Robotic cleaning system with cleaning pad dryer

Abstract

A robotic cleaning system may include a user device, a robotic cleaner, and a docking station. The docking station may include a fan configured to dry at least a portion of the robotic cleaner. The fan may be configured to operate according to a drying operation. A duration of the drying operation may be based, at least in part, on a geographic location of the docking station.

Description

ROBOTIC CLEANING SYSTEM WITH CLEANING PAD DRYERCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63 / 545,882 filed on October 26, 2023, entitled Robotic Cleaner with Cleaning Pad Dryer, which is fully incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to robotic cleaning system and, more particularly, to a robotic cleaning system configured to dry a cleaning pad of a robotic cleaner.BACKGROUND

[0003] A surface cleaning apparatus may be used to clean a variety of surfaces using for example one or more of suction, agitators (e.g., a cleaning pad, a brush roll, and / or any other agitator) and / or the like. One example of a surface cleaning apparatus is a robotic cleaner. Robotic cleaners are configured to autonomously clean a surface (e.g., a floor). An example robotic cleaner is configured to carry out one or more cleaning behaviors while traversing the surface. In this example, the robotic cleaner may be configured to carry out a wet cleaning behavior using, for example, a mop pad.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Reference should be made to the following detailed description which should be read in conjunction with the following figures, wherein like numerals represent like parts.

[0005] FIG. 1A shows an example schematic view of a cleaning system, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0006] FIG. IB shows an example schematic view of a robotic cleaner, a user device, and a docking station, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0007] FIG. 2 shows a schematic example of a robotic cleaning system, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0008] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of an example method, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] The present disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The examples described herein may be capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it may be appreciated that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded aslimiting as such may be understood by one of skill in the art. Throughout the present description, like reference characters may indicate like structure throughout the several views, and such structure need not be separately discussed. Furthermore, any particular feature(s) of a particular exemplary embodiment may be equally applied to any other exemplary embodiment(s) of this specification as suitable. In other words, features between the various exemplary embodiments described herein are interchangeable, and not exclusive.

[0010] The present disclosure is generally directed to a robotic cleaning system having a robotic cleaner configured to dock with a docking station. The robotic cleaner may include a chassis, at least one drive wheel coupled to the chassis and configured to urge the robotic cleaner along a surface to be cleaned, and a pad assembly. The robotic cleaner may include one or more cleaning features including, for example, suction, mopping, steam, dusting, or any other type of cleaning feature. The pad assembly may include a cleaning pad (e.g., a wet cleaning pad) for collecting at least a portion of any debris present on the surface to be cleaned. The cleaning pad may be a dry pad, a wet pad, or a combination thereof.

[0011] When not active in a cleaning operation, the robotic cleaner may dock with the docking station. The docking station may, for example, electrically couple to the robotic cleaner to charge a battery in the robotic cleaner. The docking station may communicatively couple to the robotic cleaner to pass commands and data between the docking station and the robotic cleaner. The docking station may include an apparatus to wash the cleaning pad (e.g., after use in a wet cleaning operation). After washing the cleaning pad and / or after the robotic cleaner completes a wet cleaning operation, it may be advantageous to accelerate drying of the cleaning pad, especially when the robotic cleaning system is located in a location with high relative humidity (e.g., to mitigate and / or prevent pathogen growth). The docking station may be configured to accelerate drying of the cleaning pad, for instance, the docking station may include a fan configured to urge air to pass over the cleaning pad to accelerate drying the cleaning pad. When the robotic cleaner is coupled with the docking station upon completion of a wet cleaning operation, the docking station may employ the fan to accelerate drying the cleaning pad.

[0012] The relative humidity of the environment in which robotic cleaning systems are located varies across the globe. The robotic cleaning system disclosed herein may include a fan to urge air over the cleaning pad of the robotic cleaner after the cleaning pad has been washed on the dock and / or after the pad has been used in a wet cleaning operation. Should the robotic cleaning system be located in a dry climate the fan may not need to be run (or may be run for a shorter period of time); however, should the robotic cleaning system be located in a humidclimate, the fan may need to be run (or may need to be run for a longer period of time). Receiving a drying time from a user could lead to errors and ultimately user dissatisfaction.

