Automatic cat litter cleaning basin and cat litter cleaning method

Abstract

The automatic cleaning cat litter basin comprises a frame, a moving device and a cat litter rake, and the frame is sequentially provided with a cat litter containing space and an excrement falling opening in the length direction of the frame; the moving device is arranged on the side portion of the frame and can reciprocate in the length direction of the frame. The cat litter rake is transversely arranged on the frame, and the end part of the cat litter rake is arranged on the moving device; the moving device can drive the cat litter rake to move up and down. When the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move from the end, away from the excrement falling opening, of the cat litter containing space to the end, close to the excrement falling opening, of the cat litter containing space, the cat litter rake can rake excrement out of the cat litter. And then the cat litter rake is driven by the moving device to ascend and move so as to stir the feces into the feces falling opening. Therefore, according to the automatic cleaning cat litter basin, the moving device not only can drive the cat litter rake to move in the length direction of the frame, but also can drive the cat litter rake to ascend and descend, so that excrement can be poked into the excrement falling opening through the ascending and descending track, the structure is simple, the movement track of the cat litter rake is also simple, and the cat litter basin is convenient to use. And the control requirement on the system is low. In addition, the invention further provides a cat litter cleaning method.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of cat litter boxes, and in particular to an automatic cat litter box and a cat litter cleaning method. Background Art

[0002] This section only provides background information related to the present application to help those skilled in the art understand the present application more thoroughly and accurately, and it is not necessarily prior art.

[0003] Nowadays, more and more families choose to keep cats, and cat litter boxes have therefore become a must-have for cat owners. In order to facilitate the cleaning of cat litter boxes, automatic cat litter cleaning boxes have appeared on the market, such as a clumping cat litter filter device and its use method disclosed in patent application number 202211450178.7. Among them, the clumping cat litter filter device includes a cat litter box, a clumping cat litter filter shovel, a moving mechanism and a rotating mechanism. The cat litter box is provided with a cat litter receiving space and a clumping cat litter collection space, and the clumping cat litter filter shovel is placed horizontally inside the cat litter receiving space; the moving mechanism is used to drive the clumping cat litter filter shovel to move along the length direction of the cat litter receiving space, and the rotating mechanism is used to drive the clumping cat litter filter shovel to flip in the cat litter receiving space. Thus, driven by the moving mechanism, the agglomerated cat litter filter shovel can move from one end of the cat litter receiving space to the other end to rake cat feces out of the cat litter, and then driven by the rotating mechanism, the agglomerated cat litter filter shovel is rotated to a horizontal position, thereby collecting all the agglomerated cat litter accumulated on the upper layer of the unclumped cat litter onto the agglomerated cat litter filter shovel, and then the agglomerated cat litter filter shovel with the agglomerated cat litter is moved back to one end of the agglomerated cat litter collection space, and the agglomerated cat litter filter shovel is continuously rotated to transfer the agglomerated cat litter on the agglomerated cat litter filter shovel into the agglomerated cat litter collection space, thereby completing the automatic cleaning of the agglomerated cat litter.

[0004] Therefore, in the above-mentioned clumping cat litter filtering device, the moving mechanism is only used to drive the cat litter filtering shovel to move along the length direction of the cat litter receiving space, and an additional rotating mechanism is provided to drive the clumping cat litter filtering shovel to rotate so as to collect or drop cat feces. Such a setting not only makes the overall structure complicated, but also the cleaning motion trajectory of the cat litter rake is relatively complicated, resulting in relatively high control requirements for the system. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to overcome the defects of the above-mentioned prior art, the present invention provides an automatic cat litter box and a cat litter cleaning method. The moving device in the cat litter box can not only drive the cat litter rake to move along the length direction of the frame, but also drive the cat litter rake to move up and down, so that the lifting trajectory can be used to push feces into the feces drop-out port. Not only is the structure simple, but the movement trajectory of the cat litter rake is also relatively simple, and the control requirements for the system are relatively low.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the problem is:

[0007] An automatic cat litter box cleaning device comprising:

[0008] A frame, wherein the frame is provided with a cat litter storage space and a feces drop-off opening in sequence along its length direction;

[0009] A moving device, which is arranged on the side of the frame and can reciprocate along the length direction of the frame;

[0010] A cat litter rake is horizontally placed on the frame and its end is arranged on the moving device; the moving device can drive the cat litter rake to move up and down;

[0011] When the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move from one end of the cat litter holding space away from the feces drop-out opening to the other end close to the feces drop-out opening, the cat litter rake can rake feces out of the cat litter; then the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move upward to push the feces into the feces drop-out opening.

