Patents Assigned to IROBOT
  • Predictive maintenance of mobile cleaning robot
    Patent number: 11382473
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for assessing a health status of a cleaning head assembly in a mobile cleaning robot. The mobile robot includes motorized cleaning member that rotatably engages a floor surface to extract debris. An exemplary system includes a processor circuit that receives robot data produced by the mobile cleaning robot traversing an environment, determines a robot parameter using a portion of the received robot data corresponding to a floor area having a specific surface condition traversed repeatedly by the mobile cleaning robot, and determines a state of the cleaning head and an estimate of remaining useful life of the cleaning head based on the robot parameter. The determined state of the cleaning head system can be provide to a user via a user interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel J. Burns, Teresa Borcuch
  • Mobile floor-cleaning robot with floor-type detection
    Patent number: 11382478
    Abstract: Cleaning robots may use floor-type-detection techniques as a trigger for autonomously altering various floor-cleaning characteristics. In some examples, a controller circuit of the robot is configured to determine a flooring type as a function of a signal from a motion sensor indicative of a change in pitch caused by the robot crossing a flooring discontinuity. In some examples, the controller circuit is configured to determine a flooring type based on a power draw signal corresponding to the cleaning head assembly of the robot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventor: Fabrizio Santini
  • Celestial navigation system for an autonomous vehicle
    Patent number: 11378973
    Abstract: A navigation control system for an autonomous vehicle comprises a transmitter and an autonomous vehicle. The transmitter comprises an emitter for emitting at least one signal, a power source for powering the emitter, a device for capturing wireless energy to charge the power source, and a printed circuit board for converting the captured wireless energy to a form for charging the power source. The autonomous vehicle operates within a working area and comprises a receiver for detecting the at least one signal emitted by the emitter, and a processor for determining a relative location of the autonomous vehicle within the working area based on the signal emitted by the emitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventor: Mark J. Chiappetta
  • Control of evacuation stations
    Patent number: 11375866
    Abstract: An evacuation station for collecting debris from a cleaning robot includes a controller configured to execute instructions to perform one or more operations. The one or more operations includes initiating an evacuation operation such that an air mover draws air containing debris from the cleaning robot, through an intake of the evacuation station, and through a canister of the evacuation station and such that a receptacle received by the evacuation station receives at least a portion of the debris drawn from the cleaning robot. The one or more operations includes ceasing the evacuation operation in response to a pressure value being within a range. The pressure value is determined based at least in part on data indicative of an air pressure, and the range is set based at least in part on a number of evacuation operations initiated before the evacuation operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Ellen B. Cargill, Douglas Dell'Accio, Benjamin Pheil, Flavia Pastore, Paul Schmitt, John P. O'Brien
  • Reducing cleaning roller amplitude and speed oscillations of a cleaning robot
    Patent number: 11369242
    Abstract: A roller assembly for a mobile cleaning system for cleaning a work surface can include a drive shaft, a sheath, a bushing, and a bushing shroud. The drive shaft can be rotatable about a drive axis, and the drive shaft can include a driven end and an opposite bushing end. The sheath can be supported by the drive shaft and the sheath can be rotatable with the drive shaft. The sheath can include a shell engageable with the work surface. The bushing can be located about the bushing end of the drive shaft. The bushing shroud can be connected to the bushing. The sheath and the drive shaft can be together rotatable with respect to the bushing and the bushing shroud, the bushing shroud can include an outer portion defining a first radius of curvature and a recessed portion connected to the outer portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Hao-Yun Chow, Patrick Chow, Ke Ting Gao, Fangzheng Guo, Jennifer Ann Mauger, Rogelio Manfred Neumann, Jian Yun Pi, Michael G. Sack, Rubal Verma
  • Interfacing With a Mobile Telepresence Robot
    Publication number: 20220199253
    Abstract: A telepresence robot may include a drive system, a control system, an imaging system, and a mapping module. The mapping module may access a plan view map of an area and tags associated with the area. In various embodiments, each tag may include tag coordinates and tag information, which may include a tag annotation. A tag identification system may identify tags within a predetermined range of the current position and the control system may execute an action based on an identified tag whose tag information comprises a telepresence robot action modifier. The telepresence robot may rotate an upper portion independent from a lower portion. A remote terminal may allow an operator to control the telepresence robot using any combination of control methods, including by selecting a destination in a live video feed, by selecting a destination on a plan view map, or by using a joystick or other peripheral device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2022
    Publication date: June 23, 2022