[0013] Accordingly, it may be beneficial to automatically determine whether to run the fan to properly dry the cleaning pad after a wet cleaning operation and, if so, the duration of the drying operation. Disclosed herein is a method to determine a need for, and / or a duration of, a drying operation for the cleaning pad based on the relative humidity of the location in which the robotic cleaning system is located.

[0014] In an embodiment, the system includes an application that runs on a user device. The user device may be a smart phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, or any other device capable of running the application. In an embodiment, the user device may be connected to a network (e.g., the Internet) to allow the user device to determine the relative humidity via the network. In an embodiment, upon initial set up, the application can use the location of the user device (e.g., as determined from user input and / or one or more sensors) to determine whether the docking station fan should be set to run and / or a duration to run the fan for. The duration to run the fan (or a determination not to run the fan) may depend on cultural habits for a geographic location (e.g., presence of humidity generating elements such as plants, cooking features, etc.), likely humidity levels for a geographic location, and / or a likelihood that a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) installation is present (e.g., based on a geographic region). For example, in some geographic areas, spaces may not include an air conditioning system, potentially resulting in higher relative humidity within the space. In these geographic locations, using (and / or extending a runtime of) the fan in the docking station may be desirable to dry the cleaning pad. In some instances, the application may determine the relative humidity from the location of the user device using the network. For example, the application may determine the current local relative humidity from a weather service, or a typical relative humidity based on the average humidity for that geographic location based on a season or a current date. In an embodiment, the application may refer to look up tables (e.g., by continent or country) to set the duration of the drying operation for the fan (or determine to not run the fan) based on the location of the user device. In an embodiment, the application may continually adjust the fan controls based on humidity levels and an impact of the humidity levels on the duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad from weather forecasts retrieved from a local weather service.

[0015] In an embodiment, the application may determine if a home automation or home monitoring system is present in the location in which the robotic cleaning system is located. If the application determines that a home monitoring or home automation system is present, theapplication may retrieve relevant information, such as the local relative humidity, from the home monitoring system or home automation system, to determine whether the fan should be used to dry the cleaning pad and, if so, the duration of the drying operation.

[0016] FIG. 1 A shows a cleaning system 111 including a robotic cleaner 113, a user device 115 (e.g., a tablet, a desktop computer, a smart phone, etc.), and a docking station 117. The robotic cleaner 113 is configured to communicatively couple with the user device 115 via a first communication connection 105 and is configured to communicatively couple with the docking station 117 via a second communication connection 107. The first communication connection 105 may be different from the second communication connection 107. For example, the first communication connection 105 may be an electromagnetic communication connection (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.) and the second communication connection 107 may be an optical (e.g., infrared (IR), etc.) communication connection.

[0017] For example, in some instances, the user device 115 may be configured to transmit one or more of robot commands and / or dock commands to the robotic cleaner 113 using the first communication connection 105. In response to receiving a robot command, the robotic cleaner 113 may be configured to carry out a behavior (e.g., a cleaning behavior, a docking behavior, etc.) associated with the robot command. In response to receiving a dock command, the robotic cleaner 113 may be configured to transmit the dock command to the docking station 117 using the second communication connection 107. In other words, the robotic cleaner 113 may be configured to relay the dock command to the docking station 117. Additionally, or alternatively, in some instances, a third communication connection 109 may communicatively couple the docking station 117 with the user device 115 to relay, for example, a dock command to the docking station 117 and / or a robot command to the docking station 117 such that the docking station 117 may forward the robot command to the robotic cleaner 113.

[0018] One example of a dock command may include a drying command. The drying command is configured to cause the docking station 117 to execute a drying operation that is configured to encourage the drying of one or more moistened components (e.g., a mop pad) of the robotic cleaner 113. The drying command may further include augmentation instructions that are configured to augment one or more parameters of the drying operation (e.g., a duration), wherein the augmentation instructions may be based, at least in part, on environmental conditions (e.g., humidity, temperature, building capabilities, such as presence of air conditioning, room occupancy, etc.). In other words, the drying operation may have default operating parameters that may be augmented. Augmentation of the default operating parameters may include disabling the drying operation. A determination to disable the dryingoperation may be based, at least in part, on a determination that the moistened components may dry sufficiently via natural evaporation (e.g., a natural drying time is estimated to be sufficient to discourage bacterial growth, fungal growth, and / or any other pathogen growth).

