IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,517,526
Granted Patent B2
US 12,517,526 · App. 18/581,605 · Granted Jan 6, 2026

Method for recognizing a state of an access element, such as a window or a door, in a household, floor robot and system

Inventors: Kristina Daniel (Bad Neustadt, DE); Frank Schnitzer (Bad Neustadt, DE); Josephine Wittkowski (Traunstein, DE)
Assignee: BSH Hausgeräte GmbH
G05D1/648G05D2105/10G05D2105/80G05D2107/40
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,517,526
App. No.
18/581,605
Granted
Jan 6, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An individual access element to a room in a household can be brought into an open state and into a closed state. A method for recognizing an individual state of the access element includes the steps of determining a position at which an individual access element is located in the household, non-contact scanning the individual access element while it is in a predetermined state, storing information regarding the individual access element on the basis of its scan and state, capturing a further non-contact scan of the individual access element in the household, and recognizing a state of the individual access element on the basis of the further non-contact scan and the stored and predetermined information. A floor robot and a system having a floor robot, are also provided.

Claims (28)

1 . A method for recognizing a state of an individual access element relating to a room in a household, the method comprising:

providing an individual access element configured to be brought into an open state and into a closed state;

determining a position at which the individual access element is located in the household;

performing a non-contact scan of the individual access element while in a predetermined state;

storing information regarding the individual access element based on the non-contact scan and the predetermined state;

capturing a further non-contact scan of the individual access element in the household;

recognizing the state of the individual access element based on the further non-contact scan, the stored information and predetermined information; and

making items of information for recognizing a generic access element or a state of the generic access element, available as a trained artificial neural network.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises providing a door or a window as the access element.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises using an automatic floor robot to scan the access element.

4 . The method according to claim 3 , which further comprises capturing the further non-contact scan within a scope of cleaning a floor surface in the household.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises providing a specific state of an individual access element in the household to a person outside of the household.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises determining a scanning position from which the non-contact scan or the further non-contact scan takes place, based on the position of the individual access element.

7 . The method according to claim 6 , which further comprises determining the scanning position on a basis of a map of surroundings of the household.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises storing information regarding the individual access element separately from information for recognizing a generic access element or a state of the generic access element.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises storing items of information assigned to different individual access elements in the household, separately from one another.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises activating a floor robot to bring the individual access element into the closed state after having determined that the individual access element is not in the closed state.

11 . A floor robot, comprising:

a mobile computer for determining a position in a household of an individual access element configured to be brought into an open state and into a closed state;

a scanner configured to non-contact scan the individual access element while the individual access element is in a predetermined state;

a first storage device having predetermined information for recognizing a generic access element or a state of the generic access element;

a second storage device for storing information regarding the individual access element based on the non-contact scan and the predetermined state; and

a processor configured to recognize the state of the individual access element in the household based on a further non-contact scan, the predetermined information and stored information.

12 . The floor robot according to claim 11 , wherein the floor robot is configured to process a floor surface in the household, and to capture the further non-contact scan of the individual access element within a scope of processing the floor surface.

13 . The floor robot according to claim 11 , wherein items of information for recognizing a generic access element or a state of the generic access element are available as a trained artificial neural network.

14 . A system, comprising:

a floor robot according to claim 11 ;

said processor and said mobile computer being configured to be wirelessly coupled to each other.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 26, 2024
From: DANIEL, KRISTINA; SCHNITZER, FRANK; WITTKOWSKI, JOSEPHINE
To: BSH HAUSGERAETE GMBH
Reel/Frame 066560/0943 →
Priority Claims (1)
DE 102023201628.1 · Feb 22, 2023 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240281006A1 · Aug 22, 2024
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