Mobile robotistic mopping machine

• US 9,357,894 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2014
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Egenpower Inc., Engen Power, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Egenpower Inc.
• Inventors: Chiu, Yao-Hsi, Zhu, Fei-Yun
• Primary Examiner(s): Spisich, Mark
• Application Number:
  US14/171,278
• Publication Number:
  US 20140223678A1
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: 153/19, 153/401, 15/98
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/28 Floor-scrubbing machines, motor-driven A47L11/29 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4002 Installations of electric equipment
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4038 Disk 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 11/4066 Propulsion of the whole machine
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/408 Means for supplying cleaning or surface treating agents
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4083 Liquid supply reservoirs; Preparation of the agents, e.g. mixing devices
• 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 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection

Abstract

A mobile robotistic mopping machine is formed of a body frame, a mop cloth, a power device, and a control device. The power device includes two opposite wheels and two opposite motors connected with the respective wheels for driving the wheels to rotate to further enable the body frame via the wheels to make the mop cloth move forward for cleaning the ground. The control device is electrically connected with the motors for controlling the motors. When the body frame makes the mop cloth move forward for a predetermined distance, the control device can control and make one of the motors reversely rotate and meanwhile make the other keep normal rotation to further enable the body frame to make the mop cloth turn for a predetermined angle and then keep moving forward.

Claims

1. A mobile robotistic mopping machine comprising:

a body frame;

a mop cloth detachably mounted to the body frame;

a power device mounted to the body frame and having two wheels opposite to each other and two motors opposite to each other, each of the motors being connected with one of the wheels for driving said one wheel to rotate; and

a control device mounted inside the body frame and electrically connected with the motors for controlling the motors;

wherein when the body frame is synchronous with normal rotations of the two wheels to drive the mop cloth to move forward for a predetermined distance, the control device controls and makes one of the motors reversely rotate and makes the other normally rotate, so in this way, the body frame makes the mop cloth turn for a predetermined angle, and

wherein the body frame comprises a housing, a mounting portion, a wing-shaped member, at least two linking members, and at least two resilient members, the mounting portion being mounted inside the housing, the mounting portion having at least two first axial tubes extending upward from a bottom side thereof, the wing-shaped member having at least two second axial tubes extending upward from a top side thereof, each of the second axial tubes being axially movably inserted into one of the at least two first axial tubes, each of the linking members being connected with one of the at least two first axial tubes and one of the at least two second axial tubes, each of the resilient members being sleeved onto one of the at least two linking members and abutting against an end wall of one said first axial tube and an end wall of one said second axial tube;

the mop cloth being coupled to an external peripheral edge of the wing-shaped member;

the power device is mounted to the mounting portion.

2. The mobile robotistic mopping machine as defined in claim 1, wherein after the body frame makes the mop cloth turn for the predetermined angle, the control device controls and makes the two motors normally rotate synchronously to enable the body frame via the normal rotations of the two wheels to make the mop cloth keep moving forward.

3. The mobile robotistic mopping machine as defined in claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a range-finding unit for measuring the distance between the body frame and an obstacle.

4. The mobile robotistic mopping machine as defined in claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a current sensing unit for sensing current magnitude of the motors.

5. The mobile robotistic mopping machine as defined in claim 1, wherein the body frame comprises a handhold portion.

6. The mobile robotistic mopping machine as defined in claim 1 further comprising an annular water container, wherein the annular water container is sleeved onto the housing and has a first retaining portion and a limiting concavity located at the first retaining portion;

the body frame comprises a second retaining portion and a limiting convexity at an external side of the housing, the limiting convexity being located at the second retaining portion, the second retaining portion abutting against the first retaining portion, the limiting convexity being detachably engaged into the limiting concavity.

7. The mobile robotistic mopping machine as defined in claim 6, wherein the wing-shaped member comprises a lower inlet corresponding to the mop cloth;

the annular water container comprises an upper inlet communicating with the lower inlet, an outflow plug being mounted inside the upper inlet, the outflow plug having an outlet, a sub-outflow plug being mounted inside the outlet.

8. The mobile robotistic mopping machine as defined in claim 1, wherein the mop cloth is adhesively mounted to a bottom side of the wing-shaped member by at least one male hook-and-loop fastener and at least one female hook-and-loop fastener.