[0019] FIG. IB shows a schematic view of an example of a robotic cleaner 100, which may be an example of the robotic cleaner 113 of FIG. 1A, configured to communicatively couple with an example user device 101, which may be an example of the user device 115 of FIG. 1A. The robotic cleaner 100 includes a chassis 102, one or more wheels 112 coupled to the chassis 102, a pad assembly 120, a wireless communication interface 160, a suction motor 150, robot charging contacts 164, a robot infrared (IR) module 162, one or more sensors 114, and a controller 118. The controller 118 may be communicatively coupled to, for example, one or more of the one or more wheels 112, the wireless communication interface 160, the suction motor 150, the robot charging contacts 164, the robot IR module 162, and / or the one or more sensors 114.

[0020] The suction motor 150 is configured to draw air and debris into the robotic cleaner 100. The robotic cleaner 100 may be further configured to autonomously clean a surface to be cleaned 180 (e.g., floor). For example, the one or more wheels 112 may be configured to urge the robotic cleaner 100 along the surface to be cleaned 180 in response to, for example, the controller 118 receiving one or more inputs from the one or more sensors 114. At least a portion of the pad assembly 120 may be removably coupled to the chassis 102. For example, the pad assembly 120 may include a fluid tank 126 and a cleaning pad 122, wherein the fluid tank 126 may be removably coupled to the chassis 102 and the cleaning pad 122 may be removably coupled to the fluid tank 126. The cleaning pad 122 is configured to contact the surface to be cleaned 180 while the robotic cleaner 100 is performing a wet cleaning operation. The one or more sensors 114 may include one or more navigation sensors or devices, such as a camera or Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor. The controller 118 may be, for example, a microcontroller or microprocessor, to control the autonomous cleaning of the surface to be cleaned 180.

[0021] In an embodiment, the wireless communications interface 160 may be configured as, for example, a Wi-Fi interface, a Bluetooth interface, a Zigbee interface, or a Z-Wave interface. In other embodiments, the wireless communications interface 160 may be configured to use any other appropriate communications protocol as would be known to one skilled in the art. In an embodiment, the robotic cleaner 100 may use the wireless communications interface 160 to communicate with the user device 101, e.g., with an application on the user device 101 to control the robotic cleaner 100.

[0022] In an embodiment, the user device 101 may be configured to obtain geographic location information related to the user device 101. For example, the user device 101 may obtain its geographic location using a global positioning (GPS) sensor, an internet protocol (IP) address, a user input, time zone information, and / or the like. The geographic information may be used, for example, to control one or more operations of a docking station 202 (e.g., a drying operation). For example, the geographic information may be used augment a drying operation of the docking station 202 (e.g., changing a duration of the drying operation and / or an intensity of the drying operation). In this example, the user device 101 , the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202 may be configured to determine the augmentations to the drying operation based, at least in part, on the geographic information. Use of geographic information to augment a drying operation may include a determination as to whether a given geographic location is expected to have certain environmental conditions (e.g., an expected relative humidity, a presence of air conditioning, etc.). For example, in geographic regions having a hotter climate air conditioning within domestic spaces may be more prevalent than in geographic regions having colder climates and, as such, the conditioned air may result in a lower relative humidity within the domestic space, which may allow for a duration of a drying operation to be shorter.

[0023] In an embodiment, the user device 101 may be configured to obtain weather information based, at least in part, on the geographic information. For example, the weather information obtained may be indicative of a relative humidity and / or temperature for a geographic region. The weather information may be used, for example, to control one or more operations of the docking station 202 (e.g., a drying operation). For example, the weather information may be used to augment a drying operation of the docking station 202 (e.g., changing a duration of the drying operation and / or an intensity of the drying operation). In this example, the user device 101, the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202 may be configured to determine the augmentations to the drying operation based, at least in part, on the weather information.

[0024] In an embodiment, the user device 101 may be configured to obtain environmental information from a building (e.g., a home) monitoring system (e.g., a network connected thermostat, a security system, etc.). For example, the user device 101 may be configured to obtain a temperature and / or relative humidity of a domestic space from a network connected thermostat and / or a room occupancy from a security system. By way of further example, the environmental information may include an indication of a presence of an HVAC system or a dehumidifier system for the space. In this example, the presence of an HVAC system or adehumidifier system may be obtained from the building monitoring system and / or from a user input. The environmental information may be used, for example, to control one or more operations of the docking station 202 (e.g., a drying operation). For example, the environmental information may be used to augment a drying operation of the docking station 202 (e.g., changing a duration of the drying operation and / or an intensity of the drying operation). In this example, the user device 101, the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202 may be configured to determine the augmentations to the drying operation based, at least in part, on the environmental information.

