Patent Publication Number: US-10765287-B2

Title: Cleaning robot

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority to PCT/CN2018/086610, filed on May 11, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure relates to a cleaning robot. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     With the development of the level of science and technology and the ever-increasing improvement of people&#39;s living standards, clean robots have become more and more widely used. In the process of using a conventional cleaning robot, people hold the handle of the cleaning robot and push and pull the cleaning robot forward and backward. However, due to the friction between the roller and the floor of the cleaning robot, people need to overcome the friction when pushing and pulling the cleaning robot, which is laborious. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Based on this, it is necessary to provide a relatively labor-saving cleaning robot. A cleaning robot includes: the cleaning body, including a handle and a working assembly. The working assembly is disposed at one end of the handle. The working assembly includes a roller and a first driving mechanism. The first driving mechanism can drive the roller to rotate relative to the handle as well as an adjustment mechanism that is connected with the first drive mechanism. The adjustment mechanism can adjust the rotational direction and rotational speed of the roller by controlling the first drive mechanism. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order to more clearly explain the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions relative to the prior art, the drawings to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For those skilled in the art, drawings of other embodiments can also be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic structural view of a cleaning robot according to a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic structural view of an adjustment mechanism in the cleaning robot shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a partial structure of the cleaning robot shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic structural view of an adjustment mechanism of a cleaning robot according to a second embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic structural view of an adjustment mechanism of a cleaning robot according to a third embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a partial structure of the cleaning robot shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram of a partial structure of a cleaning robot according to a fourth embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram of a partial structure of a cleaning robot according to a fifth embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic structural view of a roller and a reversing assembly of the cleaning robot shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic view of the structure of the roller, the first drive mechanism, and the water tank of the cleaning robot shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     To facilitate the understanding of the present disclosure, the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure is given in the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete. It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being “fixed” to another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may also be an intervening element. When an element is considered to be “connected” to another element, it can be directly connected to another element or there may be an intervening element. The terms “vertical”, “horizontal”, “left”, “right” and the like are used herein for the purpose of illustration only. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The terminology used in the description of the present disclosure herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the cleaning robot  10  of an embodiment includes a cleaning body  20  and an adjustment mechanism  30 . The cleaning body  20  is used to clean the floor. The adjustment mechanism  30  can adjust the walking direction and the walking speed of the cleaning body  20 . The adjustment mechanism  30  can be set. The cleaning body  20  can also be wirelessly connected to the adjustment mechanism  30  by remote control. Specifically, the cleaning body  20  includes a handle  100  and a working assembly  200  disposed at one end of the handle  100 . The end of the handle  100  away from the working assembly  200  is flat and is convenient for a human hand to hold, and the central portion has a certain degree of curvature in order to make the design of the clean body  20  more ergonomic. The working assembly  200  includes a roller  210  and a first driving mechanism  220 . The roller  210  is made of a flexible material such as a sponge and has good water absorption. The first driving mechanism  220  can drive the roller  210  to rotate relative to the handle  100 . The first driving mechanism  220  can be a brushless motor or a brush motor. 
     The adjustment mechanism  30  is connected with the first drive mechanism  220 , and the adjustment mechanism  30  can adjust the rotational direction and rotational speed of the roller  210  by controlling the first drive mechanism  220 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the adjustment mechanism  30  includes a movable member  300  and a controller  400 . The movable member  300  is disposed at an end of the handle  100  away from the working assembly  200 . The movable member  300  is slidable relative to the handle  100 , and the movable member  300  is opposite to the handle  100 . When the handle  100  slides, the controller  400  can control the rolling state of the roller  210 ; that is, the controller  400  can control the rotational direction and rotational speed of the roller  210 . When the movable member  300 , in an initial position, is pushed forward with the user&#39;s position using the cleaning robot  10  as a reference, the roller  210  rotates in the forward direction; that is, the cleaning body  20  moves forward and the movable member  300  moves forward. The greater the distance, the greater the rotational speed of the roller  210 . Conversely, when the movable member  300  in the initial position is pushed backward, the roller  210  rotates in the reverse direction; that is, the cleaning body  20  moves backward. The larger the distance of the movable member  300  moving backward, the greater the rotational speed of the roller  210 . Therefore, when cleaning the floor, the user only needs to slide the movable member  300  to adjust the cleaning direction and speed of the cleaning body  20 , which is convenient and effortless. 
