Patent Publication Number: US-2023148822-A1

Title: Container and cleaning base station

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present disclosure claims priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 202111343656.X, filed on Nov. 13, 2021, titled “container and cleaning base station”, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the technical field of cleaning equipments, and in particular, relates to a container and a cleaning base station. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A cleaning robot currently available in the market is usually used in cooperation with a cleaning base station. After the cleaning robot enters a preset position of the cleaning base station, the cleaning base station can clean the cleaning piece of the cleaning robot. The cleaning base station generally includes at least one of a floor mopping base station and a floor washing base station, wherein the floor mopping base station or the floor washing base station is equipped with two water storage tanks, one of the two water storage tanks is used to store clean water, the other is used to store sewage, and each of the water storage tanks is covered with a cover. 
     In the related art, the cover is buckled in a buckling hole of the water storage tank, and the connection between the cover and the water storage tank is unstable. Therefore, when the water storage tank is hit by an object, the cover will easily fall off from the opening of the water storage tank, and thus the liquid in the water storage tank will easily spill out of the water storage tank and stain the floor. 
     SUMMARY 
     An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a container for a cleaning base station. The container includes a tank body and a cover. The tank body defines an opening. The cover detachably covers the opening of the tank body. A sidewall of the tank body defines an accommodating groove. The cover includes a cover body and a plug-in piece extending from the cover body to the tank body. The plug-in piece is capable of extending into the accommodating groove. The container further includes a fixing piece, and the fixing piece detachably covers an opening of the accommodating groove and is capable of being buckled with the plug-in piece accommodated in the accommodating groove. 
     Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a cleaning base station. The cleaning base station includes at least two of the above-mentioned containers. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order to explain technical solutions in embodiments of the present disclosure more clearly, attached drawings required in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the attached drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to these attached drawings without creative labor. 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective schematic view of a container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a first exploded schematic view of the container of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  3    is a partial enlarged schematic view of part A in  FIG.  2   ; 
         FIG.  4    is a second exploded schematic view of the container of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  5    is a partial enlarged schematic view of part B in  FIG.  4   ; 
         FIG.  6    is a third exploded schematic view of the container of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  7    is a partial enlarged schematic view of part C in  FIG.  6   ; 
         FIG.  8    is a partial perspective schematic view of a cover of the container of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  9    is a first partial perspective schematic view of a tank body of the container of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  10    is a second partial perspective schematic view of the tank body; 
         FIG.  11    is a partial perspective schematic view of a fixing piece of the container of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  12    is a functional block view of a cleaning base station according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In order to make technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects to be solved in the present disclosure clearer, the present disclosure will be further explained in detail below with reference to attached drawings and embodiments. It shall be appreciated that the specific embodiments described here are only used to explain the present disclosure and are not used to limit the present disclosure. 
     It shall be noted that when an element is said to be “fixed” or “positioned” on another element, it may be directly or indirectly located on the other element. When an element is said to be “connected” to another element, it may be directly or indirectly connected to another element. 
     It shall be appreciated that, orientations or position relationships indicated by terms such as “length”, “width”, “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside” and “outside” or the like are orientations or position relationships shown based on the attached drawings, and these terms are only used to facilitate the description of the present disclosure and simplify the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element described must have a specific orientation, must be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus these terms should not be understood as limitation to the present disclosure. 
     In addition, terms “first” and “second” are only used for descriptive purposes and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with “first” and “second” may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, “a plurality of” means two or more than two, unless otherwise specifically defined. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , a container  10  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described. The container  10  is mainly suitable for a cleaning base station, of course, it may also be used in other equipments, and it is not limited herein. 
     Specifically, referring to  FIG.  2   , the container  10  includes a tank body  11  and a cover  12 , the tank body  11  defines an accommodating cavity for accommodating liquid, one side of the accommodating cavity is provided with an opening  110 , and the cover  12  detachably covers the opening  110  of the tank body  11 . 