[0025] The robot IR module 162 may include an emitter 163, a receiver 165, or both the emitter 163 and the receiver 165. The robot IR module 162 may be configured to communicatively couple with a corresponding IR module in the docking station 202 to establish the second communication connection 107. In an embodiment, the robot IR module 162 may be configured to signal the docking station 202 to begin the drying operation to dry the cleaning pad 122, wherein the signal may be generated based, at least in part, on any augmentations.

[0026] In some instances, the robot IR module 162 may indicate to the docking station 202 that the robotic cleaner 100 has docked with the docking station 202. In response to receiving the indication that the robot cleaner 100 has docked with the docking station 202, the docking station 202 may be configured to carry out the drying operation. For example, the docking station 202 may be caused to carry out the drying operation for a predetermined time. In some instances, the robot IR module 162 may indicate to the docking station 202 that the robotic cleaner 100 has docked with the docking station 202 and transmit to the docking station 202 instructions to start a drying operation (or a drying command), wherein the instructions may include one or more drying operation augmentations. The drying operation may be carried out for a predetermined time, wherein the predetermined time may be adjusted by the one or more drying operation augmentations.

[0027] In some instances, the robot IR module 162 may be configured to transmit a drying operation start and a drying operation stop signal to the docking station 202, wherein the drying operation start signal starts a drying operation and the drying operation stop signal stops the drying operation. As such, the drying operation may be augmented (e.g., a duration of the drying operation) by adjusting the elapsed time between the transmission of the drying operation start signal and the transmission of the drying operation stop signal.

[0028] As shown, the robotic cleaner 100 includes a set of robot charging contacts 164. In an embodiment, the robotic cleaner 100 uses the robot charging contacts 164 to electricallycouple to the docking station 202 to enable the docking station 202 to charge the batteries in the robotic cleaner 100. In some embodiments, the robot charging contacts 164 may also communicatively couple the robotic cleaner 100 to the docking station 202. In these embodiments, the robotic cleaner 100 may communicate with the docking station 202 to pass commands and data between the robotic cleaner 100 and the docking station 202. For example, the robotic cleaner 100 may communicate with the user device 101 using the wireless communication interface 160 and the robotic cleaner may use the robot charging contacts 164 to communicate instructions to start a drying operation to the docking station 202.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of an example of a robotic cleaning system 200, which may be an example of the robotic cleaning system 111 of FIG. 1A, that includes the robotic cleaner 100, the docking station 202, which may be an example of the docking station 1 17 of FIG. 1A, and the user device 101. As shown, the docking station 202 includes a fan 204 that is configured to urge air over at least a portion of the robotic cleaner 100. For example, the fan may be configured to urge air over the cleaning pad 122 of the pad assembly 120 to accelerate drying of the cleaning pad 122. When drying at least a portion of the robotic cleaner 100 (e.g., the cleaning pad 122) the fan 204 may be configured to operate according to a drying operation. A duration of the drying operation may be varied to, for example, improve drying. In one example, a duration of the drying operation may be based, at least in part, on a geographic location of the docking station 202 (e.g., as determined using the user device 101). The geographic location of the docking station 202 may be used to obtain weather information (e.g., relative humidity), estimate expected environmental conditions (e.g., a likelihood of a presence of air conditioning within homes in a region), and / or the like.

[0030] In some instances, the docking station 202 may include a humidity sensor 206 configured to measure, for example, a humidity of a surrounding environment. The measured humidity may be used to augment a drying operation. In some instances, the docking station 202 may also include a pad washing system 208 configured to wash the cleaning pad 122 (e.g., using water and / or a cleaning solution).

[0031] The docking station 202 may include a dock communications interface 260. In an embodiment, the dock communications interface 260 may be configured as a wired interface, such as an Ethernet network interface, or a wireless interface such as, but not limited to, a WiFi interface, a Bluetooth interface, a Zigbee interface, or a Z-Wave interface. In other embodiments, the dock communications interface 260 may be configured to use any other appropriate communications protocol as would be known to one skilled in the art. In anembodiment, the docking station 202 may use the dock communications interface 260 to communicate with the user device 101 (e.g., with an application on the user device 101).

