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

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing self-propelled soil cultivation equipment docking systems face misalignment issues due to contact between adjustment elements only occurring in the final position, limiting fine-tuning and potentially causing misalignment.

Innovation Solution

The base station features guide elements with chamfered side edges and a fine adjustment mechanism, allowing precise mechanical guidance of the tillage implement orthogonal to the docking direction, ensuring optimal alignment of electrical contacts and suction interfaces before final contact.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Device complexity

If adjustment elements (ribs and recesses) only contact in the final docking position, then the docking structure is simple, but the alignment precision deteriorates due to limited fine-tuning range and time

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedocking structureVSAvoidalignment precision
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The guide elements with chamfered side edges perform preliminary alignment action during the approach phase, before the final docking position is reached. The chamfered surfaces guide the cleaning device laterally into proper alignment as it approaches, enabling fine-tuning to occur over an extended time and distance range rather than only at the final moment of contact.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Manufacturing precision

If guide elements are positioned in front of electrical contacts with chamfered side edges, then alignment precision is improved through extended fine-tuning, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvealignment precisionVSAvoidguide element structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The guide elements are equipped with chamfered side edges at specific local positions (the leading edges facing the approach direction), while other portions of the docking structure remain simple. This localized application of complexity only where needed for alignment guidance minimizes the overall increase in device complexity while achieving the alignment precision improvement.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4070704B1Base station for a floor treating device and system comprising a base station and floor treating device
Publication Date: 2026.01.07 VORWERK & CO INTERHOLDING GMBH
  • EP4070704B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4070704B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP4070704B1 patent drawingFigure 4~6

AI summary

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).