Floor cleaning system

Abstract

A floor cleaning system includes a floor cleaning machine and a self-cleaning station. The machine includes a cleaning base, a rechargeable battery, a first control unit controlling the floor cleaning machine to perform cleaning operations and self-cleaning operations and a first charging interface. The self-cleaning station includes a station body, a second charging interface, a self-cleaning switch, a second control unit communicatively coupled with the self-cleaning switch a, and the first control unit is in signal communication with the second control unit via an electrical pathway passing through the first charging interface and the second charging interface when the first charging interface is electrically contacted with the second charging interface.

1 . A floor cleaning system, comprising:
 a floor cleaning machine including:
 a cleaning head movable over a surface to be cleaned and having a rotatable brush roller; 
 a cleaning fluid supply unit arranged for supplying a cleaning fluid to the brush roller and comprising a supply tank for storing the cleaning fluid; 
 a dirty liquid recovery unit for recovering dirty liquid and debris from the surface to be cleaned and comprising a recovery tank for storing the dirty liquid; 
 a rechargeable battery configured to power energy-consuming components of the floor cleaning machine; 
 a first control unit controlling the floor cleaning machine to perform cleaning operations and self-cleaning operations; and 
 a charging plug electrically coupled to the rechargeable battery; 
   and a self-cleaning station including:
 a station body configured to receive and hold at least a portion of the base; 
 a power plug provided on the station body and having ability to be electrically coupled to an external power source; 
 a second control unit provided on the station body; 
 a self-cleaning switch operably provided on the station body and electrically coupled with the second charging interface; and 
 a charging port configured for electrical connection to the charging plug and coupled to the second control unit; 
   wherein the first control unit is in signal communication with the second control unit via an electrical pathway passing through the charging plug and the charging port when the charging plug is electrically contacted with the charging port, such that the self-cleaning operation is performed in response to an indication that the self-cleaning switch has been turned on.   
     
     
         2 . The floor cleaning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor cleaning machine comprises a charging control circuit controlling the charging of the rechargeable battery, and the charging control circuit interrupts the charging of the rechargeable battery when the first control unit initiates the floor cleaning machine to perform the self-cleaning operation. 
     
     
         3 . The floor cleaning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the self-cleaning switch is foot-operated. 
     
     
         4 . The floor cleaning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor cleaning machine comprises a cleaning switch configured to be operable, and the cleaning switch is communicatively coupled to the first control unit for initiating the cleaning operation in response to an indication that the cleaning switch has been turned on. 
     
     
         5 . The floor cleaning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor cleaning machine comprises a power monitoring device configured to monitor the remaining power of the rechargeable battery and be in signal communication with the first control unit, and the first control unit is configured to perform the self-cleaning operation in response to an indication that the self-cleaning switch has been turned on when the power monitoring device detects the remaining power of the rechargeable battery satisfied. 
     
     
         6 . The floor cleaning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor cleaning machine comprises a cleaning fluid monitoring device being in signal communication with the first control unit and configured to monitor the flow of the cleaning fluid in the fluid delivery unit. 
     
     
         7 . The floor cleaning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor cleaning machine comprises a level monitoring device being in signal communication with the first control unit for monitoring the level in the recovery tank. 
     
     
         8 . The floor cleaning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor cleaning machine comprises a turbidity monitoring device being in signal communication with the first control unit for monitoring the turbidity of the fluid in the dirty liquid recovery unit. 
     
     
         9 . The floor cleaning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the cleaning head comprises a brush-roller motor for rotating the brush roller, the dirty liquid recovery unit includes a liquid pump between the supply tank and the brush roller, and the brush-roller motor and the pump are both communicatively coupled to the first control unit. 
     
     
         10 . The floor cleaning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the dirty liquid recovery unit comprises a suction motor in fluid communication with the recovery tank and communicatively coupled to the first control unit.