Patents by Inventor Lorenz HILLEN

Lorenz HILLEN has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20200281427
    Abstract: A vacuumed material collection station for receiving vacuumed material from a vacuum cleaning apparatus includes a vacuumed material collection container and an interface for connecting the vacuum cleaning apparatus to the vacuumed material collection station. The vacuumed material collection station comprises a receptacle space for receiving a filter chamber of a vacuum cleaning apparatus connected to the vacuumed material collection station and a feed device for feeding the filter chamber into the receptacle space. The receptacle space is designed for completely encompassing the filter chamber and/or at the most not encompassing a chamber side facing the interface with the vacuum cleaning apparatus. The receptacle space forms a partial volume within the housing of the vacuumed material collection station, and the feed device is designed for removing the filter chamber from the vacuum cleaning apparatus and displacing the filter chamber into the receptacle space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Publication date: September 10, 2020
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas BUENING, Benjamin FLECZOK, Robert FRIELINGHAUS, Martin HELMICH, Lorenz HILLEN, Christian HOLZ, Gerhard ISENBERG, Andrej MOSEBACH, Roman ORTMANN, Kevin SCHMITZ, Fabian VITZ, Niklas VAN TEEFFELEN, Georg HACKERT
  • Publication number: 20200251914
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a system with a household appliance, a charging station and a plurality of battery units. A control of the system is configured so that a battery unit connected to the charging station can be charged in dependence on a discharge of a battery unit which is connected to the household appliance for operating the household appliance to perform a use operation. The present disclosure further concerns a household appliance and a charging station. It is thereby made possible to perform particularly long use operations with only two battery units or at least a reduced number of battery units without an interruption for charging a battery, and at the same time to achieve the longest possible service life of the battery units.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2020
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Inventors: Hans-Peter Arnold, Thomas Büning, Benjamin Fleczok, Robert Frielinghaus, Martin Helmich, Lorenz Hillen, Christian Holz, Gerhard Isenberg, Andrej Mosebach, Roman Ortmann, Kevin Schmitz, Fabian Vitz, Niklas van Teeffelen, Georg Hackert
  • Publication number: 20200233428
    Abstract: A system with a first floor processing device and a second floor processing device that is designed to orient and localize itself within an environment based on an area map. The first floor processing device is set up to detect a movement path during a movement by the first floor processing device and transmit information about the detected movement path to the second floor processing device. The second floor processing device has a control and evaluation unit that is set up to analyze the received information and, based upon the movement path detected by the first floor processing device and/or a partial area of the environment not traversed by the movement path, enter a no-go area into the area map which the second floor processing device is not allowed to traverse.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2020
    Publication date: July 23, 2020
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Hans-Peter ARNOLD, Thomas BUENING, Benjamin FLECZOK, Robert FRIELINGHAUS, Martin HELMICH, Lorenz HILLEN, Christian HOLZ, Gerhard ISENBERG, Andrej MOSEBACH, Roman ORTMANN, Kevin SCHMITZ, Fabian VITZ, Niklas VAN TEEFFELEN, Uwe KEMKER, Georg HACKERT
  • Publication number: 20200229669
    Abstract: The invention pertains to a system consisting of a first floor treatment apparatus that is exclusively guided manually within an environment by a user and a second floor treatment apparatus that is exclusively operated automatically, wherein the second floor treatment apparatus is designed for orienting and localizing itself within an environment. The first floor treatment apparatus is designed for detecting a movement path of the first floor treatment apparatus during a movement of the first floor treatment apparatus that is manually guided by a user, as well as for transmitting information on the detected movement path to the second floor treatment apparatus by wireless communication. The second floor treatment apparatus is designed for receiving the information and for autonomously traveling along the movement path within the environment based on the received information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Publication date: July 23, 2020
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Hans-Peter Arnold, Thomas Buening, Benjamin Fleczok, Robert Frielinghaus, Martin Helmich, Lorenz Hillen, Christian Holz, Gerhard Isenberg, Andrej Mosebach, Roman Ortmann, Kevin Schmitz, Fabian Vitz, Niklas Van Teeffelen, Uwe Kemker, Georg Hackert
  • Patent number: 10694912