[0012] Furthermore, the moving device includes a base, a lifting seat movably arranged on the base, and a first driving device for driving the lifting seat to move up and down, and the end of the cat litter rake is arranged on the lifting seat; when the first driving device drives the lifting seat to move up and down, the cat litter rake can be driven to move up and down synchronously;

[0013] The base is also provided with a second driving device for driving it to reciprocate along the length direction of the frame; when the second driving device drives the base to reciprocate along the length direction of the frame, the cat litter rake can be synchronously driven to reciprocate along the length direction of the frame.

[0014] Furthermore, the frame is provided with a limiting guide rail, the limiting guide rail is provided with a limiting slide groove, and the base is provided with a limiting slider which is slidably mounted in the limiting slide groove and is used to limit the movement of the base along the width direction and the height direction of the frame.

[0015] Furthermore, it also includes a guide assembly arranged between the base and the lifting seat, and the guide assembly includes a guide rod arranged on the base and a guide block arranged on the lifting seat and slidably arranged on the guide rod.

[0016] Furthermore, a rotating head is provided at the end of the cat litter rake, and the cat litter rake is rotatably arranged on the lifting seat through the rotating head.

[0017] Furthermore, it also includes a rake box arranged on the feces drop-off port. When the first driving device drives the cat litter rake to move downward and abut against the rake box, the cat litter rake can be driven to rotate and gradually flatten to be stored in the rake box.

[0018] Furthermore, it also includes a flip cover which is arranged on the rake box, wherein:

[0019] When the cat litter rake raks feces out of the cat litter, the first driving device drives the cat litter rake to move upward and synchronously drives the flip cover to flip and open. Then, when the first driving device drives the cat litter rake to move downward and store it in the rake box, the flip cover flips and resets and covers the rake box to cover the cat litter rake.

[0020] Furthermore, it also includes a transmission assembly arranged between the base and the rotating head. When the first driving device drives the cat litter rake to move up and down, the cat litter rake can be synchronously driven to rotate through the transmission assembly.

[0021] Furthermore, the transmission assembly is a slide rail and slide rod assembly, which includes a slide rail arranged on the base and at least partially inclined, and a slide rod with one end slidably arranged on the slide rail and the other end sleeved on the rotating head;

[0022] When the first driving device drives the lifting seat to move up and down, the sliding rod can be driven to slide and rotate on the sliding rail synchronously, and the sliding rod drives the rotating head to rotate so as to drive the cat litter rake to rotate.

[0023] Further, the slide rail includes a first vertical section at a lower height, a second vertical section at a higher height and spaced apart from the first vertical section, and an inclined section respectively connecting the first vertical section and the second vertical section;

[0024] When the first driving device drives the sliding rod to slide along the sliding rail, the sliding rod can be rotated.

[0025] Furthermore, it also includes a limiting structure arranged between the rotating head and the sliding rod and an elastic member arranged on the rotating head, one end of the elastic member abuts against the rotating head, and the other end of the elastic member abuts against the sliding rod or the lifting seat;

[0026] Under the elastic force of the elastic member, the rotating head can be driven to rotate and fixed on the sliding rod through the limiting structure, thereby realizing the limiting fixation of the cat litter rake.

[0027] Furthermore, the limiting structure includes a limiting groove and a limiting block slidably arranged in the limiting groove, one of the limiting groove and the limiting block is arranged on the sliding rod, and the other is arranged on the rotating head.

[0028] Furthermore, the elastic member is a torsion spring, and the torsion spring comprises a torsion spring body and a first torsion arm and a second torsion arm provided at two ends of the torsion spring body, wherein:

[0029] The torsion spring body is sleeved on the rotating head;

[0030] The rotating head is provided with a slot, and the first torsion arm is clamped in the slot;

[0031] The second torsion arm abuts against the sliding rod or the lifting seat.

