Patent · US Expired

Sensor apparatus and self-propelled floor cleaning appliance having a sensor apparatus

US7225500B2 · kind B2 · utility

139Cited by
15References
12Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 4, 2005
Grant dateJun 5, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 19, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01S17/87
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The invention relates to a sensor apparatus for a self-propelled floor cleaning appliance for detecting a down step, having a transmission unit and a reception unit for infrared radiation and having evaluation electronics for evaluating the intensity of the radiation received. To develop the sensor apparatus in such a manner that a down step or a steep downslope of the floor surface can be determined more reliably, while the sensor apparatus can be produced at low cost, according to the invention it is proposed that the sensor apparatus has the reception unit and a first and a second transmission unit, the second transmission unit being disposed at a distance from a connecting straight line running through the reception unit and the first transmission unit. The invention also proposes a floor cleaning appliance having a sensor apparatus of this type.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.