[0032] In an embodiment, the docking station 202 may include a dock IR module 262. The dock IR module 262 may include an emitter 263, a receiver 265, or both the emitter 263 and the receiver 265. The dock IR module 262 may be configured to communicatively couple with the robot IR module 162 in the robotic cleaner 100. In an embodiment, the dock IR module 262 may be configured to receive a signal from the robotic cleaner 100 to control the fan 204 to dry the cleaning pad 122 pursuant to a drying operation. In some instances, the dock IR module 262 may receive a signal indicating that the robotic cleaner 100 has docked with the docking station 202, and, in response to receiving the signal that the robotic cleaner 100 has docked with the docking station 202, cause the fan 204 to run for a predetermined length of time pursuant to a drying operation. In some instances, the predetermined length of time may be adjusted to augment the drying operation, wherein the adjusted time may be transmitted from the robot IR module 162 to the dock IR module 262. In some instances, the dock IR module 262 may receive an indication from the robotic cleaner 100 to turn on the fan 204 and, subsequently, may receive an indication from the robotic cleaner 100 to turn off the fan 204 after a period of time, wherein the elapsed time between turning the fan on and off may be adjusted to augment the drying operation.

[0033] As shown, the docking station 202 includes a set of dock charging contacts 264. In an embodiment, the docking station 202 may use the dock charging contacts 264 to electrically couple to the robotic cleaner 100 via the robot charging contacts 164 to enable the docking station 202 to charge the batteries in the robotic cleaner 100. In some embodiments, the dock charging contacts 264 may also communicatively couple the docking station 202 to the robotic cleaner 100. In these embodiments, the docking station 202 may communicate with the robotic cleaner 100 to pass commands and data between the docking station 202 and the robotic cleaner 100. For example, the robotic cleaner 100 may communicate with the user device 101 using the wireless communication interface 160 and the robotic cleaner 100 may use the robot charging contacts 164 to communicate instructions to start the fan 204 to the docking station 202.

[0034] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example method 300 for drying the cleaning pad 122 of the robotic cleaner 100 using the docking station 202 and user device 101. One or more steps of the method 300 may be embodied as one or more instructions stored in one or more memories, wherein the one or more instructions are configured to be executed on one or more processors. For example, one or more steps of the method 300 may be stored in one or morememories and executed on one or more processors of one or more of the user device 101, the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202. In this example, one or more of the controller 118 of the robotic cleaner 100, a controller 119 (FIG. IB) of the user device 101, and / or a controller 121 of the docking station 202 may carry out one or more steps of the method 300. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more steps of the method 300 may be carried out in any combination of software, firmware, or circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit) on one or more of the user device 101, the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202.

[0035] As shown, the method 300 may include a step 302. The step 302 includes causing (e.g., using the controller 118) the robotic cleaner 100 to dock with the docking station 202.

[0036] The method 300 may further include a step 304. The step 304 includes obtaining geographic information, weather information, environmental information, and / or humidity information using one or more of the user device 101, the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202. For example, the user device 101 may be configured to determine a geographic location of the user device 101 using, for example, a GPS sensor and / or an IP address.

[0037] The method 300 may further include a step 306. The step 306 may include augmenting a drying operation of the docking station 202 based, at least in part, on one or more of the geographic information, the weather information, the environmental information, and / or the humidity information. One or more of the user device 101, the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202 may be configured to augment at least a portion of the drying operation. For example, the user device 101 may be configured to determine the augmentation to the drying operation and to cause the augmentations to be transmitted to the docking station 202 (e.g., directly or via the robotic cleaner 100). The augmentations may include, for example, changes to duration and / or fan speed.

[0038] For example, the user device 101 may be configured to determine a geographic location of the user device 101 and based, at least in part, on the geographic location determine a likelihood of the docking station 202 being within a conditioned space (e.g., having an air conditioning system). If the docking station 202 is determined to likely be within a conditioned space, one or more of the user device 101 , the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202 may augment the drying operation to last for a first predetermined time. If the docking station 202 is determined to unlikely be within a conditioned space one or more of the user device 101, the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202 may augment the drying operation to last for a second predetermined time, the second predetermined time being greaterthan the first predetermined time (the first predetermined time may be greater than or equal to zero). Determination of the likelihood of being within a conditioned space may be made using, for example, a lookup table, wherein the lookup table associates a likelihood of a space being conditioned with a geographic location of the space. For example, in some countries (or some continents), a prevalence of conditioned spaces may be greater than in other countries (or other continents). In this example, the use of the first or second predetermined times may be based, at least in part, on a country (or continent) within which the user device 101 is located.

