Patent Application
20240149309
The present disclosure relates to the field of smart home technologies, and in particular to a base station and a cleaning robot system.
For a conventional cleaning robot, a cleaning part of the cleaning robot typically requires to be cleaned after the cleaning robot performs a wet cleaning task. At present, the wet cleaning part is mostly manually cleaned or replaced with a new one, which is inconvenient to use.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a base station for cleaning a cleaning system of a cleaning robot, including:
According an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a cleaning robot system, including the above-mentioned base station and a cleaning robot.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a base station for cleaning a cleaning system of a cleaning robot, including:
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a cleaning robot system, including the above-mentioned base station and a cleaning robot.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a base station for cleaning a cleaning system of a cleaning robot, including:
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a cleaning robot system, including the above-mentioned base station and a cleaning robot.
By considering the following detailed description of optional embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, various objectives, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent. The drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the present disclosure, and are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings, the same reference numerals always refer to the same or similar elements.
The reference numbers are explained as follows:
Embodiments embodying features of the present disclosure will be described in detail in the following description. It should be understood that the present disclosure can have various changes in different embodiments, which do not depart from the scope of the present disclosure. The description and drawings therein are essentially for illustrative purposes, rather than limiting the present disclosure.
In the following description of different exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the present disclosure, and show by way of example different exemplary structures, systems, and steps that can implement various aspects of the present disclosure therein. It should be understood that other specific solutions of components, structures, exemplary devices, systems, and steps can be used, and structural and functional modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, although the terms “above”, “between”, “within”, etc. may be used in this specification to describe different exemplary features and elements of the present disclosure, these terms are used herein for convenience only. For example, the description may be based on an example direction in the drawings. Nothing in this specification should be understood as requiring a specific three-dimensional direction of the structure to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.
As illustrated in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The control module 130 is disposed on a main circuit board in the robot body 110, and may include a computing processor, such as a central processing unit, an application processor, for communicating with a non-transitory memory, such as a hard disk, a flash memory, a random access memory. The application processor uses a positioning algorithm such as simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) to create a simultaneous map of the environment where the cleaning robot 10 is located, according to obstacle information fed back by the laser distance sensor. In addition, in combination with distance information and speed information fed back by the sensing device such as the sensor, the cliff sensor, the magnetometer, the accelerometer, the gyroscopes, the odometer disposed on the bumper 122, it is determined comprehensively which operating state the cleaning robot 10 is currently in, which position the cleaning robot 10 is currently located at, and the current posture of the cleaning robot 10, such as crossing a threshold, moving onto the carpet, being on a cliff, getting stuck on top or bottom, with a full dust container, being picked up, etc. The next action strategy may be provided for different situations, so that the cleaning robot 10 has better cleaning performance and user experience.
As shown in
The power system may include a rechargeable battery, such as a nickel-metal hydride battery and a lithium battery. The rechargeable battery may be connected with a charging control circuit, a battery pack charging temperature detection circuit, and a battery undervoltage monitoring circuit. The charging control circuit, the battery pack charging temperature detection circuit, and the battery undervoltage monitoring circuit are then connected with the single-chip control circuit. The robot is connected to a charging station through a charging electrode disposed on a side or below the robot for charging.
The human-computer interaction system 170 may include a button on a host panel for a user to select functions. It may also include a display screen and/or an indicator light and/or a speaker, wherein the display screen, the indicator light and the speaker show the user the current state of the robot or the function selection options. It may also include a mobile client application. For a path-navigation type of cleaning robot, the mobile client can show the user the map of the environment where the robot is located, and the location of the robot, which may provide the user with richer and more user-friendly functional items.
The cleaning system may be a dry cleaning system 151 and/or a wet cleaning system 400.
As shown in
As shown in
The cleaning head 410 is configured to clean the surface to be cleaned, and the driving unit 420 is configured to drive the cleaning head 410 to substantially reciprocate along the target surface, which is a part of the surface to be cleaned. The cleaning head 410 reciprocates along the surface to be cleaned, and a side of the contact surface between the cleaning head 410 and the surface to be cleaned is provided with a cleaning cloth or a cleaning plate, which leads to high-frequency friction with respect to the surface to be cleaned due to the reciprocating motion, thereby removing stains from the surface to be cleaned.
The higher the friction frequency, the more friction times per unit time. The high-frequency reciprocating motion, also called reciprocating vibration, has a greater cleaning capacity than the ordinary reciprocating motion, such as rotation. The friction cleaning, of which the friction frequency is optionally close to the sound wave, have a better cleaning effect than the rotating friction cleaning with dozens of turns per minute. On the other hand, hair tufts on the surface of the cleaning head 410 may be more uniform and stretched in the same direction under the shaking of high-frequency vibration. Thus, the overall cleaning effect is more uniform, which is reflected in the effect that water marks on the surface to be cleaned after high-frequency vibration cleaning are more uniform, and no messy water mark is left. Instead, if the down pressure is applied to increase the friction force for improving the cleaning effect with low frequency rotation, the down pressure does not cause the hair tufts to extend in the same direction.
The reciprocating motion may be repeated motion along any one or more directions within the surface to be cleaned. Alternatively, it may be vibrations perpendicular to the surface to be cleaned, which is not strictly limited. Optionally, the direction of the reciprocating motion of the cleaning module is approximately perpendicular to the travel direction of the robot, because the direction of the reciprocating motion parallel to the travel direction of the robot would cause instability to the robot itself, due to the thrust and resistance in the travel direction leading to the driving wheels easy to slip. The impact of slipping is more obvious in a case that the wet cleaning module is included, because the wet surface to be cleaned increases the possibility of slipping. In addition to affecting the smooth moving and cleaning effect of the robot, the slipping may also cause the sensor such as the odometer, the gyroscope to be inaccurate in range measurement. This results in the navigation-type of cleaning robot being unable to accurately locate and create the map. In the case of frequent slipping, the impact on SLAM may not be ignored. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid the robot from slipping as much as possible. In addition to slipping, the motion component of the cleaning head 410 in the travel direction of the robot causes the robot to be continuously pushed forwards and rearwards when traveling, which will lead the traveling of the robot to be unstable and unsmooth.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an optional embodiment of the present disclosure, the wet cleaning system 400 may be connected to the robot body 110 through an active lifting module. In a case that the wet cleaning system 400 is temporarily not in operation, for example, the cleaning robot 10 stops at the base station to clean the cleaning head 410 of the wet cleaning system 400 and injects liquid into the liquid container 13. Alternatively, in a case that the surface to be cleaned cannot be cleaned by the wet cleaning system 400, the wet cleaning system 400 is lifted by the active lifting module.
In the wet cleaning system 400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cleaning head 410, the driving plate 421, the supporting plate 422, the liquid delivery mechanism, and the liquid container 13 may be powered by one motor or multiple motors. The power system 160 provides power for the motor, and the control module 130 provides the overall control.
The liquid delivery mechanism in an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a liquid outlet device, which may be directly or indirectly connected to the liquid outlet of the liquid container 13. As shown in
As shown in
The pump 4219 may be connected to the connecting part of the liquid outlet device, and may be configured to pump the cleaning liquid from the liquid container 13 to the liquid outlet device. The pump can be a gear pump, a vane pump, a plunger pump, a peristaltic pump, and so on.
The liquid delivery mechanism pumps out the cleaning liquid in the liquid container 13 through the pump 4219 and the pump pipe 4218, and then transports it to the liquid outlet device. The liquid outlet device 4217 may be a nozzle, drip hole, soaking cloth, etc., and evenly spread the liquid on the cleaning head 410, so as to wet the cleaning head 410 and the surface to be cleaned. The stains on the wet surface to be cleaned may be cleaned more easily. In the wet cleaning system 400, the power/flow rate of the pump may be adjusted.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid container 13 may further include a liquid filling port 16. As shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the valve 17 may be an electronic valve or a manual valve, and it is ensured that the valve 17 may be open or closed under the respective control. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the valve 17 may also be a check valve. In a case that the liquid container 13 is refilled and the connection between the liquid filling port 16 and the liquid container 13 is disconnected, the valve 17 is automatically closed to prevent the cleaning fluid in the liquid container 13 from flowing out. For example, the valve 17 may be a cross valve, a lift check valve, a swing check valve, or the like.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cleaning robot 10 further includes a first charging contactor 12, which may be disposed on the robot body 110 and connected to the power system of the cleaning robot 10. In a case that the cleaning robot 10 stays at the base station, the base station may charge the power system of the cleaning robot 10 through the first charging contactor 12. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first charging contactor 12 may be located on a side of the robot body of the cleaning robot 10. This arrangement can prevent the stagnant liquid on the ground from polluting the first charging contactor 12, and also prevent damage to the cleaning robot 10 in a case that the charging contactor contacts the liquid if the robot 10 stays at the base station to fill the liquid container 13 with liquid or clean the cleaning system 150 of the cleaning robot 10.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid outlet device 36 of the base station is movably disposed, so that the cleaning liquid may be sprayed or smeared to the cleaning system 150 of the cleaning robot 10 more evenly. Thus, it is ensured that the cleaning fluid soaks the cleaning system 150 in time if the cleaning component 30 cleans the cleaning system 150 of the cleaning robot 10.
In addition, in addition to realizing the cleaning of the cleaning system 150, it is also avoided that the cleaning liquid overflows and flows into the external environment, or flows onto relevant electrical components of the cleaning robot 10, thereby causing safety problems.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in a case that the cleaning robot 10 stays at the base station body 20 and keeps stationary, the cleaning component 30 is in contact with the cleaning system 150 of the cleaning robot 10 and moves relative to the base station body 20 and the cleaning robot 10. The cleaning liquid discharged from the liquid outlet device 36 soaks the cleaning system 150 of the cleaning robot 10 and may effectively clean the cleaning system 150 of the cleaning robot 10.
It should be noted that if the cleaning component 30 of the base station moves, the cleaning liquid discharged by the liquid outlet device 36 may be configured to clean the cleaning system 150 of the cleaning robot 10. That is, the debris on the cleaning system 150 of the cleaning robot 10 can be removed with the help of the cleaning liquid, and the cleaning system 150 is evenly soaked during the movement of the liquid outlet device 36.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may further include a liquid delivery channel. One end of the liquid delivery channel is in communication with a liquid supply part 70, and the other end of the liquid delivery channel is in communication with the liquid outlet device 36, so that the liquid supply part 70 supplies the cleaning liquid into the liquid outlet device 36 via the liquid delivery channel. At least part of the liquid delivery channel is movably disposed along with the cleaning component holder 33. The liquid supply part 70 provides storage of the cleaning liquid, and the liquid delivery channel is a delivery part, so as to move along with the cleaning component holder 33.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid delivery channel is a liquid delivery pipe, and the liquid delivery pipe is connected to the cleaning component holder 33. That is, the liquid outlet device 36 is disposed on the cleaning component holder 33, and two ends of the liquid delivery pipe are respectively in communication with the liquid supply part 70 and the liquid outlet device 36, so as to achieve liquid supply.
Optionally, the liquid delivery channel is provided with a pump. The cleaning liquid in the liquid supply part 70 is transported to the liquid outlet device 36 under the action of the pump, which ensures that the cleaning liquid has a certain impact force, thereby improving the cleaning capability. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller disposed on the base station may control parameters such as liquid outlet frequency, liquid outlet flux, and liquid outlet duration. Besides, the controller may be further connected with the communication device of the base station. When the communication device receives instructions from the cleaning robot 10 or a remote controller, such as a computer terminal or a mobile application, operations of one or more elements on the base station can be controlled.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of liquid outlets 35 may be disposed on the liquid outlet device 36 at intervals, the cleaning liquid is discharged through the liquid outlet 35, and liquid may be discharged at multiple positions to improve cleaning efficiency.
Optionally, the liquid outlet device 36 may be integrated into the cleaning component holder 33, and the plurality of liquid outlets 35 is disposed on the cleaning component holder 33 at intervals, so as to realize liquid discharging at multiple positions. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the liquid outlet device 36 may be also disposed separately on the cleaning component holder 33, so as to facilitate repair, replacement, and so on of the liquid outlet device 36.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
Specifically, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station further includes a first pump and a second pump. The first pump is configured to pump the cleaning liquid into the cleaning groove 21. The second pump is configured to pump out the cleaning liquid from the cleaning groove 21. The first pump and the second pump respectively achieve the feeding and the pumping of the cleaning liquid, so as to ensure the replacement of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning groove 21 and ensure the cleaning effect.
The first pump is in communication with the liquid supply part 70, so that the cleaning liquid in the liquid supply part 70 is pumped into the cleaning groove 21 through the liquid outlet 35. The second pump is in communication with the collection container 71, so that the cleaning liquid in the cleaning groove 21 is pumped into the collection container 71 through the liquid pumping port 211.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first pump and the second pump may be in operation at the same time. The first pump sprays the cleaning liquid into the cleaning groove 21, and the second pump pumps the cleaning liquid out from the cleaning groove 21. That is, the cleaning liquid flows rapidly in the cleaning groove 21.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
It should be noted that the cleaning part is parallel to the liquid outlet device 36. That is, an extension direction of the cleaning part is parallel to a straight line formed by connecting center points of the plurality of liquid outlets 35 of the liquid outlet device 36.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cleaning component 30 may be disposed on the base station body 20 approximately horizontally, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
Specifically, in a case that the cleaning robot 10 moves to the base station body 20, the cleaning component 30 is positioned opposite to the cleaning system 150, the cleaning component 30 moves relative to the base station body 20, and the first cleaning part 31 and/or the second cleaning part 32 may be in contact with the cleaning system 150, so as to remove debris on the cleaning system 150. That is, the cleaning robot 10 can perform automatic cleaning on the cleaning component 30.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as described above, the cleaning system 150 of the cleaning robot 10 may include a dry cleaning system 151 and a wet cleaning system 400. The following specifically introduces a cleaning process of the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10 by the cleaning component 30 of the base station.
As shown in
In a case that the cleaning robot 10 is fixed on the base station body 20, and the cleaning head 410 of the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10 is in good contact with the cleaning component 30 of the base station, the cleaning component 30 may perform cleaning on the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
As mentioned above, the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning system 150 may reciprocate relative to the base station body 20. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, during the movement of the cleaning component 30 relative to the base station body 20, the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10 may be stationary, or the wet cleaning system 400 may also perform the corresponding reciprocating motion to be in cooperation with the motion of the cleaning component 30. This ensures that the wet cleaning system 400 can be cleaned quickly. For example, in a case that the cleaning component 30 moves to the left relative to the base station body 20, the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10 may move to the right relative to the base station body 20, so as to increase the relative motion speed between the cleaning component 30 and the wet cleaning system 400 for improving the cleaning efficiency; and vice versa.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32 are synchronously and movably disposed. As shown in
As mentioned above, the cleaning component 30 may include one or more first cleaning parts 31 and second cleaning parts 32. For example, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cleaning component 30 may include two first cleaning parts 31 and one second cleaning part 32, wherein the first cleaning parts 31 are respectively disposed on two sides of the second cleaning part 32, as shown in
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, by controlling the height of the liquid level in the cleaning groove 21, the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32 may be partially immersed in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning groove 21, completely immersed in the cleaning liquid, or not immersed in the cleaning liquid at all.
In a case that the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32 are partially immersed in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning groove 21, the first cleaning part 31 performs the reciprocating motion while rotating. During the rotation of the first cleaning part 31, the cleaning liquid in the cleaning groove 21 may be taken out and applied to the cleaning head 410 of the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10. Thus, the cleaning head 410 may be cleaned in a case that the liquid outlet device of the base station is not in operation. In addition, during the reciprocating motions of the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32, the impurities thereon may be removed under the washing of the liquid flow.
In a case that the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32 are all immersed in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning groove 21, that is, the cleaning head 410 of the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10 may be immersed in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning groove 21, the cleaning head 410 may use the cleaning liquid in the cleaning groove 21 to perform cleaning if the liquid outlet device of the base station is not in operation. In addition, during the reciprocating motions of the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32, the impurities thereon may be removed under the washing of the liquid flow.
In a case that the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32 are not immersed in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning groove 21 at all, the cleaning head 410 of the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10 completely uses the cleaning liquid sprayed by the liquid outlet device of the base station for cleaning. Thereby, it is ensured that the cleaning head 410 is not secondarily contaminated by the debris in the cleaning groove 21, which may be applied to the situation where the cleaning head 410 is seriously dirty, and may be also applied to the situation where the cleaning fluid in the cleaning groove 21 has been used for too many times and has not been replaced.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
Optionally, as shown in
In addition, as described above, in a case that the cleaning component 30 moves relative to the base station body 20, the first cleaning part 31 of the cleaning component 30 also rotates by itself. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, one motor may be configured to drive the cleaning component 30 to move relative to the base station body 20 and at the same time to drive the first cleaning part 31 to rotate by itself. Specifically, an output shaft of the motor is connected to the gear 341 and the first cleaning part 31 through a gear transmission component. Thus, in a case that the motor is running, the motor drives the gear 341 and the first cleaning part 31 to rotate at the same time. In this case, the gear 341 moves along the extending direction of the rack, and the first cleaning part 31 rotates by itself. The gear transmission component is configured according to the actual requirements in rotating speed, and there is no limitation here. The gear transmission component includes a gear and a connection shaft. Further, the gear transmission component may also include a conveyor belt or a chain, etc., which is not limited here, as long as the motor can be ensured to simultaneously drive the gear 341 and the first cleaning part 31 to rotate. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, it is not excluded that two motors are configured to drive the movement of the cleaning component 30 relative to the base station body 20 and the rotation movement of the first cleaning part 31 respectively.
Optionally, the driving part 34 may be fixed to the base station body 20, and the driving part 34 may be an air cylinder or an oil cylinder. A telescopic rod of the driving part 34 is connected to the cleaning component holder 33, so that the cleaning component holder 33 is driven to move on the base station body 20 due to the extension and retraction of the telescopic rod. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the driving part 34 may also be an electric cylinder, or configured in such a way that the motor and the conveyor belt cooperate with each other, as long as it can drive the cleaning component holder 33 to move, which is not limited in the present disclosure. As mentioned above, the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32 in an embodiment of the present disclosure may be located on different holders, so as to realize the asynchronous movements of the two. For this reason, the holders of the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32 may be provided with independent driving parts, which is not limited in the present disclosure.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the left and right movement of the cleaning component 30 relative to the base station body 20 and the rotation of the first cleaning part 31 are driven by the same driving part, as shown in
As shown in
In an embodiment, the motor may realize forward rotation and reverse rotation, and accordingly, the cleaning component holder 33 may be driven to move in two opposite directions, while the first cleaning part 31 may be also driven to rotate in two directions (i.e., clockwise rotation and counterclockwise rotation). For example, the motor may drive the cleaning component holder 33 to move to left relative to the base station body 20, while driving the first cleaning part 31 to rotate clockwise. The motor may also drive the cleaning component holder 33 to move to right relative to the base station body 20, while driving the first cleaning part 31 to rotate counterclockwise. It should be noted that the types and sizes of the gears are not limited here, and may be selected according to actual needs.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid outlet 35 of the liquid outlet device 36 may face at least one of the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32, and the cleaning liquid discharged from the liquid outlet 35 may impact on at least one of the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32. That is, the liquid outlet 35 not only serves as a channel for the cleaning liquid to enter the cleaning groove 21, but the liquid outlet 35 may also make the liquid flow impact on at least one of the first cleaning part 31, the second cleaning part 32, and the cleaning head 410 of the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10, in order to achieve cleaning accordingly.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32 are disposed side by side, and the liquid outlet 35 of the liquid outlet device 36 is located below the second cleaning part 32 and faces the first cleaning part 31. The liquid outlet 35 sprays the cleaning liquid in the liquid supply part 70 to the first cleaning part 31, and interacts with the cleaning head 410 of the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10 due to rotation of the first cleaning part 31, so as to apply the cleaning liquid to the cleaning head 410. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, a liquid outlet direction of the liquid outlet 35 of the liquid outlet device 36 may be directed toward the cleaning head 410, and the cleaning liquid is sprayed directly to the cleaning head 410. The impact of the cleaning liquid on the cleaning head 410 is configured to cooperate with the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32 so as to realize the cleaning of the cleaning head 410.
In addition, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the liquid outlet device 36 and the cleaning component 30 (that is, the first cleaning part 31 and the second cleaning part 32) may be separately disposed. With such arrangement, if some parts cannot operate, other parts are not affected. For example, the base station may only use the liquid outlet device 36 to complete the cleaning of the cleaning head 410. That is, the impact of the cleaning liquid on the cleaning head 410 is used completely to achieve the cleaning of the cleaning head 410.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of liquid outlets 35 may be disposed on the liquid outlet device 36, and the plurality of liquid outlets 35 may be in operation at the same time, or may discharge the cleaning liquid sequentially according to a preset rule. That is, the plurality of liquid outlets 35 does not discharge the cleaning liquid at the same time. For example, different pumps or valves may be configured to control the liquid discharge time and frequency of different liquid outlets 35. Such arrangement may adapt the base station suitable to different shapes and sizes of the cleaning heads 410. For example, in a case that the cleaning area of the cleaning head 410 is small, a part of the plurality of liquid outlets 35 may be controlled to operate, so as to avoid the waste of cleaning liquid.
The above is mainly directed to the cleaning of the cleaning head 410 of the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station may also clean other elements of the cleaning robot 10, which is not limited in the present disclosure.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cleaning robot 10 may move to and stay at the base station body 20, as shown in
In an embodiment, in a case that the cleaning robot 10 moves to the base station body 20, the liquid filling connector 50 of the base station may be connected to the liquid filling port 16 of the cleaning robot 10, so that the base station supplies the liquid into the liquid container 13 through the liquid filling connector 50.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, since the cleaning robot 10 may swing slightly from side to side during docking at the base station, in order to align the liquid filling connector 50 of the base station better with the liquid filling port 16 of the liquid container 13 of the cleaning robot 10, at least part of the liquid filling connector 50 of the base station is movably disposed. For example, the liquid filling connector 50 is made of a flexible material, or the liquid filling connector 50 is disposed on the flexible material.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
Specifically, the body part 51 is a main flow path of the liquid, the joint part 53 is a hard interface part for connecting with the liquid filling port 16 of the liquid container 13 of the cleaning robot 10, and the sealing part 52 is a soft structure. By disposing the soft sealing part 52, the liquid filling connector 50 may move radially and axially, which facilitates alignment with the liquid filling port 16 of the liquid container 13.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is also possible to apply a forward driving force onto the driving wheel of the cleaning robot 10, if the cleaning robot 10 stays at the base station to fill liquid into the liquid container 13. During the process of filling liquid into the liquid container 13, the liquid filling connector 50 of the base station generates a backward thrust on the cleaning robot 10 while discharging liquid, rendering the cleaning robot 10 to tend to move backward. Increasing the forward driving force on the driving wheel may offset at least a part of the thrust, thereby ensuring that the cleaning robot 10 is more stable if filling the liquid container 13 with liquid. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, it may be determined, by the liquid discharge speed of the liquid filling connector 50, the mass of the cleaning robot 10 itself, or the friction between the driving wheel and the staying surface of the base station if the cleaning robot 10 stays at the base station, whether the forward driving force is increased or not, and what the magnitude of the driving force is, which are not limited in the present disclosure.
In order to enable the liquid container 13 of the cleaning robot 10 to be filled with cleaning liquid in time, a sensor may be disposed on the cleaning robot 10 to detect the change in liquid level in the liquid container 13. For example, a float containing a magnetic element may be disposed in the liquid container 13, and one or more magnetic induction elements may be disposed on the liquid container 13 or the robot body of the cleaning robot 10, so as to detect the change in liquid level in the liquid container 13. In a case that the liquid level in the liquid container 13 is lower than a predetermined threshold, the cleaning robot 10 may automatically return to the base station to fill liquid, or the cleaning robot 10 may alert the user by an app or voice, and the user controls the cleaning robot 10 to return to the base station for liquid filling. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the change in liquid level in the liquid container 13 may also be detected by other means, such as an infrared sensor. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, other control methods may be also configured to help the cleaning robot 10 returning to the base station for liquid filling. For example, the cleaning robot 10 may automatically return to the base station to fill liquid after completing the task for cleaning a designated cleaning area or the task for cleaning a designated region. The present disclosure is not limited in this respect. In addition, in combination with the foregoing, the liquid container 13 may be filled with liquid while the cleaning head 410 of the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10 is cleaned.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
Specifically, in a case that the cleaning robot 10 moves to the base station body 20, and the first fixture part 60 is connected to the second fixture part 14, the liquid filling connector 50 is connected to the liquid container 13. At this time, the liquid container 13 is filled with liquid through the liquid filling connector 50.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid supply part 70 may be in communication with the liquid filling connector 50, and the liquid supply part 70 supplies liquid into the liquid container 13 through the liquid filling connector 50. The liquid supply part 70 is configured to contain the cleaning liquid, and the liquid in the liquid supply part 70 may be fed into the liquid container 13 through the liquid filling connector 50.
Optionally, the liquid supply part 70 may be selectively in communication with the liquid filling connector 50 or the liquid outlet 35. That is, the liquid supply part 70 may fill liquid into the liquid container 13 through the liquid filling connector 50, or the liquid supply part 70 may supply the cleaning liquid into the cleaning groove 21 through the liquid outlet 35 of the liquid outlet device 36. The first pump is configured to pump the cleaning liquid into the cleaning groove 21, or the first pump is configured to pump the liquid into the liquid filling connector 50, so as to fill the liquid container 13 with liquid.
It should be noted that the liquid discharged from the liquid supply part 70 may be shunted into two channels, wherein one channel is in communication with the liquid filling connector 50, and the other channel is in communication with the liquid outlet 35. The liquid supply part 70 may be selectively in communication with two channels, so as to control the liquid filling to the liquid filling connector 50 or the liquid outlet 35. The two channels may be respectively provided with valves, and opening and closing of the valves are controlled to control the disconnection and the communication between the two channels. Alternatively, a three-way valve may be disposed. That is, a three-way valve is configured to control the liquid supply part 70 to be in communication with the respective channel.
As shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of second charging contactors 40 and the plurality of first charging contactors 12 are all arranged in pairs. Optionally, the second charging contactors 40 may also be located on the side surface 231. That is, the two second charging contactors 40 in a pair may be located on the two side surfaces 231, respectively.
Accordingly, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first charging contactor 12 located on the cleaning robot 10 may be located on the front side of the cleaning robot 10. As shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first charging contactor 12 and the wet cleaning system 400 of the cleaning robot 10 are respectively located on opposite sides of the cleaning robot 10, that is, at the front and rear ends in a travelling direction of the cleaning robot 10. Specifically, the first charging contactor 12 is located on the front side of the cleaning robot 10, and the wet cleaning system 400 is located on the rear side of the cleaning robot 10. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cleaning robot 10 may stay at the base station in two postures. In a case that the cleaning robot 10 returns to the base station for charging, the cleaning robot 10 is travelling forward to stay at the base station. In a case that the cleaning robot 10 cleans the wet cleaning system 400 or fills the liquid container 13, the cleaning robot 10 is travelling in a reverse direction to stay at the base station. In order to cooperate with these two travelling modes, elements for communicating with the base station may be disposed in the front and rear direction of the cleaning robot 10. For example, an infrared device for receiving signals from the base station, etc., is disposed in the front and rear direction of the cleaning robot 10, which is not limited by the present disclosure.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cleaning component 30 is located above the guide plate 22, and the cleaning component 30 and the slip-resistance protrusion 221 are spaced apart. Thus, after the cleaning robot 10 moves a certain distance on the guide plate 22, the cleaning component 30 is disposed opposite to the cleaning system 150, so as to perform the subsequent cleaning process.
Optionally, the cleaning groove 21 is disposed on the guide plate 22, and the guide plate 22 includes an inclined surface and a flat surface. The slip-resistance protrusion 221 may be disposed on the inclined surface, and the cleaning groove 21 may be disposed on the flat surface.
It should be noted that the slip-resistance structure formed by the slip-resistance protrusions 221 corresponds to the walking wheel assembly of the cleaning robot 10. In a case that there are two traveling wheel assemblies, there are also two slip-resistance structures.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station body 20 further includes a guide ceiling 24 on which a guide part for contacting the cleaning robot 10 is disposed. The guide part is located above the cleaning component 30. The guide part may limit the cleaning robot 10 in position and ensure that the cleaning robot 10 moves to a suitable position.
Specifically, the guide part is located above the cleaning component 30. That is, the cleaning component 30 is located on the guide plate 22, and the guide part is located on the guide ceiling 24. Along a height direction, the guide part is located above the cleaning component 30.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
The base station in an embodiment can realize the cleaning of the cleaning robot, the liquid filling of the liquid container of the cleaning robot, and the charging of the cleaning robot.
Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the contents disclosed herein. The present application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure, which are in accordance with the general principle of the present disclosure and include common general knowledge or conventional technical means in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The specification and embodiments are illustrative, and the real scope and spirit of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.
It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the precise structures that have been described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202110805998.2 | Jul 2021 | CN | national |
The present application is a Continuation Application of PCT International Application No. PCT/CN2021/136173 filed on Dec. 7, 2021, which claims the priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202110805998.2 field on Jul. 16, 2021, the entire contents of both are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/CN2021/136173 | Dec 2021 | US |
| Child | 18413847 | US |
