U.S. patent application number 16/799975 was filed with the patent office on 2021-04-15 for robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor mopping roller.
The applicant listed for this patent is Jason Yan. Invention is credited to Jason Yan.
Application Number | 20210106197 16/799975 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000004707529 |
Filed Date | 2021-04-15 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20210106197 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yan; Jason |
April 15, 2021 |
ROBOT CLEANER HAVING CLEANING DEVICE FOR CLEANING FLOOR MOPPING
ROLLER
Abstract
A robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller is provided. The robot cleaner includes a cleaning
device disposed on one side or one surface of a robot so as to
divert the water stored in a water supply portion inside the robot
to a cleaning body of the cleaning device. Then, the cleaning body
can be used to clean a floor. When the cleaning body is used to
clean the floor, a water squeezing body presses against one side of
the cleaning body and a shaft body drives the cleaning body to
rotate. Afterward, the water squeezing body can squeeze the water
(dirty water) out of the cleaning body. Finally, a recycling body
can recycle the water to a water storage portion inside the robot.
In this way, the robot cleaner can clean the floor and the cleaning
body at the same time.
Inventors: |
Yan; Jason; (New Taipei
City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Yan; Jason |
New Taipei City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000004707529 |
Appl. No.: |
16/799975 |
Filed: |
February 25, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 11/4027 20130101;
A47L 11/4066 20130101; A47L 11/4088 20130101; A47L 11/4083
20130101; A47L 11/4022 20130101; A47L 2201/06 20130101; A47L
11/4041 20130101; A47L 11/292 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A47L 11/292 20060101
A47L011/292; A47L 11/40 20060101 A47L011/40 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 14, 2019 |
TW |
108136834 |
Claims
1. A robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller, comprising: a robot, comprising a water storage
portion and a water supply portion disposed therein; a cleaning
device, disposed on a side or a surface of the robot, and connected
to the water supply portion, the cleaning device comprising: a
connection body, connected to the side or the surface of the robot;
a shaft body, encapsulated by a cleaning body and pivotally
connected to the connection body; and a diversion body, comprising
a diversion portion and a water output portion, the diversion
portion being connected to the water supply portion to divert a
water in the water supply portion to the water output portion, and
the water output portion being disposed to be adjacent to the
cleaning body in order to output the water to the cleaning body; a
water squeezing body, disposed on the robot or the cleaning device,
and one end of the water squeezing body pressing against the
cleaning body to squeeze the water absorbed by the cleaning body
out of the cleaning body; and a recycling body, disposed on the
side or the surface of the robot, and adjacent to the water
squeezing body, the recycling body being connected to the water
storage portion so as to recycle the water squeezed out by the
water squeezing body to the water storage portion.
2. The robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller of claim 1, further comprising: a control element,
connected to the water supply portion to control a water output
volume or a water output mode of the water outputted from water
supply portion to the diversion body.
3. The robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller of claim 1, wherein the connection body comprises a
concave space and the shaft body is disposed inside the concave
space.
4. The robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller of claim 1, further comprising: a removing body,
disposed on the robot or the cleaning device, and pressing against
the cleaning body in order to remove dirt adhering to the cleaning
body.
5. The robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller of claim 4, wherein the removing body is disposed at
a position adjacent to the recycling body, such that the recycling
body carrying the dirty removed by the removing body to the water
storage portion.
6. The robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller of claim 4, wherein the removing body is a brush
body.
7. The robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller of claim 1, wherein when the water storage portion
is connected to the water supply portion, the robot cleaner further
comprising: a filtering body, disposed between the water storage
portion and the water supply portion in order to filter the water
outputted from the water storage portion to the water supply
portion.
8. A robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller, comprising: a robot, comprising a water supply
portion disposed therein; a cleaning device, disposed on a side or
a surface of the robot, and connected to the water supply portion,
the cleaning device comprising: a connection body, connected to the
side or the surface of the robot; a shaft body, encapsulated by a
cleaning body and pivotally connected to the connection body; a
diversion body, comprising a diversion portion and a water output
portion, the diversion portion being connected to the water supply
portion to divert a water in the water supply portion to the water
output portion, and the water output portion being disposed to be
adjacent to the cleaning body in order to output the water to the
cleaning body; a water squeezing body, disposed on the robot or the
cleaning device, and one end of the water squeezing body pressing
against the cleaning body to squeeze the water absorbed by the
cleaning body out of the cleaning body; a recycling body, disposed
on the side or the surface of the robot, and adjacent to the water
squeezing body, the recycling body being connected to the water
supply portion so as to recycle the water squeezed out by the water
squeezing body to the water supply portion; and a filtering body,
disposed between the recycling body and the water supply portion in
order to filter the water outputted from the recycling body to the
water supply portion.
