U.S. patent application number 10/218843 was filed with the patent office on 2004-02-19 for robotic surface treating device with non-circular housing.
Invention is credited to Martin, Frederick H., Porchia, Jose, Wosewick, Robert T..
Application Number | 20040031113 10/218843 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 31714621 |
Filed Date | 2004-02-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040031113 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wosewick, Robert T. ; et
al. |
February 19, 2004 |
Robotic surface treating device with non-circular housing
Abstract
A robotic cleaning device includes a housing having a rounded
leading portion and a non-circular trailing portion. The width of
the trailing portion is no greater than that of the leading
portion. The trailing portion can have an electrostatic skirt or
bottom cover for cleaning a surface. The skirts can be in the form
of a disposable ruffle.
Inventors: |
Wosewick, Robert T.;
(Shorewood, WI) ; Martin, Frederick H.; (Racine,
WI) ; Porchia, Jose; (Greenfield, WI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
S.C. JOHNSON & SON, INC.
1525 HOWE STREET
RACINE
WI
53403-2236
US
|
Family ID: |
31714621 |
Appl. No.: |
10/218843 |
Filed: |
August 14, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/98 ; 15/319;
15/340.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 11/4077 20130101;
A47L 2201/00 20130101; A47L 11/10 20130101; A47L 13/20 20130101;
A47L 13/40 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/98 ; 15/319;
15/340.1 |
International
Class: |
A47L 011/10; A47L
011/20 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A robotic surface treating device, comprising: a housing having
a leading portion that is rounded along its periphery in top view
and a trailing portion that is non-circular along at least a
portion of its periphery in top view; the leading portion housing a
control system for directing movement of the robotic cleaning
device; the trailing portion being linked to a surface contact
element, and having a widest side-to-side width which is equal to
or less than the widest side-to-side width of the leading
portion.
2. The robotic surface treating device of claim 1, wherein the
widest side-to-side width of the trailing portion is less than the
widest side-to-side width of the leading portion.
3. The robotic surface treating device of claim 2, wherein the
device is a cleaning device and the surface treating contact
element is a cleaning cloth.
4. The robotic surface treating device of claim 3, wherein the
cleaning cloth is linked to a dust ruffle.
5. The robotic surface treating device of claim 3, wherein the
cleaning cloth is made of an electrostatic material.
6. The robotic surface treating device of claim 5, wherein the
cleaning cloth is linked to an electrostatic skirt in the form of a
dust ruffle, both the skirt and the dust sheet being positioned so
as to contact a surface being treated by the device when the device
is moved over the surface.
7. The robotic surface treating device of claim 6, wherein the
ruffle also extends radially outward along the rear and sides of
the trailing portion.
8. The robotic surface treating device of claim 7, wherein the
ruffle is impregnated with at least one of a fragrance, an
insecticide, a polish, or a cleaning fluid.
9. The robotic surface treating device of claim 2, wherein the
trailing portion is constructed to provide pressure on the dust
sheet to assist its contact with a surface to be treated by the
device.
10. The robotic surface treating device of claim 2, wherein the
device is selected from the group of vacuum cleaners, floor
polishers, floor waxers, mowers and dispensers of agricultural
chemicals.
11. The robotic surface treating device of claim 2, wherein the
trailing portion is essentially rectangular in top view.
12. The robotic surface treating device of claim 2, further
comprising a motor for causing movement of the device.
13. The robotic surface treating device of claim 1, wherein the
cleaning cloth comprises a first section comprising a cleaning
material and a second section comprising a treating material.
14. A disposable dust ruffle for use with a claim 5 device, the
ruffle comprising: an essentially cup-shaped portion made at least
in part of an electrostatic material; a fastener attached along an
upper rim of the cup; and a skirt made at least in part of an
electrostatic material and extending radially outward and downward
from the upper rim of the cup.
15. The ruffle of claim 12, wherein the fastener is an elastic
band.
16. A method of treating a surface comprising moving a device of
claim 1 over the surface.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Not applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] It is desirable to minimize the amount of human labor
expended in maintaining and cleaning residential and commercial
spaces. The art has therefore developed robotic devices that can
clean or otherwise maintain or treat floors, carpeting, lawns or
the like without the necessity for a human to be present during the
operation of the device. The most common robotic devices of this
kind are dusters, buffers, vacuum cleaners, floor sweepers, other
floor polishers, automated mowers and automated dispensers of
agricultural products.
[0004] Such devices typically have a computer control program to
direct a preferred movement pattern. The control is linked to
steering devices as well as motors that are in turn connected to
wheels. Many of these devices also include sensors to confirm the
initial and later positions of the device relative to the pre-set
path. The most sophisticated of these devices include sensors to
detect the presence of unexpected obstacles, as well as programming
to provide options for altered paths where that occurs. An example
of a prior art control system for such a robotic system is
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,119,900.
[0005] Some robotic cleaning devices are generally circular.
However, these tend to leave significant untreated areas adjacent
walls or furniture.
[0006] Still other devices have a circular front end and generally
linear housing across a trailing end. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,621,291
and 5,646,494. In these devices brushes for vacuuming a floor are
located in the center of a cleaning robot, between a powerless rear
stability wheel and powered front wheels. The primary cleaning
element is in any event located a distance from the perimeter or
edge of the cleaning robot. Thus, even though the non-circular
portion is the widest portion of the design, there will still be a
space between the cleaning element and nearby objects such as a
wall, chair, table leg or other obstacle encountered while
cleaning. Such devices therefore do not optimally clean around
these types of surfaces and obstacles, and require a separate
manual operation near them, regardless of the accuracy of the
programming.
[0007] Other autonomous cleaning devices have both a circular body
portion and a non-circular body portion. They typically position a
control and drive system in the circular portion, and a cleaning
device in or on the non-circular portion. However, the non-circular
portion is made wider than the diameter of the circular portion and
therefore extends significantly horizontally outward from the sides
of the circular robot body to provide a wide back or trailing
end.
[0008] These devices are well suited to clean along the perimeters
of walls. Such devices include those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,894,621, 5,998,953, 6,119,057, and 6,142,252. However, because
the trailing end of these devices is wider than the diameter of the
circular main housing, as the robot turns through a corner or
around furniture the trailing end can become lodged between
adjacent walls or on a furniture leg if the device is slightly off
its expected path.
[0009] Still other configurations for robotic cleaners have been
developed. See e.g. those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,309,592,
5,440,216, and 5,720,077. However, none adequately addresses all of
the concerns expressed above with respect to such robotic
devices.
[0010] In sum, a need still exists to provide improved robotic
surface treating devices, particularly those that can effectively
clean in and around gaps, irregular surfaces, angled surfaces and
corners, with reduced tendency to become hung up on encountered
surfaces.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention provides a robotic surface treating
device such as a vacuum cleaner, floor polisher, floor waxer, lawn
mower, or dispenser of agricultural materials. There is a housing
having a leading portion that is rounded along its periphery in top
view and a trailing portion that is non-circular along at least a
portion of its periphery in top view.
[0012] The leading portion houses a control system for directing
movement of the robotic cleaning device, and the trailing portion
is linked to a surface contact element. The trailing portion has a
widest side-to-side width which is equal to or less than the widest
side-to-side width of the leading portion.
[0013] In preferred forms the device is a duster and the surface
contact element is a dust sheet/dust ruffle combination where the
combination is made of a cleaning cloth which can be an
electrostatic or dust-attractant material. The dust sheet is
positioned so as to contact a surface being treated by the device
when the device is moved over the surface, and the ruffle also
contacts the ground when present along the rear and sides of the
trailing portion.
[0014] In other preferred forms the ruffle is impregnated with at
least one of a fragrance, an insecticide, an insect repellant, a
polish, or a cleaning fluid, and thus acts to also dispense
materials thereby treating the surface and/or the surrounding
environment. In one form the trailing portion is constructed to
provide pressure on the dust sheet to assist its contact with a
surface to be treated by the device.
[0015] While the duster is a preferred form, the device might also
be selected from the group of vacuum cleaners, floor polishers,
floor waxers, mowers and dispensers of agricultural chemicals.
[0016] Another form of the invention is a disposable dust ruffle
for use with such devices. The ruffle has an essentially cup-shaped
portion made at least in part of an electrostatic material, a
fastener attached along an upper rim of the cup, and a skirt made
at least in part of an electrostatic material and extending
radially outward and downward from the upper rim of the cup. The
ruffle may also have the fastener be an elastic band.