     Further, referring to  FIG.  3    to  FIG.  5   , the sidewall of the tank body  11  defines an accommodating groove  111 , the cover  12  includes a cover body  121  and a plug-in piece  122  extending from one side of the cover body  121  towards the tank body  11 , and the plug-in piece  122  can enter into the accommodating groove  111 . The container  10  further includes a fixing piece  13 , and the fixing piece  13  detachably covers the opening of the accommodating groove  111  and buckles the plug-in piece  122  accommodated in the accommodating groove  111 . The specific working principle thereof is as follows. 
     When the cover  12  needs to be installed on the tank body  11 , the plug-in piece  122  of the cover  12  is only needed to be inserted into the accommodating groove  111 , the fixing piece  13  is buckled on the plug-in piece  122 , then the fixing piece  13  is connected with the wall of the accommodating groove  111 , and then the cover  12  is installed on the tank body  11 . When the cover  12  needs to be detached, first the fixing piece  13  is detached from the wall of the accommodating groove  111 , then the fixing piece  13  is pushed to move away from the plug-in pieces  122 , the fixing piece  13  is led out of the accommodating groove  111 , and then the cover  12  is pushed in the direction away from the tank body  11 , such that the cover  12  can be separated from the tank body  11 . In this embodiment, the fixing piece  13  is buckled with the plug-in piece  122 , and the fixing piece  13  is further detachably covered at the opening of the accommodating groove  111  on the tank body  11 , thereby improving the stability of connection. 
     It shall be noted that in the related art, the cover is buckled in the buckling hole at the edge of the water storage tank through a buckling element at the edge of the cover. As the strength of the edge of the water storage tank is low, when the cover is pressed, the edge of the water storage tank is greatly deformed under the action of the external force, such that the buckling element at the edge of the cover is not completely buckled into the buckling hole, and thus the cover will easily be detached from the water storage tank. As compared to the related art, in the container  10  of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the cover  12  includes the cover body  121  and the plug-in piece  122 , the plug-in piece  122  can extends into the accommodating groove  111  on the tank body  11 . The plug-in piece  122  is arranged in the accommodating groove  111 , the fixing piece  13  is buckled with the plug-in piece  122 , and the fixing piece  13  is further detachably covered at the opening of the accommodating groove  111  on the tank body  11 , such that the plug-in piece  122  can be restricted in the accommodating groove  111 , thereby improving the stability of connection, solving the technical problem that the cover is likely to fall off by being buckled into the buckling hole of the water storage tank, and improving the connection steadiness. 
     It shall be noted that in this embodiment, there are a plurality of plug-in pieces  122 , a plurality of accommodating grooves  111 , and a plurality of fixing pieces  13 . The plurality of plug-in pieces  122  are arranged at intervals along the periphery of the cover body  121 , thereby realizing the tight connection between the cover  12  and the tank body  11 . The plurality of accommodating grooves  111  are arranged at intervals along the periphery of the tank body  11 . Each of the fixing pieces  13  is detachably covered at the opening of a corresponding one of the accommodating grooves  111 . 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the cover  12  includes a handle  124 , and the handle  124  is installed on the cover body  121 . Further, the cover body  121  defines a passage  126 , and the passage  126  runs all the way through two opposite sidewalls of the cover body  121 . The handle  124  is arranged over the passage  126 . The passage  126  allows the hand of a user to pass through to hold the handle  124 . 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to  FIG.  3   , a sidewall of the accommodating groove  111  defines a gap  1110 , the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111  is provided thereon with a first buckle  112 , and the sidewall of the fixing piece  13  is provided with a first buckling hole  131  at a position corresponding to the first buckle  112 . During installation, the detachable connection between the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111  and the sidewall of the fixing piece  13  is simply realized by engaging the first buckle  112  on the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111  with the first buckling hole  131  on the sidewall of the fixing piece  13 . 
     Of course, in other embodiments, the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111  may define a first buckling hole, and the sidewall of the fixing piece  13  may be provided with a first buckle at a position corresponding to the first buckling hole. During installation, the detachable connection between the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111  and the sidewall of the fixing piece  13  is simply realized by engaging the first buckle on the sidewall of the fixing piece  13  with the first buckling hole on the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111 . 
