U.S. patent application number 10/804078 was filed with the patent office on 2005-01-27 for robot cleaner having air cleaning function and system thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to SAMSUNG GWANGJU ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Ko, Jang-youn, Lee, Ju-sang, Park, Jee-su, Song, Jeong-gon, You, Jea-sun.
Application Number | 20050015914 10/804078 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32322397 |
Filed Date | 2005-01-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050015914 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
You, Jea-sun ; et
al. |
January 27, 2005 |
Robot cleaner having air cleaning function and system thereof
Abstract
A robot cleaner for cleaning ambient air in a cleaning area
while cleaning a cleaning surface, and a system thereof. The robot
cleaner and the system thereof comprise a body, a driving part
driving a plurality of wheels disposed at a lower portion of the
body, a dust suction part formed in the body to draw-in dust from a
cleaning surface, and an air cleaning part formed in the body to
draw-in dust-ladened air from a cleaning area. The robot cleaner
cleans the air and discharges cleaned air, and, utilizing a
controller disposed in the body, controls the driving part and the
air cleaning part. Accordingly, since the robot cleaner provides
cleaned and fresh air to a predetermined cleaning area while
cleaning a surface, it contributes to a fresher residential
environment.
Inventors: |
You, Jea-sun; (Gwangju-city,
KR) ; Park, Jee-su; (Osan-city, KR) ; Lee,
Ju-sang; (Gwangju-city, KR) ; Ko, Jang-youn;
(Gwangju-city, KR) ; Song, Jeong-gon;
(Gwangju-city, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BLANK ROME LLP
600 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20037
US
|
Assignee: |
SAMSUNG GWANGJU ELECTRONICS CO.,
LTD.
|
Family ID: |
32322397 |
Appl. No.: |
10/804078 |
Filed: |
March 19, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/319 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 2201/04 20130101;
F24F 2221/42 20130101; F24F 8/10 20210101; A47L 7/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/319 |
International
Class: |
A47L 005/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 24, 2003 |
KR |
2003-51139 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A robot cleaner comprising: a body; a driving part driving a
plurality of wheels disposed at a lower portion of the body; a dust
suction part formed in the body to draw-in dust from a cleaning
surface; an air cleaning part formed in the body to draw-in
dust-ladened air from a cleaning area, clean the air and discharge
the cleaned air; and a controller disposed in the body to control
the driving part and the air cleaning part.
2. The robot cleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body is
connected to a body cover forming an exterior of the robot cleaner,
and the air cleaning part comprises: a suction driving source to
draw-in the dust-ladened air from the cleaning area; a suction port
connected to one side of the body cover; a discharge port connected
to another side of the body cover; an air cleaning duct in fluid
communication with the suction port and the discharge port; and a
plurality of filters disposed in the air cleaning duct to clean the
drawn-in air.
3. The robot cleaner as claimed in claim 2, wherein the suction
port is formed in one side of a front portion of the body
cover.
4. The robot cleaner as claimed in claim 2, wherein the suction
port is formed in one side of an upper portion of the body
cover.
5. The robot cleaner as claimed in claim 3, wherein the discharge
port is formed in another side of the front portion of the body
cover.
6. The robot cleaner as claimed in claim 4, wherein the discharge
port is formed in another side of a front portion of the body
cover.
7. The robot cleaner as claimed in claim 4, wherein the discharge
port is formed in another side of the upper portion of the body
cover.
8. The robot cleaner as claimed in claim 2, wherein the suction
driving source is disposed in the air cleaning duct to draw-in
air.
9. The robot cleaner as claimed in claim 2, wherein the plurality
of filters comprise: a first filter filtering out relatively large
dust particles from the drawn-in air; and a second filter filtering
out minute dust particles and indifferent odors from air.
10. A robot cleaning system comprising a driving part for driving a
plurality of wheels, a dust suction part for drawing-in dust from a
cleaning surface, and a controller for controlling the driving part
and the dust suction part, the robot cleaning system further
comprising an air cleaning part controlled by the controller,
wherein the robot cleaning system performs a cleaning task via the
dust suction part and an air cleaning work via the air cleaning
part simultaneously or selectively.
11. The robot cleaning system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the
air cleaning part comprises a suction driving source for drawing-in
dust-ladened air from a predetermined cleaning area, a suction port
through which air is drawn-in, a discharge port through which
cleaned air is discharged, and at least one filter for cleaning the
drawn-in air, and when the suction driving source is driven by the
controller, air is drawn-in through the suction port, cleaned
though the filter, and discharged through the discharge port.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to Korean Application No.
2003-51139, filed Jul. 24, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual
Property Office, the disclosure of which is entirely incorporated
herein by reference.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0002] This application is related to copending Korean Patent
Application Nos. 10-2003-0013961, filed Mar. 6, 2003;
10-2003-0029242, filed May 9, 2003; and 10-2003-0043244, filed Jun.
30, 2003, whose disclosures are entirely incorporated herein by
reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention relates to a robot cleaner with an air
cleaning function and a system thereof, and more particularly, to a
robot cleaner capable of cleaning ambient air in a predetermined
cleaning area while performing a cleaning with respect to a floor,
and a system thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Despite the convenience provided by the invention of a
vacuum cleaner, cleaning is still an exhausting house chore because
a user has to run the vacuum cleaner to different places of the
house by himself/herself. In order to solve this problem, research
has been conducted for a robot cleaner which is capable of running
and cleaning automatically. Such a convention robot cleaner runs
around automatically on a predetermined area and draws-in dust and
dirt from a surface without requiring a user's intervention.
However, the conventional robot cleaner has no air cleaning
function and simply functions to clean the area surface by
drawing-in dust and dirt. Recently, concern regarding the Asian
Dust and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), many customers
are deeply interested in health and clean and fresh air. It is time
that the robot cleaner includes an air cleaning function.
[0005] FIG. 1 is a view showing a conventional robot cleaner.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional robot cleaner, i.e., having
neither an air cleaning function nor an air filtering function,
includes a cleaner body 7, and driving wheels 1 and driven wheels 2
disposed at a lower portion of the cleaner body 7. An upper portion
of the cleaner body 7 is provided with an antenna 3 for signal
transmission and reception with a remote controller, and a distance
sensor 4 disposed respectively on predetermined positions. Also,
inside the cleaner body 7 are provided a driving motor (not shown)
for generating a suction force and a dirt collecting receptacle
(not shown). The suction force generated by the driving motor is
transmitted to a suction port 5 disposed in the lower portion of
the cleaner body 7 so that dust and dirt are drawn-in to the
suction port 5 from a cleaning surface by the suction force.
[0006] However, the robot cleaner with the above construction,
which cleans dust and dirt from the cleaning surface while running
around the cleaning area according to a predetermined running
pattern, has problems. First, since the robot cleaner has only a
cleaning function of drawing-in dirt and dust from a cleaning
surface, a user has to purchase a separate air cleaning device in
order to add an air cleaning function to the robot cleaner. Second,
in a case where dust is not completely drawn-in to the suction port
5 from the surface to the robot cleaner which has no air cleaning
function, air in the cleaning area increases in impurity, and as a
result, the user is exposed to potential harm by the unclean
air.
[0007] Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry
to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention has been developed in order to solve
the above problems in the related art. Accordingly, an aspect of
the present invention provides a robot cleaner and a system thereof
which cleans ambient air in a cleaning area while cleaning a
cleaning surface.
[0009] The above aspect is achieved by providing a robot cleaner
with a body, a driving part driving a plurality of wheels disposed
at a lower portion of the body, a dust suction part formed in the
body to draw-in dust from a cleaning surface, and an air cleaning
part formed in the body to draw-in dust-ladened air from a cleaning
area. The robot cleaner cleans air and discharges the cleaned air.
A controller is disposed in the body to control the driving part
and the air cleaning part. Also, the body is connected to a body
cover and forms an exterior of the robot cleaner. The air cleaning
part includes a suction driving source to draw-in the dust-ladened
air from the cleaning area, a suction port connected to another
side of the body cover, a discharge port connected to the other
side of the body cover, an air cleaning duct in fluid communication
with the suction port and the discharge port, and a plurality of
filters disposed in the air cleaning duct to clean the drawn-in
air. The suction port may be formed in one side of a front portion
of the body cover or in one side of an upper portion of the body
cover. The discharge port may be formed in another side of the
front portion of the body cover or in another side of an upper
portion of the body cover.
[0010] In one embodiment, the suction driving source is disposed in
the air cleaning duct to draw-in air.
[0011] In another embodiment, the plurality of filters include a
first filter filtering relatively larger dust particles from the
drawn-in air, and a second filter filtering out minute dust
particles and indifferent odors from air.
[0012] The above aspect is also achieved by providing a robot
cleaning system including a driving part for driving a plurality of
wheels, a dust suction part for drawing-in dust from a cleaning
surface, and a controller for controlling the driving part and the
dust suction part. The robot cleaning system further comprises an
air cleaning part controlled by the controller, wherein the robot
cleaning system performs a cleaning task through the dust suction
part and air cleaning work through the air cleaning part,
simultaneously or selectively. The air cleaning part comprises a
suction driving source for drawing-in dust-ladened air from a
predetermined cleaning area, a suction port through which air is
drawn-in, a discharge port through which cleaned air is discharged,
and at least one filter for cleaning the drawn-in air. When the
suction driving source is driven by the controller, air is drawn-in
through the suction port, cleaned though the filter, and discharged
through the discharge port.