[0017] Another aspect of the invention is to provide methods for
using the above devices to clean a surface.
[0018] Because the device has a trailing portion which is no wider
than the leading portion, the device is resistant to becoming hung
up on furniture legs or at corners. Further, the rounded nature of
the front of the device provides an opportunity for the device to
avoid furniture legs, while the less round nature of the trailing
section insures coverage along walls. Also, the electrostatic
nature of the skirt insures that the region between the edge of the
contact element (e.g. the rotary brush) and the housing outer
surface will be treated.
[0019] The bottom of the trailing section can be provided with a
plate having a soft cover made of rubber, foam or other material
which expands and contracts depending on the shape of the surface
being cleaned. In such a case, the contact element can be a sheet
of the electrostatic material in total, or in part. Further, the
skirt can be an additional section of the electrostatic
material.
[0020] The skirt can be a dust-attracting material sized and
dimensioned to be stretch-fit over the trailing portion of the
robotic cleaning device. In such a case, a rotary brush need not be
used and there can be a central portion and a skirt. The central
portion encloses a bottom surface of the non-circular portion of
the robot to provide a cleaning function on the floor, and the
skirt extends outwardly and downwardly from the periphery of the
trailing portion. The skirt attracts dust and particulate matter
from the surface surrounding the robotic cleaning device where
traditional cleaning elements do not reach.
[0021] This brief summary of the invention has been provided so
that the general nature of the invention may be readily understood.
However, neither this summary, nor the attached drawings, nor the
description of the preferred embodiments which follows, should be
constructed to limit the invention. Rather, the claims should be
looked to in order to assess the full scope of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a robotic cleaning device
constructed in accordance with the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof;
[0024] FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along line 3-3 of
FIG. 4;
[0025] FIG. 4 is an lower rear perspective view of a dust cover for
use with the present invention; and
[0026] FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view similar to FIG. 2, but of the
device after the FIG. 4 dust cover has been installed.
[0027] FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of a robotic leaning device
constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present
invention.
[0028] FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the robotic cleaning device
6f FIG. 1, illustrating a brush cleaning element.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0029] A robotic cleaning device 10 in the form of a cleaner or
surface treating device is disclosed. It has a forward, generally
circular top view, housing portion 12, and a trailing, generally
non-circular top view, housing portion 14. Portion 12 houses a
computer controller, a motor, a steering mechanism, and linkages to
the drive wheels 30 and 32. Portion 14 is generally rectangular in
shape, with the side-to-side width Y/16 of the trailing housing
portion no greater than with the side-to-side width X/18 of the
front housing portion. Corners 20 of the non-circular portion 14
may be slightly rounded such that, in operation, contact with
surfaces such as walls, table legs, chair legs, etc. does not
result in a dent, scratch or other damage. Although the robotic
cleaning device 10 is shown as having two separate pieces, it will
be apparent that the circular and non-circular portions can be
constructed as a single piece (See FIG. 6). Furthermore, the
non-circular portion 14 can be constructed to be wider than the
portion 12, and in this configuration a spring mechanism or other
device for retracting the sides of the trailing portion 14 to
provide and to reduce the width when the device is stuck or
otherwise caught in a corner or other small partially enclosed
area.
[0030] A skirt 42 in accordance with the present invention is
constructed of cleaning cloth which can comprise, for example, a
dust-attractant material or a cloth impregnated with a treating
material such as a cleaning fluid or other treating fluid as
described below. The skirt 42 extends around and from the
non-circular portion 14 of the robotic cleaning device. There can
also be a cushioning bumper 24 with a plurality of sensors 26.
[0031] In the well known manner the control and drive system can
include programming, circuitry and linkages for determining a route
for the robotic cleaning device based on a pre-programmed route, as
well as providing feedback loops and corrections based thereon. The
wheels 28, 30, and 32 permit the device to roll over most
essentially flat surfaces, with the rear wheels 30 and 32 providing
traction and the front wheel 28 being pivotable to provide
steering.