[0039] By way of further example, the user device 101 may be configured to determine weather information corresponding to the location of the user device 101. For example, the user device 101 may be configured to communicate with a weather service to obtain weather information. The weather information may include humidity information, precipitation information, and / or temperature information. For example, if the humidity information is determined to be equal to and / or below a threshold, one or more of the user device 101, the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202 may augment the drying operation to last for a first predetermined time. If the humidity information is determined to be equal to and / or above a threshold, one or more of the user device 101, the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202 may augment the drying operation to last for a second predetermined time, the second predetermined time being greater than the first predetermined time (the first predetermined time may be greater than or equal to zero).

[0040] By way of still further example, the user device 101 may be configured to communicate with a building monitoring system (e.g., a network connected thermostat, a security system, etc.) to obtain environmental information (e.g., a temperature or a humidity of a domestic space within which the docking station 202 is located). Based, at least in part, on the environmental information, one or more of the user device 101, the robotic cleaner 100, and / or the docking station 202 may augment the drying operation.

[0041] By way of still further example, the user device 101 may be configured to receive one or more of the geographic information, the weather information, the environmental information, and / or the humidity information from a user input. In this example, a user may be prompted by the user device 101 to indicate whether the space where the docking station 202 is located is air conditioned.

[0042] The method 300 may further include a step 308. The step 308 includes causing the docking station 202 to carry out the drying operation. Causing the docking station 202 to carry out the drying operation may include causing the robot IR module 162 to transmit at least one drying command signal to the dock IR module 262. The drying command signal may includeinstructions corresponding to the drying operation and / or augmentations to be applied to the drying operation such that the docking station 202 may augment the drying operation.

[0043] For example, the docking station 202 may include a default drying operation, wherein, in response to receiving a drying command signal having augmentations, the docking station 202 may augment the default drying operation based, at least in part, on the augmentations. In this example, if a drying command signal is sent without receiving any augmentations (e.g., as a result of an inability to obtain the geographic information, weather information, environmental information, and / or humidity information), the docking station 202 may be configured to carry out the default drying operation.

[0044] By way of further example, the robotic cleaner 100 may be configured to transmit a drying operation start signal and a drying operation stop signal. The elapsed time between the transmission of the drying operation start signal and the drying operation stop signal may be based, at least in part, the geographic information, weather information, environmental information, and / or humidity information, which results in augmenting a duration of the drying operation.

[0045] Augmentations to the drying operation may include, for example, changes in duration of the drying operation, changes in a speed of the fan 204 (e.g., pulsing the fan 204, increasing the speed of the fan 204, and / or decreasing the speed of the fan 204), and / or the like. In some instances, an augmentation to the drying operation may include disabling the drying operation (e.g., in response to determining the relative humidity is below a predetermined threshold). In these instances, the user may avoid being exposed to unnecessary noise generated by the fan 204 for purposes of drying the cleaning pad 122 if use of the fan 204 is determined to be unnecessary to dry the cleaning pad 122 (e.g., the cleaning pad 122 is estimated to dry sufficiently via natural evaporation). For example, the drying operation may be disabled by setting a duration of the drying operation (e.g., a run-time of the fan 204) to zero.

[0046] An example of a robotic cleaning system, consistent with the present disclosure, may include a user device; a docking station having a fan; a robotic cleaner configured to communicatively couple to the docking station and to communicatively couple to the user device; and a pad assembly removably coupled to the robotic cleaner, the pad assembly including a cleaning pad for contacting a surface to be cleaned, where upon completion of a wet cleaning operation, the fan is configured to urge air over the cleaning pad to perform a drying operation; and a duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad is determined by the user device.

[0047] Another example of a robotic cleaning system, consistent with the present disclosure, may include a user device, a robotic cleaner, and a docking station. The docking station may include a fan configured to dry at least a portion of the robotic cleaner. The fan may be configured to operate according to a drying operation. A duration of the drying operation may be based, at least in part, on a geographic location of the docking station.