[0013] Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with
reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings
are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon
clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention.
Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate
corresponding parts throughout the several views.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0014] Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the
present invention will be or become apparent to one with skill in
the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed
description. It is intended that all such additional systems,
methods, features, and advantages be included within this
description, be within the scope of the present invention and be
protected by the accompanying claims.
[0015] FIG. 1 is a drawing showing a conventional robot
cleaner;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective drawing showing a robot cleaner
system with an air cleaning part according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective drawing showing the robot cleaner of
FIG. 2 in which the upper cover is removed;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a drawing of a perspective bottom view showing the
air cleaning part of the robot cleaner of FIG. 2;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a central control device
of a robot cleaner system according to the present invention;
and
[0020] FIG. 6 is a drawing of a perspective view showing a robot
cleaner system with an air cleaning part according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0021] Hereinafter, a robot cleaner and a system thereof according
to embodiments of the present invention will be described in
greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0022] Referring to FIGS. 2-5, robot cleaner 10 includes a body 12,
a body cover 11 connected to the body 12 to form an exterior of the
robot cleaner 10, a dust suction part 16, and a driving part 20.
The robot cleaner also includes an upper camera 30, a front camera
32, an obstacle sensor 34, an air cleaning part 60, a controller
40, a memory device 41, and a transmitting/receiving part 43.
Reference sign `I` indicates a forwarding direction of the robot
cleaner 10. The dust suction part 16 is formed on the body 12 to
draw-in dust-ladened air therethrough and thus collect dust from a
cleaning surface. The dust suction part 16 may take many forms
well-known in the art. For example, the dust suction part 16 may
include a suction motor (not shown) and a dust-collecting chamber
for collecting dust drawn through a suction port, or a suction pipe
which is formed oppositely to the cleaning surface and operate, by
the operation of the suction motor.
[0023] The driving part 20 includes two driven wheels 21 disposed
at both front sides of the body 12, two driving wheels 22 disposed
at both rear sides of the body 12, a pair of motors 24 for
rotationally driving the two rear wheels 22, respectively, and a
timing belt 25 for transmitting a driving force from the rear
wheels 22 to the front wheels 21. Also, the driving part 20
rotationally drives the motors 24 independently in a clockwise
direction or a counterclockwise direction in accordance with a
control signal from the controller 40. The operating direction of
the robot cleaner 10 can be changed by rotating the motors 24 at
different RPMs. The front camera 32 is disposed on the body 12 to
photograph front images and output the photographed images to the
controller 40. The upper camera 30 is disposed on the body 12 to
photograph upward images and output the photographed images to the
controller 40. In another embodiment, the upper camera 30 employs a
fish eye lens (not shown). The fish eye lens is disclosed in Korean
Patent Publication Nos. 1996-7005245 and 1994-22112 and is marketed
by various lens manufactures, therefore a detailed description
thereof is omitted.
[0024] The obstacle sensors 34 are arranged along a circumference
of the body 12 at a predetermined interval, for transmitting
signals to the outside and receiving reflected signals. The
obstacle sensors 34 may use an ultrasonic sensor for emitting an
ultrasonic wave and receiving a reflected ultrasonic wave. The
obstacle sensors 34 are also used to measure a distance to an
obstacle or a wall.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 4, the air cleaning part 60 is disposed in
one side of the body 12 to draw-in air from a cleaning area, and,
cleaning air. The air cleaning part 60 includes a suction driving
source 61, a suction port 63 connected to one side of the body
cover 11, a discharge port 65 connected to another side of the body
cover 11, an air cleaning duct 67, and a plurality of filters 69.
The suction driving source 61 generates a suction force to draw-in
dust-ladened air from the cleaning area. The suction driving source
61 may be disposed in the air cleaning duct 67 and provides a
suction force in association with a suction motor (not shown) which
provides a suction force to a bottom of the dust suction part of
the body 12.
[0026] Accordingly, the suction driving source 61 can be embodied
either in association with the driving motor (not shown) or
separately from the driving motor to provide the suction force to
the air cleaning part 60. The suction driving source 61 may consist
of a motor and a fan system.
