Floor cleaning robot

• US 10,398,277 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2016
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Original Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Inventors: Dooley, Michael J., Romanov, Nikolai, Williams, Marcus, Johnson, Joseph M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Spisich, Mark
• Application Number:
  US15/147,661
• Publication Number:
  US 20160242613A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• Field of Search: 15319, 15320, 153401, 15403, 15 501, 15 98
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/12 with reciprocating or oscillating tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/125 with supply of cleaning agents
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/284 having reciprocating tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4011 Regulation of the cleaning machine by electric means; Control systems and remote control systems therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4036 Parts or details of the surface treating tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4066 Propulsion of the whole machine
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4069 Driving or transmission means for the cleaning tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4072 Arrangement of castors or wheels
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/408 Means for supplying cleaning or surface treating agents
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4088 Supply pumps; Spraying devices; Supply conduits
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 13/16 Cloths; Pads; Sponges metal scraping sponges A47L13/07
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 13/20 Mops
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/00 Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/06 Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/36 Surgical swabs, e.g. for absorbency or packing body cavities during surgery A61F13/38 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2255/12 on paper layer
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/04 Cellulosic plastic fibres, e.g. rayon
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/067 Wood fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/14 Mixture of at least two fibres made of different materials
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/7145 : Rot proof, resistant to bacteria, mildew, mould, fungi
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/718 : Weight, e.g. weight per square meter
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/726 : Permeability to liquids, absorption
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/73 : Hydrophobic
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2432/00 : Cleaning articles, e.g. mops, wipes personal care B32B2555/00
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 25/14 : comprising synthetic rubber copolymers B32B25/18 and B32B25/20 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 29/002 : as the main or only constituent of a layer, which is next to another layer of the same or of a different material next to a layer of a particular substance B32B9/06; next to a bituminous or tarry layer B32B11/06; next to a water-setting substance layer B32B13/08; next to a metal layer B32B15/12; next to a glass layer B32B17/065; next to a layer formed of natural mineral fibres or particles B32B19/046; next to a wood layer B32B21/06; next to a cellulosic plastic layer B32B23/06; next to a natural or synthetic rubber layer B32B25/06; next to a synthetic resin layer B32B27/10
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/04 : characterised by at least one layer folded at the edge, e.g. over another layer ; characterised by at least one layer enveloping or enclosing a material
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/022 : Non-woven fabric
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/26 : another layer next to it also being fibrous or filamentary relative arrangement of fibres or filaments of different layers B32B5/12
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/12 : using interposed adhesives or interposed materials with bonding properties

Abstract

A pad particularly adapted for surface cleaning. The pad includes an absorbent core having the ability to absorb and retain liquid material, and a liner layer in contact with and covering at least one side of the absorbent core. The liner layer has the ability to retain and wick liquid material through the liner layer. Cleaning apparatus containing such pads and methods of using such pads are also described.

Claims

1. A floor cleaning robot comprising:

a robot body;

one or more drive wheels supporting the robot body above a floor surface and configured to maneuver the robot body across the floor surface;

a pad holder disposed forward of the one or more drive wheels and configured to receive a cleaning pad;

a fluid applicator to apply a fluid to the floor surface such that the received cleaning pad absorbs the fluid during forward movement of the robot body; and

a controller to initiate operations of the fluid applicator to;

apply sprays of the fluid at a first volumetric flow rate during a first spraying period to wet the floor surface, and

apply sprays of the fluid at a second volumetric flow rate during a second spraying period to wet the floor surface, the second volumetric flow rate of the second spraying period being less than the first volumetric flow rate of the first spraying period, and the second spraying period being subsequent to the first spraying period.

2. The robot of claim 1, wherein the first volumetric flow rate is defined at least in part by:

a distance travelled by the robot body between consecutive sprays of the fluid during the first spraying period, and

a volume of the fluid in each of the consecutive sprays of the fluid during the first spraying period,

wherein the distance is greater than a corresponding distance for the second volumetric flow rate or the volume is greater than a corresponding volume for the second volumetric flow rate.

3. The robot of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:

during the first spraying period, initiate application of the sprays of the fluid at the first volumetric flow rate when the cleaning pad is dry to moisten the cleaning pad, and

during the second spraying period, initiate application of the sprays of the fluid at the second volumetric flow rate when the moistened cleaning pad is absorptive.

4. The robot of claim 1, wherein the first spraying period has a length of time or is associated with a total travel distance, and the controller is configured to initiate application of the sprays of the fluid during the second spraying period after applying the sprays of the fluid during the first spraying period for the length of time or after causing the robot body to travel the total travel distance during the first spraying period.

5. The robot of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to cause the robot body to move in birdsfoot movement patterns while applying the sprays of the fluid during the first spraying period.

6. The robot of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to

initiate application of a spray of the fluid each instance the robot body travels a first distance during the first spraying period, and

initiate application of a spray of the fluid each instance the robot body travels a second distance during the second spraying period,

wherein the first distance is less than the second distance.

7. The robot of claim 4, wherein the first spraying period has a duration between 1 and 3 minutes.

8. The robot of claim 4, wherein the first spraying period has a duration between 2 and 10 minutes.

9. The robot of claim 1, wherein the sprays of the fluid applied during the first spraying period each has a first volume, and the sprays of the fluid applied during the second spraying period each has a second volume, the first volume being larger than the second volume.

10. The robot of claim 9, wherein the first volume is about 1 mL, and the second volume is less than about 1 mL.

11. The robot of claim 1, wherein a first spray frequency is used to apply the fluid at the first volumetric flow rate and a second spray frequency is used to apply the fluid at the second volumetric flow rate, the first spray frequency being larger than the second spray frequency.

12. The robot of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to initiate application of the sprays during the first spraying period at a start of a cleaning run.

13. The robot of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured, after the first spraying period, to apply the sprays during the second spraying period until an end of a cleaning run.

14. The robot of claim 1, wherein configurations of the controller to initiate the operations of the fluid applicator to apply the sprays of the fluid at the first volumetric flow rate comprise configurations of the controller to initiate operations of the fluid applicator to spray about 1 mL of the fluid every 30 to 60 centimeters travelled by the robot.

15. The robot of claim 1, wherein configurations of the controller to initiate the operations of the fluid applicator to apply the sprays of the fluid at the second volumetric flow rate comprise configurations of the controller to initiate operations of the fluid applicator to spray less than 1 mL of the fluid every 90 to 210 centimeters travelled by the robot.

16. The robot of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to

navigate the robot to move across a first portion of the floor surface while the fluid applicator applies the sprays of the fluid to the first portion of the floor surface during the first spraying period, and

navigate the robot to move across a second portion of the floor surface while the fluid applicator applies the sprays of the fluid to the second portion of the floor surface during the second spraying period.

17. The robot of claim 1, wherein configurations of the controller to initiate the operations of the fluid applicator to apply the sprays of the fluid at the first volumetric flow rate comprise configurations of the controller to initiate operations of the fluid applicator at a start of a cleaning mission to apply the sprays of the fluid at the first volumetric flow rate.

18. The robot of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to

initiate the operations of the fluid applicator to apply a spray of fluid on a portion of the floor surface during the first spraying period,

after the spray of fluid is applied to the portion of the floor surface, move the robot forward across the portion of the floor surface, and,

after moving the robot forward across the portion of the floor surface, move the robot backward across the portion of the floor surface.

19. The robot of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to provide an alert to a user when the received cleaning pad is saturated.

20. The robot of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to provide an alert to a user to instruct the user to refill a reservoir of the robot with fluid.