COVERAGE ROBOTS AND ASSOCIATED CLEANING BINS
First Claim
1. An autonomous coverage robot comprising:
- a chassis;
a drive system mounted on the chassis and configured to maneuver the robot;
a cleaning assembly carried by the chassis and comprising;
a cleaning assembly housing; and
at least one driven sweeper brush rotatably coupled to the cleaning assembly housing;
a controller carried by the chassis;
a removable sweeper bin attached to the chassis and configured to receive debris agitated by the driven sweeper brush, the removable sweeper bin comprising;
an emitter disposed on an interior surface of the bin; and
a receiver disposed remotely from the emitter on the interior surface of the bin and configured to receive a signal emitted by the emitter, the emitter and the receiver disposed such that a threshold level of accumulation of debris in the sweeper bin blocks the receiver from receiving emissions from the emitter; and
a bin controller disposed in the sweeper bin and monitoring a signal from the detector and initiating a bin full routine upon determining a bin debris accumulation level requiring service.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An autonomous coverage robot includes a chassis, a drive system configured to maneuver the robot, and a cleaning assembly. The cleaning assembly includes a cleaning assembly housing and at least one driven sweeper brush. The robot includes a controller and a removable sweeper bin configured to receive debris agitated by the driven sweeper brush. The sweeper bin includes an emitter disposed on an interior surface of the bin and a receiver disposed remotely from the emitter on the interior surface of the bin and configured to receive an emitter signal. The emitter and the receiver are disposed such that a threshold level of accumulation of debris in the sweeper bin blocks the receiver from receiving emitter emissions. The robot includes a bin controller disposed in the sweeper bin and monitoring a detector signal and initiating a bin full routine upon determining a bin debris accumulation level requiring service.
195 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An autonomous coverage robot comprising:
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a chassis;
a drive system mounted on the chassis and configured to maneuver the robot;
a cleaning assembly carried by the chassis and comprising;
a cleaning assembly housing; and
at least one driven sweeper brush rotatably coupled to the cleaning assembly housing;
a controller carried by the chassis;
a removable sweeper bin attached to the chassis and configured to receive debris agitated by the driven sweeper brush, the removable sweeper bin comprising;
an emitter disposed on an interior surface of the bin; and
a receiver disposed remotely from the emitter on the interior surface of the bin and configured to receive a signal emitted by the emitter, the emitter and the receiver disposed such that a threshold level of accumulation of debris in the sweeper bin blocks the receiver from receiving emissions from the emitter; and
a bin controller disposed in the sweeper bin and monitoring a signal from the detector and initiating a bin full routine upon determining a bin debris accumulation level requiring service. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A coverage robot bin-full detection system comprising:
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a cleaning bin housing configured to be received by a cleaning robot;
a bin capacity sensor system carried by the cleaning bin housing and comprising;
at least one signal emitter disposed on an interior surface of the cleaning bin housing; and
at least one signal receiver disposed on the interior surface of the cleaning bin housing and configured to receive a signal emitted by the emitter;
a controller monitoring a signal from the detector and determining a cleaning service requirement; and
a remote indicator in wireless communication with the controller and providing an indication of the cleaning service requirement determined by the controller. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification