Patent ID: 9622635
Date: 2017-04-18
CPC Classifications: A47L

Claim:
1. A robot comprising: a robot housing having a forward portion; a motor drive housed in the robot housing and configured to maneuver the robot on a floor surface; at least two independently driven drive wheels moveably attached to the robot housing and biased toward the floor surface, each of the drive wheels being independently moveable downwardly; a plurality of cliff sensors disposed forward of the wheels and spaced from each other, each cliff sensor comprising an emitter positioned to direct emissions toward a floor surface and a detector configured to receive emitter emissions reflected off of the floor surface, each cliff sensor responsive to a cliff in the floor surface and configured to send a signal when a cliff in the floor surface is detected; at least one side brush driven about a nonhorizontal axis and comprising at least one brush arm having a plurality of bristles, at least a portion of the at least one side brush extending beyond a peripheral edge of the robot housing, and at least a portion of the at least one brush arm periodically intersecting a path between at least one of the plurality of cliff sensors and the floor surface; and a controller in communication with the plurality of cliff sensors and the motor drive, configured to redirect movement of the robot when a cliff in the floor surface is detected.