[0032] Further, the transmission assembly is a gear rack assembly, which includes a rack arranged on the base and a gear plate rotatably engaged with the rack, and the other end of the gear plate is sleeved on the rotating head;

[0033] When the first driving device drives the lifting seat to move up and down, the gear plate can be driven to rotate on the rack synchronously, and then the rotating head can be driven to rotate through the gear plate to drive the cat litter rake to rotate.

[0034] In addition, the present invention also provides a cat litter cleaning method, comprising the following steps:

[0035] Step 1: Provide an automatic cat litter box, the automatic cat litter box comprising: a frame, a moving device and a cat litter rake; the frame is provided with a cat litter storage space and a feces drop-off opening in sequence along its length direction; the moving device is arranged at the side of the frame and can reciprocate along the length direction of the frame; the end of the cat litter rake is arranged on the moving device, and the moving device can drive the cat litter rake to move up and down; in addition, it also comprises a rake box arranged at the upper part of the feces drop-off opening, and the moving device can drive the cat litter rake to move and store it in the rake box;

[0036] Step 2: When the cat litter needs to be cleaned, the moving device first drives the cat litter rake to move upward to leave the rake box, and then the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move backward along the length direction of the frame to an end of the cat litter holding space away from the feces drop-off opening, and then the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move downward so that the cat litter rake is located in the cat litter holding space;

[0037] Step 3: The moving device drives the cat litter rake to move along the length direction of the cat litter holding space to the other end close to the feces drop-out opening to rake the feces out of the cat litter, and then the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move upward and push the feces into the feces drop-out opening, thereby completing the cleaning of the cat litter;

[0038] Step 4: The moving device drives the cat litter rake to move and store it in the rake box.

[0039] Furthermore, in step three, when the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move upward, the moving device simultaneously drives the cat litter rake to move forward along the length direction of the cat litter holding space so that the cat litter rake moves upward at an angle to push the feces into the feces drop opening.

[0040] Furthermore, in step 2, when the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move downward, the moving device simultaneously drives the cat litter rake to move forward along the length direction of the cat litter holding space so that the cat litter rake moves downward at an angle to enter the cat litter holding space.

[0041] Furthermore, the end of the cat litter rake is rotatably arranged on the mobile device; a transmission assembly that is in transmission with the cat litter rake is also provided in the mobile device. When the mobile device drives the cat litter rake to move up and down, the cat litter rake can be synchronously driven by the transmission assembly to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise.

[0042] In summary, the automatic cat litter box and cat litter cleaning method provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0043] (1) The automatic cleaning cat litter box of the present invention, the moving device can not only drive the cat litter rake to move along the length direction of the frame, but also drive the cat litter rake to move up and down; therefore, after driving the cat litter rake from one end of the cat litter storage space to the other end to rake the feces out of the cat litter, the moving device can be used to drive the cat litter rake to rise to push the feces into the feces drop-out port, thereby eliminating the need to return to the initial position of the cat litter box and rotate the cat litter rake to a larger angle to allow the feces to fall out as in the case of traditional cat litter rakes. It can be seen from this that the automatic cleaning cat litter box of the present invention can utilize the lifting trajectory to push feces into the feces drop-out port, thereby eliminating the need to additionally set up a rotating mechanism, and not only is the structure simple, but the cleaning movement trajectory of the cat litter rake is also relatively simple, and the control requirements for the system are also relatively low.

[0044] (2) The automatic cleaning cat litter box of the present invention is provided with a transmission assembly that cooperates with the cat litter rake. When the cat litter rake is driven to rise to push feces into the feces drop-out opening, the cat litter rake can be driven to rotate synchronously so that the feces can be pushed into the feces drop-out opening more conveniently. In addition, when feces are stuck on the cat litter rake, the cat litter rake can be driven to rise and fall and rotate to throw the feces off. In addition, when cat litter is piled up in the cat litter box, the lifting and rotating trajectory can also be used to smooth the cat litter pile. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the automatic cat litter box cleaning device of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the automatic cat litter box of the present invention with part of the structure hidden;

[0047] Figure 3 for Figure 2 Explosion diagram of

[0048] Figure 4 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure from another perspective;

[0049] Figure 5 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of the mobile device for automatically cleaning a cat litter box and a cat litter rake when assembled in the present invention;

[0050] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of the automatic cleaning cat litter box of the present invention when the sliding rod and the rotating head are assembled;

[0051] Figure 7 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of the mobile device for automatically cleaning the cat litter box of the present invention;

[0052] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of another embodiment of a moving device for automatically cleaning a cat litter box according to the present invention;

[0053] Fig. 9 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f) are schematic diagrams of automatically cleaning a cat litter box according to the present invention.

