Patents Assigned to IROBOT
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Patent number: 11185204Abstract: An autonomous floor cleaning robot includes a transport drive and control system arranged for autonomous movement of the robot over a floor for performing cleaning operations. The robot chassis carries a first cleaning zone comprising cleaning elements arranged to suction loose particulates up from the cleaning surface and a second cleaning zone comprising cleaning elements arranged to apply a cleaning fluid onto the surface and to thereafter collect the cleaning fluid up from the surface after it has been used to clean the surface. The robot chassis carries a supply of cleaning fluid and a waste container for storing waste materials collected up from the cleaning surface.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2018Date of Patent: November 30, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Andrew Ziegler, Christopher John Morse, Duane L. Gilbert, Jr., Andrew Jones, Scott Pratt, Paul E. Sandin, Nancy Dussault-Smith
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Patent number: 11160432Abstract: A system for enabling spot cleaning includes a mobile computing device and a mobile cleaning robot. The mobile computing device includes at least one camera configured to capture images of an environment, and at least one data processor configured to (a) establish, based at least in part on first information provided by the at least one image sensor, a coordinate system in the environment, (b) determine, based at least in part on second information provided by the at least one camera, a first set of coordinates of a region at a first location, (c) determine, based at least in part on third information provided by the at least one camera, a second set of coordinates of a mobile cleaning robot at a second location, (d) send the first set of coordinates and second set of coordinates, or coordinates of the first location relative to the second location, to the mobile cleaning robot, and (e) send an instruction to the mobile cleaning robot to request the mobile cleaning robot to travel to the first location.Type: GrantFiled: March 2, 2020Date of Patent: November 2, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Angela Bassa, Husain al-Mohssen
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Patent number: 11157015Abstract: A method of navigating an autonomous coverage robot on a floor includes controlling movement of the robot across the floor in a cleaning mode. A sensor signal indicative of an obstacle is received. The robot is rotated away from the sensed obstacle. A change in the received sensor signal during at least a portion of the rotation of the robot away from the sensed obstacle is determined. The sensed obstacle is identified based at least in part on the determined change in the received sensor signal.Type: GrantFiled: November 5, 2018Date of Patent: October 26, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventor: Mark Steven Schnittman
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Patent number: 11122951Abstract: The present disclosure provides, in one aspect, an autonomous cleaning robot including a body, a drive operable to move the body across a floor surface, and a circuit board mounted below an upper surface of the body of the autonomous cleaning robot. The autonomous cleaning robot also includes one or more electrical contacts, a base of each electrical contact being mounted on the circuit board and a contact tip of each electrical contact being configured to protrude through a corresponding opening in the upper surface, wherein each electrical contact comprises a double curved structure to allow the electrical contact to be vertically flexible. The autonomous cleaning robot also includes a hinged lid including one or more contact pads, the one or more contact pads being configured to contact corresponding electrical contacts protruding through the upper surface as the lid is opened or closed.Type: GrantFiled: December 31, 2018Date of Patent: September 21, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Travis James Gschrey, Eric Burbank, Oliver Lewis, Milan Modh, Sophia Wennstedt
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Patent number: 11109727Abstract: A cleaning roller mountable to a cleaning robot is featured. The cleaning roller includes an elongate member extending along a longitudinal axis of the cleaning roller, and a vane extending outward from the elongate member. The vane includes a first vane portion attached to the elongate member, and a second vane portion attached to the first vane portion. The first vane portion extends from the elongate member at a location intersecting a radial axis of the cleaning roller. The first vane portion extends along a first axis angled relative to the radial axis and away from the radial axis in a tangential direction. The second vane portion extends along a second axis angled relative to the first axis. A first angle between the first axis and the radial axis is greater than a second angle between the second axis and the radial axis.Type: GrantFiled: February 28, 2019Date of Patent: September 7, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Eric Burbank, Timothy R. Ohm, Erik Amaral