9. The robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller of claim 8, further comprising: a control element,
connected to the water supply portion to control a water output
volume or a water output mode of the water outputted from water
supply portion to the diversion body.
10. The robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller of claim 8, wherein the connection body comprises a
concave space and the shaft body is disposed inside the concave
space.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to a robot cleaner, in
particular to a robot cleaner having a floor mopping roller and a
cleaning device for cleaning the floor and a cleaning body at the
same time.
2. Description of the Prior Art
[0002] With advance of technology, self-propelled robots are
gradually becoming popular in the robot industry, and the
technology thereof is also gradually becoming mature. With advance
of robot technology, a robot can already provide various functions,
such as production, disaster rescue, exploration, cleaning, etc.
Regarding currently most-frequently used intelligent robot
cleaners, many families already use robot cleaners to automatically
clean the floors of their houses. Thus, robot cleaners should
provide some necessary functions in order to perform the cleaning
task.
[0003] When the cleaning task is performed, a robot cleaner usually
sprinkles the water on the floor by a water sprinkling hole, and
then mops the wetted floor by a cleaning component so as to clean
the floor. However, when sprinkling the water on the floor, the
robot cleaner may accidently sprinkle the water on the area not to
be cleaned because the sprinkling range is too wide. Even worse,
the robot cleaner may accidently sprinkle the water on the
furniture or other objects.
[0004] In addition, when the robot cleaner performs the cleaning
operation by the cleaning component, the robot cleaner cannot
simultaneously clean the cleaning component. Thus, the cleaning
component will be too dirty to effectively clean the floor after
performed the cleaning operation for a period of time. Then, the
user should remove the cleaning component and wash the cleaning
component before the robot cleaner continues the cleaning operation
again.
[0005] Therefore, it is an important issue to provide a robot
cleaner capable of cleaning the floor and the cleaning body at the
same time to avoid that the robot cleaner may sprinkle the water on
the area not to be cleaned when sprinkling the water on the floor
in order to solve the problem of prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] One of the primary objects of the present invention is to
provide a robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller. When the robot cleaner executes a cleaning
operation, a diversion body directly diverts the water to the
cleaning body in order to solve the problem that the water is
sprinkled to the area not to be cleaned. Meanwhile, the robot
cleaner uses a water squeezing body to clean the cleaning body and
recycles the dirty water squeezed from the cleaning body by a
recycling body so as to cyclically clean the cleaning body and
improve the problems of prior art.
[0007] To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention
provides a robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning floor
mopping roller. The robot cleaner includes a robot, a cleaning
device, a water squeezing body and a recycling body. The robot
includes a water storage portion and a water supply portion
disposed therein. The cleaning device is disposed on one side or
one surface of the robot, and connected to the water supply
portion; the cleaning device includes a connection body, a shaft
body and a diversion body. The connection body is connected to one
side or one surface of the robot. The shaft body is encapsulated by
a cleaning body and pivotally connected to the connection body. The
diversion body includes a diversion portion and a water output
portion; the diversion portion is connected to the water supply
portion to divert the water in the water supply portion to the
water output portion; the water output portion is disposed to be
adjacent to the cleaning body in order to output the water to the
cleaning body. The water squeezing body is disposed on the robot or
the cleaning device, and one end of the water squeezing body
presses against the cleaning body to squeeze the water absorbed by
the cleaning body out of the cleaning body. The recycling body is
disposed on one side or one surface of the robot, and adjacent to
the water squeezing body; the recycling body is connected to the
water storage portion so as to recycle the water squeezed out by
the water squeezing body to the water storage portion.
[0008] Preferably, the robot cleaner having cleaning device for
cleaning floor mopping roller further includes a control element.
The control element is connected to the water supply portion in
order to control the water output volume or the water output mode
of the water outputted from water supply portion to the diversion
body.
[0009] Preferably, the connection body includes a concave space and
the shaft body is disposed inside the concave space.
[0010] Preferably, the robot cleaner having cleaning device for
cleaning floor mopping roller further includes a removing body. The
removing body is disposed on the robot or the cleaning device, and
presses against the cleaning body in order to remove the dirt
adhering to the cleaning body.
