly to the electrical contacts, the extraction interface, the drive wheels, the at least one support roller, and the protective grille of the soil cultivation implement, such that a section of the implement housing advancing during the docking movement is lifted relative to the drive wheels by supporting the support roller on the ascending flank of the functional surface, and the protective grille, when the support roller subsequently supports the descending flank of the functional surface, comes into contact with the inclined edge sections of the guide elements and slides along them while continuing the docking movement until the electrical contacts and the extraction interface of the soil cultivation implement are in contact with theThe base station is connected to electrical contacts and the suction interface. To position the tillage implement on the base station, the base station thus has precise guide devices at several spatially separated locations for aligning the electrical contacts and preferably also suction interfaces of the tillage implement and the base station. Using the proposed mechanical guide geometries, the tillage implement can be moved into a precise end position on the guide arm of the base station.

[0022] For example, after completing a tillage operation, the implement moves towards the base station from an arbitrary, undefined angle. To adjust the angle between the implement's main direction of movement and the longitudinal extension of the base station's guide boom, the implement is steered into the guide boom's path as soon as one of its drive wheels contacts the edge of the working surface. Depending on the implement's angle, typically only one drive wheel initially makes contact with the guide boom's edge, which disrupts its forward movement and causes increased slippage.Since the other drive wheel can rotate freely, the soil cultivation implement rotates around the drive wheel contacting the flank until the soil cultivation implement has rotated far enough that the previously fixed drive wheel can also rotate again without increased resistance.

[0023] As the tillage implement moves onto the base station and thus onto the guide boom at a significantly reduced docking speed compared to normal working speed, the front of the implement is progressively raised by the functional surface. This occurs as the support roller, positioned on the underside of the implement housing, rolls across the surface. The incline of the functional surface is designed to raise the front of the implement sufficiently to ensure, for example, that the weight of the implement never rests on functional elements located within the tillage element and thus also the protective guard, such as sealing lips, which could otherwise lead to increased wear.

[0024] During the docking movement of the tillage implement, the implement's support roller rolls down the slope of the working surface, causing the leading front of the implement to descend. This allows the protective slats of the guard to engage the angled edge sections provided by the guide elements. The preceding, rough alignment of the tillage implement by the drive wheels being guided by the slope of the working surface ensures that the implement is already sufficiently aligned to guarantee that the guard's protective slats engage the angled edge section of the corresponding guide element, thus providing precise mechanical guidance perpendicular to the direction of the docking movement.The final position of the tillage implement, in which the electrical contacts and extraction interfaces of the tillage implement and base station are connected, is defined by the contact of the tillage implement's stop element with the end stop of the base station. If necessary, contact at the end stops of two guide elements of the base station occurs with a time delay when the tillage implement reaches the fine adjustment position with an angular difference. The final adjustment then takes place while the tillage implement's drive wheels continue to rotate until both end stops are in contact. As long as the tillage implement has not reached this docking position, the tillage implement's electrical contacts are held above the electrical contacts of the base station by the support roller located on the descent slope of the working surface.The drive wheels of the tillage implement continue to rotate until the docking movement is complete and can be detected by an electrically conductive connection between the electrical contacts of the base station and the tillage implement. The connection of the suction interfaces occurs simultaneously with the downward sliding of the support roller on the descent ramp, and thus also simultaneously with the connection of the electrical contacts. Brief description of the drawings

[0025] The invention will now be explained in more detail using exemplary embodiments. The figures shown are: Fig. 1 a system according to the invention consisting of a soil cultivation implement and a base station, Fig. 2 an oblique top view of the base station, Fig. 3 a bottom view of the soil cultivation implement, Fig. 4 a top view of a guide boom of the base station, Fig. 5 a first guide element, Fig. 6 a second guide element, Fig. 7 an enlarged section of the guide boom of the base station, Fig. 8 an enlarged section of the bottom view of the soil cultivation implement. Description of the embodiments

[0026] The figures show a possible embodiment of a system according to the invention, as well as a base station 1 according to the invention and a soil cultivation device 2 designed accordingly. However, it is understood that the base station 1 and the soil cultivation device 2 can also be designed differently, whereby it is essential that the base station 1 and the soil cultivation device 2 are designed to correspond to each other in such a way that the soil cultivation device 2 can dock optimally with the base station 1 in order to receive a service activity from the base station 1.

[0027] The floor cultivation device 2 is, for example, designed as a self-propelled cleaning robot, namely, for example, a vacuum robot. The floor cultivation device 2 has a floor cultivation element 26, namely, for example, a cleaning roller rotating about a horizontal axis, as well as two motor-driven drive wheels 16, which are aligned concentrically to each other. Furthermore, the floor cultivation device 2 has support rollers 18, which are arranged directly behind the floor cultivation element 26.

