Patent Description:
During operation of a cleaning robot, a main brush disposed on the bottom of the cleaning robot rotates to agitate the debris. However, in the working process of the cleaning robot, the main brush is easily entangled with hair, increasing load of a driving motor or even causing failure of the driving motor to drive.

To prevent hair and other objects from entangling the main brush, detachable baffles are arranged on both sides of the main brush. However, there is the possibility to neglect the baffles by users in the mounting process. When the baffles are neglected, the hair entangling the main brush would enter the motor of the main brush, even damaging operation of the motor.

<CIT> relates to an automatic cleaning device and a sweeping assembly thereof. The sweeping assembly includes: a brush body and a brush holder to which the brush body is arranged; and an anti-winding structure, located at a joint of the brush body and the brush holder and configured to fill up a gap at the joint when the sweeping assembly is in a working state.

<CIT> discloses a round brush transmission and dust collector. Round brush transmission includes and headstock and work box still includes first dustproof portion, and during the power output shaft of headstock stretched into the power output shaft mounting hole of headstock, first dustproof portion was fixed on power output shaft, and is located between the round brush of headstock and work box, clearance between first dustproof shutoff power output shaft of portion and the power output shaft mounting hole.

<CIT> relates to a rolling brush component and a ventilation circuit structure for automatic cleaning equipment and the automatic cleaning equipment. The rolling brush component comprises a rolling brush, wherein the rolling brush is a rubber-hair mixed brush, a rubber brush piece in the rubber-hair mixed brush keeps a relatively small deviation angle between the internal cylindrical surface of the rolling brush and the direction of a rotating shaft of the rolling brush, so that airing strength of the rubber brush piece reaches preset strength.

<CIT> provides a suction port body of a vacuum cleaner capable of surely preventing deflection of a rotary cleaning body during rotation while miniaturizing the entire rotary cleaning body without thickening a rotary shaft part. The suction port body of a vacuum cleaner has a suction chamber having a suction port opened to a bottom face a, and a rotary cleaning body having a plurality of flexible blades extending radially from a rotary shaft part and rotatably supported by a suction port so as to face the suction port.

<CIT> discloses a cleaning robot, including a water tank, a dust box, and a main body. The water tank and the dust box are assembled together to form a water tank dust box assembly. The main body includes an accommodating space adapted to accommodate the water tank dust box assembly. The water tank dust box assembly includes a mistake-proofing device. The mistake-proofing device, when the water tank and the dust box are not assembled to form the water tank dust box assembly, is in an ejected state so that the water tank or the dust box cannot be installed into the accommodating space.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a robot-specific brush and member, and a robot, so as to solve the technical problem of hair entanglement caused by missing mounting of a baffle.

Based on an implementation of the present invention, according to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a robot-specific brush according to the features of claim <NUM>. The brush includes:
a brush body, including:.

Optionally, the
second mounting portion may be disposed to extend axially from the first mounting portion and forms a step portion with the first mounting portion.

Optionally, the foolproof structure includes:.

Optionally, the groove does not penetrate the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion laterally; one end of the elastic element is connected to the clamping part, and the other end of the elastic element abuts against a bottom of the groove.

Optionally, the groove penetrates the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion laterally; wherein two clamping parts are symmetrically arranged on two ends of the groove and connected to the elastic element.

Optionally, the first mounting portion further includes at least one locking portion; the inner side of the first detachable baffle includes at least one locking block corresponding to the locking portion, and after the first detachable baffle is mounted on the first end portion, the locking block slides into the locking portion to achieve locking.

Optionally, the locking portion has an L-shaped sliding groove structure.

Optionally, the locking portion has a spherical recess structure, and the locking block has a hemispherical protrusion structure.

Optionally, the second mounting portion has a square structure.

Optionally, the first detachable baffle includes:.

Based on an implementation of the present invention, according to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a robot-specific brush member, including a member housing and the robot-specific brush in any one of the foregoing aspects.

Optionally, the member housing includes:
a first side wall, configured to connect to the first end portion, including:.

Based on an implementation of the present invention, according to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a robot, including the robot-specific brush member in any one of the foregoing aspects.

The foregoing solutions in the embodiments of the present invention have at least the following beneficial effects:
According to the robot-specific brush and member, and the robot provided in the embodiments of the present invention, addition of a detachable baffle can effectively prevent hair on the brush of the cleaning robot from entering the motor, and ingenious design of the anti-missing mounting structure can effectively prevent a user from missing a detachable baffle, and further prevent hair and other objects from entering the driving motor of the main brush, thereby preventing damage to the motor.

