A NAVIGATIONAL CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A ROBOTIC DEVICE

• Main Authors: CHIAPPETTA, Mark J, JONES, Joseph L
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 15.08.2018
• Subjects: ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; CONTROLLING; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS; MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEARDIMENSIONS; PHYSICS; PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; REGULATING; SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES; TESTING

The invention relates to a robotic cleaning device comprising a chassis and an outer shell secured to the chassis to define a structural envelope of a height to enable movement of the robotic cleaning device under furniture, left and right main drive wheel assemblies and respective independent electric motors, independently mounted in pivotally-biased combination with the chassis for pivotal motion with respect thereto at opposed ends of the transverse diameter of the chassis, and movable between a retracted position under the weight of the robotic cleaning device during operation and an extended position wherein their axes of rotation are below the bottom plane of the chassis, a navigational control system operative to monitor movement activity of the robotic cleaning device within a defined working area, the monitored movement activity including at least one of a position history of the robotic cleaning device and an instantaneous position of the robotic cleaning device, and a transmitting subsystem including a transmitter laser. The transmitter laser is configured to redirect a transmitting element of the transmitter laser, to cover the defined working area by transmitting a beam substantially parallel to a surface of the defined working area, and is integrated in combination with a high point of a housing infrastructure of the robotic cleaning device so that none of the structural features of the robotic cleaning device interfere with operation of the transmitting element of the transmitter laser.