[0028] Furthermore, the tillage implement 2 has an accumulator (not shown) that supplies the energy required to drive the drive wheels 16 and the rotating tillage element 26, as well as potentially other electronic and electrical components of the tillage implement 2. The tillage implement 2 also has a control unit for navigation and self-localization within its environment, which receives data from an environmental detection device. The detection device may, for example, include a laser distance sensor that measures distances to obstacles in the vicinity of the tillage implement 2. From these distances, the control unit can then create an environmental map, which serves for navigation and self-localization of the tillage implement 2.In addition to the distance sensor, the soil cultivation device 2 may have other sensors, for example an odometry sensor which measures the movement of the soil cultivation device 2, one or more contact sensors, ultrasonic sensors or others.

[0029] The base station 1 has a base housing 3 and a guide boom 4 extending from the base housing 3 in a plate-like fashion onto a ground surface. The guide boom 4 provides a surface 5 onto which the soil cultivation implement 2 can drive and into a docked end position at the base station 1.

[0030] Figure 2Figure 1 shows the base station 1 with the guide boom 4 in a perspective top view. The guide boom 4 has a free end section, which is preferably beveled to facilitate the movement of the soil cultivation implement 2 over the guide boom 4. For example, consecutive surfaces 29, 30 of the guide boom 4 have inclines of 28° and 2°, respectively. A slope between 25° and 35° is particularly preferred for the first surface 29 to allow for easy access of the soil cultivation implement 2. Likewise, an edge running parallel to a longitudinal extension of the guide boom 4 is also beveled. The guide boom 4 provides several interfaces for coupling with the soil cultivation implement 2, namely two electrical contacts 6 and a suction interface 14.The electrical contacts 6 serve to connect to corresponding electrical contacts 7 on a subside 24 of a housing 23 of the soil cultivation device 2. The suction interface 14 serves to connect to a suction interface 25 of the soil cultivation device 2, so that material from a suction chamber (not shown) of the soil cultivation device 2 can be transferred to a corresponding suction chamber of the base station 1. Preferably, this suction chamber is located in the base housing 3 of the base station 1. The guide arm 4 provides 5 tracks 15 on its surface for the drive wheels 16 of the soil cultivation device 2, which force the soil cultivation device 2 in a predetermined direction onto the guide arm 4. Between the tracks 15, a functional surface 17 is formed that is raised above the plane of the tracks 15 and serves for the rolling of the support rollers 18 of the soil cultivation device 2.The functional surface 17 has flanks 22 which serve, on the one hand, to define the associated travel track 15, and on the other hand, to roughly align the tillage implement 2 relative to the guide boom 4 of the base station 1. If the tillage implement 2 approaches the guide boom 4 at an angle, such that the direction of rotation of the drive wheels 16 does not correspond to the orientation of the travel track 15, the leading drive wheel 16 first collides with the flank 22 of the functional surface 17. The tillage implement 2 is then rotated by the exclusive rotation of the other drive wheel 16 until both drive wheels 16 each contact a flank 22 of the functional surface 17. The tillage implement 2 can then follow the docking direction defined by the travel tracks 15.The flank 22 can have different angles to a longitudinal direction of the guide boom 4, for example, it can be divided into different sections that enclose differing angles to the longitudinal direction. In the docking direction, these angles are, for example, 37°, 11° and 0°.

[0031] The functional surface 17, on which the support rollers 18 roll, has a ramp 19 with an ascending flank 20 and a descending flank 21. Between the ascending flank 20 and the descending flank 21, the functional surface 17 is preferably horizontal. The descending flank 21 has an inclination of, for example, approximately 60° to the horizontal or to the plane of the plateau of the functional surface 17. The tracks 15 of the guide boom 4 also rise towards the end position on the guide boom 4 intended for the soil cultivation implement 2. Behind the descending flank 21 of the functional surface 17, the surface 5 of the guide boom 4 has two guide elements 8 arranged side by side, which serve for fine centering of the soil cultivation implement 2 on the base station 1. The guide elements 8 are in the Figures 5 and 6shown in more detail. Each of the guide elements 8 has a flat side 11, which opposes the docking movement of the soil cultivation implement 2, as well as side edges 9, each of which has an inclined edge section 10.1, 10.2. The guide elements 8 are located on the surface 5 of the guide boom 4, as shown in Figure 4The guide elements 8 are shown positioned relative to each other such that they are arranged symmetrically about a center line of the base station 1. The two longer inclined edge sections 10.1 of the guide elements 8 point outwards, i.e., away from each other, while the side edge 9 with the shorter inclined edge section 10.2 points inwards, i.e., towards the other guide element 8. An angle α between the surface 5 of the guide arm 4 and the longer inclined edge section 10.1 or the shorter edge section 10.2 is preferably between 30° and 60°, here, for example, 45° in each case. The further edge section 10.3 is perpendicular to the surface 5 of the guide arm 4.Furthermore, the guide elements 8 are not only angled transversely to the direction of movement of the soil cultivation implement 2, but also in the direction of movement, so that a partial area of ​​the soil cultivation implement 2 contacting the side edges 9 is optimally guided.