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Patent number: 11110595Abstract: An autonomous mobile robot includes a flexible member including a polymer layer extending along an entire length of the flexible member, and an end portion vertically movable away from a body of the robot. A first portion of a fastening mechanism extends along a first lateral edge of the polymer layer and a second portion of the fastening mechanism extends along a second lateral edge of the polymer layer. The first portion of the fastening mechanism is attached to the second portion of the fastening mechanism and forms a conduit to support the image capture device. The conduit includes an inner surface and an outer surface, and the outer surface of the conduit is at least partially defined by the polymer layer. An image capture device is mounted to an end portion of the flexible member.Type: GrantFiled: December 11, 2018Date of Patent: September 7, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Patrick Chow, Irene Lee, Kenneth Holm, Jr., Frederic D. Hook, Patrick Petrossian, Fred Alibozek
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Patent number: 11115798Abstract: A method performed by a mobile lawn mowing robot includes pairing a beacon with the mobile lawn mowing robot. Pairing the beacon with the mobile lawn mowing robot includes determining a distance between the beacon and the mobile lawn mowing robot and confirming that the beacon is within a pairing distance from the mobile lawn mowing robot based on a comparison of the determined distance to a pairing distance. Pairing the beacon with the mobile robot lawn mowing robot further includes, subsequent to confirming that the beacon is within the pairing distance from the mobile lawn mowing robot, pairing the beacon with the mobile lawn mowing robot, and, following pairing, detecting wideband or ultra-wideband signals from the beacon, and using the wideband or ultra-wideband signals to enable navigation over an area.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2015Date of Patent: September 7, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Andrew Beaulieu, Brian Yamauchi, Erik Steltz
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Patent number: 11103113Abstract: An autonomous cleaning robot includes a drive configured to move the robot across a floor surface, a brush proximate a lateral side of the robot, and a motor configured to rotate the brush about an axis of rotation. The brush includes a hub configured to engage the motor of the robot and arms each extending outwardly from the hub away from the axis of rotation and each being angled relative to a plane normal to the axis of rotation of the brush. Each of the arms include a first portion extending outwardly from the hub away from the axis of rotation and a second portion extending outwardly from the first portion away from the axis of rotation. An angle between the first portion of each of the arms and the plane is larger than an angle between the second portion of the each of the arms and the plane.Type: GrantFiled: May 25, 2017Date of Patent: August 31, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Thomas P. Schregardus, Travis James Gschrey
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Patent number: 11104268Abstract: An autonomous mobile robot includes a body, a drive supporting the body above a floor surface, a light-propagating plate positioned on the body and having a periphery defining a continuous loop, light sources each being positioned to direct light through a portion of the plate to a portion of the continuous loop, and a controller to selectively operate the light sources to provide a visual indicator of a status or service condition of the autonomous mobile robot. The drive is configured to maneuver the mobile robot about the floor surface.Type: GrantFiled: April 26, 2019Date of Patent: August 31, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Cory White, Benjamin H. Schriesheim, Oliver Lewis, Stephen A. Hickey, Stuart R. Jang, Michael J. Dooley
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Patent number: 11104006Abstract: A robot includes a body and a bumper. The body is movable relative to a surface and includes a first portion of a sensor. The bumper is mounted on the body and movable relative to the body and includes a backing and a second portion of the sensor. The backing is movable relative to the body in response to a force applied to the bumper. The second portion of the sensor is attached to the backing and movable with the backing relative to the first portion of the sensor in response to a force applied to the bumper. The sensor is configured to output an electrical signal in response to a movement of the backing. The electrical signal is proportional to an amount of displacement of the second portion relative to the first portion.Type: GrantFiled: June 28, 2018Date of Patent: August 31, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Victor Fay, Seth Blitzblau, Samuel Duffley, Kyle Dumont, Justin H. Woodman
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Patent number: 11084172Abstract: A robot obstacle detection system including a robot housing which navigates with respect to a surface and a sensor subsystem aimed at the surface for detecting the surface. The sensor subsystem includes an emitter which emits a signal having a field of emission and a photon detector having a field of view which intersects the field of emission at a region. The subsystem detects the presence of an object proximate the mobile robot and determines a value of a signal corresponding to the object. It compares the value to a predetermined value, moves the mobile robot in response to the comparison, and updates the predetermined value upon the occurrence of an event.Type: GrantFiled: August 18, 2016Date of Patent: August 10, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Christopher M. Casey, Matthew Cross, Daniel N. Ozick, Joseph L. Jones