    Abstract: A system has at least two floor treatment apparatuses for treating a surface in an automatically controlled fashion based on defined adjustment parameters of the floor treatment apparatus, wherein each of the floor treatment apparatuses features at least one detection device for detecting at least one detection parameter of the floor treatment apparatus and/or of an environment of the floor treatment apparatus. In order to enhance a system of this type in such a way that the floor treatment apparatuses advantageously cooperate and support one another, the system features a common database that is assigned to the floor treatment apparatuses. Detection parameters of at least two floor treatment apparatuses are stored in the database in association with the adjustment parameters of the respective floor treatment apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: VORWERK & CO. INTERHOLDING GMBH
    Inventors: Georg Hackert, Martin Helmich, Lorenz Hillen, Christian Holz, Gerhard Isenberg, Hendrik Koetz, Andrej Mosebach, Roman Ortmann, Robin Dulinski
  • Publication number: 20200133302
    Abstract: A method for operating an automatically moving robot, wherein a map of the surroundings of the robot is generated using measurement data captured within the surroundings, and a control command is generated using the generated map, the current position of the robot within the surroundings, and a determined behavior of the robot. The robot is moved using the generated control command, and data which is relevant to the navigation of the robot is at least partly transmitted to an external computing device for processing. In order to reduce the computing capacity and/or storage capacity required within the robot, the external computing device determines a desired behavior of the robot as the basis for the control command based on the map and the current position of the robot.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2017
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventor: Lorenz HILLEN
  • Patent number: 10585408
    Abstract: A household appliance in the form of a food processor has a controller that controls the preparation of a meal according to a sequence of prescribed steps that includes comminuting, mixing or heating the meal or ingredients. The controller is designed and set up to output a control command for controlling an external cleaning device depending on a progress of the sequence of steps. The control command to the external device includes a cleaning instruction for the external device to effect cleaning in an area where the household appliance is located.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2020
    Assignee: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Georg Hackert, Martin Helmich, Lorenz Hillen, Christian Holz, Gerhard Isenberg, Hendrik Koetz, Andrej Mosebach, Roman Ortmann, Robin Dulinski
  • Publication number: 20200064858
    Abstract: A floor processing device automatically moves within an environment, with a driving attachment, a floor processing unit, an obstacle detection unit, a control unit and a detection unit for detecting device parameters and/or environment parameters control unit is set up to determine an error of the floor processing device based upon the detected parameters that prevents the floor processing device from moving and/or the floor processing device from processing a surface to be processed in such a way that the floor processing device is unable to automatically extricate itself from the error situation. The control unite is set up to analyze the parameters detected by the detection unit with respect to recurring patterns that have a repeatedly encountered combination of an error and at least one chronologically preceding environment and/or device parameter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2019
    Publication date: February 27, 2020
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Hans-Peter ARNOLD, Thomas BUENING, Benjamin FLECZOK, Robert FRIELINGHAUS, Martin HELMICH, Lorenz HILLEN, Christian HOLZ, Gerhard ISENBERG, Andrej MOSEBACH, Roman ORTMANN, Kevin SCHMITZ, Fabian VITZ, Niklas VAN TEEFFELEN, Uwe KEMKER
  • Patent number: 10562177
    Abstract: A system has at least two floor processing fixtures of one or several automatically moving floor processing devices for the automatically controlled processing of a surface. In order to further develop such a system in particular with the aim of having the floor processing fixtures advantageously interact and support each other, the system has a shared database allocated to the floor processing fixtures, which is stored in an external memory designed separately from the floor processing device, and in which operational activities for the floor processing fixtures are planned according to defined rules, as well as a central computing device allocated to the database, which plans operational activities according to defined rules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Georg Hackert, Martin Helmich, Lorenz Hillen, Christian Holz, Gerhard Isenberg, Hendrik Koetz, Andrej Mosebach, Roman Ortmann, Robin Dulinski
  • Patent number: 10459451