[0048] In some instances, the geographic location may be used to obtain weather information for the geographic location. In some instances, the weather information may include a relative humidity. In some instances, the geographic location may be used to estimate expected environmental conditions. In some instances, the expected environmental conditions may include a presence of an air conditioning system. In some instances, the robotic cleaner may include a cleaning pad and the fan is configured to dry the cleaning pad.

[0049] Another example of a robotic cleaning system, consistent with the present disclosure, may include a user device, a docking station having a fan, a robotic cleaner configured to communicatively couple to the docking station and to communicatively couple to the user device, and a pad assembly removably coupled to the robotic cleaner, the pad assembly including a cleaning pad for contacting a surface to be cleaned. The fan may be configured to operate according a drying operation that urges air over the cleaning pad. A duration of the drying operation may be determined by the user device.

[0050] In some instances, the user device may be configured to determine the duration of the drying operation based, at least in part, on a relative humidity. In some instances, the duration of the drying operation may be determined based, at least in part, on a geographic location of the robotic cleaning system. In some instances, the duration of the drying operation may be determined based, at least in part, on a relative humidity obtained from a weather service. In some instances, the duration of the drying operation may be determined based, at least in part, on a typical relative humidity for a geographic location of the robotic cleaning system during a season or on a current date. In some instances, the duration of the drying operation may be determined from a look up table. In some instances, the duration of the drying operation may be adjusted based on humidity levels obtained from weather forecasts retrieved from a local weather service. In some instances, the duration of the drying operation may be determined based on a relative humidity retrieved from a home monitoring system or a home automation system.

[0051] Another example of a robotic cleaning system, consistent with the present disclosure, may include a user device, a robotic cleaner, a pad assembly removably coupled to the robotic cleaner, the pad assembly including a cleaning pad, and a docking station. Thedocking station may include a fan configured to dry at least a portion of the robotic cleaner. The fan may be configured to operate according to a drying operation. A duration of the drying operation may be based, at least in part, on a geographic location of the docking station, wherein the geographic location of the docking station is determined using the user device.

[0052] In some instances, the geographic location may be used to obtain weather information for the geographic location. In some instances, the weather information may include a relative humidity. In some instances, the geographic location may be used to estimate expected environmental conditions. In some instances, the expected environmental conditions may include a presence of an air conditioning system. In some instances, the fan may be configured to dry the cleaning pad.

[0053] Another example of a robotic cleaning system, consistent with the present disclosure, may include a user device, a docking station having a fan, a robotic cleaner configured to communicatively couple to the docking station and to communicatively couple to the user device, and a pad assembly removably coupled to the robotic cleaner, the pad assembly including a cleaning pad for contacting a surface to be cleaned. Upon completion of a wet cleaning operation, the fan may be configured to urge air over the cleaning pad to perform a drying operation. A duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad may be determined by the user device.

[0054] In some instances, the user device may include an application to determine the duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad based on a relative humidity. In some instances, the duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad is determined by the user device may further include receive the duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad from the user device, wherein the duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad is determined from a geographic location of the robotic cleaning system. In some instances, the duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad may be determined from a relative humidity obtained from a local weather service. In some instances, the duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad may be determined from a typical relative humidity based on an average humidity for a geographic location based on a season or a current date. In some instances, the duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad may be determined from a look up table to set the duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad based on the geographic location of the user device. In some instances, the duration of the drying operation for the cleaning pad may be continuously adjusted based on humidity levels obtained from weather forecasts retrieved from a local weather service. In some instances, the duration of thedrying operation for the cleaning pad may be determined based on a local relative humidity retrieved from a home monitoring system or a home automation system.

[0055] As used in this application and in the claims, a list of items joined by the term “and / or” can mean any combination of the listed items. For example, the phrase “A, B, and / or C” can mean A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; or A, B, and C. As used in this application and in the claims, a list of items joined by the term “at least one of’ can mean any combination of the listed terms. For example, the phrases “at least one of A, B, or C” can mean A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; or A, B, and C.

[0056] The foregoing description of example embodiments has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of this disclosure. It is intended that the scope of the present disclosure be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.