[0032] The Figures 3 and 8Figure 1 shows a bottom view of the soil cultivation implement 2. The implement housing 23, in particular the underside 24 of the soil cultivation implement 2, is designed correspondingly to the base station 1 such that the electrical contacts 7 and the suction interface 25 can be optimally connected to the elements of the base station 1. As previously shown, the soil cultivation implement 2 has two drive wheels 16, the soil cultivation element 26 designed as a rotating bristle roller, and two support rollers 18, which are arranged offset inwards with respect to the rolling tracks of the drive wheels 16. The soil cultivation element 26 is further covered by a protective grille 27, which is designed as shown in Figure 2. Figure 8The protective lamellae 28 are convexly curved outwards and aligned parallel to each other. Each protective lamella 28 is also assigned a stop element 13, which can abut the end stop 12 of the guide elements 8 as soon as the docked end position of the soil cultivation implement 2 is reached. As shown in particular in Figure 3 The arrangement of the components on the underside 24 of the housing 23 of the tillage implement 2 is shown such that the tillage element 26 with the protective grille 27 is positioned between the electrical contacts 7 and the support rollers 18. Furthermore, the support rollers 18 are located, relative to the direction of travel of the tillage implement 2, between the tillage element 26 and the drive wheels 16. The suction port 25 trails the tillage element 26 and the support rollers 18 and is located approximately midway between the two drive wheels 16.

[0033] The tracks 15 of the base station 1 can also be provided with a structure, such as studs or ribs, into which a corresponding structure on the rolling circumference of the respective drive wheel 16 can engage. This results in improved traction of the drive wheels 16 on the surface 5 of the guide boom 4. While the soil cultivation implement 2 rolls along the ascending tracks 15, the support rollers 18 also roll on the guide boom 4, specifically on the functional surface 17, which is raised above the tracks 15. Since the ramp 19 of the functional surface 17 has a steeper gradient than the tracks 15, the leading section of the soil cultivation implement 2, which also carries the soil cultivation element 26, is lifted.While the support rollers 18 are still on the ascending slope 20 of the ramp 19, the electrical contacts 7 and the soil cultivation element 26 with the protective grille 27 extend beyond the functional surface 17. As soon as the support rollers 18 then traverse the descending slope 21, the front of the soil cultivation implement 2, and thus also the protective grille 27, tilts downwards towards the guide elements 8, whereby the protective lamellae 28 of the protective grille 27 come into contact with the inclined edge sections 10.2. As the soil cultivation implement 2 continues to move in this state, the protective lamellae 28 are pushed over the inclined edge sections 10.2 and then slide downwards on the vertical edge sections 10.3.The protective lamellae 28 are simultaneously fine-tuned in a direction orthogonal to the docking movement until the stop elements 13 of the tillage implement 2 come into contact with the end stops 12 of the guide elements 8. In certain orientations of the tillage implement 2, the protective lamellae 28 of the protective grid 27 can initially lower onto the outer edge sections 10.1 of the guide elements 8. As the docking movement of the tillage implement 2 continues, the protective lamellae 28 can then extend beyond the highest point of the guide element 8 to the opposite edge sections 10.2, 10.3. Finally, the electrical contacts 7 of the tillage implement 2 are optimally connected to the electrical contacts 6 of the base station 1.Furthermore, the extraction interfaces 14, 25 of base station 1 and soil cultivation device 2 are optimally sealed together, particularly through the use of a gasket. The electrically conductive connection between the electrical contacts 6, 7 allows a detection device of the soil cultivation device 2 or the base station 1 to detect successful docking. List of reference symbols

[0034] 1 Base station 25 extraction interface 2 Soil cultivation equipment 26 Soil cultivation element 3 Base housing 27 Protective grille 4 Guide boom 28 Protective lamella 5 surface 29 Area 6 Electrical contact 30 Area 7 Electrical contact 8 Guide element 9 side edge α angle 10.1 Edge section area 10.2 Edge section area 10.3 Edge section area 11 Page 12 End stop 13 Stop element 14 extraction interface 15 lane 16 drive wheel 17 Functional area 18 support roller 19 ramp 20 Ascending slope 21 relegation flank 22 flank 23 Device housing 24 bottom