     Further, referring to  FIG.  6    and  FIG.  7   , the plug-in piece  122  is provided thereon with a second buckling hole  1221 , and the fixing piece  13  is provided with a second buckle  132  at a position corresponding to the second buckling hole  1221 . During installation, the fixing piece  13  is buckled with the plug-in piece  122  simply by engaging the second buckle  132  of the fixing piece  13  with the second buckling hole  1221  of the plug-in piece  122 , thereby enabling the second buckle  132  of the fixing piece  13  to be completely buckled into the second buckling hole  1221  of the plug-in piece  122 . 
     Of course, in other embodiments, the sidewall of the plug-in piece  122  facing the fixing piece  13  is provided thereon with a second buckle, and the fixing piece  13  is provided thereon with a second buckling hole at a position corresponding to the second buckle. During installation, the fixing piece  13  is buckled with the plug-in piece  122  simply by engaging the second buckle on the plug-in piece  122  with the second buckling hole on the fixing piece  13 . 
     Specifically, in this embodiment, first the fixing piece  13  is buckled onto the plug-in piece  122 , and the gap  1110  is defined on the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111 , such that it is convenient to squeeze the plug-in piece  122  by hands or tools. In this way, the second buckle  132  of the fixing piece  13  can be completely buckled into the second buckling hole  1221  of the plug-in piece  122  or the second buckle  132  of the plug-in piece  122  is completely buckled into the second buckling hole  1221  of the fixing piece  13 , and the plug-in piece  122  can pull the fixing piece  13  to prevent the fixing piece  13  from falling off. Further, the fixing piece  13  is connected with the accommodating groove  111  by the engagement between the first buckle  112  and the first buckling hole  131 , thereby restricting the shaking of the plug-in piece  122  and improving the connection stability. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to  FIG.  3    and  FIG.  9   , the first buckle  112  includes a first connecting section  1121  and a second connecting section  1122 , and both of the first connecting section  1121  and the second connecting section  1122  are block-shaped structures. The first connecting section  1121  includes a fixed end and a free end, and the second connecting section  1122  extends from the free end of the first connecting section  1121  towards a side away from the fixed end of the first connecting section  1121 . The second connecting section  1122  includes a first guiding surface  1123 , and the first guiding surface  1123  is configured to guide the first buckle  112  to be buckled into the first buckling hole  131 , such that it is convenient for the second connecting section  1122  to be engaged with the first buckling hole  131  after passing through the first buckling hole  131 . By the arrangement of the first guiding surface  1123 , the first buckle  112  and the first buckling hole  131  can undergo controllable elastic deformation according to the guidance when they are engaged, such that the first buckle  112  can be buckled into the first buckling hole  131  simply by being horizontally pushed with a slight external force and the buckling effect is better. 
     Specifically, in this embodiment, the fixed end of the first connecting section  1121  is arranged on the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111 , and the first guiding surface  1123  of the second connecting section  1122  is an inclined surface which is convenient to be machined on the second connecting section  1122 . That is, the first guiding surface  1123  can be machined on the second connecting section  1122  simply by cutting. 
     Of course, in other embodiments, the first guiding surface  1123  may be an arc-shaped surface, which may be selected according to specific requirements. 
     Further, referring to  FIG.  11   , in order to facilitate engagement with the first buckle  112 , the first buckling hole  131  includes a first hole section  1311  and a second hole section  1312 , the first hole section  1311  is configured to accommodate the free end of the first connecting section  1121  and the second connecting section  1122 , and the second hole section  1312  is in communication with one end of the first hole section  1311  for accommodating the fixed end of the first connecting section  1121 . The sidewall of the second hole section  1312  is provided thereon with a second guiding surface  1313 , and the second guiding surface  1313  is configured to engage with the first guiding surface  1123  for guiding. In this way, it is convenient for the second buckle  132  to be buckled into the first buckling hole  131 , and the connection between the fixing piece  13  and the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111  is realized, that is, the connection between the fixing piece  13  and the tank body  11  is realized. The second guiding surface  1313  is also an inclined surface which is convenient to be machined, and the second guiding surface  1313  can be machined simply by cutting. 