    Abstract: A method for processing, in particular cleaning, a floor of a room using an automatically movable processing device. A map of the room is generated and displayed to a user of the processing device, and the user can select at least one room sub-region in which the processing device is to process or refrain from processing the floor in the generated map. The aim of the invention is to provide a method for processing a floor, wherein the generated map of the room is easier to read for the user. This is achieved in that the map of the room is generated from three-dimensional coordinates of a world coordinate system, each point of a plurality of points of the room and/or of an obstacle arranged in the room being assigned to a three-dimensional coordinate within the world coordinates system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Lorenz Hillen, Martin Meggle
  • Publication number: 20190324473
    Abstract: A method for creating an environment map for a processing unit, which moves independently within an environment, wherein a detection device detects environmental features and/or objects within the environment, and wherein position data of the environmental features and/or objects are processed by an evaluation device into an environment map. In order to achieve intuitive user-processing unit interaction, the detected environmental features and/or objects are processed via 3D reconstruction into a photo-realistic, three-dimensional environment card.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Publication date: October 24, 2019
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventor: Lorenz HILLEN
  • Patent number: 10398269
    Abstract: A method for operating a self-propelled floor cleaning device, in a first operating step, drives the floor cleaning device across a first treatment path across the floor to be cleaned according to a predetermined driving strategy, or according to a predetermined algorithm, which is calculated on the basis of data, which are detected by sensors and thereby carries out a first cleaning step by a first cleaning device. In the first operating step, areas of the floor surfaces to be cleaned, which are cleaned in at least a second operating step by a second cleaning device, or which are excluded from the cleaning by the second cleaning device, are determined. A floor cleaning device, which is suitable for carrying out the method, has a chassis, a first cleaning device for dry cleaning a floor surface, and a second cleaning device for wet cleaning areas of the floor surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Lorenz Hillen, Martin Meggle, Jenny Scheffel, Jan Von Der Heyden, Nazil Eidmohammadi, Sabrina Hoffmann
  • Patent number: 10327614
    Abstract: A device for treating a surface, in particular to a cleaning robot, has a detection device for identifying the type of surface, which detection device has a light source for irradiating the surface with light and has a sensor for detecting the light which is reflected by the surface. In order to improve the identification of the type of surface, it is proposed that a three-dimensional screen panel which forms a plurality of partial volumes is associated with the sensor, wherein each partial volume is in each case associated with a different sensor subarea of the sensor, and wherein adjacent sensor subareas are optically separated from one another by means of the screen panel such that light is prevented from passing from a first partial volume to a second partial volume. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for operating a device for treating a surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Lorenz Hillen, Mara Brandt
  • Publication number: 20190069334
    Abstract: A method for connecting a household appliance to a wireless home network, wherein a user terminal connects to a temporary communication network of the household appliance and transmits network access information for the home network to the household appliance, wherein the temporary communication network is ended subsequently and the household appliance logs into the wireless home network by using the received network access information, and wherein the user terminal obtains information from the household appliance about the fact that the log-in of the household appliance into the home network has failed. The household appliance opens a temporary communication network again if the log-in fails, wherein the user terminal recognizes the renewed opening of the temporary communication network and classifies it as information about the failure of the household appliance to log into the home network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2018
    Publication date: February 28, 2019
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Harald WINDORFER, Lorenz HILLEN
  • Publication number: 20190049979