Claims

1. Base station (1) for performing a service operation on a floor-treatment device (2), wherein the base station (1) comprises a base housing (3) with a guiding extension (4) having a predominant longitudinal extent for guiding a docking movement of the floor-treatment device (2), wherein the guiding extension (4) has a surface (5) traversable by the floor-treatment device (2) and provided with at least two electrical contacts (6) for connection to corresponding electrical contacts (7) of the floor-treatment device (2), wherein, with respect to the docking movement of the floor-treatment device (2) directed along the longitudinal extent of the guiding extension (4), the surface (5) comprises two guide elements (8) arranged upstream of and spaced apart from the electrical contacts (6), characterized in that each guide element (8), as viewed in the direction of the longitudinal extent of the guiding extension (4), has a bevelled side edge (9) which comprises at least one inclined edge portion (10.1, 10.2) that is not oriented orthogonally to the surface (5) of the guiding extension (4), the inclined edge portion (10.1, 10.2) extending in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal extent of the guiding extension (4).Base station (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the inclined edge section (10.1, 10.2) forms an angle (α) between 30° and 60° with the surface (5) of the guide arm (4).

2. Base station (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the inclined edge portion (10.1, 10.2) forms an angle (α) of between 30° and 60° with the surface (5) of the guiding extension (4).

3. Base station (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that side edges (9) of the guide element (8) facing away from one another each comprise an inclined edge portion (10.1, 10.2).

4. Base station (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide element (8) comprises, on a side (11) facing opposite to the docking movement of the floor-treatment device (2), an end stop (12) for contacting a corresponding abutment element (13) of the floor-treatment device (2).

5. Base station (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surface (5) of the guiding extension (4) comprises a suction interface (14) which, with respect to the docking movement of the floor-treatment device (2) directed along the longitudinal extent of the guiding extension (4), is arranged upstream of the guide elements (8).

6. Base station (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surface (5) of the guiding extension (4) comprises travel tracks (15) for travel by respective drive wheels (16) of the floor-treatment device (2) and, between the travel tracks (15), a functional surface (17) projecting above the travel tracks (15) for travel by at least one support roller (18) of the floor-treatment device (2), the functional surface (17) having, in the direction of the docking movement of the floor-treatment device (2), a ramp (19) with an ascending flank (20) and a descending flank (21), the descending flank (21), with respect to the docking direction of the floor-treatment device (2), being arranged upstream of the guide elements (8).

7. Base station (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that each travel track (15) is laterally bounded by at least one flank (22) of the functional surface (17) extending in the longitudinal direction of the guiding extension (4).

8. System comprising a base station (1) according to any of claims 1 to 7 and a self-propelled floor-treatment device (2), wherein the floor-treatment device (2) comprises an appliance housing (23), a suction chamber, and a suction blower for drawing suction material into the suction chamber, wherein an underside (24) of the appliance housing (23) facing the guiding extension (4) of the base station (1) comprises two drive wheels (16), at least one support roller (18), at least two electrical contacts (7), a suction interface (25) in fluid communication with the suction chamber, a floor-treatment element (26), and a protective grille (27) covering the floor-treatment element (26) in the direction of the guiding extension (4) of the base station (1).

9. System according to claim 8, characterized in that the protective grille (27), in a position in which the floor-treatment device (2) is docked to the base station (1), comprises protective lamellas (28) oriented parallel to the longitudinal extent of the guiding extension (4), which lamellas (28) are assigned to the guide elements (8) of the guiding extension (4) in such a way that a protective lamella (28) slides along a bevelled side edge (9) of the guide element (8) while the floor-treatment device (2) travels on the guiding extension (4) in the docking direction.

10. System according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the electrical contacts (6), the suction interface (14), the travel tracks (15), the functional surface (17) and the guide elements (8) of the base station (1), arranged on the surface (5) of the guiding extension (4), are formed and arranged corresponding to the electrical contacts (7), the suction interface (25), the drive wheels (16), the at least one support roller (18) and the protective grille (27) of the floor-treatment device (2) such that a front portion of the appliance housing (23) leading in the docking movement is lifted, with the support roller (18) bearing on the ascending flank (20) of the functional surface (17), relative to the drive wheels (16), and the protective grille (27), upon subsequent support of the support roller (18) on the descending flank (21) of the functional surface (17), comes into contact with the inclined edge portions (10.1, 10.2) of the guide elements (8) and slides along these while the docking movement continues, until the electrical contacts (7) and the suction interface (25) of the floor-treatment device (2) are connected to the electrical contacts (6) and the suction interface (14) of the base station (1).

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