[0032] The non-circular trailing portion 14 comprises a plate 34
that can be constructed of a heavy material to provide a selected
pressure on the surface to be dusted (e.g. it can be made of steel,
fiberglass, or another heavy plastic). To prevent scuffing of some
surfaces (e.g. polished wood floors), there can be a compressible
material 36 such as a foam rubber provided on a bottom side of the
plate 34. The soft facing material 36 is preferably sized and
dimensioned to cover the plate 34, and may be coupled to the plate
34 with an adhesive or other material.
[0033] Cleaning cloth 38 is sized and dimensioned to be stretch-fit
over the trailing portion 14. It has a central sheet 40 sized and
dimensioned to enclose facing material 36, as well as an elongated
elastic material 41 surrounding the perimeter of the central sheet
40. There is also a hanging skirt portion 42 that extends radially
outward from the elongated elastic material 41 to drag along the
floor. Thus, a dusting effect occurs along the central sheet 40;
and any dust kicked up by the movement of the device tends to be
trapped by the trailing skirt 42.
[0034] Moreover, as the skirt is bunched like a dust ruffle it can
wedge into room corners and close to table legs and pick up dust
from those areas even though the main dusting portion 40 never
rides over those areas. Thus, the device improves the coverage of a
dusting system.
[0035] Although shown to cover only the trailing portion 14, it
will be apparent that the cleaning cloth 38 could cover the entire
bottom of the device 10.
[0036] The cleaning cloth 38 is constructed from a cleaning cloth
material, and can comprise an electrostatic or electret material.
Examples of such materials are those described in WO 02/00819, the
publication for PCT/US00/20074 filed Jun. 22, 2001. This disclosure
is incorporated herein by reference for a description of these
types of materials. The cleaning cloth 38 can also provide a
treating or dispensation function. For example, the cleaning cloth
can be treated cleaning fluid or polishes to treat the floor, with
insecticides, insect repellants, and fragrances to be dispersed to
a room, or with a combination of these treating elements.
Furthermore, various sections of the cleaning cloth 38 can comprise
different types of material, providing, for example, a cleaning
section and a polishing section. Other combinations will be
apparent.
[0037] It should be appreciated that the dust attractant materials
employed in the present invention will attract dust even when not
in contact with them. This is to be distinguished from a mere
adhesive which preserves contact once made, but does not attract
contact from a distance. Furthermore, the cleaning cloth material
is typically disposable, but can also be a reusable material which
can be cleaned or washed and reused.
[0038] As noted above, the cleaning cloth 38 can also be
impregnated with a polish, fragrance, insecticide, insect repellant
cleaning fluid or other material. In such embodiments the device
can provide both a cleaning function and a treating function.
Alternatively, the cleaning cloth 38 can be designed specifically
to disperse treating elements in the room, as noted above.
[0039] Referring next to FIG. 5, the cleaning cloth 38 is shown
installed on the device. The central portion 40 encloses the bottom
cleaning surface 35, and the skirt 42 extends radially from both
the right and left sides and from the back of the non-circular
portion 14.
[0040] In operation, as the robotic device 10 traverses a floor or
other surface to be cleaned, the central sheet 40 of the cleaning
cloth 38 is applied to the floor or surface in order to pick up
dust and other particulate matter. The weight of plate 34 of the
non-circular portion 14 applies a pressure on the central sheet 40
of the cleaning cloth 38. In some applications (See FIG. 7), the
robotic device 10 can also include a rotary or other brush-driven
cleaning element 33. In this application, particulate matter
collected by the brush can be directed to a location under the
cleaning cloth 38, wherein the cleaning cloth 38 provides an
additional function of collecting particulate matter.
[0041] As the robotic cleaning device 10 turns to the left or
right, the proximity sensors and control system determine a path
which maximizes coverage. For example, when the circular section
approaches a corner the device may turn to project towards the
corner the rectangular section.
[0042] While a dusting device has been shown, the principles of the
present invention should apply to vacuum cleaners, floor polishers,
lawn mowers, and a wide variety of other surface treating
equipment. Thus, although specific embodiments of the present
invention have been described in detail, it should be understood
that this description is merely for purposes of illustration.
[0043] Various modifications of these embodiments may be made
without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.
Thus, the claims should be looked to in order to assess the full
scope of the invention.
Industrial Applicability
[0044] Disclosed are improved robotic surface treating devices,
methods for using them, and dust ruffles for use therewith.
* * * * *