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

Claim 8:
9. A method for checking the functionality of a fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) of an automatically moving floor treatment appliance (1), wherein the floor treatment appliance (1) has an appliance housing (2), a drive (3) for the movement of 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) and arranged one behind the other in the direction of a circumferential contour (17) of the underside (7), and a computing means (5), comprising the steps of:
detecting with the fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) a distance (a) of the floor treatment appliance (1) from the surface (6),
comparing with the computing means (5) the distance (a) detected by the fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) with a threshold value defining a slope (16) and, when the distance (a) is greater than the defined threshold value, determining the presence of a slope (16) as a detection result,
transmitting with the computing means a control command for changing a movement of the floor treatment appliance (1) to the drive means (3),
wherein the computing means (5) compares a detection result of a fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) with a defined reference result, and when the detection result does not correspond with the reference result, determines a malfunctioning of a leading one of the fall sensors (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15),
wherein the computing means (5) compares 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, determines a malfunctioning of the same fall sensor (12, 13, 14, 15), and/or wherein the computing means (5) compares a detection result of the leading fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) with a detection result of at least one trailing fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) in the direction of movement, and when the at least one 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, determines 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 one of the at least one trailing fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) now takes over the securing function of the malfunctioning leading fall sensor (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15).