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention more clearly, the following briefly introduces the accompanying drawings for describing the embodiments. Clearly, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present invention, and persons of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

The following further describes embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to accompanying drawings. Clearly, the described embodiments are merely some rather than all of the embodiments of the present invention.

The terms used in the embodiments of the present invention are merely for the purpose of illustrating specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The terms "a", "the", and "this" of singular forms used in the embodiments and the appended claims of the present application are also intended to include plural forms, unless otherwise specified in the context clearly. "A plurality of" generally includes at least two.

It should be understood that, the term "and/or" in this specification describes only an association relationship for describing associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist. In addition, the character "/" in this specification generally indicates an "or" relationship between associated objects.

It should be understood that, although terms such as "first", "second", and "third" may be used in embodiments of the present invention to describe components, the components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish between the similar objects. For example, without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present invention, a first component may also be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

Depending on the context, for example, the word "if" used herein may be explained as "while" or "when" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detection". Similarly, depending on the context, the phrase "if determining" or "if detecting (a stated condition or event)" may be explained as "when determining" or "in response to determining" or "when detecting (the stated condition or event)" or "in response to detecting (the stated condition or event)".

It should further be noted that, the terms "include", "comprise", or any other variant thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, so that a product or a system that includes a list of elements not only includes those elements but also includes other elements that are not expressly listed, or further includes elements inherent to such a product or system. An element preceded by "includes a. " does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the product or system that includes the element.

The following describes in detail some example embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in <FIG>, based on an implementation of the present invention, according to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a brush applied to a cleaning robot. The brush includes a brush body <NUM> and the brush body <NUM> includes a rotating shaft <NUM>. The rotating shaft <NUM> is connected to a motor <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) and rotates under driving of the motor, and the rotating shaft <NUM> may have a hollow or solid structure. The brush body <NUM> further includes bristles <NUM>, which are distributed around the rotating shaft <NUM> regularly. For example, a structure of <NUM>-<NUM> rows of bristles parallel to the rotating shaft or a wavy structure of <NUM>-<NUM> rows of bristles may be employed. The number of rows of bristles can be reasonably designed based on a size of the rotating shaft and is not limited separately herein. The bristles can be made of plastic or other polymer materials. A soft rubber scraping strip may be arranged between rows of the bristles. The scraping strip can increase negative pressure of a dust suction duct during operation of a cleaning robot, thereby improving dust pickup (DPU) efficiency of the cleaning device. The brush body <NUM> further includes a first end portion <NUM> and a second end portion <NUM>, and the first end portion <NUM> and the second end portion <NUM> are respectively located at two ends of the rotating shaft <NUM>. The brush further includes two detachable baffles: a first detachable baffle <NUM> detachably mounted on the first end portion <NUM>; a second detachable baffle <NUM> detachably mounted on the second end portion <NUM>. The first end portion <NUM> is further provided with a foolproof structure <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) for preventing missing mounting of the first detachable baffle <NUM>. In the embodiments of the present invention, the two detachable baffles may have the same structure, and may be round, or may be square or other shapes, as shown in <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG> or <FIG>, the first end portion <NUM> includes a first mounting portion <NUM> and a second mounting portion <NUM>. The first mounting portion <NUM> may generally have a cylindrical structure with a diameter slightly smaller than a diameter of the rotating shaft <NUM> and may be formed through extension along the rotating shaft <NUM>. The second mounting portion <NUM> extends outward along the first mounting portion <NUM> and forms a step with the first mounting portion <NUM>. The second mounting portion <NUM> preferably has a square structure with a side length smaller than the diameter of the first mounting portion <NUM> That is, two steps are formed outward from the rotating shaft. The first mounting portion <NUM> is configured to match the shape of the first detachable baffle <NUM>, and the second mounting portion <NUM> is configured to match a structure of a first side wall <NUM> of a member housing <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>). The first end portion of the rotating shaft can be properly mounted to the member housing <NUM> when the shapes and sizes match.

Optionally, as shown in <FIG>, <FIG> or <FIG>, in some implementations, the foolproof structure <NUM> may include a groove <NUM>, which may penetrate or not penetrate the first mounting portion <NUM> and the second mounting portion <NUM> laterally, and may penetrate the first mounting portion <NUM> and the second mounting portion <NUM> axially. The axial direction is a direction extending along the rotating shaft <NUM>, and the lateral direction is a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. The foolproof mounting structure <NUM> further includes at least one clamping part <NUM>, which is displaceably mounted in the groove <NUM>. In some implementations, there may be one or two clamping parts <NUM>. The foolproof mounting structure <NUM> further includes an elastic element <NUM>, which is connected to the clamping part <NUM> to make the clamping part <NUM> retract into or extend out of the groove <NUM>. The elastic element <NUM> may be a helical spring or an elastic sheet, etc..