[0054] The meanings of the reference numerals are as follows:

[0055] 1. Frame; 11. Cat litter storage space; 12. Excrement drop-out port; 13. Second rack; 14. Limiting guide rail; 141. First limiting slideway; 142. Second limiting slideway; 2. Basin; 21. First inclined guide surface; 22. Second inclined guide surface; 3. Moving device; 31. Base; 311. First limiting slider; 312. Second limiting slider; 32. Lifting seat; 33. First driving device; 34. Slide rail and slide rod assembly; 341. Slide rail plate; 3411. Slide rail; 34111. First vertical section; 34112. The second vertical section; 34113, the inclined section; 3412, the protrusion; 342, the sliding rod; 3421, the limit block; 35, the second driving device; 36, the positioning switch; 37, the guide assembly; 371, the guide rod; 372, the guide block; 38, the gear; 39, the gear rack assembly; 391, the first rack; 392, the gear plate; 4, the cat litter rake; 41, the rotating head; 411, the slot; 412, the limit slot; 42, the torsion spring; 5, the flip cover; 51, the abutment block; 6, the bottom frame; 61, the drawer; 62, the feces collection box; 7, the rake box. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] For better understanding and implementation, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0057] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside" and "outside" etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the modules or elements referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0058] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art of the present invention. The terms used in the specification of the present invention herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0059] See also Figure 1-9The present invention provides an open automatic cat litter box, comprising a rectangular frame 1, a moving device 3 and a cat litter rake 4. The frame 1 is provided with a cat litter holding space 11 and a feces drop-off opening 12 in sequence along its length direction, and a detachable basin body 2 for holding cat litter is placed on the cat litter holding space 11; the moving device 3 is arranged on the side of the frame 1 and can reciprocate along the length direction of the frame 1; preferably, the moving device 3 is provided with two groups and is respectively arranged on both sides of the frame 1 in the width direction; the cat litter rake 4 is horizontally placed on the frame 1 and its two ends are respectively rotatably arranged on the two moving devices 3; wherein, the moving device 3 can drive the cat litter rake 4 to move up and down.

[0060] Therefore, when the moving device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move along the length direction of the basin body 2 from the end of the basin body 2 away from the feces drop-out port 12 to the end close to the feces drop-out port 12, the cat litter rake 4 can rake the feces out of the cat litter; then the moving device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move upward to push the feces into the feces drop-out port 12.

[0061] Therefore, by using the automatic cleaning cat litter box of the present invention, the moving device 3 can not only drive the cat litter rake 4 to move along the length direction of the frame 1, but also drive the cat litter rake 4 to move up and down; therefore, after driving the cat litter rake 4 to run from one end of the cat litter holding space 11 to the other end to rake the feces out of the cat litter, the cat litter rake 4 can be driven to rise by the moving device 3 to push the feces into the feces drop-out port 12, so that there is no need to return to the initial position of the cat litter box and rotate the cat litter rake 4 to a larger angle to make the feces fall like the traditional cat litter rake 4. Therefore, the automatic cleaning cat litter box of the present invention can use the lifting trajectory to push the feces into the feces drop-out port, so there is no need to set up an additional rotating mechanism, not only the structure is simple, but also the cleaning movement trajectory of the cat litter rake 4 is relatively simple, and the control requirements for the system are also relatively low.

[0062] In the embodiment of the present invention, a bottom frame 6 is further included, which is arranged at the bottom of the frame 1. A pull-out drawer 61 and a feces collecting box 62 are provided on the bottom frame 6. The drawer 61 is located below the basin body 2 and is used to store sundries. The feces collecting box 62 is located below the feces drop-off port 12 and is used to collect feces.

