Patent ID: 6327741
Filing Date: 2001-12-11
Classification: A47L,G05D,H02J

Abstract:
An automatically operable vacuum cleaning apparatus capable of movement in a specified area, said cleaning apparatus comprising:a) a mobile cleaning apparatus having a body which is powered for driving movement in the specified area and in a non-controlled randomly operated path;b) drive means in said body for generating a powered movement and driving the mobile cleaning apparatus in the specified area;c) sensor means associated with said body which is actuated when the sensor means detects a fixed obstruction; andd) control means operatively connected to said sensor means and said drive means to control the drive means for altering the driving movement of the apparatus in another non-controlled randomly generated path which is different from the path followed by the apparatus when first sensing the fixed obstruction and where the apparatus will automatically assume different random paths until the sensor means no longer senses the fixed obstruction thereby allowing the apparatus to adopt a path which does avoid the obstruction allowing the apparatus to thereby move beyond the fixed obstruction.