Cleaning robot

• US 7,673,367 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2007
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Yang, Soo Sang, Oh, Yeon Taek, Lee, Youn Baek, Kim, Jeong Hun
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, DUNG V
• Application Number:
  US11/842,492
• Publication Number:
  US 20080141485A1
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• Field of Search: 153/401, 153/19, 153/39, 153/47, 153/54
• US Class Current: 15/319
• 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 2201/06 Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/009 Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/02 Nozzles suction nozzles for fluid transport B65G51/00

Abstract

A cleaning robot to prevent a suction member from moving upwards when the suction member is rotated during a collision with an obstacle, and which completely unfolds the suction member when a lower surface of the suction member travels on an uneven floor. The cleaning robot includes a main body to travel on a floor to be cleaned, a dust collecting unit, and a corner cleaning unit. The corner cleaning unit includes a suction member having a suction arm with a rotatable cylinder, a movable member rotatably coupled around the rotatable cylinder by a torsion spring such that the movable member can move upwards and downwards together with the suction member, a driving unit, supporting brackets, at least one elevation guide face to allow the movable member to move upwards and downwards along the elevation guide face as the movable member rotates, and at least one guide knob.

Claims

1. A cleaning robot, comprising:

a main body to travel on a floor to be cleaned;

a dust collecting unit installed in the main body; and

a corner cleaning unit installed in the main body, and comprising a suction member having a suction arm unfolded from the main body by means of rotation, and a rotatable cylinder connected to the suction arm;

a movable member rotatably coupled around the rotatable cylinder of the suction member by a torsion spring such that the movable member moves upwards and downwards together with the suction member;

a driving unit to rotate the movable member;

supporting brackets provided in the main body to support the driving unit;

at least one elevation guide face formed at one of the supporting brackets to allow the movable member to move upwards and downwards along the elevation guide face as the movable member rotates; and

at least one guide knob provided to the movable member in such a manner that the guide knob moves upwards and downwards along the elevation guide face,

wherein the guide knobs are provided with rollers, respectively, in such a manner that the rollers to roll along the elevation guide faces and the rotation guide faces.

2. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting brackets are formed with rotation guide faces which extend from a lower end of each elevation guide face in the same direction as a rotating direction of the suction member to guide a rotational movement of the guide knob that has moved downwards along the elevation guide face.

3. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

a space is formed above the elevation guide face, and

the rotation guide face allows the guide knob to move upwards in the space.

4. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 3, wherein the driving unit comprises:

a cylindrical rotor installed on an outer surface of the movable member to rotate the movable member and is formed with long guide slots aligned in a longitudinal direction to guide an upward movement and a downward movement of the guide knob; and

a driving motor coupled with the support bracket to rotate the cylindrical rotor in a forward direction or a reverse direction.

5. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 4, wherein the driving unit further comprises:

a driving gear coupled to a shaft of the driving motor to transmit a rotational force of the driving motor to the cylindrical rotor; and

a driven gear provided at an outer surface of the cylindrical rotor to be engaged with the driving gear.

6. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cylindrical rotor is rotatably supported on the support bracket in a state in which the upward and downward movements of the cylindrical rotor are restricted.

7. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cylindrical rotor is provided therein with a coil spring to bias the movable member in a downward direction.

8. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the rotatable cylinder is provided therein with a suction channel; and

the suction channel is connected to the dust collecting unit through a connecting pipe.

9. A cleaning robot, comprising:

a main body to travel on a floor to be cleaned;

a dust collecting unit installed in the main body;

a corner cleaning unit installed in the main body, comprising a suction member having a suction arm unfolded from the main body by means of rotation, and a rotatable cylinder connected to the suction arm a bracket mounted to the main body to guide the suction member to move in one of a downward direction and an upward direction, and a rotation guide face to guide the suction member between a folding direction and an unfolding direction when the suction member has been moved to the downward direction; and

a driving motor to rotate the rotatable cylinder in a forward or reverse direction to automatically fold or unfold the suction arm.

10. A cleaning robot, comprising:

a main body; and

a corner cleaning unit having a suction member, and to move the suction member in a folding direction and an unfolding direction with respect to the main body, and to move the suction member in an upward direction and a downward direction with respect to the main body, when the suction member moves to the folding direction and the unfolding direction; and

wherein the corner cleaning unit comprises;

a driving unit mounted to the main body to control the suction member to move in one of the folding direction and the unfolding direction; and

a bracket mounted to the main body to guide the suction member to move in one of the downward direction and the upward direction, the bracket having;

an elevation guide face inclined with to the slot of the rotor to guide the movable member in the upward and downward directions when the movable member moves a long the slot; and

a rotation guide face extended from the elevation guide face to guide the suction member between the folding direction and the unfolding direction when the suction member has been moved to the downward direction along the elevation guide face.

11. The cleaning robot of claim 10, further comprising:

a movable member disposed between the driving unit and the suction member,

wherein the driving unit comprises a rotor having a slot to allow the movable member in the upward and downward direction with respect to the rotor.

12. The cleaning robot of claim 10, wherein the bracket further comprises:

a rotation guide face to guide the suction member to move between the folding direction and the unfolding direction when the driving unit does not control the suction member.

13. The cleaning robot of claim 10, further comprising:

an elastic member coupled between the suction member and the driving unit to control the suction member to move with respect to the rotation guide face in the unfolded state.