[0063] Among them, a first inclined guide surface 21 is formed on the end of the basin body 2 away from the feces drop-out port 12 and is inclined downward, and a second inclined guide surface 22 is formed on the other end of the basin body 2 close to the feces drop-out port 12 and is inclined upward; at the same time, the cat litter rake 4 is inclined at a certain angle. Therefore, in order to ensure that the cat litter rake 4 will not interfere with the basin body 2 when moving up or down, and at the same time ensure that the cat litter rake 4 can completely filter the cat litter in the basin body 2; when the moving device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move down to the inside of the basin body 2, the moving device 3 will synchronously drive the cat litter rake 4 to move forward so that the cat litter rake 4 moves downward at an angle, thereby ensuring that the cat litter rake 4 can enter the basin body 2 along the first inclined guide surface 21, which can not only avoid interference with the basin body 2, but also ensure that the cat litter rake 4 enters the basin body 2, the end of the cat litter rake 4 is located at the end of the basin body 2; therefore, when the cat litter rake 4 is driven to move along the length direction of the basin body 2 to the other end of the basin body 2, the cat litter rake 4 can completely filter the cat litter to filter out the feces; then when the moving device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move upward, the moving device 3 will synchronously drive the cat litter rake 4 to move forward so that the cat litter rake 4 moves upward at an angle, thereby ensuring that the cat litter rake 4 can drive the feces to rise obliquely along the second inclined guide surface 22 and finally push it into the feces drop opening 12.

[0064] It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the first inclined guide surface 21 and / or the second inclined guide surface 22 in the basin body 2 can also be changed into a vertical surface. In this case, the cat litter rake 4 can be adjusted to a vertical arrangement or a slightly inclined setting according to actual conditions, so that it can match with both ends of the basin body 2 to complete the cleaning of the cat litter, which is not limited here.

[0065] See also Figure 3-5 The moving device 3 includes a base 31, a lifting seat 32 movably arranged on the base 31, and a first driving device 33 arranged on the base 31 and driving the lifting seat 32 to move up and down; preferably, the first driving device 33 is a screw motor, and the lifting seat 32 is slidably arranged on the screw of the screw motor; therefore, when the screw motor drives the screw to rotate, the lifting seat 32 can be driven to move up and down along the screw. In addition, the end of the cat litter rake 4 is also provided with a rotating head 41 rotatably arranged on the lifting seat 32. When the lifting seat 32 is driven to move up and down, the rotating head 41 can be driven to move up and down to realize the lifting and moving of the cat litter rake 4.

[0066] Of course, it should be noted that in other embodiments, the first driving device 33 can also be set on the lifting seat 32. In this case, the first driving device 33 is a driving motor, and a gear is connected to the output shaft of the driving motor. The base 31 is provided with a rack that is meshed with the gear and arranged vertically; therefore, when the driving motor drives the gear to rotate, it can move up and down along the rack, thereby driving the lifting seat 32 to move up and down relative to the base 31, which can also achieve the same technical effect, so it is not limited here.

[0067] In addition, the base 31 is also provided with a second driving device 35 for driving the base 31 to reciprocate along the length direction of the frame 1; preferably, the second driving device 35 is a driving motor, and the output shaft sleeve of the driving motor is provided with a gear 38; the bottom of the frame 1 is provided with a second rack 13 extending along the length direction thereof, and the gear 38 is meshed with the second rack 13 for transmission. Therefore, when the second driving device 35 drives the gear 38 to rotate, the gear 38 can be driven to slide on the second rack 13, thereby driving the moving device 3 and the cat litter rake 4 as a whole to move forward and backward relative to the frame 1 along the length direction.

[0068] See also Figure 4 The bottom of the frame 1 is provided with a limit guide rail 14 extending along the length direction thereof, and a limit slide groove is provided on the limit guide rail. The base 31 is provided with a limit slider which is slidably clamped in the limit slide groove and is used to limit the base 31 from moving along the width direction and the height direction of the frame 1. Specifically, the limit guide rail 14 is provided with a first limit slide groove 141 and a second limit slide groove 142 extending along the length direction thereof and located at the bottom and the side, respectively; the base 31 is also provided with a first limit slide groove 311 slidably clamped in the first limit slide groove 141 and a second limit slide groove 312 slidably clamped in the second limit slide groove 142, the first limit slide groove 311 is used to limit the base 31 from moving along the width direction of the frame 1, and the second limit slide groove 312 is used to limit the base 31 from moving along the height direction of the frame 1.

