Robotic vacuum

• US 9,220,386 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2012
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Original Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Inventors: Gilbert, Duane Leigh Jr., Bursal, Faruk Halil, Therrien, Richard Joseph, Morin, Russell Walter
• Primary Examiner(s): REDDING, DAVID A
• Application Number:
  US13/460,347
• Publication Number:
  US 20120311813A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,338 Days
• Field of Search: 153/84
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/24 Floor-sweeping machines, motor-driven
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/40 Parts or details of machines not provided for in groups A47L11/02 - A47L11/38, or not restricted to one of these groups, e.g. handles, arrangements of switches, skirts, buffers, levers
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4013 Contaminants collecting devices, i.e. hoppers, tanks or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4027 Filtering or separating contaminants or debris
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4041 Roll shaped surface treating tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4061 Steering means; Means for avoiding obstacles; Details related to the place where the driver is accommodated
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4063 Driving means; Transmission means therefor
• 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 2201/028 Refurbishing floor engaging tools, e.g. cleaning of beating brushes
• 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: A47L 7/02 with driven tools for special purposes with floor-polishing tools A47L11/20
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0477 Rolls
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0494 Height adjustment of dust-loosening tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/066 with adjustably mounted brushes, combs, lips or pads; Height adjustment of nozzle or dust loosening tools for suction cleaners with handles and nozzles fixed on the casing A47L5/34
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0666 with tilting, floating or similarly arranged brushes, combs, lips or pads
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2821 Pressure, vacuum level or airflow
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/0085 Cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

An autonomous mobile robot comprise: a chassis having a drive system in communication with a control system; a cleaning head assembly having a lower cage and mounted to the chassis; a debris collection bin mounted to the chassis; a vacuum airway having a vacuum inlet and an airway outlet positioned adjacent the debris collection bin, and configured to deliver debris from the cleaning head assembly to a debris collection bin, the vacuum airway extending between the cleaning assembly and debris collection bin and being in fluid communication with an impeller disposed within the debris collection bin; and a cleaning head module connected to the chassis and having a front roller including a front shape-changing resilient tube and an adjacent rear roller including a rear shape-changing resilient tube rotatably opposing therewith beneath the vacuum inlet.

Claims

1. An autonomous mobile robot for cleaning a cleaning surface comprises:

a chassis having a drive system mounted therein in communication with a control system;

a cleaning head assembly having a lower cage and mounted to the chassis;

a debris collection bin mounted to the chassis;

a vacuum airway having a vacuum inlet and an airway outlet positioned adjacent the debris collection bin, and configured to deliver debris from the cleaning head assembly to the debris collection bin, the vacuum airway extending between the cleaning assembly and the debris collection bin and being in fluid communication with an impeller disposed within the debris collection bin; and

a cleaning head module connected to the chassis and having a front roller including a front shape-changing resilient tube and an adjacent rear roller including a rear shape-changing resilient tube rotatably opposing therewith beneath the vacuum inlet,

wherein a surface of the front shape-changing tube and a surface rear shape-changing tube are separated by a narrowest air gap of less than 1 cm, such that the vacuum draw directed from the vacuum airway is concentrated within the narrowest air gap.

2. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein upon the introduction of debris larger than the narrowest air gap, one or more of the shape-changing tubes changes from circular cross-section to partially bent in cross section to permit the debris to roll between the front and rear shape-changing tubes.

3. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein a longitudinal axis of the front roller lies in a first horizontal plane positioned above a second horizontal plane on which a longitudinal axis of the rear roller lies, and

wherein at least a portion of the rear roller extends beneath the lower cage of the cleaning head assembly to make contact with the cleaning surface.

4. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the narrowest air gap has a width of between about 1 mm to about 2 mm.

5. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein a cross sectional area of the narrowest air gap between the front roller and the rear roller is substantially equal to or less than a cross sectional area of the vacuum inlet.

6. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein a ratio of the area of the narrowest air gap to an area of a planar cross section taken across the vacuum inlet is between about 1:

1 to 10;

1.

7. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein a ratio of the area of the narrowest air gap to an area of a planar cross section taken across the vacuum inlet is about 4:

1.

8. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein, during operation of the autonomous mobile robot, a lower surface of the lower cage is spaced above the cleaning surface a distance less than or equal to about 1 mm.

9. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the vacuum airway has a substantially constant non-angular cross section from the vacuum inlet to the airway outlet.

10. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the front roller and the rear roller are in parallel longitudinal alignment with the vacuum inlet, and each of the front roller and the rear roller has at least one vane extending outwardly from an outer surface thereof.

11. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 10, wherein the at least one vane extends from the outer surface of the roller by a height that is at least 10% of a diameter of the respective roller and the at least one vane on the front roller is spaced apart from the at least one vane on the rear roller by a distance of about 1 mm.

12. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 11, wherein each of the at least one vanes comprises a V-shaped chevron having a point.

13. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 12, wherein the point of the V-shaped chevron is located directly in line with a center of the vacuum inlet.

28. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the cleaning head module envelopes between about 125°

and about 175°

of an outer circumference of each of the front roller and the rear roller, and the cleaning head module is spaced from a radially outermost part of the front member and the rear member by less than or equal to about 1 mm.

29. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 28, wherein the cleaning head module envelopes about 150°

of an outer circumference of each of the front roller and the rear roller.

14. An autonomous mobile robot for cleaning a cleaning surface comprises:

a chassis having a drive system mounted therein in communication with a control system;

a cleaning head assembly having a lower cage and mounted to the chassis;

a debris collection bin mounted to the chassis;

a vacuum airway having a vacuum inlet and an airway outlet, and configured to deliver debris from the cleaning head assembly to the debris collection bin, the vacuum airway extending between the cleaning assembly and the debris collection bin;

a cleaning head module connected to the chassis and having a rotatably engaged front roller comprising a front shape-changing resilient tube positioned adjacent to a rotatably engaged rear roller including a rear shape-changing resilient tube, the front roller and rear roller being located beneath the vacuum inlet to the vacuum airway; and

a cleaning head module connected to the chassis and having a front roller including a front shape-changing resilient tube integrally molded with a plurality of longitudinal vanes distributed about the circumference thereof, and an adjacent rear roller including a rear shape-changing resilient tube integrally molded with a plurality of longitudinal vanes distributed about the circumference thereof, rotatably opposing therewith beneath the vacuum inlet,

wherein the longitudinal vanes are each less than ⅔

of a narrowest air gap between the front shape-changing resilient tube and the rear shape changing resilient tube, so that the longitudinal vanes agitate and direct debris from a cleaning surface location directly beneath the narrowest air gap to the narrowest air gap.

15. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 14, wherein upon the introduction of debris larger than the narrowest air gap, one or more of the shape-changing resilient tubes integrally molded with a plurality of longitudinal vanes distributed, about the circumference thereof, changes from circular cross-section to partially bent in and/or off-center to permit the debris to roll between the front and rear resilient shape-changing tube.

16. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 14, wherein a longitudinal axis of the front roller lies in a first horizontal plane positioned above a second horizontal plane on which a longitudinal axis of the rear roller lies, and wherein the rear roller extends beneath the lower cage to make contact with the cleaning surface.

17. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 14, wherein the closest approach of the opposing longitudinal vanes is between about 1 mm and about 2 mm.

18. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 14, wherein the cleaning head module envelopes between about 125°

and about 175°

of an outer circumference of each of the front roller and the rear roller, and the cleaning head module is spaced from a radially outermost part of the front member and the rear member by less than or equal to about 1 mm.

19. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 18, wherein the cleaning head module envelopes about 150°

of an outer circumference of each of the front roller and the rear roller.

20. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 14, wherein, during operation of the autonomous mobile robot, a lower surface of the lower cage is spaced above the cleaning surface a distance less than or equal to about 1 mm.

21. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 14, wherein a cross sectional area of the air gap between the front roller and the rear roller is substantially equal to or less than a cross sectional area of the vacuum inlet.

22. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 14, wherein a ratio of the area of the air gap to an area of a planar cross section taken across the vacuum inlet is between about 1:

1 to 10;

1.

23. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 14, wherein a ratio of the area of the air gap to an area of a planar cross section taken across the vacuum inlet is about 4:

1.

24. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 14, wherein the at least one longitudinal vane extends from the outer surface of the roller by a height that is at least 10% of a diameter of the respective roller and the at least one longitudinal vane on the front roller is spaced apart from the at least one longitudinal vane on the rear roller by a distance of about 1 mm.

25. The resilient compressible roller of claim 24, wherein the at least one longitudinal vane defines a V-shaped chevron, the chevron having a central tip, a first leg extending from the central tip to a first end of the outer roller surface and a second leg extending from the central tip to a second end of the outer roller surface.

26. The resilient compressible roller of claim 25, wherein the legs of the V-shaped chevron are at about a 5°

to 10°

angle θ

relative to a linear longitudinal path traced on a surface of the roller and extending from the first end of the roller to the second end of the roller.

27. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 25, wherein the point of the V-shaped chevron is located directly in line with a center of the vacuum inlet.

37. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 14, wherein the front roller and the rear roller are in parallel longitudinal alignment with the vacuum inlet, and each of the front roller and the rear roller has at least one vane extending outwardly from an outer surface thereof.

30. An autonomous mobile robot for cleaning a cleaning surface comprises:

a chassis having a drive system mounted therein in communication with a control system;

a cleaning head assembly having a lower cage and mounted to the chassis;

a debris collection bin mounted to the chassis;

a vacuum airway having a vacuum inlet and an airway outlet positioned adjacent the debris collection bin, and configured to deliver debris from the cleaning head assembly to the debris collection bin, the vacuum airway extending between the cleaning head assembly and the debris collection bin and being in fluid communication with an impeller disposed within the debris collection bin; and

a cleaning head module connected to the chassis and having a front roller including a front shape-changing resilient tube and an adjacent rear roller including a rear shape-changing resilient tube rotatably opposing therewith beneath the vacuum inlet,

wherein a surface of the front shape-changing-tube and a surface rear shape-changing tube are separated by a narrowest air gap such that the vacuum draw directed from the vacuum airway is concentrated within the narrowest air gap,

wherein a cross sectional area of the narrowest air gap between the front roller and the rear roller is substantially equal to or less than a cross sectional area of the vacuum inlet such that the air flow within the narrowest air gap is substantially equal to or greater than the air flow in the airway, and

wherein the airway includes a deflecting slope above the narrowest air gap that redirects debris along the vacuum airway toward the debris collection bin.

31. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 30, wherein the longitudinal axis of the front portion of the vacuum airway having an angle about 45°

relative to the vertical axis.

32. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 30, wherein the front portion of the vacuum airway comprises a rigid material and the rear portion of the vacuum airway comprises an elastomeric member adjoined to a rigid front portion at sealed joint.

33. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 32, wherein the cleaning head assembly is movably mounted to the chassis by a linkage having a forward end and a rearward end, and being affixed at the forward end to the chassis and at the rearward end to the cleaning head module, the linkage being configured to lift the cleaning head assembly from the cleaning surface.

34. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 33, wherein the elastomeric member is downstream from the deflecting slope and has a downward slope when the autonomous mobile robot is place in an operating position on the cleaning surface.

35. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 33, wherein the sealed joint is an elastomeric overmold.

36. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 30, wherein the front roller and the rear roller are in parallel longitudinal alignment with the vacuum inlet, and each of the front roller and the rear roller has at least one vane extending outwardly from an outer surface thereof.