[0011] Preferably, the removing body is disposed at the position
adjacent to the recycling body, such that the recycling body
carries the dirty removed by the removing body to the water storage
portion.
[0012] Preferably, the removing body is a brush body.
[0013] Preferably, when the water storage portion is connected to
the water supply portion, the robot cleaner further includes a
filtering body. The filtering body is disposed between the water
storage portion and the water supply portion in order to filter the
water outputted from the water storage portion to the water supply
portion.
[0014] Another of the primary objects of the present invention is
to provide a robot cleaner having cleaning device for cleaning
floor mopping roller. When the robot cleaner executes a cleaning
operation, a diversion body directly diverts the water to the
cleaning body in order to solve the problem that the water is
sprinkled to the area not to be cleaned. Meanwhile, the robot
cleaner uses a water squeezing body to clean the cleaning body and
recycles the dirty water squeezed from the cleaning body by a
recycling body. When the dirty water is recycled to the water
supply portion, the dirty water can be filtered by a filtering body
so as to cyclically clean the cleaning body and use water resource,
such that problems of prior art can be improved.
[0015] To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention
further provides a robot cleaner having cleaning device for
cleaning floor mopping roller. The robot cleaner includes a robot,
a cleaning device, a water squeezing body, a recycling body and a
filtering body. The robot includes a water supply portion disposed
therein. The cleaning device is disposed on a side or a surface of
the robot, and connected to the water supply portion; the cleaning
device includes a connection body, a shaft body and a diversion
body. The connection body is connected to the side or the surface
of the robot. The shaft body is encapsulated by a cleaning body and
pivotally connected to the connection body. The diversion body
includes a diversion portion and a water output portion; the
diversion portion is connected to the water supply portion to
divert the water in the water supply portion to the water output
portion; the water output portion is disposed to be adjacent to the
cleaning body in order to output the water to the cleaning body.
The water squeezing body is disposed on the robot or the cleaning
device, and one end of the water squeezing body presses against the
cleaning body to squeeze the water absorbed by the cleaning body
out of the cleaning body. The recycling body is disposed on the
side or the surface of the robot, and adjacent to the water
squeezing body; the recycling body is connected to the water supply
portion so as to recycle the water squeezed out by the water
squeezing body to the water supply portion. The filtering body is
disposed between the recycling body and the water supply portion in
order to filter the water outputted from the recycling body to the
water supply portion.
[0016] Preferably, the robot cleaner further includes a control
element. The control element is connected to the water supply
portion to control the water output volume or the water output mode
of the water outputted from water supply portion to the diversion
body.
[0017] Preferably, the connection body includes a concave space and
the shaft body is disposed inside the concave space.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] For a better understanding of the aforementioned embodiments
of the invention as well as additional embodiments thereof,
reference should be made to the Description of Embodiments below,
in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference
numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.
[0019] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic view of a robot cleaner in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the robot cleaner performing a
cleaning operation in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a control element connecting
to the water supply portion in accordance with one embodiment of
the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a structural schematic view of a removing body, of
the robot cleaner, cleaning dirt from a cleaning body of the robot
cleaner in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0023] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a connection relation of a
filtering body disposed between the water supply portion and a
water storage portion in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0024] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a connection relation of a
filtering body disposed between a recycling body and the water
supply portion in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0025] The following description is about embodiments of the
present invention; however it is not intended to limit the scope of
the present invention.
[0026] Please refer FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, which are a structural
schematic view of a robot cleaner and a schematic view of the robot
cleaner performing a cleaning operation in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2,
the present invention discloses a robot 100, a cleaning device 20,
a water squeezing body 30 and a recycling body 40. The robot 100 is
a household floor washing robot or floor cleaning robot. The robot
100 includes a water storage portion 11 and a water supply portion
12. The water storage portion 11 is mainly used to store the dirty
water recycled and the water supply portion 12 is used to supply
the water for cleaning the floor.
[0027] The cleaning device 20 is disposed on one side or one
surface of the robot 100, and connected to the water supply portion
12 so as to output the water from the water supply portion 12 to
the cleaning device 20. In the embodiment, the cleaning device 20
is disposed on one side of the robot 100 for illustration.
[0028] The cleaning device 20 includes a connection body 21, a
shaft body 22 and a diversion body 23. The connection body 21 is
connected to the bottom surface of the robot 100 and protrudes from
the periphery of the robot 100. More specifically, the connection
body 21 may be a housing having a concave space 211.
