Regular household cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Household cleaning robots do not effectively differentiate between areas of varying usage and soiling intensity, leading to over-cleaning of less used areas and under-cleaning of more soiled areas.
Innovation Solution
A method to divide a household into multiple areas with individually determined cleaning frequencies and intensities, allowing the robot to adjust its cleaning schedule based on area-specific needs without requiring soiling sensors, using a combination of time-based intervals and energy management to optimize cleaning efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If uniform cleaning frequency is applied to all areas, then cleaning schedule is simple to manage, but cleaning effectiveness varies across different usage areas
Solution Approach 1:
The household floor is divided into multiple areas with different usage characteristics. Each area is assigned a specific cleaning frequency based on its usage intensity, allowing differential cleaning schedules rather than uniform cleaning across the entire household.
Solution Approach 2:
Different cleaning frequencies are assigned to different areas based on their local usage characteristics. High-traffic areas receive more frequent cleaning while low-traffic areas receive less frequent cleaning, optimizing cleaning effectiveness for each specific location.
2Reliability
If high-traffic areas are cleaned more frequently, then cleaning effectiveness improves, but energy consumption and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning system segments the household into multiple areas and applies different cleaning frequencies to each segment. This allows concentrated cleaning resources on high-traffic areas while reducing or eliminating cleaning in low-traffic areas, optimizing energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning frequency parameter is varied across different areas based on usage intensity. By changing this parameter locally rather than uniformly, the system achieves effective cleaning where needed while minimizing unnecessary energy consumption in areas that require less frequent cleaning.
3Reliability
If intensive cleaning is applied uniformly, then all areas are thoroughly cleaned, but time and energy resources are wasted on already clean areas
Solution Approach 1:
The household is segmented into areas with different cleaning frequency requirements. This segmentation allows the cleaning robot to focus intensive cleaning on areas that need it while reducing or skipping cleaning in areas that are already sufficiently clean, thereby reducing total cleaning time.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying full cleaning intensity uniformly across all areas, the system applies partial cleaning action to low-traffic areas and excessive (intensive) cleaning action to high-traffic areas. This optimized distribution of cleaning effort reduces overall time consumption while maintaining appropriate cleanliness levels.
Data Source
AI summary
A robot is configured to move around a household and to perform a cleaning function. The household is divided into several areas, with cleaning frequencies assigned to the respective areas. A method for controlling the robot includes controlling the cleaning of each area in dependence on the cleaning frequency assigned to it.