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Patent number: 11072250Abstract: An autonomous coverage robot detection system includes an emitter configured to emit a directed beam, a detector configured to detect the directed beam and a controller configured to direct the robot in response to a signal detected by the detector. In some examples, the detection system detects a stasis condition of the robot. In some examples, the detection system detects a wall and can follow the wall in response to the detected signal.Type: GrantFiled: December 14, 2017Date of Patent: July 27, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Duane L. Gilbert, Jr., Marcus Williams, Andrea M. Okerholm, Elaine H. Kristant, Sheila A. Longo, Daniel E. Kee, Marc D. Strauss
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Patent number: 11058053Abstract: An autonomous robot lawnmower includes a blade assembly including blades, a drive system to drive the blades through a cutting area having a cutting width, and a lateral blade guard including at least four bars spaced apart from one another by no less than 1 mm and no more than 15 mm. The at least four bars are positioned between the blades and a mowable area when the robot lawnmower is supported on the mowable area. The at least four bars extend across a portion of the cutting width and extending rearward and forward of the cutting area.Type: GrantFiled: March 29, 2019Date of Patent: July 13, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Shaan Patel, Brian Doughty
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Patent number: 11058276Abstract: The present disclosure provides a base station for receiving a mobile cleaning robot including a docking structure. The docking structure includes a horizontal surface and at least two electrical charging contacts, each of the electrical charging contacts having a contact surface positioned above the horizontal surface. The base station also includes a platform that is connectable to the docking structure. The platform includes a raised rear surface having a front portion and a rear portion, two wheel wells located in the front portion of the raised rear surface of the platform, and a plurality of raised surface features forward of the raised rear surface configured to support an underside portion of the mobile cleaning robot.Type: GrantFiled: August 19, 2019Date of Patent: July 13, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Levi Fox, Marcus R. Williams, Yanhan Li, Jason Jeffrey Suchman, Lucile Driscoll
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Patent number: 11058271Abstract: A rotating cleaning element configured to be inserted in a cleaning head compartment of a robotic vacuum, the rotating cleaning element including: a drive end including a drive protrusion configured to engage a drive mechanism of the cleaning head compartment; a bearing end and a shroud configured to surround at least a portion of the bearing end to lessen an amount of hair and similar matter that reaches the bearing; and a central member extending between the bearing end and the drive end.Type: GrantFiled: June 3, 2019Date of Patent: July 13, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventor: Matthew Blouin
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Patent number: 11052540Abstract: A robot configured to navigate a surface, the robot comprising a movement mechanism; a logical map representing data about the surface and associating locations with one or more properties observed during navigation; an initialization module configured to establish an initial pose comprising an initial location and an initial orientation; a region covering module configured to cause the robot to move so as to cover a region; an edge-following module configured to cause the robot to follow unfollowed edges; a control module configured to invoke region covering on a first region defined at least in part based at least part of the initial pose, to invoke region covering on least one additional region, to invoke edge-following, and to invoke region covering cause the mapping module to mark followed edges as followed, and cause a third region covering on regions discovered during edge-following.Type: GrantFiled: January 18, 2019Date of Patent: July 6, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Michael S. Stout, Gabriel Francis Brisson, Enrico Di Bernardo, Paolo Pirjanian, Dhiraj Goel, James Philip Case, Michael Dooley
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Patent number: D924522Type: GrantFiled: May 4, 2018Date of Patent: July 6, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventor: Stuart R. Jang
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Patent number: D930053Type: GrantFiled: May 4, 2018Date of Patent: September 7, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Jason Jeffrey Suchman, Douglas Dell'Accio, Andrew Vincent Wolff, Flavia Pastore
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Patent number: D931797Type: GrantFiled: May 29, 2019Date of Patent: September 28, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Eric Burbank, Stephen A. Hickey, Milan Modh
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Patent number: D934314Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2020Date of Patent: October 26, 2021Assignee: iRobot CorporationInventors: Jason Jeffrey Suchman, Douglas Dell'Accio, Andrew Vincent Wolff, Flavia Pastore