Optionally, in an implementation (not shown), the groove <NUM> does not penetrate the first mounting portion <NUM> and the second mounting portion <NUM> laterally. That is, the groove <NUM> is a structure similar to a blind hole laterally in the first mounting portion <NUM> and the second mounting portion <NUM>. In this case, there is one clamping part <NUM>. One end of the elastic element <NUM> is connected to the clamping part <NUM>, and the other end of the elastic element <NUM> abuts against the bottom of the groove <NUM>. In this implementation, the clamping part <NUM> achieves elastic extending and retraction on the side of the first mounting portion <NUM> and the second mounting portion <NUM>.

Optionally, in an implementation, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the groove <NUM> penetrates the first mounting portion <NUM> and the second mounting portion <NUM> laterally; there are two clamping parts <NUM>, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the groove <NUM>; the elastic element <NUM> connects the two clamping parts <NUM>. The clamping parts <NUM> achieves elastic extending and retraction on both sides of the first mounting portion <NUM> and the second mounting portion <NUM> respectively.

Optionally, in some implementations, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the clamping part <NUM> includes at least one first protrusion, shown as one protrusion, which is arranged at an outer side of the front portion of the clamping part <NUM>, and the first protrusion is configured to abut against an inner side of the first detachable baffle <NUM>. The clamping part <NUM> further includes a second protrusion, which is arranged on the same side as the first protrusion, as shown in the figures, arranged at the rear of the first protrusion. When the first detachable baffle <NUM> is mounted on the brush, the second protrusion retracts into the groove. Specifically, when the inner side of the first detachable baffle <NUM> presses the first protrusion, to make the clamping part <NUM> retract into the groove <NUM>. Consequently, the second protrusion retracts into the groove <NUM>, which ensures that the second mounting portion <NUM> can match and extend into the first side wall <NUM> of the member housing <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) smoothly to achieve successful mounting of the brush. On the contrary, when the first detachable baffle <NUM> is not mounted on the brush, the clamping part <NUM> extends out of the groove <NUM>, consequently, the second protrusion is out of the groove, the second mounting portion <NUM> cannot extend into the first side wall <NUM> of the member housing <NUM>, and the brush cannot be successfully mounted on the member housing. As a result, the purpose of foolproof can be achieved.

The clamping part <NUM> may further include at least one third protrusion, which is arranged on the inner side of the clamping part <NUM> and is configured to connect to the elastic element <NUM>.

Optionally, in some implementations, as shown in <FIG>, the first mounting portion <NUM> further includes at least one first locking portion <NUM>; the inner side of the first detachable baffle <NUM> includes at least one first locking block <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) corresponding to the first locking portion <NUM>. When the first detachable baffle <NUM> is mounted on the first end portion <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>), the first locking block <NUM> slides into the first locking portion <NUM> to achieve locking. Optionally, the first locking portion <NUM> may have an L-shaped sliding groove structure. When entering the first locking portion <NUM> from an entrance of the L-shaped sliding groove, the first locking block <NUM> rotates at a specific angle in a circumferential direction of the first mounting portion <NUM>, so that the first locking block <NUM> slides into a lateral position of the L-shaped sliding groove to achieve locking.

Optionally, in other implementations, the first locking portion <NUM> may alternatively have a spherical recess structure, and the first locking block <NUM> has a hemispherical protrusion structure. When the first detachable baffle <NUM> is axially mounted to the first mounting portion <NUM>, the hemispherical first locking block <NUM> slides into the spherical recess in the axial direction to achieve locking.

Optionally, in some implementations, as shown in <FIG> or <FIG>, the first detachable baffle <NUM> includes a first aperture <NUM>, an inner diameter of which matches an outer diameter of the first mounting portion <NUM>, and an axial size of which matches an axial size of the first mounting portion <NUM>. The first detachable baffle <NUM> is mounted to the first mounting portion <NUM> by the first mounting portion <NUM> extending into the first aperture <NUM>. The first detachable baffle <NUM> further includes a second aperture <NUM>, which extends upward and outward along the first aperture <NUM>, has an inner diameter larger than the inner diameter of the first aperture <NUM>, and is configured to cooperate with the side wall structure to achieve stable mounting. The first detachable baffle <NUM> further includes a first baffle portion <NUM>, which extends outward in the circumferential direction of the first aperture <NUM>, has a diameter equivalent to an outer diameter of the second aperture <NUM>, and is configured to prevent hair from entering the baffle.