[0069] Therefore, by setting a limiting guide rail 14 at the bottom of the frame 1 and setting a first limiting slider 311 and a second limiting slider 312 on the base 31, the movement of the base 31 along the width direction of the frame 1 and the movement along the height direction of the frame 1 can be restricted, thereby ensuring that the base 31 can only move back and forth along the length direction of the frame 1.

[0070] See also Figure 5The moving device 3 further includes a guide assembly 37 disposed between the base 31 and the lifting seat 32, and the guide assembly 37 includes a guide rod 371 disposed on the base 31 and a guide block 372 disposed on the lifting seat 32 and slidably disposed on the guide rod 371. Therefore, when the first driving device 33 drives the lifting seat 32 to move up and down relative to the base 31, the guide block 372 can be driven to slide back and forth along the axis direction of the guide rod 371, thereby improving the stability of the lifting seat 32 in the lifting and moving.

[0071] Furthermore, the mobile device 3 is also provided with a transmission assembly that is in transmission with the cat litter rake 4. When the mobile device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move up and down, the transmission assembly can synchronously drive the cat litter rake 4 to rotate. Preferably, the transmission assembly is a slide rail and slide rod assembly 34 disposed between the base 31 and the rotating head 41. The slide rail and slide rod assembly 34 includes a slide rail plate 341 disposed on the base 31 and a slide rod 342 slidably disposed on the slide rail plate 341. The slide rail plate 341 is provided with a slide rail 3411 that is at least partially inclined. One end of the slide rod 342 is slidably disposed on the slide rail 3411, and the other end thereof is sleeved on the rotating head 41. Preferably, the slide rail 3411 includes a first vertical section 34111 at a lower height, a second vertical section 34112 at a higher height and spaced apart from the first vertical section 34111, and an inclined section 34113 respectively connecting the first vertical section 34111 and the second vertical section 34112.

[0072] Therefore, when the lifting seat 32 is driven to move up and down, the slide bar 342 can be synchronously driven to slide on the slide rail 3411 and rotate, and then the slide bar 342 drives the rotating head 41 to rotate to realize the rotation of the cat litter rake 4.

[0073] Therefore, in the automatic cleaning cat litter box of the present invention, when the moving device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move up and down, the cat litter rake 4 can be synchronously driven to rotate through the slide rail and slide rod assembly. When the cat litter rake 4 is driven to rise to push feces into the feces drop opening 12, the cat litter rake 4 can be synchronously driven to rotate so as to more conveniently push feces into the feces drop opening 12. In addition, when feces are stuck on the cat litter rake 4, the cat litter rake 4 can also be driven to rise and fall and rotate to throw the feces off; in addition, when cat litter is piled up on the cat litter box, the cat litter pile can also be smoothed by using the lifting and rotating track.

[0074] See also Figure 6The mobile device 3 also includes a positioning structure, which includes two positioning switches 36 and a protrusion 3412 for triggering the positioning switches 36. Specifically, the two positioning switches 36 are arranged on the lifting seat 32 at different heights, and the slide plate 341 is provided with a protrusion 3412 for triggering the positioning switch 36; preferably, the positioning switch 36 is a micro switch, and the micro switch is provided with a contact and a spring. Therefore, when the first driving device 33 drives the lifting seat 32 to rise and fall, it can drive the springs on the two micro switches to abut and cooperate with the protrusion 3412 in turn, and the protrusion 3412 can drive the spring to move and contact the contact to trigger the micro switch, thereby realizing the lifting and lowering positioning of the lifting seat 32.

[0075] Of course, in other embodiments, the positions of the positioning switches 36 and the protrusions 3412 may be interchanged, that is, the two positioning switches 36 are spaced apart and located at different heights on the slide rail plate 341, and the protrusions 3412 are arranged on the lifting seat 32. Thus, when the first driving device 33 drives the lifting seat 32 to rise and fall, the protrusions 3412 can be driven to cooperate with and trigger the two positioning switches 36 in sequence, thereby realizing the lifting and lowering positioning of the lifting seat 32, which can also achieve the same technical effect, so it is not limited here.