     In an embodiment, the movable member  300  includes a first sliding portion  310  and a second sliding portion  320  that are connected to each other. The handle  100  is provided with a groove  110 . The first sliding portion  310  is disposed in the groove  110 , and the second sliding portion  320  is formed outside the groove  110 . The adjustment mechanism  30  further includes a sensing component  500  connected to the controller  400 . The sensing component  500  includes a sensor head  510  and a sensor band  520 . The sensor head  510  is disposed on the first sliding portion  310 , and the sensor band  520  is located on a bottom wall of the groove  110 . A plurality of spaced-apart nodes  522  are disposed on the sensor band  520 . When the movable member  300  slides relative to the handle  100 , the sensor head  510  can correspond to different nodes  522 , so that the controller  400  can change the rolling state of the roller  210 . As shown in  FIG. 2  as the viewing angle, there are a total of 8 nodes on the sensor band  520 . In order from left to right, it is assumed that the eight nodes correspond to +4, +3, +2, +1, −1, −2, −3, and −4, respectively. When the sensor head  510  is located between the +1 node and the −1 node, the movable member  300  is in the initial position, and at this time, the roller  210  does not rotate. When the sensor head  510  is located between any two nodes from +1 to +4, the roller  210  rotates clockwise to achieve the advancement of the cleaning body  20 . In addition, the further leftward the movable member  300  is with respect to the initial position, the greater the rotational speed of the roller  210 . When the sensor head  510  is located between any two nodes between −1 and −4, the roller  210  rotates counterclockwise to achieve the retraction of the cleaning body  20 . In addition, the movable member  300  is positioned further to the right with respect to the initial position, and the rotational speed of the roller  210  is larger. 
     It can be understood that the number of nodes  522  may be an even number or an odd number. When the number of nodes  522  is an even number, the initial position of the sensor head  510  is between two intermediate nodes. When the number of nodes  522  is an odd number, the initial position of the sensor head  510  corresponds to one node in the middle. In this embodiment, the adjustment mechanism  30  further includes a telescoping assembly connected with the handle  100  and the movable member  300  to assist in resetting the movable member  300 . Specifically, the telescoping assembly includes a first spring  610  and a second spring  620 , and both the first spring  610  and the second spring  620  are accommodated in the groove  110 . One end of the first spring  610  is connected with the sidewall of the groove  110 , and the other end is connected with the first sliding portion  310 . One end of the second spring  620  is connected with the sidewall of the groove  110 , and the other end is connected with the first sliding portion  310 . The first sliding portion  310  is located between the first spring  610  and the second spring  620 . When the first spring  610  is compressed, the second spring  620  is elongated. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 2  as the viewing angle, when the movable member  300  is in the initial position, both the first spring  610  and the second spring  620  are original lengths. When the movable member  300  slides to the left, the first spring  610  is compressed and the second spring  620  is elongated. When the movable member  300  is released, the movable member is acted upon by the urging force of the first spring  610  and the tension of the second spring  620 . The movable member  300  can return to the initial position in time. Similarly, when the movable member  300  slides to the right, the movable member  300  can be restored to the initial position in time under the joint action of the first spring  610  and the second spring  620 , so that the action of manually resetting the movable member  300  can be reduced. Moreover, the first spring  610  and the second spring  620  can also act as a buffer to prevent the movable member  300  from resetting excessively beyond the initial position and causing the roller  210  to reverse. It can be understood that in this embodiment, the first spring  610  and the second spring  620  may be omitted. 
     In one embodiment, referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 4  to  FIG. 6 , the rolling state of the roller  210  may also be controlled by detecting the force of the sidewall of the groove  110  or the first sliding portion  310 . Specifically, the adjustment mechanism  30  further includes a first force sensor  530  and a second force sensor  540 . The first force sensor  530  is located at one end of the first spring  610 . The first force sensor  530  may be mounted on the first spring  610  and the groove  110 . The sidewalls may also be disposed between the first spring  610  and the first sliding portion  310 . The second force sensor  540  is disposed at one end of the second spring  620 . Similarly, the second force sensor  540  may be disposed between the second spring  620  and the sidewall of the groove  110 , and may also be disposed between the second spring  620  and the first sliding portion  310 . The first force sensor  530  and the second force sensor  540  are both connected to the controller  400 , and the controller  400  can determine the rotational direction and rotational speed of the roller  210  based on the detection results of the first force sensor  530  and the second force sensor  540 . 