    Abstract: A method for the operation of a cleaning appliance automatically moving within an environment, wherein the cleaning appliance cleans a surface in accordance with a predetermined work schedule, wherein at least one level of contamination of the surface is determined, and a cleaning task is controlled as a function of the level of contamination. In order to make the cleaning operation more flexible and individual, the level of contamination is entered on a map associated with positional information of the environment, wherein a user undertakes editing of the map, that is to say, defines on the map surface zones of the surface and manually assigns a cleaning task of the cleaning appliance to at least one surface zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2018
    Publication date: February 14, 2019
    Inventors: Maike BREDE, Pia HAHN, Lorenz HILLEN, Gerhard ISENBERG, Harald WINDORFER
  • Publication number: 20190045992
    Abstract: A method for operating a floor treatment device that travels autonomously within an environment, wherein the floor treatment device performs a treatment of a defined and spatially limited partial surface region of the environment. During the treatment of the partial surface region a detection device of the floor treatment device measures a treatment status of the partial surface region, compares the treatment status is with a defined reference status and continues a treatment of the partial surface region until the defined reference status is reached. In order to improve the result of a floor treatment operation, a user defines the reference status manually and transmits it to the floor treatment device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2018
    Publication date: February 14, 2019
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Maike BREDE, Pia HAHN, Lorenz HILLEN, Gerhard ISENBERG, Harald WINDORFER
  • Publication number: 20190049978
    Abstract: A method for operating a cleaning device that automatically moves within an environment, wherein the cleaning device cleans a surface according to a prescribed work plan, wherein a detection device of the cleaning device detects contamination levels of several partial surface areas of the surface, wherein a cleaning operation of the cleaning device is varied as a function of the detection result, wherein an overall contamination level is determined for the surface from the contamination levels of several partial surface areas, and the cleaning operation is performed with cleaning parameters identical to the overall contamination level for the entire surface. In order to create an alternative to conventional operating methods, the determined overall contamination level is compared with at least one reference contamination level, specifically with an overall contamination level determined during a chronologically preceding cleaning activity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2018
    Publication date: February 14, 2019
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Maike BREDE, Pia HAHN, Lorenz HILLEN, Gerhard ISENBERG, Harald WINDORFER
  • Publication number: 20190028675
    Abstract: A system consisting of a vehicle which is autarchically mobile in the outdoor area on a property and a surveillance module which can be attached to the vehicle, wherein the surveillance module has surveillance sensors for carrying out surveillance of the property. The surveillance module can be replaced with a work module. Plant care activities can be performed with the work module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2018
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Georg HACKERT, Martin HELMICH, Lorenz HILLEN, Christian HOLZ, Gerhard ISENBERG, Hendrik KOETZ, Andrej MOSEBACH, Roman ORTMANN, Robin DULINSKI
  • Publication number: 20190022854
    Abstract: A working device that can move self-sufficiently over terrain, which carries task-specific tools. The tools are allocated to different working modules. The different working modules can optionally be used by the working device. The working modules can be a watering tool, a cutting tool, a mowing tool, a sweeping tool, a fertilizer distributing tool or a soil treating tool. The plants are processed with the help of a planning aid which has a database. The planning aid is used to transmit task data to the working device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2018
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Georg HACKERT, Martin HELMICH, Lorenz HILLEN, Christian HOLZ, Gerhard ISENBERG, Hendrik KOETZ, Andrej MOSEBACH, Roman ORTMANN, Robin DULINSKI
  • Publication number: 20190023396
    Abstract: A sensor module is assigned to a vehicle that can be displaced in a terrain or designed for being positioned in the terrain. The sensor module has a sensor system with sensors that acquire sensor data in a contactless fashion. The sensors are designed for detecting the spatial extent of the plant at a location in the terrain. The sensor data makes it possible to determine whether the plant should be pruned. To this end, the sensor data is evaluated by utilizing a knowledge database.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2018
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Applicant: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Georg HACKERT, Martin HELMICH, Lorenz HILLEN, Christian HOLZ, Gerhard ISENBERG, Hendrik KOETZ, Andrej MOSEBACH, Roman ORTMANN, Robin DULINSKI