Robotic vacuum

• US 8,881,339 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2012
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• 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): NGUYEN, DUNG V
• Application Number:
  US13/460,261
• Publication Number:
  US 20120317744A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: 153/19, 153/39, 15/17, 153/83, 153/84, 153/401, 15/571, 151/17
• US Class Current: 15/319
• 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 coverage robot includes a chassis having forward and rearward portions. A drive system is mounted to the chassis and configured to maneuver the robot over a cleaning surface. A cleaning assembly is mounted on the forward portion of the chassis and has two counter-rotating rollers mounted therein for retrieving debris from the cleaning surface, the longitudinal axis of the forward roller lying in a first horizontal plane positioned above a second horizontal plane on which the longitudinal axis of the rearward roller lies. The cleaning assembly is movably mounted to the chassis by a linkage affixed at a forward end to the chassis and at a rearward end to the cleaning assembly. When the robot transitions from a firm surface to a compressible surface, the linkage lifts the cleaning assembly from the cleaning surface.

Claims

1. A resilient compressible roller rotatably engaged with an autonomous coverage robot, the resilient compressible roller comprising:

a rigid drive shaft;

a resilient tubular member having a longitudinal axis and including;

an outer surface;

one or more vanes extending outwardly from the outer surface;

a hub disposed along the longitudinal axis of the resilient tubular member within the outer surface, the hub having one or more engagement elements formed therein for engaging securely with the rigid drive shaft; and

a plurality of resilient curvilinear spokes extending between an inner surface of the resilient tubular member and the hub;

wherein the one or more vanes are integrally formed with the resilient tubular member and define V-shaped chevrons, each chevron having a central tip, a first leg extending from the central tip to a first end of the resilient tubular member and a second leg extending from the central tip to a second end of the resilient tubular member.

2. The resilient compressible roller of claim 1, further comprising:

a raised key integrally formed in one of an outer surface of the rigid drive shaft and a circumference of the hub; and

a receptacle integrally formed in the remaining one of the rigid drive shaft and the hub, the raised key and the receptacle transferring torque between the rigid drive shaft, the resilient curvilinear spokes, and the hub.

3. The resilient compressible roller of claim 1, further comprising a resilient compressible material disposed between the resilient tubular member and the rigid drive shaft.

4. The resilient compressible roller of claim 3, wherein the resilient compressible material comprises a foamed elastomer.

5. The resilient compressible roller of claim 3, where the foamed elastomer is one of thermoplastic polyurethane foam, ethylene vinyl acetate foam, or polypropylene foam.

6. The resilient compressible roller of claim 1, wherein the resilient curvilinear spokes are serpentine shaped in cross section.

7. The resilient compressible roller of claim 1, wherein the resilient curvilinear spokes occupy about 10% to 20% of a length of the resilient tubular member and are symmetrically distributed about a central point along the length of the resilient tubular member.

8. The resilient compressible roller of claim 1, wherein the one or more vanes are equidistantly spaced around a circumference of the resilient tubular member.

9. The resilient compressible roller of claim 8, wherein the one or more vanes comprises at least five vanes, and wherein the vanes are aligned such that the ends of one chevron are coplanar with a central tip of an adjacent chevron.

10. The resilient compressible roller of claim 1, wherein the one or more vanes extend from the outer surface of the resilient tubular member at an angle of between about 30°

and about 60°

relative to a radial axis of the resilient tubular member, and are inclined toward a direction of rotation of the resilient tubular member.

11. The resilient compressible roller of claim 10, wherein the angle of the vanes is 45°

relative to the radial axis of the resilient tubular member.

12. The resilient compressible roller of claim 1, wherein the legs of each V-shaped chevron are arranged at an angle of between about 5°

and about 10°

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

13. The resilient compressible roller of claim 12, wherein the legs of each V-shaped chevron are arranged at an angle of about 7°

relative to the linear longitudinal path.

14. The resilient compressible roller of claim 1, wherein the resilient tubular member, the curvilinear spokes, and the hub are integrally and homogenously formed from a resilient material of a durometer between 60 A and 80 A.

15. The resilient compressible roller of claim 1, wherein the diameter of an outside circumference swept by tips of the one or more vanes is 30 mm.

16. The resilient compressible roller of claim 1, wherein the one or more vanes have a height that is at least 10% of a diameter of the resilient tubular member.

17. An autonomous coverage robot having a chassis with forward and rearward portions,

a drive system mounted to the chassis and configured to maneuver the robot over a cleaning surface, and

a cleaning assembly mounted on the forward portion of the chassis, the cleaning assembly comprising two counter-rotating rollers mounted therein and configured to retrieve debris from the cleaning surface, the two counter-rotating rollers comprising:

a forward roller and a rearward roller each defining a longitudinal axis and formed of

an integrally and homogenously formed resilient elastomer outer tube of a durometer between 60 A and 80 A and between 1/2 mm and 3 mm wall thickness to substantially maintain a predetermined cross sectional area between the two counter-rotating rollers yet permit collapsing therebetween as large debris is passed, and

a partially air-occupied inner resilient core that is more resilient than the resilient elastomer outer tube and configured to bias the resilient elastomer outer tube to rebound,

the longitudinal axis of the forward roller lying in a first horizontal plane positioned above a second horizontal plane on which the longitudinal axis of the rearward roller lies.

18. The autonomous coverage robot of claim 17, wherein the cleaning 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 assembly, the linkage being configured to lift the cleaning assembly from the cleaning surface.

19. The autonomous coverage robot of claim 18, wherein the linkage is configured to lift the cleaning assembly substantially parallel to the cleaning surface, and such that the forward roller lifts at a faster rate than the rearward roller.

20. The autonomous coverage robot of claim 18, further comprising an enclosed dust bin module mounted on the rearward portion of the chassis, the enclosed dust bin module defining a collection volume in communication with the two counter-rotating rollers via a sealed vacuum plenum.

21. The autonomous coverage robot of claim 20, wherein the sealed vacuum plenum defines a first opening positioned above the two counter-rotating rollers and a second opening positioned at an entry to the collection volume.

22. The autonomous coverage robot of claim 21, where the sealed vacuum plenum comprises a substantially horizontal elastomeric portion leading to the entry to the collection volume, the substantially horizontal elastomeric portion being configured to flex to slope downwardly when the linkage lifts the cleaning assembly within the chassis.

23. The autonomous coverage robot of claim 22, wherein the substantially horizontal elastomeric portion flexes at least about 4 mm to about 6 mm in a vertical direction when the linkage lifts the cleaning assembly within the chassis.

24. The autonomous coverage robot of claim 23, wherein the linkage is configured to lift the cleaning head at a variable rate, and such that a maximum lift angle from resting state is less than about 10°

.

25. The autonomous coverage robot of claim 18, wherein the linkage comprises a four-bar linkage symmetrically placed about the cleaning assembly such that a forward end of each bar of the linkage attaches to the cleaning assembly at or near a forward edge of the cleaning assembly.

26. The autonomous coverage robot of claim 17, wherein the forward roller is positioned higher than the rearward roller such that, on a firm cleaning surface, the forward roller suspends above the surface and only the rearward roller makes contact.

27. The autonomous coverage robot of claim 17, wherein the cleaning assembly comprises a cleaning head frame and a roller housing, the cleaning head frame defining a portion of the chassis to which the roller housing is movably linked or being immovably attached to the chassis to which the roller housing is movably linked.