Robot cleaner

Abstract

A robot vacuum cleaner comprises a main body having a driving wheel, a suction port provided underneath the main body for drawing in contaminants on a surface to be cleaned, and a guide member disposed underneath the main body for guiding contaminants on the surface to be cleaned toward the suction port.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-33371 filed on May 12, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a robot vacuum cleaner, and more specifically to a robot vacuum cleaner that is capable of more efficient collection of dust and contaminants from hard to access corners.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a robot vacuum cleaner draws in contaminants, such as dust from a surface to be cleaned, while automatically traveling an area without being manually guided by a user.

These types of robot vacuum cleaners may detect an obstacle, such as furniture, appliances, a wall in the area to be cleaned, or the distance to the obstacle, by a distance sensor or a photographing unit, such that the robot vacuum cleaner can clean the area to be cleaned while avoiding a crash or maneuvering to avoid any obstruction.

The conventional robot vacuum cleaner comprises left and right driving wheels and driven wheels disposed underneath a main body. Each driving wheel is connected to a driving motor to provide a driving force to the wheels. A control part controls the driving motor such that the direction of travel of the main body can be changed by appropriate guidance of the wheels.

A suction port is disposed also underneath the main body to draw in contaminants and dust from the surface to be cleaned. A separate suction motor, disposed within the main body, provides suction force that is applied to the suction port. The suction port is connected with a separate dust collection chamber disposed in the main body. The contaminants in the air drawn in to the suction port are collected in the dust collection chamber.

The conventional robot vacuum cleaner having the above-described structure cleans contaminants from the surface to be cleaned while automatically traveling in a predetermined travel pattern. In corner areas, defined between the floor and obstacles, such as furniture and walls, dust or contaminants gather in greater abundance than in other places because of the lack of air circulation.

However, conventional robot vacuum cleaners have the suction port only partially exposed underneath the main body, and therefore, the contaminants in a corner area are difficult to remove completely.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been conceived to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and an aspect of the present invention is to provide a robot vacuum cleaner having an advanced structure, that is capable of guiding contaminants found in a corner area surface to a suction port so as to collect the contaminants into the vacuum cleaner.

In order to achieve the above aspects, there is provided a robot vacuum cleaner, comprising a main body having a driving wheel, a suction port provided underneath the main body for drawing in contaminants on a surface to be cleaned, and a guide member disposed underneath the main body for guiding contaminants on the cleaning surface to be cleaned toward the suction port.

A pair of the guide members may be mounted on opposite ends of the suction port.

The guide member is in contact with the surface to be cleaned and extends laterally beyond the driving wheel.

The guide member may be made of resiliently transformable material, such as Thermoplastic Poly Urethane (TPU).

The guide member may comprise a support connected underneath the main body, and a guiding part extending upwardly from the support, and configured to contact the cleaning surface to be cleaned.

The upper portion of the guiding part connection with the support of the main body may be thicker than the extended portion configured for contact with the surface to be cleaned.

The guide member may extend away from the suction port and toward that side of the main body for which the guide portion is intended to clean.

The guide member may be shaped and configured to collect the contaminants on the surface to be cleaned toward the suction port.

The suction port may be provided behind the driving wheels in relation to the direction of expected travel of the main body.

The suction port extends for a predetermined length in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the driving wheel and the guide member may be extend from the opposite ends of the suction port.

The robot vacuum cleaner may further comprise a main brush mounted to the underside of the main body extending in direction parallel to the suction port, and is shaped and configured for providing contaminants on the surface to be cleaned easy access to the suction port.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from achieving an understanding of the following detailed description taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a robot vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the robot vacuum cleaner shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a guide member shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the robot vacuum cleaner shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Certain embodiments of the present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description, identical drawing reference numerals are used for designating the same elements between the different drawings. The elements defined in the description, such as the detailed construction and structural elements, are only provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the invention. Thus, it is apparent that the present invention can be carried out without using those defined elements. Also, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail so as to avoid obscuring the invention in unnecessary detail.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a robot vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the robot vacuum cleaner shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a robot vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a main body 10, left/right driving wheels 12 and 13 disposed underneath the main body 10 to extend downwardly therefrom, a suction port 20 configured to face the floor under the main body 10, and a guide member 30 also disposed underneath the main body 10.

A filtering means is mounted within the main body 10 for filtering or cleaning contaminants in the air drawn in through the suction port 20. The filtering means can generally include a cyclone collecting unit and a dust bag. A driving source is also mounted in the main body 10 for driving the filtering means, that is, for providing the suction port 20 with suction force, thereby to draw in air in which entrained contaminants are present.

A camera unit 11 is disposed on an outer surface of the main body 10, and preferably is directed in the direction of expected travel of the vacuum cleaner. Obstacles such as furniture and walls can be detected by the camera unit 11. The main body 10 may be streamlined in a design to minimize the possibility of crash or obstruction against obstacles while driving the vacuum cleaner. As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 10 may have a substantially circular-shaped bottom.

The left/right driving wheels 12 and 13 are selectively driven by driving motors 41 and 42 (shown in phantom in FIG. 2), respectively, which are arranged as separate motors from the driving source motors. Driving of the driving motors 41 and 42 is controlled by a control part (not shown). Idle wheels 14 and 15 may be associated with each of the left/right driving wheels 12 and 13 for providing passive rotation and balance.