[0027] The suction port 63 is formed in one side of a front portion
of the body cover 11 or one side of an upper portion of the body
cover 11. The discharge port 65 is formed in another side of the
front portion of the body cover 11, or in another side of the upper
portion of the body cover 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the suction port
63 is formed in one side of the front portion of the body cover 11,
while the discharge port 65 is formed in one side of a rear portion
of the body cover 11. The positions where the suction port 63 and
the discharge port 65 are disposed may vary. For example, the
suction port 63 may be formed in one side of the front portion of
the body cover 11, while the discharge port 65 may be formed in one
side of the upper portion of the body cover 11 as shown in FIG. 6.
Also, there may be provided at least two suction ports 63 and at
least two discharge ports 65. In that embodiment, each suction port
63 and discharge port 65 may be disposed independently from the air
cleaning duct 67 or may be connected to the air cleaning duct
67.
[0028] The air cleaning duct 67 is in fluid communication with the
suction port 63 and the discharge port 65 so that air drawn-in
through the suction port 63 by the suction driving source 61 is
discharged through the discharge port 65 via the air cleaning duct
67.
[0029] As long as the fluid communication with the suction port 63
to the discharge port 65 is ensured, the fluid communication line
may take various forms such as a straight line or a curved
line.
[0030] The plurality of filters 69 function to clean air which is
drawn-in through the suction port 63. The filters 69 include a
first filter 71 and a second filter 73. The first filter 71 filters
out relatively larger dust particles from air while the second
filter 73 filters out relatively minute dust particles and
undesirable odors from the large dust-removed air. In another
embodiment, the second filter 73 may use a general HEPA filter to
filter minute bacteria and viruses, molds, house and animal dust
which may cause human respiratory system disorders and allergies.
The second filter 73 may use a general deodorizing filter for
removing various scents.
[0031] The controller 40 processes signals received through the
receiving/transmitting part 43 and controls the respective
components accordingly. The robot cleaner 10 may further include a
key input apparatus (not shown). In that embodiment, the key input
apparatus (not shown) is formed in the body 12 and includes a
plurality of keys for function setting of the robot cleaner, and
the controller 40 processes a key signal inputted through the key
input apparatus (not shown).
[0032] The controller 40 operates the dust suction part 16 or the
driving part 20 and instructs the robot cleaner 10 to perform a
cleaning task around a cleaning area. The controller 40 also
operates the air cleaning part 60 at the same time. By operating
the driving part 20 and the air cleaning part 60 together, but not
operating the dust suction part 16, the robot cleaner 10 can
perform an air cleaning function only while traversing around the
cleaning area.
[0033] The memory device 41 stores the photographed upward images
captured by the upper camera 30 in order for the controller 40 to
calculate location information and traveling information. The
receiving and transmitting part 43 transmits data to an external
device 80 via a transceiver (not shown) mounted in the controller
40 (not shown) and also transmits signals received from the
external device 80 via the transceiver to the controller 40. The
external device 80 is a wireless relay apparatus (not shown), or a
remote controller (not shown) through which data is
inputted/outputted. In that embodiment, the external device 80 is a
remote controller.
[0034] The following is a detailed description of the operations of
the robot cleaner system having the air cleaning function with the
above construction. When a work command is received from the
external device 80, the robot cleaner 10 perceives the work command
through the transmitting/receiving part 43. Depending upon whether
the work command is for a cleaning work or an air cleaning work,
the controller 40 initiates operation of the driving part 20, the
dust suction part 16, or the air cleaning part 60. Accordingly,
traversing a predetermined area automatically, the robot cleaner 10
performs the cleaning work through the suction part 16 and the air
cleaning work through the air cleaning part 60, or selectively
performs the cleaning work and the air cleaning work.
[0035] When the suction driving source 61 is driven by the
controller 40, air is drawn-in through the suction port 63, cleaned
by the filters 69 of the air cleaning part 60, and then discharged
through the discharge port 65. When a signal to stop the operation
of the driving part 20 is inputted through the external device 80,
the robot cleaner 10 stops at a predetermined position, but keeps
performing the air cleaning work. As described above, the robot
cleaner 10 performs the cleaning work and the air cleaning work
simultaneously or selectively. Since the above described robot
cleaner and a system thereof for cleaning a surface has the air
cleaning function, a user is not required to purchase an extra air
cleaner, hence, an advantage to the user. Also, since the robot
cleaner provides cleaned and fresh air for a predetermined cleaning
area, it contributes to a fresher residential environment.
[0036] The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely
exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present
invention. The description of the present invention is intended to
be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many
alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to
those skilled in the art. In the claims, means-plus-function
clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as
performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents
but also equivalent structures.
* * * * *