Optionally, as shown in <FIG>, in some implementations, the second end portion <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) may include a third mounting portion <NUM> and a fourth mounting portion <NUM>. The third mounting portion <NUM> may generally have a cylindrical structure with a diameter slightly smaller than a diameter of the rotating shaft <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) and may be formed through extension along the rotating shaft <NUM>. The fourth mounting portion <NUM> extends outward along the third mounting portion <NUM> and forms a step with the third mounting portion <NUM>. The fourth mounting portion <NUM> preferably has a round structure with a diameter smaller than the diameter of the third mounting portion <NUM>, that is, a continuous step portion is formed outward from the rotating shaft. The third mounting portion <NUM> is mainly configured to match the shape of the second detachable baffle <NUM>(as shown in <FIG>), and the fourth mounting portion <NUM> is mainly configured to match a structure of a joint <NUM>. The second end portion of the rotating shaft can be properly mounted to the member housing <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) when the shapes and sizes match. The second end portion <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) may include a shaft portion <NUM> for extending into the joint <NUM> and then rotating.

Optionally, in some implementations, as shown in <FIG>, the third mounting portion <NUM> further includes at least one second locking portion <NUM>; the inner side of the second detachable baffle <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) includes at least one second locking block <NUM> corresponding to the second locking portion <NUM>, and when the second detachable baffle <NUM> is mounted on the second end portion <NUM>(as shown in <FIG>), the second locking block <NUM> slides into the second locking portion <NUM> to achieve locking. Optionally, the second locking portion <NUM> may have an L-shaped sliding groove structure. After entering the second locking portion <NUM> from an entrance to the L-shaped sliding groove, the second locking block <NUM> rotates at a specific angle in a circumferential direction of the third mounting portion <NUM>, so that the second locking block <NUM> slides into a lateral position of the L-shaped sliding groove to achieve locking.

Optionally, in other implementations, the second locking portion <NUM> may alternatively have a spherical recess structure, and the second locking block <NUM> has a hemispherical protrusion structure. When the second detachable baffle <NUM> is axially mounted to the third mounting portion <NUM>, the hemispherical second locking block <NUM> slides into the spherical recess in the axial direction to achieve locking.

Optionally, in some implementations, as shown in <FIG>, the second detachable baffle <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) includes a third aperture <NUM>, an inner diameter of which matches an outer diameter of the third mounting portion <NUM>, and an axial size of which matches an axial size of the third mounting portion <NUM>. The second detachable baffle <NUM> is mounted to the third mounting portion <NUM> by the third mounting portion <NUM> extending into the third aperture <NUM>. The second detachable baffle <NUM> further includes a fourth aperture <NUM>, which extends upward and outward along the third aperture <NUM>, has an inner diameter larger than the inner diameter of the third aperture <NUM>, and is configured to cooperate with the side wall structure to achieve stable mounting. The second detachable baffle <NUM> further includes a second baffle portion <NUM>, which extends outward in the circumferential direction of the third aperture <NUM>, has a diameter equivalent to an outer diameter of the fourth aperture <NUM>, and is configured to prevent hair from entering the baffle.

Optionally, in some implementations, as shown in <FIG>, a joint <NUM> is further included, which has a threaded structure and is configured to be fixed to the second side wall <NUM> in a threaded manner. When the first end portion <NUM> and the second end portion <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) are respectively mounted on the first side wall <NUM> and the second side wall <NUM>, the mounting of the brush body is completed.

According to the brush provided in the embodiments of the present invention, addition of a detachable baffle can effectively prevent hair on the brush of the cleaning robot from entering the motor, and the design of the foolproof structure can effectively prevent a user from missing a detachable baffle, and further prevent hair and other objects from entering the driving motor of the main brush, thereby preventing damage to the motor.

As shown in <FIG>, based on an implementation of the present invention, according to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a brush member, including a member housing <NUM> and the brush described in Embodiment <NUM>. The structure of the brush has been described above, and details are not described herein again.