     Of course, in other embodiments, the second guiding surface  1313  may be an arc-shaped surface, which may be selected according to specific requirements. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure, further referring to  FIG.  11   , the second buckle  132  includes a third connecting section  1321  and a fourth connecting section  1322 , and both of the third connecting section  1321  and the fourth connecting section  1322  are square blocks. The third connecting section  1321  includes a fixed end and a free end, and the fourth connecting section  1322  extends from the free end of the third connecting section  1321  towards the side far away from the fixed end of the third connecting section  1321 . The fourth connecting section  1322  includes a third guiding surface  1323 , and the third guiding surface  1323  is configured to guide the second buckle  132  to be buckled into the second buckling hole  1221 . By the arrangement of the third guiding surface  1323 , the second buckle  132  and the second buckling hole  1221  can undergo controllable elastic deformation according to the guidance when they are engaged, such that the second buckle  132  can be buckled into the second buckling hole  1221  simply by being horizontally pushed with a slight external force and the buckling effect is better. 
     Further, referring to  FIG.  8   , the second buckling hole  1221  is a square hole, and the second buckling hole  1221  includes four connecting surfaces. At the mutual joint of two adjacent connecting surfaces, a cut corner or rounded corner is formed between two adjacent connecting surfaces, and the cut corner or rounded corner is configured to guide in cooperation with the third guiding surface  1323 , thereby facilitating the second buckle  132  to be buckled into the second buckling hole  1221 . 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to  FIG.  9    and  FIG.  11   , the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111  is further provided thereon with a third buckle  113 , the fixing piece  13  includes a cover part  135  and an extension part  136 , and the extension part  136  extends from the edge of the cover part  135  towards the side facing away from the cover part  135 . The extension part  136  defines a fastening groove  1361  and a guiding groove  1362 , and the fastening groove  1361  is configured to buckle with the third buckle  113 . The guiding groove  1362  is arranged at one side of the extension part  136  facing the accommodating groove  111 , and the guiding groove  1362  is configured to guide the third buckle  113  to slide into the fastening groove  1361 . That is, the extension part  136  is pushed to deform inwards under the engagement of the guiding groove  1362  with the third buckle  113 , such that the third buckle  113  passes through the guiding groove  1362  and then is buckled with the fastening groove  1361 . The specific working principle thereof is as follows. 
     First, the fixing piece  13  is pushed to move toward the plug-in piece  122 . When the extension part  136  of the fixing piece  13  moves to the third buckle  113 , the guiding groove  1362  of the extension part  136  engages with the third buckle  113 , and under the guidance of the guiding groove  1362 , the extension part  136  is pushed to deform in the direction away from the third buckle  113 , thereby facilitating the third buckle  113  to pass through the guiding groove  1362 . After the third buckle  113  passes through the guiding groove  1362 , the deformation of the extension part  136  is recovered, and the third buckle  113  is buckled in the fastening groove  1361 , thereby facilitating the buckling of the third buckle  113  with the fastening groove  1361 , further realizing the connection between the fixing piece  13  and the accommodating groove  111 , and further improving the connection stability. 
     Specifically, in this embodiment, the third buckle  113  includes a fourth guiding surface  1131 , and the fourth guiding surface  1131  is arranged on one side of the third buckle  113  facing the fixing piece  13 . Correspondingly, the guiding groove  1362  includes a fifth guiding surface  1363  configured to engage with the fourth guiding surface  1131 , and the fifth guiding surface  1363  is arranged at the bottom of the guiding groove  1362 . Both the fourth guiding surface  1131  and the fifth guiding surface  1363  are inclined surfaces which are convenient to be machined. 
