Method of controlling a robotic floor cleaning machine

Abstract

A method of controlling a robotic floor cleaning machine includes driving, by an operator, the robotic floor cleaning machine along a transport path and a cleaning path. The transport path defines a path for transport of the robotic floor cleaning machine without active cleaning and the cleaning path defines a path for a cleaning operation. The method further includes recording the transport path and the cleaning path driven by the operator; defining, in a controller of the robotic floor cleaning machine, a route comprising the recorded transport path and the recorded cleaning path, and defining the cleaning operation. The robotic floor cleaning machine executes the defined route and the cleaning operation.

The claimed invention is: 
     
         1 . A robotic floor cleaning machine comprising:
 a chassis configured to be connected to wheels;   a propulsion system connected to the chassis to provide movement of the chassis along a cleaning path;   a primary cleaning mechanism mounted to the chassis to perform a cleaning operation;   a control system configured to control autonomous movement of the chassis along the cleaning path in an area to be cleaned and autonomous performance of the cleaning operation;   a navigation system comprising sensors operatively connected to electronics of the control system to facilitate autonomous guidance of the robotic floor cleaning machine, wherein at least one of the sensors is configured to determine the presence of objects in a route of the cleaning path, and at least one of the sensors is configured to sense a location of the machine relative to surroundings of the machine, wherein the control system and the navigation system are configured to build a map for navigation of the floor cleaning machine using data from the sensors.   
     
     
         2 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , wherein at least one sensor is configured to detect positional data of the wheels, and wherein a location of an object is plotted relative to a location of the robotic floor cleaning machine using the positional data of the wheels, and wherein the control system and the navigation system are configured to build the map for navigation based on the plotted location of the object relative to the location of the machine. 
     
     
         3 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 2 , wherein the control system is configured to process the positional data and the plotted location of the object in order to avoid the object. 
     
     
         4 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , wherein at least one sensor is configured to provide the navigation system with distance data to an object, shape information of an object, or depth information to an object, and wherein the control system and the navigation system are configured to build the map for navigation of the machine based on at least one of the distance data to an object, the shape information of an object, and the depth information to an object. 
     
     
         5 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to determine at least one of whether a detected object should be cleaned, whether a detected object should be avoided, and whether an operator should be notified, and wherein the control system is further configured to build the map for navigation based on the determination of the at least one of whether a detected object should be cleaned, whether a detected object should be avoided, and whether an operator should be notified. 
     
     
         6 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to control at least one of the cleaning operation and the autonomous movement of the machine based on the sensor data. 
     
     
         7 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to direct the machine to a location of an identified object to again attempt to clean that portion of a floor at the location. 
     
     
         8 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , wherein the sensors are configured to provide the navigation system operatively connected to electronics of the control system multiple reference points to build the map for navigation of the machine to prevent the machine from at least one of entering areas that the machine should not enter and impacting objects that the machine should not impact. 
     
     
         9 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , wherein the sensors comprise one or more of: an optical sensor, a distance sensor, a laser scanner, a personnel sensor, a floor type sensor, and a vibration sensor. 
     
     
         10 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , wherein the machine is configured to autonomously drive itself. 
     
     
         11 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , wherein the sensors include a floor type sensor configured to distinguish between floor surfaces, and the control system is configured to include instructions for at least one of the autonomous movement and the cleaning operation based on the detected floor type. 
     
     
         12 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a liquid system mounted to the chassis to provide cleaning liquid to the primary cleaning mechanism; and   a recovery system mounted to the chassis to recover liquid from the cleaning operation;   and wherein the control system is configured to control the cleaning operation to be performed by the liquid system based on the data from the sensors.   
     
     
         13 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is connected to electronics programmed to generate mapping of locations that the robotic floor cleaning machine has visited, and a route of the cleaning path can be recorded in a mapped area for the cleaning operation. 
     
     
         14 . The robotic floor cleaning machine of  claim 1 , wherein the machine comprises a graphical user interface panel and wherein the graphical user interface is configured to visually communicate an intended route for a cleaning path of the robotic floor cleaning machine from the control system. 
     
     
         15 . A control system for a robotic floor cleaning machine configured to perform a cleaning operation along a cleaning path, the control system comprising:
 a controller configured to control autonomous movement of the robotic floor cleaning machine along the cleaning path and autonomous performance of the cleaning operation;   a navigation system comprising sensors operatively connected to electronics of the control system to facilitate autonomous guidance of the robotic floor cleaning machine, wherein at least one of the sensors is configured to determine the presence of objects in a route of the cleaning path, and at least one of the sensors is configured to sense a location of the machine relative to surroundings of the machine, wherein the control system is configured to build a map for navigation of the floor cleaning machine using data from the sensors.   
     
     
         16 . A method of controlling a robotic floor cleaning machine, the method comprising:
 controlling, using a control system of the machine, autonomous movement of a chassis of the machine along a cleaning path in an area to be cleaned and autonomous performance of a cleaning operation by a primary cleaning mechanism mounted to a chassis of the machine;   determining, using at least one sensor of the machine, the presence of objects in a route of the cleaning path;   sensing, using at least one sensor of the machine, a location of the machine relative to surroundings of the machine; and   building, using the control system and a navigation system of the machine and using data from the sensors, a map for navigation of the floor cleaning machine.