Optionally, in some implementations, as shown in <FIG> or <FIG>, the member housing <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) includes a first side wall <NUM> for connecting to the first end portion <NUM>(as shown in <FIG>), and the first side wall <NUM> includes a first accommodation hole <NUM> for accommodating the second mounting portion <NUM> of the first end portion <NUM>. The first accommodation hole <NUM> may be a square blind hole with a depth slightly greater than an axial length of the second mounting portion <NUM>. The first side wall <NUM> may further include a first annular groove <NUM>, which is arranged around the first accommodation hole <NUM>, and is configured to accommodate a side wall of the second aperture <NUM> of the first detachable baffle <NUM>. The depth of the first annular groove <NUM> may be sufficient to accommodate the side wall of the second aperture <NUM>.

The member housing <NUM> further includes a second side wall <NUM>, which is configured to connect to the second end portion <NUM>. The second side wall <NUM> may include an internally threaded hole, which is configured to be fixed and connected to the threaded joint <NUM>.

According to the brush member provided in the embodiments of the present invention, addition of a detachable baffle can effectively prevent hair on the brush of the cleaning robot from entering the motor, and the design of the foolproof structure can effectively prevent a user from missing a detachable baffle, and further prevent hair and other objects from entering the driving motor of the main brush, thereby preventing damage to the motor.

As shown in <FIG>, based on an implementation of the present invention, according to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a cleaning robot, including a driving part <NUM> and the brush member described in Embodiment <NUM> and Embodiment <NUM>. The structures of the brush and member have been described above, and details are not described herein again.

As shown in <FIG>, the robot includes a machine body, a perception system, a control system, a driving system, a cleaning system, an energy system, and a man-machine interaction system. The cleaning system may be a dry cleaning system and/or a wet cleaning system. The main cleaning function of the dry cleaning system is derived from a sweeping system that includes a brush, a dust box, a vacuum, an air outlet, and connecting parts between the four parts. The brush that has interference with the floor sweeps debris on the floor and agitates the debris to the front of a dust suction port between the brush and the dust box, and then the debris is sucked into the dust box by airflow that is generated by the vacuum and that has suction force and passes through the dust box. The dust removal ability of the sweeping robot may be represented by dust pick up efficiency (DPU). The DPU is affected by the brush structure and a material thereof, by wind power utilization of an air duct including the dust suction port, the dust box, the vacuum, the air outlet, and the connecting parts between the four parts, and by the type and power of the vacuum, and therefore, there is a complex system design problem. The increase in the dust removal ability is more significant for energy-limited cleaning robots than for conventional plug-in cleaners. A higher dust-removal ability directly and effectively reduces the energy requirement; in other words, a machine that can clean <NUM> square meters of the floor previously after being charged once can be evolved to clean <NUM> or more square meters of the floor after being charged once.

Moreover, as charging times decrease, the service life of a battery increases greatly, so that the frequency of replacing the battery by the user decreases. More intuitively and importantly, a higher dust-removal ability is the most visible and important user experience, because it allows the user to directly determine whether the floor is swept/wiped clean. The dry cleaning system may further include a side brush having a rotating shaft. The rotating shaft is located at an angle relative to the floor, so as to move debris into a region of the rolling brush of the cleaning system.

According to the robot provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the addition of a detachable baffle can effectively prevent hair on the brush of the cleaning robot from entering the motor, and the design of the foolproof structure can effectively prevent a user from missing a detachable baffle, and further prevent hair and other objects from entering the driving motor of the main brush, thereby preventing damage to the motor.

The described apparatus embodiments are merely examples. Some or all the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

Claim 1:
A brush for a cleaning robot, comprising:
a brush body (<NUM>), comprising:
a rotating shaft (<NUM>) having a first end portion (<NUM>) and a second end portion (<NUM>);
bristles (<NUM>);
a first detachable baffle (<NUM>) detachably mounted to the first end portion (<NUM>); and
a second detachable baffle (<NUM>) detachably mounted to the second end portion (<NUM>);
characterized in that,
the first end portion (<NUM>) comprises a first mounting portion (<NUM>) and a second mounting portion (<NUM>), the first mounting portion (<NUM>) is configured to match a shape of the first detachable baffle (<NUM>), and the second mounting portion (<NUM>) is configured to match a structure of a first side wall (<NUM>) of a member housing (<NUM>); and
and in that the first end portion (<NUM>) is provided with a foolproof structure (<NUM>), and the foolproof structure (<NUM>) is configured so that the second mounting portion (<NUM>) cannot extend into the first side wall (<NUM>) of the member housing (<NUM>) when the first detachable baffle (<NUM>) is not mounted on the first mounting portion (<NUM>), so as to prevent missing mounting of the first detachable baffle (<NUM>).