[0029] The shaft body 22 is pivotally connected to the connection
body 21 and disposed inside the concave space 211, such that the
shaft body 22 can rotate clockwise or counterclockwise in the
concave space 211. In addition, the shaft body 22 is further
encapsulated by a cleaning body 221. When the shaft body 22
rotates, the cleaning body 221 is driven by the shaft body 22 to
rotate in the direction which the shaft body 22 rotates. However,
as the cleaning body 221 is used to absorb the water provided by
the water supply portion 12 so as to clean dirt or dust on a floor,
the cleaning body 221 should be an object with proper water
absorption ability (e.g. cloth).
[0030] The diversion body 23 may be a tube, which has a diversion
portion 231 and a water output portion 232. The diversion portion
231 is connected to the water supply portion 12 so as to divert the
water inside the water supply portion 12 to the water output
portion 232. The water output portion 232 is disposed at the
position adjacent to the cleaning body 221 in order to divert the
water to the cleaning body 221. More specifically, the mean of the
water supply portion 12 drawing out the water and diverting the
water to the diversion body 23 can be realized by height
difference. In other words, the water supply portion 12 is disposed
at the position higher than that of the cleaning device 12. Then,
the water can be controlled by a valve body or a water pump; the
valve body can be used to control whether the water is diverted to
the diversion body 23; the water pump can be used to draw out the
water to the diversion body 23. In the embodiment, the water is
controlled by a water pump to draw out the water to the diversion
body 23. However, the means of the water supply portion 12 drawing
out the water are already known by those skilled in the art, so
will not be described again in the following content.
[0031] The water squeezing body 30 may be a plate body with proper
hardness, and disposed on the robot 100 or the cleaning device 20.
Therefore, when one end of the water squeezing body 30 presses
against one side of the cleaning body 221 and the cleaning body 221
is rotating, the water squeezing body 30 does not break because the
hardness of the water squeezing body 30 can effectively resist the
kinetic energy of the cleaning body 221, and can simultaneously
squeeze the water absorbed by the cleaning body 221 out of the
cleaning body 221.
[0032] The recycling body 40 is disposed on one side or one surface
of the robot 100, and disposed at the position adjacent to the
water squeezing body 30. The recycling body 40 is connected to the
water storage portion 11 in order to recycle the water squeezed out
by the water squeezing body 30 to the water storage portion 11.
[0033] Via the above structure, when the robot cleaner performs a
cleaning operation, the cleaning body 221 contacts the floor. Then,
when the robot cleaner moves forward, the friction between the
cleaning body 221 and the floor is applied to the cleaning body
221. Besides, as the shaft body 22 is pivotally connected to the
connection body 21, the cleaning body 221 rotates in the direction
opposite to the moving direction of the robot cleaner (i.e. the
cleaning body 221 rotates counterclockwise). When a part of the
cleaning body 221 rotates to the position corresponding to the
water output portion 232, the water output portion 232 diverts the
water from the water supply portion 12 to the part of the cleaning
body 221 to wet the part of the cleaning body 221. Then, when
rotating to contact the floor, the part of the cleaning body 221
can effectively clean the floor. When the part of the cleaning body
221 rotates to the position where the water squeezing body 30
presses, the water squeezing body 30 can squeeze the water (dirty
water) absorbed by the cleaning body 221 out of the cleaning body
221. Next, the recycling body 40 recycles the water squeezed from
the cleaning body 221 to the water storage portion 11. Afterward,
when the part of the cleaning body 221 rotates to the position
corresponding to the water output portion 232, the water output
portion 232 diverts the water to the part of the cleaning body 221
again and repeat the above process.
[0034] Therefore, via the design of the diversion body 231 and the
water squeezing body 30, the cleaning body 221 can be cyclically
cleaned and simultaneously clean the floor, which can solve the
problem that the currently available robot cleaner cannot be used
again until the user detaches and clean the cleaning component.
[0035] Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a schematic view of a
control element connecting to the water supply portion in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown
in FIG. 3, as the floors of different buildings may be made of
different materials, it is necessary to use the cleaning body 221
with different water content to clean the floors of different
materials in order to effectively remove dirt and dust from the
floors. Besides, it is also necessary to avoid that the cleaning
body 221 is too wet or too dry after the water supply portion 12
supplies the water to the cleaning body 221 for a period of
time.