     It shall be noted that, after the fastening groove  1361  of the extension part  136  is buckled with the third buckle  113  of the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111 , in order to prevent the third buckle  113  from shaking in the fastening groove  1361 , the guiding groove  1362  and the fastening groove  1361  are isolated from each other, that is, they are not in communication with each other. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to  FIG.  5   , the container  10  further includes a supporting rib  14 , and the supporting rib  14  is arranged on one side of the plug-in piece  122  facing the accommodating groove  111  and located on the bottom wall of the accommodating groove  111 . The supporting rib  14  is configured to support the plug-in piece  122 . By the arrangement of the supporting rib  14 , the supporting rib  14  can provide a supporting function to a certain extent during the plug-in piece  122  is squeezed by the fixing piece  13 . Thus, it facilitates the buckling between the fixing piece  13  and the plug-in piece  122  and prevents the plug-in piece  122  from being deformed and unable to be buckled with the fixing piece  13  when the plug-in piece  122  is squeezed by the fixing piece  13 . 
     Specifically, further referring to  FIG.  5   , there are a plurality of supporting ribs  14 , and in this embodiment, there are two of the supporting ribs  14 , the two supporting ribs  14  are respectively arranged on both sides of the plug-in piece  122 . It shall be noted that, when the plug-in piece  122  defines a buckling hole, the supporting ribs  14  need to avoid the position of the buckling hole and are misaligned with the buckling hole. Otherwise, when the buckle of the fixing piece  13  is buckled into the buckling hole, the supporting ribs  14  interfere with the buckle and affect the engagement between the buckle and the buckling hole, i.e., obstruct the buckle from being completely extended in the buckling hole. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure, further referring to  FIG.  9    and  FIG.  10   , the sidewall of the tank body  11  is further provided thereon with a flange  115 , and the flange  115  is arranged around the opening  110  of the tank body  11 . The flange  115  defines an insertion hole  1151  for the plug-in piece  122  to pass through, and the insertion hole  1151  is in communication with the accommodating groove  111 . The insertion hole  1151  is defined on the flange  115  and is connected with the accommodating groove  111 , it is convenient for the plug-in piece  122  of the cover  12  to pass through the insertion hole  1151  and then extend into the accommodating groove  111 . 
     Specifically, in this embodiment, the sidewall of the tank body  11  is further provided thereon with two connecting ribs  116 , and the two connecting ribs  116  are arranged opposite to each other. The end of each of the connecting ribs  116  is connected with the flange  115 . The two connecting ribs  116 , the flange  115  and the sidewall of the tank body  11  cooperatively define the accommodating groove  111 . Since the connecting ribs  116  are exposed on the sidewall of the tank body  11 , it is convenient to disassemble the fixing piece  13  from the connecting ribs  116 , such that the fixing piece  13  is disconnected from the connecting ribs  116 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  12   , another embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a cleaning base station  300 , and the cleaning base station  300  includes at least two of the containers  10  in any of the above embodiments. 
     The cleaning base station  300  provided according to the embodiment of the present disclosure adopts the container  10  described above. The cover  12  includes the cover body  121  and the plug-in piece  122 , the plug-in piece  122  passes through the top wall of the accommodating groove  111  of the tank body  11 , the plug-in pieces  122  are arranged in the accommodating groove  111 , such that the fixing piece  13  is buckled with the plug-in piece  122 . Then, the fixing piece  13  is further detachably connected with the sidewall of the accommodating groove  111  of the tank body  11 , such that the plug-in piece  122  can be restricted in the accommodating groove  111 . In this way, the stability of connection is improved, the technical problem in the prior art that the cover  12  is likely to fall off by being buckled into the buckling hole of the water storage tank is solved, and the connection steadiness is high. 
     Specifically, in this embodiment, there are two containers  10 , wherein the tank body  11  in one container  10  is configured to contain cleaning solution, and the tank body  11  in the other container  10  is configured to contain sewage. 
     What described above are only some embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements or the like made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall all be included within the protective scope claimed in the present disclosure.