Patent ID: 11927966
Assignee: VORWERK & CO. INTERHOLDING GMBH
Field: Control (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  G | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. An automatically moving floor treatment appliance (1) comprising:
an appliance housing (2),
a drive (3) configured for moving the floor treatment appliance (1) within a surrounding area,
a plurality of fall sensors (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) arranged on an underside (7) of the appliance housing (2) facing a surface (6), the plurality of fall sensors being configured to detect a distance (a) of the floor treatment appliance (1) from the surface (6), and
a computing means (5), which is configured to compare the distance (a) detected by the fall sensors (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) with a threshold value defining a slope (16) and, in the event that the detected distance (a) is greater than the defined threshold value, to determine the presence of a slope (16) as a detection result, and to transmit a control command for changing a movement of the floor treatment appliance (1) to the drive means (3),
wherein, the plurality of fall sensors (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) are arranged one behind the other in a direction of a circumferential contour (17) of the underside (7),
wherein the computing means (5) is configured to compare a detection result of one of the fall sensors (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) with a known reference result, and, in the event that the detection result does not correspond with the reference result, to determine a malfunctioning of a leading one of the fall sensors (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15),
wherein the computing means (5) is configured to compare distances (a) detected chronologically successively by the same fall sensor (12, 13, 14, 15) during a movement of the floor treatment appliance (1) with one another, and, when the distances (a) are identical, to determine a malfunctioning of the same fall sensor (12, 13, 14, 15), and/or wherein the computing means (5) is configured to compare a detection result of the leading fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) with a detection result of at least another one of the fall sensors (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) trailing the leading fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) in the direction of movement, and when the trailing fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) detects a slope (16) without the leading fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) having detected the slope (16) before, to determine a malfunctioning of the leading fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15), and
wherein the floor treatment appliance (1) is initially further operated under a condition that the trailing fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) now takes over a securing function of the malfunctioning leading fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15).