Autonomous floor-cleaning robot
DC CAFCFirst Claim
1. A floor cleaning robot comprising:
- a housing and a chassis;
wheels and at least one motor to drive the wheels disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to move the floor cleaning robot across a floor, each of the wheels being attached to the chassis via a respective arm having a distal end and a proximal end;
a control module disposed within the housing and directing movement of the floor cleaning robot across the floor;
at least one sensor for detecting an obstacle and communicating obstacle information to the control module so that the control module can cause the floor cleaning robot to react to the obstacle;
a removable bin disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to receive particulates; and
a first rotating member configured to direct particulates toward the bin,wherein one of the wheels is rotatably attached to the distal end of each arm, and the proximal end of each arm is pivotably attached to the chassis,wherein each wheel is biased to an extended position away from the robot chassis by a spring extending between the arm and the robot chassis, andwherein, during cleaning, the weight of the floor cleaning robot overcomes a force from the spring biasing the wheels to an extended position.
3 Assignments
Litigations
2 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A floor cleaning robot comprises a housing, wheels, and a motor driving the wheels to move the robot across a floor, a control module disposed within the housing and directing movement of the robot across the floor, a sensor for detecting and communicating obstacle information to the control module so that the control module can cause the robot to react to the obstacle, a removable bin disposed at least partially within the housing and receiving particulates, a first rotating member directing particulates toward the bin, and a second rotating member cooperating with the first rotating member to direct particulates toward the bin. The removable bin receives particulates directed thereto by the first and second rotating members and the particulates pass from the first rotating member to the removable bin without passing through a filter.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A floor cleaning robot comprising:
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a housing and a chassis; wheels and at least one motor to drive the wheels disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to move the floor cleaning robot across a floor, each of the wheels being attached to the chassis via a respective arm having a distal end and a proximal end; a control module disposed within the housing and directing movement of the floor cleaning robot across the floor; at least one sensor for detecting an obstacle and communicating obstacle information to the control module so that the control module can cause the floor cleaning robot to react to the obstacle; a removable bin disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to receive particulates; and a first rotating member configured to direct particulates toward the bin, wherein one of the wheels is rotatably attached to the distal end of each arm, and the proximal end of each arm is pivotably attached to the chassis, wherein each wheel is biased to an extended position away from the robot chassis by a spring extending between the arm and the robot chassis, and wherein, during cleaning, the weight of the floor cleaning robot overcomes a force from the spring biasing the wheels to an extended position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A floor cleaning robot comprising:
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a housing and a chassis; a first wheel and a first arm for attaching the first wheel to the chassis, the first arm having a proximal end pivotably attached to the chassis and a distal end to which the first wheel is rotatably mounted; a first resilient member connecting the first arm to the chassis and biasing the distal end of the first arm and the first wheel to an extended position; a second wheel and a second arm for attaching the second wheel to the chassis, the second arm having a proximal end pivotably attached to the chassis and a distal end to which the second wheel is rotatably mounted; a second resilient member connecting the second arm to the chassis and biasing the distal end of the second arm and the second wheel to an extended position; at least one motor disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to drive the first and second wheels to move the floor cleaning robot across a floor; a control module disposed within the housing and directing movement of the floor cleaning robot across the floor; at least one sensor for detecting an obstacle and communicating obstacle information to the control module so that the control module can cause the floor cleaning robot to react to the obstacle; a removable bin disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to receive particulates; a rotating brush configured to agitate particulates and direct particulates toward the removable bin; wherein, during cleaning, the weight of the floor cleaning robot overcomes a force from the first and second resilient members that biases the wheels to an extended position. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for directing particulates from a floor into a bin, the method comprising:
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driving wheels to move a cleaning robot across a floor, the wheels being attached to a chassis of the cleaning robot by a pivoting arm and being biased to an extended position by a spring extending between the arm and the chassis; allowing the weight of the cleaning robot to overcome the spring force biasing the wheels to an extended position when the cleaning robot is positioned for use; sensing obstacles; causing the cleaning robot to avoid the sensed obstacles; agitating particulates from the floor and directing the particulates toward a removable bin of the cleaning robot; generating a negative pressure to direct agitated particulates toward the removable bin; and holding particulates in the removable bin. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification