The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202122403623.1, filed on Sep. 30, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present application relates to the field of cleaning devices, and in particular, to a drainage pump structure for a base station of a robotic cleaning system.
With the popularization of the sweeping robots, the sweeping robots are used more and more, among which the intelligent sweeping robots are favored by people due to that the intelligent sweeping robots can clean themselves, and the mops, the rollers and the like do not need to be manually cleaned by the users. However, there will also be some problems, such as there is a problem about sewage collection and processing after cleaning an intelligent sweeping robot. In the related art, the water pump is adopted to discharge water of the sewage tank, which brings about such a problem in the sewage drainage process: particles in the sewage will pass through the water pump, damage the water pump and causes the water pump to fail.
It should be noted that the above content is only used to assist in understanding the technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure, and does not mean that the above-mentioned content is recognized as the prior art.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a drainage pump structure and a cleaning base station, and aims to solve the problem of failure of a drainage pump caused by particulate impurities in water during drainage of a drainage pump.
In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides a drainage pump structure, including:
Optionally, the air source system includes an air port interface, the air port interface communicated with the air port, and the air port interface is switchable between supplying air to the air inlet and sucking air from the air port.
Optionally, the air source system includes an air pump and an air path switcher, the air pump is provided with an air suction port and an air outlet, the air port interface is disposed in the air path switcher and communicated with the air port. one end of the air path switcher away from the air port interface is communicated with the air suction port and the air outlet, to communicate the air port with the air suction port or with the air outlet.
Optionally, the air source system includes two air pumps, one of the two air pumps is provided with the air suction port, and the other of the two air pumps is provided with the air outlet.
Optionally, the air source system includes an air chamber, a mechanical piston and a driver, the air chamber is provided with the air port interface, the mechanical piston is disposed in the air chamber, the driver is configured to drive the mechanical piston to move toward the air port interface to supply air to the air port, or drive the mechanical piston to be away from the air port interface to suck air from the air port.
Optionally, the mechanical piston includes a first travel toward the air port interface and a second travel away from the air port interface, the drainage cavity or the air chamber is connected with an air release valve, and the air release valve is configured to adjust the first travel and the second travel, to make the first travel and the second travel be different.
Optionally, the one-way valve and the another one-way valve are duckbill valves, an outlet of a duckbill valve at the water inlet facing the drainage cavity, and an outlet of a duckbill valve at the water outlet facing away from the drainage cavity.
Optionally, a waterproof film is disposed between the air source system and the drainage cavity.
The present disclosure further provides a drainage pump structure, the drainage pump structure includes:
Optionally, the drainage pump structure further includes a buffer member disposed in the buffer chamber, and the waterproof film is disposed in the buffer chamber to divide the buffer chamber into a first sub-chamber and a second sub-chamber, wherein the first sub-chamber is communicated with the air port, and the second sub-chamber is communicated with the air source system.
Optionally, the waterproof film is elastic, and has a positive pressure position and a negative pressure position when the waterproof is elastically deformed.
Optionally, the drainage pump structure further includes an air release valve communicated with the buffer chamber or the drainage cavity, the air release valve is a normally closed air release valve, and is configured to open for a preset duration when the air source system acts on the buffer chamber.
The present disclosure further provides a cleaning base station, the cleaning base station includes a cleaning system provided with the drainage pump structure as described above.
The drainage pump structure and the cleaning base station provided in the present embodiment includes a drainage cavity provided with a water inlet, a water outlet and an air port; a one-way valve located at the water inlet and another one-way valve located at the water outlet, the one-way valve at the water inlet forming a unidirectional flow path to allow fluid to flow toward the drainage cavity, and the another one-way valve at the water outlet forming a unidirectional flow path to allow fluid to flow away from the drainage cavity; and an air source system communicated with the air port and configured to supply air to the air port, suck air from the air port, and adjust an air amount of the air port. An air inlet amount and an air outlet amount of the air port can be adjusted based on the air source system. The air amount of the air port is adjusted according to the specific application scenario of the drainage pump structure, so that the water discharged by the air source does not pass through the air source system, the service life of the air source system is prolonged, and the reliability of the air source system is improved.
The implementation of the objective, function characteristics and advantages of the present disclosure will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely used to explain the present application, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.
For a better understanding of the above technical solutions, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. With the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure, and to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
A drainage pump structure provided by various embodiments of the present application may be applied to various drainage devices. Embodiments are described by taking the sewage drainage application in the sweeping robot as an example.
The sweeping robot has a cleaning system configured for cleaning a mop or a roller. Due to the cleaning work of the mop or the roller, some particles may be attached to the mop or the roller. When the mop or the roller is cleaned in the cleaning system, the particles fall into the cleaning system. The sweeping robot has a sewage drainage system for the cleaning system, and the sewage drainage system uses a pump to drain water in the cleaning system to a sewage tank, a drain channel or a floor drain. The sewage drainage system generally uses a water pump to provide power for sewage drainage. When impurities in the sewage pass through the water pump, it is easy to damage the pump, and cause the water pump to fail.
According to the drainage pump structure, impurities in the drainage water can be prevented from entering the water pump, and the water pump is prevented from being damaged.
In some embodiments, referring to
In some embodiments, the drainage pump structure 100 is provided with a drainage cavity 10 for sewage storage when pumping sewage. In addition, the drainage cavity 10 is provided with an air port 13, and each of the water inlet 11 and the water outlet 12 is provided with a one-way valve 20. When the air source system 30 supplies air to the drainage cavity 10 through the air port 13, the air cannot be discharged from the one-way valve 20 at the water inlet 11, and the air pressure can only push the sewage in the drainage cavity 10 to the water outlet 12, so as to discharge the sewage from the water outlet 12. When the air source system 30 sucks air from the drainage cavity 10 through the air port 13, the external air cannot enter the drainage cavity 10 from the one-way valve 20 at the water outlet 12, the air pressure in the drainage cavity 10 decreases, and the external water pressure pushes the water in the cleaning system to the water inlet 11, so as to pump sewage in the cleaning system into the drainage cavity 10. In the whole drainage process, water does not pass through the air source system 30, and particles in the water will not enter the air source system 30.
In some embodiments, the air port 13 is located at an upper end of the drainage cavity 10 and is away from the water outlet 12. Only after the drainage cavity 10 is filled with water, it is possible for the water to enter the air source system 30 from the air port 13.
In some application scenarios, a water inlet amount of the drainage pump is greater than a water outlet amount. When the water in the drainage cavity 10 cannot be discharged in time, the drainage cavity 10 is easily filled with water, and the water will enter the air source system 30, and damage the air source system 30. In some other application scenarios, the air source system 30 has a high lift demand, a larger pressure is needed to be supplied to the air port 13 to discharge the sewage in the drainage cavity 10. If the water in the drainage cavity 10 cannot be completely discharged and too much water is accumulated in the drainage cavity 10, the drainage cavity 10 will also be filled with water, and water also enters the air source system 30, which causes the fail of air supply to the drainage cavity 10 from the air port 13 and the fail of water drainage.
Based on this, the air source system 30 is provided to adjust the air inlet amount and the air outlet amount of the air port 13. The air amount of the air port 13 is adjusted according to a specific application scenario of the drainage pump structure 100 to ensure that the impurities of the sewage cannot pass through the air source system 30, thereby prolonging the service life of the air source system 30 and improving the reliability of the air source system 30. For example, in order to clean the sewage in the drainage cavity 10, the air source system 30 adjusts the air amount of the air port 13, to make the air inlet amount of the air port 13 smaller than the air outlet amount. For example, in some high-lift scenarios, in order to enable sewage to be discharged from the drainage cavity 10, the air source system 30 adjusts the air amount of the air port 13, to make the air inlet amount of the air port 13 greater than the air outlet amount.
In some embodiments, the air amount of the air port 13 may be adjusted by controlling an operating duration of the air source system 30. When the air pump 32 of the air source system 30 rotates forward, the air is supplied to the air port 13, and when the air pump 32 rotates reversely, the air is sucked from the air port 13. The air amount of the air port 13 is adjusted by controlling a forward rotation time and a reverse rotation time of the air pump 32.
In some embodiments, the air source system 30 includes an air port interface 3. The air port interface 31 is communicated with the air port 13, and switchable between supplying air to the air inlet 13 and sucking air from the air port 13.
In some embodiments, the manners of realizing to switch between the air source system 30 supplying air to the air port 13 and the air source system 30 sucking air from the air port 13 include, but are not limited to, the embodiments listed below.
In some embodiments, referring to
In some embodiments, the air path switcher 33 is configured to transport air. When the air pump 32 discharges air through the air outlet, the air path switcher 33 inputs the air to the drainage cavity 10 via the air port 13. When the air pump 32 sucks air via the air suction port, the air path switcher 33 input the air from the drainage cavity 10 to the air pump 32 via the air port 13, to reduce the air pressure in the drainage cavity 10 and make the sewage of the cleaning system enter the drainage cavity 10. In this embodiment, the air supply of the air pump 32 to the air port 13 and air sucking of the air pump 32 from the air port 13 are switched therebetween by the air path switcher 33 and a number of air ports 13 is avoided.
In some embodiments, the air path switcher 33 may be a component having a cavity.
In some embodiments, the air source system 30 includes two air pumps 32. One of the air pumps 32 is provided with the air suction port, and the other of the air pumps 32 is provided with the air outlet. The air suction port and the air outlet of the two air pumps 32 are communicated with the air path switcher 33. When air supply to the drainage cavity 10 is needed, the air pump 32 having the air outlet is started, and the air is supplied to the drainage cavity 10 through the air path switcher 33. When sucking air from the drainage cavity 10 is needed, the air pump 32 having the air suction port is started, and the air is sucked from the drainage cavity 10 through the air path switcher 33. The air amount of the air port 13 is adjusted by adjusting operating durations of the two air pumps 32.
In some embodiments, the air path switcher 33 is internally provided with flow paths switchable therebetween, and the flow paths are switched such that the air path switcher 33 switches between the air suction port and the air outlet of the air pump 32. When a first flow path in the air path switcher 33 is conducted, an inlet of the air path switcher 33 is communicated with the air outlet of the air pump 32, and when a second flow path in the air path switcher 33 is conducted, the inlet of the air path switcher 33 is communicated with the air suction port of the air pump 32. During this period, the air port interface 31 of the air path switcher 33 is always in communication with the air port 13. In this embodiment, based on the air path switcher 33, the air source system 30 is switched between supplying air to the air port 13 and sucking air from the air port 13.
In some embodiments, the air source system 30 is not provided with an air path switcher 33, but includes two air pumps 32. One of the air pumps 32 is provided with the air suction port, and the other of the air pumps 32 is provided with the air outlet. Correspondingly, the drainage cavity 10 includes two air ports 13, one of the air ports 13 is communicated with the air suction port, and the other of the air ports 13 is communicated with the air outlet. By controlling different air pumps 32 to work, the air pump 32 is switched between air supply and air suction. When the operating durations of the air pumps 32 are controlled to be different, the air amount of the air port 13 is adjusted, so that the air outlet amount and the air inlet amount of the air port 13 are different.
In some embodiments, referring to
In some embodiments, the driver 36 may be an air pump 32, or may be another power component.
The air port interface 31 of the air chamber 34 is communicated with the air port 13 of the drainage cavity 10. When the mechanical piston 35 moves in the air chamber 34, air is supplied to the air port 13 or sucked from the air port 13, so that water in the drainage cavity 10 is discharged, or sewage in the cleaning system is pumped into the drainage cavity 10.
In some embodiments, the air amount of the air port 13 can be adjusted by controlling a movement travel of the mechanical piston 35. As the mechanical piston 35 includes a first travel toward the air port interface 31 and a second travel away from the air port interface 31. The drainage cavity 10 or the air chamber is connected with an air release valve (the air release valve can refer to the component indicated by 60 shown in
In some embodiments, the one-way valves 20 in the embodiment of the present application are duckbill valves. An outlet of the duckbill valve on the water inlet 11 faces the drainage cavity 10, and an outlet of the duckbill valve on the water outlet 12 faces away from the drainage cavity 10. Optionally, the one-way valves may be, but are not limited to, the duckbill valves, and the one-way valves may also be one-way valves of other structures.
The duckbill valves are both installed forwards. That is, the outlet of the duckbill valve on the water inlet 11 and the outlet of the water outlet 12 face the same direction, and the outlets of the duckbill valves both face where the water is discharged.
In some embodiments, a waterproof film 40 is disposed between the air source system 30 and the drainage cavity 10 in this embodiment, and the waterproof film 40 may be disposed in the air port 13, or be disposed in the air port interface 31 of the air source system 30. In this embodiment, a waterproof film 40 is disposed between the air source system 30 and the drainage cavity 10, to further prevent water from flowing back into the air source system 30, and achieve a better waterproof effect.
In some embodiments, one structural embodiment of the waterproof film 40 may refer to the embodiment shown in
For the impurities in the sewage is easily to damage the water pump and cause the water pump to fail when passing through the water pump. The present application further provides another embodiment of the drainage pump structure 100. Referring to
In some embodiments, the drainage pump structure 100 is provided with a drainage cavity 10 for sewage storage when pumping sewage. In addition, the drainage cavity 10 is provided with an air port 13, and each of the water inlet 11 and the water outlet 12 is provided with a one-way valve 20. When the air source system 30 supplies air to the drainage cavity 10 through the air port 13, the air cannot be discharged from the one-way valve 20 at the water inlet 11, and the air pressure can only push the sewage in the drainage cavity 10 to the water outlet 12, so as to discharge the sewage from the water outlet 12. When the air source system 30 sucks air from the drainage cavity 10 through the air port 13, the external air cannot enter the drainage cavity 10 from the one-way valve 20 at the water outlet 12, the air pressure in the drainage cavity 10 decreases, and the external water pressure pushes the water in the cleaning system to the water inlet 11, so as to pump sewage in the cleaning system into the drainage cavity 10. In the whole drainage process, sewage does not pass through the air source system 30, and particles in the sewage will not enter the air source system 30.
In some embodiments, the air port 13 is located at an upper end of the drainage cavity 10 and is away from the water outlet 12. Only after the drainage cavity 10 is filled with water, it is possible for the sewage to enter the air source system 30 from the air port 13.
In order to further enhance the waterproof effect to ensure the service life of the air source system 30. Optionally, a waterproof film 40 is provided between the air source system 30 and the drainage cavity 10, and the waterproof film 40 may be disposed in the air port interface 31 of the air source system 30 or be disposed in the air port 13 to prevent water or impurities in the drainage cavity 10 from entering the air source system 30 and damaging the air source system 30.
In some embodiments, if the sewage flows back, the waterproof effect of the waterproof film 40 is extremely poor. Therefore, in some embodiments, the air source system 30 and the drainage cavity 10 need to be physically isolated from each other. The drainage pump structure 100 further includes a buffer member 50 formed with a buffer chamber 51 inside, and the waterproof film 40 is disposed in the buffer chamber 51 to divide the buffer chamber 51 into a first sub-chamber and a second sub-chamber. The first sub-chamber is communicated with the air port 13, and the second sub-chamber is communicated with the air source system 30.
In some embodiments, the waterproof film 40 is located on a side close to the air source system 30.
The buffer chamber 51 is configured to provide more water separation space for the waterproof film 40 based on the buffer chamber 51 when the sewage flows back.
In some embodiments, the buffer member 50 is formed by a sealing housing, an inner cavity of the housing is the buffer chamber 51, and the waterproof film 40 is disposed on an inner wall of the buffer chamber 51 and perpendicular to a water flow direction. The first sub-chamber is larger than the second sub-chamber, so that a buffer space for the water is larger.
In some embodiments, the waterproof film 40 is elastic. When the waterproof film 40 is elastically deformed, the air source system 30 has a positive pressure position b and a negative pressure position a. When the air source system 30 supplies air to the drainage cavity 10, a positive pressure is supplied to the waterproof film 40 and the waterproof film 40 is moved to the positive pressure position b under the positive pressure of the air source system 30. When the air source system 30 sucks air from the drainage cavity 10, the negative pressure is provided to the waterproof film 40 and the waterproof film 40 is moved to the negative pressure position a under the negative pressure of the air source system 30. The waterproof film 40 is an elastic waterproof film which can avoid to affect the normal air suction and normal air supply of the air source system 30.
In some embodiments, the drainage pump structure 100 further includes an air release valve 60. The air release valve 60 is communicated with the buffer chamber 51 or the drainage cavity 10. The air release valve 60 is a normally closed air release valve. When the air source system 30 acts on the buffer chamber 51, the air release valve 60 opens for a preset duration, so that the air source system 30 operates without load within the preset duration.
The air release valve 60 is an electronic valve. The air release valve 60 has a power-on state and a power-off state. In the power-on state, an air inlet of the air release valve 60 is communicated with an air outlet of the air release valve 60, and the external air can enter the buffer chamber 51 through the air outlet of the air release valve 60. In the power-off state, the air inlet of the air release valve 60 is not communicated with the air outlet of the air release valve 60, and the external air cannot enter the buffer chamber 51 through the air outlet of the air release valve 60. The air release valve 60 is not powered on under a normal state, that is, the air release valve 60 is a normally closed release valve.
When the air source system 30 acts on the buffer chamber 51, by opening the air release valve 60, the effect of the air source system 30 on the drainage cavity 10 can be adjusted to adjust the air amount of the air port 13 of the drainage cavity 10, thereby adjusting the water inlet amount or the water outlet amount of the drainage cavity 10.
For example, in some applications where the drainage pump structure 100 has a high lift, the air source system 30 sucks air from the drainage cavity 10. During the water pumping process of the drainage cavity 10, the waterproof film 40 is moved toward the air source system 30. When the waterproof film 40 is moved to a first preset position, the air release valve 60 is opened, and the buffer chamber 51 sucks air via the air release valve 60. The drainage cavity 10 stops pumping water. The waterproof film 40 keeps moving toward the air source system 30 to the negative pressure position a under the action of the air source system 30, so that the air source system 30 operates without load between the first preset position and the negative pressure position a. During the water drainage process, the air source system 30 supplies air to the drainage cavity 10, and the waterproof film 40 is moved toward the drainage cavity 10 to the positive pressure position, and the water is discharged from the drainage cavity 10.
During the water pumping process, the air source system 30 operates without load between the first preset position and the negative pressure position a, but during the water drainage process, the air source system 30 operates under load from the negative pressure position a to the positive pressure position b, and a travel under load during the water pumping process is shorter than a travel under load during the water drainage process, so that the water drainage meets the high-lift drainage.
For example, in some applications with high-lift, when the water is discharged, the air source system 30 supplies air to the drainage cavity 10. When the waterproof film 40 is moved toward the drainage cavity 10 to the second preset position, the air release valve 60 is opened, the air provided by the air source system 30 is discharged from the air release valve 60, and the drainage cavity 10 stops drainage. The waterproof film 40 keeps moving toward the drainage cavity 10 to the positive pressure position b under the action of the air source system 30, so that the air source system 30 operates without load between the second preset position and the positive pressure position b. During water pumping next time, the air source system 30 sucks air from the drainage cavity 10, the waterproof film 40 is moved toward the air source system 30 to the negative pressure position b, and the water is pumped into the drainage cavity.
During the water drainage process, the air source system 30 operates without load between the second preset position and the positive pressure position b, but during the water pumping process, the air source system 30 operates under load from the positive pressure position b to the negative pressure position a, and a travel under load during the water drainage process is shorter than a travel under load during the water pumping process, so that the water pumping meets the high-lift water pumping.
In some embodiments, the air release valve 60 is closed after being opened for the preset duration.
When the air source system 30 provides a positive pressure to the buffer chamber, the air release valve 60 is closed, and the waterproof film 40 will be moved to the positive pressure position b to discharge water of the drainage cavity 10 under the positive pressure. When the air source system 30 provides a negative pressure to the buffer chamber, the air release valve 60 is opened for a certain time, the waterproof film 40 will be moved to the negative pressure position b, to suck water to the drainage cavity 10 under the negative pressure. But because that air is sucked in for a certain time through the air release valve 60, when the waterproof film reaches the negative pressure position b, the effect will be less than that under the positive pressure. Therefore, when the positive pressure works next time, the sewage can be exhausted, and a larger lift can be achieved.
In some embodiments, the ratio of the positive pressure to the negative pressure of the air source system 30 may be adjusted by adjusting an operating duration of the air release valve 60.
In some embodiments, the air source system 30 may be the air source system 30 shown in the embodiments of
In some embodiments, the air path switcher 33 of the air source system 30 may be constituted by at least two electromagnetic valves. One electromagnetic valve is communicated with the air outlet of the air pump 32 and the air port 13 of the drainage cavity 10, and another electromagnetic valve is communicated with the air suction port of the air pump 32 and the air port 13 of the drainage cavity 10. The air inlet type of the air port 13 can be controlled by controlling the on and off of different electromagnetic valves. By controlling each electromagnetic valve to be powered on for a different duration, the air amount of the air port 13 is adjusted.
Based on the above-mentioned drainage pump structure 100, an embodiment of the present application further provides a cleaning base station. The cleaning base station includes a cleaning system provided with the drainage pump structure 100 according to various embodiments above.
In some embodiments, the water inlet 11 of the drainage pump structure 100 is communicated with the cleaning system, and the drainage pump structure 100 is configured to discharge sewage of the cleaning system to a drainage channel or a floor drain.
In some embodiments, the cleaning base station discharges sewage by using the drainage pump structure 100, the sewage in the cleaning base station can be discharged in time, and the service life of the cleaning base station is longer, and the stability is better.
It should be noted that the above are only preferred embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made by using the description and the drawings of the present application, or any direct or indirect application to other related technical fields, is included in the patent scope of the present application.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202122403623.1 | Sep 2021 | CN | national |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/CN2022/123414 | Sep 2022 | US |
Child | 18334558 | US |