The suction port 20 is disposed behind the left/right driving wheels 12 and 13 in the normal direction of travel of the robot vacuum cleaner, as shown by the arrow A. The suction port 20 is provided to extend in a direction parallel to a rotation axis of the left/right driving wheels, as shown, and the extension is for a certain predetermined length. The suction port 20 does not extend completely to a side of the main body 10, but is configured to have a certain length extending only in that portion underneath of the body 10, as shown. A rotation brush 21 is rotatably provided in the suction port 20. The rotation brush 21 may be rotated by the driving source, in accordance with known methods, for example, by a belt connection to the axle.

A pair of guide members 30 are provided to correspond and be connected to opposite ends of the suction port 20. Each guide member 30 is extended to extend from the side of the main body 10, and is exposed beyond the outer wall defining the main body 10. When the main body 10 is moved, the guide members 30 guide and gather contaminants, which are found at a distance from the suction port 20, such as contaminants located in the corner area between the floor and furniture or walls. The guide members 30 are connected to the underside of main body 10 by supporting brackets 16 which are attached by screws, or other appropriate connectors. The guide members 30 each comprise a support portion 31 (FIG. 3), and a guide portion 33, extended from the supporting portion 31 and are bent therearound in a partial semicircle. A screw hole 31 a is configured in the supporting portion 31. The guide portion 33 is configured to have a predetermined length such that the end of the guide portion 33 may come into contact with the surface to be cleaned. The guide member 30 is extended, so as to extend beyond the driving wheels 12 and 13, and thus to contact with the surface to be cleaned, shown in FIG. 4, for example, a floor 1. The lower part of the guide member 30 is resiliently transformable, such that the lower part closest to the surface 1 may be transformed by the contact with the surface 1. Thus, contaminants located in the corner area can be effectively guided to the suction port 20, and thereby be collected by the vacuum cleaner.

The guide members 30 on both ends of the suction port 20 are shaped and configured to extend in a forward direction, relative to the running direction shown by arrow A. The upper portion of the guide member 30 is preferably thicker than the lower portion, and a section thereof is connected with the supporting portion 31. Accordingly, only the lower side of the guide member 30, contacting the surface 1 to be cleaned, is capable of resilient transformation without greatly changing the shape of the entire guide member 30. Thermoplastic Poly Urethane (TPU) can be a preferred material for the guide member 30, which is a material being capable of providing a proper strength and resilient transformation.

A main brush 40 is preferably provided in the underside of the main body 10, extending in a direction parallel to the suction port 20. The main brush 40 is disposed behind the suction-port 20 in the direction of travel of the main body 10, as shown by the arrow A, and resiliently contacts the surface 1 to be cleaned. The main brush 40 dislodges and collects contaminants, which then are drawn into the suction port 20. The main brush 40 may be made of the same material as the guide member 30, but that is not an essential feature of the invention.

As described above, a robot vacuum cleaner having the above-described structure according to the present invention has guide members extending from opposite ends of the suction port, such that contaminants located beyond the reach of the suction port can be gathered and guided to a nearer location adjacent to the suction port for drawing into the vacuum cleaner.

Accordingly, cleaning efficiency is increased, in that more contaminants, even when located in a corner area, can be collected.

The guide member extends and protrudes to the sidewall of main body 10 such that contaminants found in corner areas between the floor and an obstacle, such as furniture or a wall, are effectively removed.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the embodiments of the invention are set forth in part in the above description and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the description and achieving an understanding of the invention, or may be learned from practice of the invention. Other objects and advantages of the embodiments of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A robot vacuum cleaner comprising:

a main body having a driving wheel;

a suction port provided underneath the main body, for drawing in contaminants on a surface to be cleaned; and

a guide member disposed underneath the main body for guiding contaminants on the surface to be cleaned toward a location adjacent to the suction port.

2. The robot vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a pair of the guide members are mounted on opposite ends of the suction port.

3. The robot vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is in contact with the surface to be cleaned and extends laterally beyond the driving wheel.

4. The robot vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is made of resiliently transformable material.

5. The robot vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the guide member further comprises:

a support connected with the underside of the main body; and

a guiding part extending upwardly from the support, and configured to contact the surface to be cleaned.

6. The robot vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the upper portion of the guiding part connection with the support of the main body is thicker than the extended portion configured for contact with the surface to be cleaned.

7. The robot vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the guide member extends away from the suction port and toward that side of the main body for which the guide portion is intended to clean.

8. The robot vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is shaped and configured to collect the contaminants on the surface to be cleaned and to direct the contaminants toward the suction port.

9. The robot vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the suction port is located behind the driving wheel in relation to the direction of expected travel of the main body.

10. The robot vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the suction port extends for a predetermined length in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the driving wheel; and

the guide member extends from opposite ends of the suction port.

11. The robot vacuum cleaner according to claim 10, further comprising a main brush mounted on the underside of the main body extending in a direction parallel to the suction port, and is shaped and configured for providing contaminants on the surface to be cleaned easy access to the suction port.

12. The robot vacuum cleaner according to claim. 4, wherein the guide member further comprises a Thermoplastic Poly Urethane (TPU).