    Applicants: InTouch Technologies, Inc., iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Yulun Wang, Charles S. Jordan, Tim Wright, Michael Chan, Marco Pinter, Kevin Hanrahan, Daniel Sanchez, James Ballantyne, Cody Herzog, Blair Whitney, Fuji Lai, Kelton Temby, Eben Christopher Rauhut, Justin H. Kearns, Cheuk Wah Wong, Timothy Sturtevant Farlow
  • Cleaning system for autonomous robot
    Patent number: 11363933
    Abstract: An autonomous cleaning robot comprises a chassis, at least one motorized drive wheel mounted to the chassis and arranged to propel the robot across a surface, and a pair of cleaning rollers mounted to the chassis and having outer surfaces exposed on an underside of the chassis and to each other. The cleaning rollers are drivable to counter-rotate while the robot is propelled, thereby cooperating to direct raised debris upward into the robot between the rollers. A side brush is further mounted to the chassis to rotate beneath the chassis adjacent a lateral side of the chassis about an upwardly extending side brush axis, and the outer surface of a first of the cleaning rollers of the pair extends laterally beyond the outer surface of a second of the cleaning rollers of the pair and laterally beyond the side brush axis, such that the first cleaning roller defines a cleaning width spanning the side brush axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventor: Oliver Lewis
  • Celestial navigation system for an autonomous vehicle
    Patent number: 11360484
    Abstract: A navigation control system for an autonomous vehicle comprises a transmitter and an autonomous vehicle. The transmitter comprises an emitter for emitting at least one signal, a power source for powering the emitter, a device for capturing wireless energy to charge the power source, and a printed circuit board for converting the captured wireless energy to a form for charging the power source. The autonomous vehicle operates within a working area and comprises a receiver for detecting the at least one signal emitted by the emitter, and a processor for determining a relative location of the autonomous vehicle within the working area based on the signal emitted by the emitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventor: Mark J. Chiappetta
  • Mobile cleaning robot with a bin
    Patent number: 11357371
    Abstract: This document describes a mobile cleaning robot including a chassis having a forward portion and an aft portion; a blower affixed to the chassis; a bin supported by the chassis and configured to receive airflow from the blower, the chassis enabling evacuation of the bin through a bottom of the robot. The bin includes a top, a bottom, a sidewall, and an internal barrier. The bin includes a first volume and a second volume separated by the internal barrier and a filter unit supported by the internal barrier and removably disposed in an airflow path between the first volume that includes an intake port in the bin and the second volume that includes an exhaust port in the bin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Oliver Lewis, Stephen A. Hickey, Russell Walter Morin
  • System and method for autonomous mopping of a floor surface
    Patent number: 11350810
    Abstract: A mobile robot configured to travel across a residential floor or other surface while cleaning the surface with a cleaning pad and cleaning solvent is disclosed. The robot includes a controller for managing the movement of the robot as well as the treatment of the surface with a cleaning solvent. The movement of the robot can be characterized by a class of trajectories that achieve effective cleaning. The trajectories include sequences of steps that are repeated, the sequences including forward and backward motion and optional left and right motion along arcuate paths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Michael J. Dooley, James Philip Case, Nikolai Romanov
  • Vertical sensing in an autonomous cleaning robot
    Patent number: 11330953
    Abstract: An autonomous mobile cleaning robot can include an outer shell and a bumper. The outer shell can include a rim extending around at least a portion of a periphery of the outer shell and can include a first feature connected to the rim. The bumper can be connected to the outer shell and can movable with respect to the outer shell when the bumper is connected to the outer shell. The bumper can include a second feature connected to the inner surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew J. Pastore, Pu Zhou, Eric Burbank
  • Image capture devices for autonomous mobile robots and related systems and methods
    Patent number: 11327483
    Abstract: An autonomous cleaning robot includes a drive system to support the autonomous cleaning robot above a floor surface, an image capture device positioned on the autonomous cleaning robot to capture imagery of a portion of the floor surface forward of the autonomous cleaning robot, and a controller operably connected to the drive system and the image capture device. The drive system is operable to maneuver the autonomous cleaning robot about the floor surface. The controller is configured to execute instructions to perform operations including initiating, based on a user-selected sensitivity and the imagery captured by the image capture device, an avoidance behavior to avoid an obstacle on the portion of the floor surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Husain al-Mohssen, Zupei Li, Elena Jakubiak, Laura V. Herlant, Michael J. Halloran, Danielle O'Connor Dean
  • Autonomous floor cleaning with a removable pad
    Patent number: 11324376