[0036] Moreover, the robot cleaner further includes a control
element 50 connected to the water supply portion 12. The control
element 50 is used to control the water output volume or the water
output mode of the water outputted from the water supply portion
12. Therefore, when the floor is, for example, made of wood, the
control element 50 can reduce the water output volume outputted
from the water supply portion 12 in order to avoid that the water
infiltrates into the floor because the cleaning body 221 absorbs
too much water. On the contrary, when the floor is, for example,
made of marble, the control element 50 can increase the water
output volume outputted from the water supply portion 12 so as to
avoid that the cleaning body 221 cannot effectively clean the
marble floor because the cleaning body 221 fails to absorb enough
water. In this way, the robot cleaner can effectively clean the
floor.
[0037] The control element 50 can also control the water output
mode of the water supply portion 12 to control the water content of
the cleaning body 21 with a view to make the cleaning body 21 have
proper water content. For example, the water supply portion 12 can
supply the water to the cleaning body 221 according to a dynamic
water output mode or a time-based water output mode. For example,
when the control element 50 controls the water supply portion 12 to
supply the water to the cleaning body 221 according to the dynamic
water output mode, the water supply portion 12 can output the water
for about 0.1.about.1 second and stop outputting the water for
about 0.1.about.1 second to regularly or irregularly supply the
water to the cleaning body 221. Alternatively, when the control
element 50 controls the water supply portion 12 to supply the water
to the cleaning body 221 according to the time-based water output
mode, the water supply portion 12 can output the water for about
1.about.5 minutes and stop outputting the water for about
10.about.30 seconds to regularly or irregularly supply the water to
the cleaning body 221.
[0038] As described above, the control element 50 can control the
water output volume or the water output mode of the water supply
portion 12 so as to effectively control the water content of the
cleaning body 221, such that the robot cleaner can effectively
clean the floors made of different materials.
[0039] The time settings described in the embodiment are just to
illustrate the difference between the dynamic water output mode and
the time-based water output mode instead of limiting the scope of
the claims of the present invention.
[0040] Those skilled in the art can realize the dynamic water
output mode and the time-based water output mode by other time
settings by referring to the embodiment.
[0041] Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a structural schematic view
of a removing body, of the robot cleaner, cleaning dirt from a
cleaning body of the robot cleaner in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, when the
cleaning body 221 cleans the floor, some dirt (e.g. hairs or
flocks, etc.) may be attached to the cleaning body 221 when the
cleaning body 221 is rotating.
[0042] Therefore, the robot cleaner further includes a removing
body 60 so as to effectively clean the cleaning body 221 and remove
the dirt from the cleaning body 221; the removing body 60 may be,
for instance, a brush body. The removing body 60 is disposed on the
robot 100 or the cleaning device 20, and disposed at the position
adjacent to the recycling body 40. The removing body 60 presses
against the cleaning body 221 (more specifically, the bristles of
the removing body 60 presses against the cleaning body 221). Thus,
when the cleaning body 221 rotates, the removing body 60 can remove
the dirt attached to the cleaning body 221. The dirt removed by the
removing body 60 can be returned to the recycling body 40 in order
to store the dirt in the water storage portion 11.
[0043] Please refer to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6; FIG. 5 is a schematic
view of a connection relation of a filtering body disposed between
the water supply portion and a water storage portion in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a schematic
view of a connection relation of a filtering body disposed between
a recycling body and the water supply portion in accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the
robot cleaner further includes a filtering body 70 in order to
effectively and repeatedly recycle water resource so as to the time
of replacing water; the filtering body 70 may be disposed between
the water storage portion 11 and the water supply portion 12.
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6, when the robot cleaner fails to
have the water storage portion 11, the filtering body 70 is
disposed between the recycling body 40 and the water supply portion
12 in order to filter the dirty water received from the recycling
body 40 and then supply the water to the cleaning body 221 via the
water supply portion 12, which can reduce the waste of water
resource.
[0044] In the above description of the present invention, it should
be understood that the terms "clockwise", "counterclockwise",
"central", "transverse", "up", "down", "left", "right", "top",
"bottom", "inner", "outer" and other terms describing direction or
position relations are only used to indicate the directions and the
positions shown in the drawings. These terms are only used to
conveniently describe the present invention and simplify the
content of the specification instead of indicating or implying that
the devices or the elements described in the specification should
be at specific positions, in specific directions or operated in
specific ways. Therefore, the above terms should not be understood
to limit the scope of the claims of the present invention.
[0045] The above disclosure is related to the detailed technical
contents and inventive features thereof. Those skilled in the art
may proceed with a variety of modifications and replacements based
on the disclosures and suggestions of the invention as described
without departing from the characteristics thereof. Nevertheless,
although such modifications and replacements are not fully
disclosed in the above descriptions, they have substantially been
covered in the following claims as appended.
* * * * *