[0057] It will be appreciated that any block diagrams, flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudocode, and the like may represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown. Software modules, or simply modules which are implied to be software, may be represented herein as any combination of flowchart elements or other elements indicating performance of process steps and / or textual description. Such modules may be executed by hardware that is expressly or implicitly shown.

[0058] The functions of the various elements shown in the figures, including any functional blocks labeled as a controller or processor, may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. The functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of the term controller or processor should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, network processor, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), read-only memory (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage. Other hardware, conventional and / or custom, may also be included.

[0059] Unless otherwise stated, use of the word “substantially” may be construed to include a precise relationship, condition, arrangement, orientation, and / or other characteristic, anddeviations thereof as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, to the extent that such deviations do not materially affect the disclosed methods and systems. Throughout the entirety of the present disclosure, use of the articles “a’' and / or “an” and / or “the” to modify a noun may be understood to be used for convenience and to include one, or more than one, of the modified noun, unless otherwise specifically stated. The terms “comprising,” “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.

[0060] Although the methods and systems have been described relative to a specific embodiment thereof, they are not so limited. Obviously, many modifications and variations may become apparent in light of the above teachings. Many additional changes in the details, materials, and arrangement of parts, herein described and illustrated, may be made by those skilled in the art.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A robotic cleaning system comprising: a user device; a robotic cleaner; and a docking station, the docking station including a fan configured to dry at least a portion of the robotic cleaner, the fan being configured to operate according to a drying operation, wherein a duration of the drying operation is based, at least in part, on a geographic location of the docking station.

2. The robotic cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the geographic location is used to obtain weather information for the geographic location.

3. The robotic cleaning system of claim 2, wherein the weather information includes a relative humidity.

4. The robotic cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the geographic location is used to estimate expected environmental conditions.

5. The robotic cleaning system of claim 4, wherein the expected environmental conditions include a presence of an air conditioning system.

6. The robotic cleaning system of claim 1 , wherein the robotic cleaner includes a cleaning pad and the fan is configured to dry the cleaning pad.

7. A robotic cleaning system comprising: a user device; a docking station having a fan; a robotic cleaner configured to communicatively couple to the docking station and to communicatively couple to the user device; and a pad assembly removably coupled to the robotic cleaner, the pad assembly including a cleaning pad for contacting a surface to be cleaned, wherein:the fan is configured to operate according a drying operation that urges air over the cleaning pad; and a duration of the drying operation is determined by the user device.

8. The robotic cleaning system of claim 7, wherein the user device is configured to determine the duration of the drying operation based, at least in part, on a relative humidity.

9. The robotic cleaning system of claim 7, wherein the duration of the drying operation is determined based, at least in part, on a geographic location of the robotic cleaning system.

10. The robotic cleaning system of claim 7, wherein the duration of the drying operation is determined based, at least in part, on a relative humidity obtained from a weather service.

11. The robotic cleaning system of claim 7, wherein the duration of the drying operation is determined based, at least in part, on a typical relative humidity for a geographic location of the robotic cleaning system during a season or on a current date.

12. The robotic cleaning system of claim 11, wherein the duration of the drying operation is determined from a look up table.

13. The robotic cleaning system of claim 7, wherein the duration of the drying operation is adjusted based on humidity levels obtained from weather forecasts retrieved from a local weather service.

14. The robotic cleaning system of claim 7, wherein the duration of the drying operation is determined based on a relative humidity retrieved from a home monitoring system or a home automation system.

15. A robotic cleaning system comprising: a user device; a robotic cleaner; a pad assembly removably coupled to the robotic cleaner, the pad assembly including a cleaning pad; anda docking station, the docking station including a fan configured to dry at least a portion of the robotic cleaner, the fan being configured to operate according to a drying operation, wherein a duration of the drying operation is based, at least in part, on a geographic location of the docking station, wherein the geographic location of the docking station is determined using the user device.

16. The robotic cleaning system of claim 15, wherein the geographic location is used to obtain weather information for the geographic location.

17. The robotic cleaning system of claim 16, wherein the weather information includes a relative humidity.

18. The robotic cleaning system of claim 15, wherein the geographic location is used to estimate expected environmental conditions.

19. The robotic cleaning system of claim 18, wherein the expected environmental conditions include a presence of an air conditioning system.

20. The robotic cleaning system of claim 15, wherein the fan is configured to dry the cleaning pad.

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