     In this embodiment, both the first force sensor  530  and the second force sensor  540  are pressure sensors, or both the first force sensor  530  and the second force sensor  540  are tension sensors. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4  as viewing angles, when the first force sensor  530  and the second force sensor  540  are both pressure sensors, the movable member  300  is pushed to the left, and the first force is generated because the first spring  610  is compressed. The first force sensor  530  can detect the elastic force of the first spring  610 , and the second spring  620  is elongated so that the value of the second force sensor  540  does not change. The controller  400  can issue a command to rotate the roller  210  clockwise at a corresponding rotational speed based on the detection results of both. Moving the movable member  300  to the right, the working principle of the first force sensor  530 , the second force sensor  540 , and the controller  400  is similar to the above principle, and will not be repeated here. 
     When both the first force sensor  530  and the second force sensor  540  are tension sensors, the movable member  300  is moved to the left. Because the first spring  610  is compressed, the value of the first force sensor  530  is unchanged, and the second spring  620  is changed. Being elongated, the second force sensor  540  can detect the elastic force of the second spring  620 , and the controller  400  can issue an instruction that the roller  210  needs to rotate clockwise at a corresponding rotational speed according to the detection result of both. For the contrary, the same reasoning applies. Of course, it can be understood that in other embodiments, either the first spring  610  or the second spring  620  may be selected. For example, when there is only the first spring  610 , the first force sensor  530  and the second force sensor  540  are provided at both ends of the first spring  610 , respectively. In this case, when the first force sensor  530  is a pressure sensor, the second force sensor  540  is a tension sensor. Pushing the movable member  300  to the left, since the first spring  610  is compressed, the first force sensor  530  can detect the elastic force of the first spring  610 , and the controller  400  can issue instructions instructing the roller  210  to rotate according to the detection result of the first force sensor  530 . The roller  210  is therefore instructed to rotate clockwise at the corresponding speed. When the movable member  300  is pushed to the right, since the first spring  610  is elongated, the second force sensor  540  can detect the elastic force of the first spring  610 , and the controller  400  can issue instructions instructing the roller  210  to rotate according to the detection result of the second force sensor  540 . The roller  210  is therefore instructed to rotate counterclockwise at a corresponding rotational speed. 
     Similarly, when the first force sensor  530  is a tension sensor, the second force sensor  540  is a pressure sensor. In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 7 , it is also possible to control the rolling state of the roller  210  by detecting the position of the movable member  300 . Specifically, the adjustment mechanism  30  further includes a position sensor  550  disposed on the movable member  300  and connected with the controller  400 . The position sensor  550  can detect the position of the movable member  300  in real time, and feedback the detection result to the controller  400 . The controller  400  can determine the rotational direction and rotational speed of the roller  210  based on the detection result of the position sensor  550 . In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 8 , the adjustment mechanism  30  further includes a gyroscope  560  and an accelerometer  570 . The gyroscope  560  and the accelerometer  570  are both disposed on the movable member  300  and are all connected to the controller  400 . The gyroscope  560  can detect the change in the orientation of the movable member  300 , the accelerometer  570  can detect the magnitude of the acceleration of the movable member  300 , and the controller  400  can determine the rotational direction and rotational speed of the roller  210  based on the detection results of the gyroscope  560  and the accelerometer  570 . In the present embodiment, the gyroscope  560  may be independent from the accelerometer  570 , and the accelerometer  570  may also be integrated in the gyroscope  560 . 
     Further, in addition to the movable member  300  being capable of sliding back and forth with respect to the handle  100 , the movable member  300  can also be deflected leftward and rightward relative to the handle  100 . That is, the adjustment mechanism  30  can control the cleaning in addition to the movement of the cleaning body  20  in the front-rear direction. The cleaning body  20  performs commutation. For example, when the movable member  300  is deflected to the left front with respect to the handle  100 , the cleaning body  20  will turn leftward and the like. Specifically, in an embodiment, referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 8 , and  FIG. 9 , the cleaning body  20  further includes a reversing component. The reversing component includes a first direction wheel  710 , a second direction wheel  720 , a second driving mechanism, and a third driving mechanism. The roller  210  is disposed between the first direction wheel  710  and the second direction wheel  720 , the second driving mechanism can drive the first direction wheel  710  to rotate, and the third driving mechanism can drive the second direction wheel  720  to rotate. The second driving mechanism and the third driving mechanism are both connected with the controller  400 . The controller  400  controls the second driving mechanism to control the first direction wheel  710 , and controls the third driving mechanism to control the second direction wheel  720 . The differential rotation of the first direction wheel  710  and the second direction wheel  720  can achieve the turning commutation of the cleaning body  20 . 
