Floor cleaning system, floor cleaning apparatus, and method for operating a floor cleaning system or a floor cleaning apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing floor cleaning systems lack the ability to provide additional information regarding cleaning results and interactions with the environment, making it difficult to optimize cleaning paths and ensure effective cleaning operations.
Innovation Solution
The proposed floor cleaning system includes a self-driving and self-steering device equipped with a control unit, sensor unit, cleaning units, and display units. This system allows for the storage and display of cleaning paths linked to cleaning events and interaction events, providing additional information such as cleaning performance and environmental interactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If cleaning paths are stored with only basic navigation information, then the system is simple to operate, but additional information about cleaning events and interactions is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested data structure where cleaning path information contains nested cleaning event information, which in turn contains nested interaction event information. This hierarchical nesting allows comprehensive information storage while maintaining a manageable data structure that can be processed efficiently by the control unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a temporal dimension to the cleaning path data by associating cleaning events and interaction events with specific positions and timestamps along the cleaning path. This transforms the data from a simple 2D path representation to a multi-dimensional structure that includes spatial, temporal, and event-type dimensions, enabling comprehensive information retention without proportional increase in operational complexity.
2Productivity
If cleaning paths are displayed with detailed cleaning events and interaction events, then cleaning performance can be optimized, but the display complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where cleaning events and interaction events are displayed on the cleaning path to provide operators with real-time and historical information about cleaning performance. This feedback enables operators to identify areas requiring re-cleaning, understand interaction patterns with obstacles, and optimize future cleaning operations based on accumulated data from previous runs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the displayed information into distinct categories (cleaning events, interaction events, path segments) that can be independently controlled and displayed. This segmentation allows the display system to present detailed information in an organized manner, reducing perceived complexity while maintaining comprehensive information availability for performance optimization.
3Productivity
If the system stores and processes comprehensive cleaning event data, then cleaning path optimization is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary processing of cleaning event data during the cleaning operation itself, organizing and storing information in a structured format as events occur. This preliminary action reduces the computational burden during subsequent path optimization operations, as the data is already organized and ready for analysis, thereby reducing energy consumption during optimization cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements selective data processing where the level of detail stored and processed depends on predefined parameters such as cleaning importance, interaction type, and path segment criticality. By changing processing parameters dynamically based on situation, the system optimizes the balance between comprehensive data collection and energy consumption, focusing computational resources on the most relevant cleaning events.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a floor cleaning system comprising: a self-propelled and self-steering floor cleaning apparatus (10) for cleaning a floor surface (16); at least one controllable display unit (60, 120, 122); and at least one memory unit (46, 124, 126), wherein the floor cleaning apparatus (10) comprises a running gear (22) for travelling on a floor surface (16), a control unit (24), a sensor unit (44), at least one cleaning unit (26) and an operating unit (56), wherein surroundings can be detected by means of the sensor unit (44) in order to locate and/or navigate the floor cleaning apparatus (10), in particular during movement, wherein at least one cleaning path (68) on the floor surface (16) can be stored or is stored in the at least one memory unit (46, 124, 126), wherein the floor cleaning apparatus (10) is designed and configured to create a cleaning path (68), which can be stored in the memory unit (46, 124, 126), in a teaching mode of operation while being guided by an operator (66) at the operating unit (56), and wherein at least one cleaning event (92) relating in particular to the at least one cleaning unit (26), and/or at least one interaction event (90) relating to an interaction of the floor cleaning apparatus (10) with the surroundings (18) can be stored or is stored in the cleaning path (68) in a position-specific manner, and wherein the cleaning path (68) can be displayed on the at least one display unit (60, 120, 122) in a manner that is associated with the at least one cleaning event (92) and/or the at least one interaction event (90). The invention further relates to a floor cleaning apparatus and to a method for operating a floor cleaning system or a floor cleaning apparatus.