    Abstract: An autonomous floor cleaning robot includes a robot body defining a forward drive direction, a controller supported by the robot body, a drive supporting the robot body and configured to maneuver the robot across a surface in response to commands from the controller, a pad holder disposed on an underside of the robot body and configured to retain a removable cleaning pad during operation of the cleaning robot; and a pad sensor arranged to sense a feature of a cleaning pad held by the pad holder and generate a corresponding signal. The controller is responsive to the signal generated by the pad sensor, and configured to control the robot according to a cleaning mode selected from a set of multiple robot cleaning modes as a function of the signal generated by the pad sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Ping-Hong Lu, Dan Foran, Marcus Williams, Joe Johnson, Andrew Graziani
  • Magnetic navigation systems for autonomous mobile robots
    Patent number: 11320835
    Abstract: An autonomous mobile robot includes a drive system to maneuver the autonomous mobile robot about an environment, a first magnetic field antenna system responsive to a magnetic field pulse to generate a first signal, and a second magnetic field antenna system responsive to the magnetic field pulse to generate a second signal. The magnetic field pulse is emitted by a magnetic field emitter system in the environment. The autonomous mobile robot further includes a controller to execute instructions to perform operations including reorienting the autonomous mobile robot based on the first signal and the second signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Frederic D. Hook, Nikolai Romanov, Matthew Mercaldo, Peter Teulings, Kenneth Holm, Jr., Juan Oxoby
  • Debris collection device for autonomous cleaning robots
    Patent number: 11317773
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides, in one aspect, a debris collection device for an autonomous cleaning robot includes a cleaning pad portion configured to contact a floor surface. The cleaning pad portion includes a backing and at least one cleaning pad connected to a bottom surface of the backing. The autonomous cleaning robot includes a vacuum bag portion configured to collect at least a portion of debris removed from the floor surface by a vacuum assembly of the autonomous cleaning robot. A volume of the vacuum bag portion is positioned vertically above the cleaning pad portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventor: Stephen A. Hickey
  • Systems and methods for configurable operation of a robot based on area classification
    Patent number: 11314260
    Abstract: A method of operating a mobile robot includes generating a segmentation map defining respective regions of a surface based on occupancy data that is collected by a mobile robot responsive to navigation of the surface, identifying sub-regions of at least one of the respective regions as non-clutter and clutter areas, and computing a coverage pattern based on identification of the sub-regions. The coverage pattern indicates a sequence for navigation of the non-clutter and clutter areas, and is provided to the mobile robot. Responsive to the coverage pattern, the mobile robot sequentially navigates the non-clutter and clutter areas of the at least one of the respective regions of the surface in the sequence indicated by the coverage pattern. Related methods, computing devices, and computer program products are also discussed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Alexander D. Kleiner, Mario E. Munich
  • Mobile robot docking systems and methods
    Patent number: 11292136
    Abstract: A mobile robot system includes a docking station and a mobile robot. The docking station includes a platform, first and second charging contacts on the platform, and first and second ramp features on the platform. The robot includes a housing, first and second drive wheels, first and second raised charging contacts on a bottom of the housing, and a cleaning module including at least one rotatable cleaning head that extends below the bottom of the housing. The robot is movable from an approach position with the robot spaced apart from a front of the platform to a docked position with the robot on the platform and the docking station charging contacts engaged with the robot charging contacts. As the robot moves from the approach position to the docked position, the robot engages the first and second ramp features and the cleaning mechanism is lifted over the docking station charging contacts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew Vincent Wolff, Douglas Dell'Accio, Leo Torrente, William Morris, Flavia Pastore
  • Interfacing with a mobile telepresence robot
    Patent number: 11289192
    Abstract: A telepresence robot may include a drive system, a control system, an imaging system, and a mapping module. The mapping module may access a plan view map of an area and tags associated with the area. In various embodiments, each tag may include tag coordinates and tag information, which may include a tag annotation. A tag identification system may identify tags within a predetermined range of the current position and the control system may execute an action based on an identified tag whose tag information comprises a telepresence robot action modifier. The telepresence robot may rotate an upper portion independent from a lower portion. A remote terminal may allow an operator to control the telepresence robot using any combination of control methods, including by selecting a destination in a live video feed, by selecting a destination on a plan view map, or by using a joystick or other peripheral device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignees: INTOUCH TECHNOLOGIES, INC., IROBOT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yulun Wang, Charles S. Jordan, Tim Wright, Michael Chan, Marco Pinter, Kevin Hanrahan, Daniel Sanchez, James Ballantyne, Cody Herzog, Blair Whitney, Fuji Lai, Kelton Temby, Eben Christopher Rauhut, Justin H. Kearns, Cheuk Wah Wong, Timothy Sturtevant Farlow
  • Cover for a programmable robot
    Patent number: D952719
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventor: Zivthan A. C. Dubrovsky
  • Buttons for a programmable robot
    Patent number: D952720
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Rebecca Attia, Raphael G. Cherney