     Specifically in this embodiment, the first direction wheel  710  and the second direction wheel  720  are coaxially arranged, and the second drive mechanism and the third drive mechanism are both brushless motors. When the movable member  300  moves linearly, the controller  400  also controls the linear movement of the cleaning body  20 . At this time, the rotational speed of the first direction wheel  710  is equal to the rotational speed of the second direction wheel  720 . When the movable member  300  is deflected to the left front, the gyroscope  560  and the accelerometer  570  respectively send the orientation and the acceleration of the movable member  300  to the controller  400 , and the controller  400  causes the first direction wheel  710  to rotate at a lower speed than the second direction. The rotational speed of the second direction wheel  7 : 20  is such that a forward left turn of the cleaning body  20  is achieved. When the movable member  300  is deflected to the right front, the controller  400  causes the rotational speed of the first direction wheel  710  to be smaller than the rotational speed of the second direction wheel  720 , thereby achieving a forward turning right of the cleaning body  20 . Similarly, when the movable member  300  is deflected to the left rear, the cleaning body  20  will turn left and right, and when the movable member  300  is deflected to the right rear, the cleaning body  20  will turn rightward. 
     In an embodiment, the working assembly  200  further includes a reversing wheel. When the cleaning body  20  is straight, the axis of the reversing wheel is parallel to the axis of the roller  210 . When the cleaning body  20  turns, the angle between the axis of the reversing wheel and the axis of the roller  210  is set. The reversing wheel is connected with the movable member  300 . When the movable member  300  is deflected with respect to the handle  100 , the reversing wheel can be deflected together with the movable member  300  to realize the turning of the cleaning body  20 . The connection between the reversing wheel and the movable member  300  is mainly a mechanical connection, and the movable member  300  can be connected with the hub of the reversing wheel through a connecting rod. 
     It is worth mentioning that for the cleaning robot  10  of the present embodiment, the rotational speed of the first driving mechanism  220  is controlled between the first speed and the second speed, wherein the first speed is 60 revolutions per second and the second speed is 154 revolutions per second. In this range, the cleaning robot  10  can obtain reasonable cleaning performance. As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 10 , in the present embodiment, the working assembly  200  further includes a water tank  230 , a brush  240 , and a garbage collection box  250 . The water tank  230  is used for supplying the clean water to the roller  210  and for recovering the sewage absorbed by the roller  210 . The brush  240  is disposed on one side of the roller  210  and is in contact with the surface of the roller  210 . The garbage collection box  250  is used to collect garbage separated from the roller  210  by the brush  240 . 
     The bottom wall of the water tank  230  is provided with a protrusion  232 . The protrusion  232  is in contact with the roller  210 , and the protrusion  232  can make the portion of the roller  210  abutting the protrusion  232  be recessed toward the axis of the roller  210  so that the protrusion  232  can squeeze out the sewage absorbed when the roller  210  cleans the ground, and the sewage is pushed out into the water tank  230  after being extruded. 
     In the present embodiment, the brush  240  can also rotate so as to facilitate the sweeping of the trash on the surface of the roller  210  and into the garbage collection box  250 . The mechanism for driving the brush  240  to rotate may be an additionally provided motor or a first driving mechanism  220 . The first driving mechanism  220  may be connected to the brush  240  through a gear pair or other transmission mechanism. 
     In order to increase the cleaning effect, the working assembly  200  includes two rollers  210 , the axes of the two rollers  210  are parallel to each other, and the rotational directions of the two rollers  210  are the same. It can also be said that two rollers  210  are arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction. When the cleaning body  20  advances, the roller  210  located at the rear can clean the garbage still remaining on the ground after the roller  210  located at the front passes by, and achieve the purpose of secondary cleaning. Correspondingly, two brushes  240  are also provided, corresponding one-to-one to the roller  210 . The axes of the two brushes  240  are located between the axes of the two rollers  210 . and the rotational direction of the two brushes  240  is opposite one another. As shown in FIG.  1  as the viewing angle, regardless of whether the two rollers  210  rotate clockwise or counterclockwise, the brush  240  on the left side rotates counterclockwise, and the brush  240  on the right side rotates clockwise. 
     In the present embodiment, the work assembly  200  further includes a hearing roller  260  capable of supporting the garbage collection box  250  to increase the load-hearing capacity of the garbage collection box  250 . 
     The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. To make the description succinct, all the possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, all should be considered as described in this specification. The above-mentioned embodiments merely represent several embodiments of the present disclosure, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but it should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, it should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, several variations and improvements may be made without departing from the concept of the present disclosure, and these are all within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure shall be subject to the appended claims.