Active Electroadhesive Cleaning

• US 20140048098A1
• Filed: 03/23/2012
• Published: 02/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SRI International, Inc.
• Original Assignee: SRI International, Inc.
• Inventors: Prahlad, Harsha, Pelrine, Ronald E., Kornbluh, Roy D., Von Guggenberg, Philip A., Mccoy, Brian K., Iguider, Youssef
• Granted Patent: US 9,186,709 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 134/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 13/40 Cleaning implements actuated by electrostatic attraction; Devices for cleaning same; Magnetic cleaning implements
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 25/005 using adhesive or tacky surfaces to remove dirt, e.g. lint removers
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 7/023 Non-uniform field separators
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 6/00 Cleaning by electrostatic means domestic cleaning implements functioning electrostatically A47L13/40; cleaning of grooved record carriers G11B3/58
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 7/00 Cleaning by methods not provided for in a single other subclass or a single group in this subclass

Abstract

An active electroadhesive cleaning device or system includes electrode(s) that produce electroadhesive forces from an input voltage to adhere dust or other foreign objects against an interactive surface, from which the foreign objects are removed when the forces are controllably altered. User inputs control the input voltage and/or designate the size of foreign objects to be cleaned. An active power source provides the input voltage, and the interactive surface can be a continuous track across one or more rollers to move the device across a dirty foreign surface. Electrodes can be arranged in an interdigitated pattern having differing pitches that can be actuated selectively to clean foreign objects of different sizes. Sensors can detect the amount of foreign particles adhered to the interactive surface, and reversed polarity pulses can help repel items away from the interactive surface in a timely and controlled manner.

Claims

1. An active electroadhesive cleaning device, comprising:

one or more electrodes adapted to produce collectively from an input voltage applied thereto a separate electroadhesive force between the active electroadhesive cleaning device and each of a plurality of foreign objects being cleaned, wherein each separate respective electroadhesive force suitably adheres one of the plurality of foreign objects against the active electroadhesive cleaning device;

one or more input components adapted to accept a user input from a user of the active electroadhesive device and facilitate using the user input to control the input voltage to said one or more electrodes; and

at least one interactive surface positioned at or proximate to said one or more electrodes and configured to interact with the plurality of foreign objects, wherein said at least one interactive surface is arranged to permit the passage of the electroadhesive forces therethrough such that the plurality of foreign objects are adhered thereagainst, and wherein said at least one interactive surface is adapted to facilitate the ready removal of the plurality of foreign objects therefrom when the electroadhesive forces are controllably altered.

2. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of foreign objects comprises dust.

3. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 1, wherein said interactive surface comprises a plurality of cilia.

4. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 1, wherein said interactive surface comprises a deformable surface, and wherein at least a respective portion of the deformable surface moves closer to at least one of the plurality of foreign objects when the electroadhesive force is applied.

5. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 1, further including:

an active power source coupled to said one or more input components and said one or more electrodes, said active power source being adapted to facilitate providing the input voltage to said one or more electrodes.

6. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 1, further including:

one or more rollers coupled to said interactive surface, wherein said one or more rollers are operable to move the active electroadhesive device across a foreign surface upon which the plurality of foreign objects are located.

7. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 6, wherein said interactive surface is configured as a continuous track that moves with respect to a rotational motion of said one or more rollers.

8. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 1, wherein said one or more electrodes comprises a plurality of oppositely chargeable electrodes arranged into a pattern.

9. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 8, wherein said pattern comprises an interdigitated pattern having a plurality of differing pitches.

10. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 9, wherein each of said plurality of differing pitches is adapted to clean foreign objects of a correspondingly different size, and wherein said interdigitated electrode pattern is operable to actuate said plurality of differing pitches selectively.

11. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 1, further including:

an ion charge sprayer positioned proximate said interactive surface and adapted to spray a plurality of ionic charges onto the plurality of foreign objects, wherein at least a portion of the respective electroadhesive forces result from the presence of the ionic charges on the plurality of foreign objects.

12. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 11, wherein said one or more electrodes comprise exactly one electrode, said exactly one electrode being adapted to carry a charge of the opposite polarity from the plurality of ionic charges.

13. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 1, wherein said one or more electrodes are further adapted to produce collectively one or more reverse polarity pulses, wherein the one or more reverse polarity pulses result in one or more repellant forces that suitably repel one or more of the plurality of foreign objects away from the active electroadhesive cleaning device.

14. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 1, further including:

one or more sensors coupled to said interactive surface and adapted to detect the amount of foreign objects adhered thereto.

15. The active electroadhesive cleaning device of claim 1, wherein said one or more input components includes a charge collecting belt that collects charges from rotating around a roller formed from a dissimilar material.

16. An active electroadhesive cleaning system adapted to clean one or more foreign objects from a dirty region, comprising:

an active power source adapted to provide an input voltage;

one or more input components adapted to accept one or more user inputs from a user of the active electroadhesive device, wherein said one or more user inputs are used to control the input voltage, to designate the size of foreign objects being cleaned, or both;

a plurality of electrodes coupled to the power source and adapted to produce collectively from the input voltage a separate electroadhesive force between the active electroadhesive cleaning system and each of one or more foreign objects being cleaned, wherein each separate respective electroadhesive force suitably adheres one of the one or more foreign objects against the active electroadhesive cleaning system;

at least one interactive surface positioned proximate said plurality of electrodes and configured to interact with the one or more foreign objects, wherein said at least one interactive surface is arranged to permit the passage of the electroadhesive force or forces therethrough such that the one or more foreign objects are adhered thereagainst.

17. The active electroadhesive cleaning system of claim 16, wherein said at least one interactive surface comprises a deformable surface, and wherein at least a respective portion of the deformable surface moves closer to at least one of the one or more foreign objects when the electroadhesive force is applied.

18. The active electroadhesive cleaning system of claim 16, further including:

one or more rollers coupled to said interactive surface and operable to move the active electroadhesive device across a foreign surface upon which the one or more foreign objects are located, wherein said interactive surface comprises a continuous track that moves with respect to a rotational motion of said one or more rollers; and

a removal component adapted to facilitate the removal of the one or more foreign objects from the interactive surface after the one or more foreign objects have been displaced from the dirty region.

19. A method of physically cleaning a plurality of foreign objects from a dirty surface, comprising:

contacting an interactive surface to each of a plurality of foreign objects situated about the dirty surface;

applying an electrostatic adhesion voltage in a controlled manner across one or more electrodes located proximate the interactive surface, wherein the electrostatic adhesion voltage is sufficient to generate a separate respective electrostatic attraction force through at least a portion of the interactive surface with respect to each of the plurality of foreign objects situated about the dirty surface;

adhering each of the plurality of foreign objects to the interactive surface via the respective electrostatic attraction forces;

moving the interactive surface away from the dirty surface while the plurality of foreign objects remain adhered thereto; and

removing the plurality of foreign objects from the interactive surface.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the dirty surface is a wall, a floor, or the ground.

21. The method of claim 19, further including the step of:

altering the electrostatic adhesion voltage in a controlled manner prior to said removing step.