[0076] Furthermore, it also includes a limiting structure arranged between the rotating head 41 and the sliding rod 342 and an elastic member arranged on the rotating head 41, one end of the elastic member abuts against the rotating head 41, and the other end abuts against the sliding rod 342; thus, under the elastic force of the elastic member, the rotating head 41 can be driven to rotate and fixed on the sliding rod 342 through the limiting structure, thereby realizing the angle limit fixation of the cat litter rake 4.

[0077] The limiting structure includes a limiting groove 412 provided on the outer periphery of the rotating head 41 and extending in the circumferential direction, and a limiting block 3421 provided on the slide bar 342 and slidably provided in the limiting groove 412; preferably, the elastic member is a torsion spring 42, which includes a torsion spring body and a first torsion arm and a second torsion arm provided at both ends of the torsion spring body, the torsion spring body is sleeved on the rotating head 41, the rotating head 41 is provided with a clamping groove 411, the first torsion arm is clamped in the clamping groove 411; the second torsion arm abuts against the slide bar 342. Thus, under the elastic force of the torsion spring 42, the rotating head 41 can be driven to rotate and the limiting groove 412 on the rotating head 41 abuts against the limiting block 3421 on the slide bar 342 to achieve limiting fixation.

[0078] Of course, it should be noted that in other embodiments, the setting positions of the limit groove 412 and the limit block 3421 can also be interchanged, which can also achieve the same technical effect, and there is no limitation here.

[0079] In addition, it should be noted that in other embodiments, the transmission assembly may also be a gear rack assembly 39. Figure 8 The gear rack assembly 39 includes a first rack 391 disposed on the base 31 and a gear plate 392 rotatably engaged with the first rack 391, and the other end of the gear plate 392 is sleeved on the rotating head 41. Therefore, when the lifting base 32 is driven to move up and down, the gear plate 392 can be synchronously driven to rotate on the first rack 391, and then the rotating head 41 is driven to rotate through the gear plate 392 to realize the rotation of the cat litter rake 4, which can also achieve the same technical effect.

[0080] See also Figure 1-3 The automatic cat litter box also includes a rake box 7 which is detachably placed on the upper part of the feces drop opening 12. When the moving device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move downward and abut against the rake box 7, the cat litter rake 4 can be driven to overcome the torsion of the torsion spring 42 and rotate to gradually flatten, and finally the cat litter rake 4 is stored in the rake box 7.

[0081] It also includes a flip cover 5 which is flippably arranged on the rake box 7. A contact block 51 is convexly arranged on the flip cover 5. When the cat litter rake 4 raks feces out of the cat litter, the moving device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move upward and abut against the contact block 51, thereby driving the flip cover 5 to flip open. Subsequently, when the moving device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to descend and be stored in the rake box 7, the flip cover 5 flips back to its original position and covers the rake box 7 to cover the cat litter rake 4.

[0082] Therefore, by storing the cat litter rake 4, it is not only visually beautiful, but also does not occupy the space of the basin body 2, thereby not affecting the activity area of ​​the pet cat in the basin body 2, and there is no risk of scratching the pet cat, and the safety and reliability are high.

[0083] See also Fig. 9 In addition, the present invention also provides a cat litter cleaning method using the above-mentioned automatic cat litter box cleaning method, comprising the following steps:

[0084] Step 1: In the initial state, the cat litter rake 4 is stored in the rake box 7 and the flip cover 5 is placed on the rake box 7 to cover the cat litter rake 4. Fig. 9 (f) As shown; when the cat litter needs to be cleaned, the mobile device 3 first drives the cat litter rake 4 to move upward, and synchronously abuts the flip cover 5 to drive the flip cover 5 to flip, at which time the cat litter rake 4 is separated from the rake box 7 and elastically reset under the torsion force of the torsion spring 42, as shown Fig. 9 (a)

[0085] Step 2: Then the moving device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move backward along the length direction of the frame 1 to the end of the basin body 2 away from the feces drop opening 12, such as Fig. 9(b); then the mobile device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move downwardly and rotate synchronously so that the cat litter rake 4 is located in the basin body 2, as shown in FIG. Fig. 9 (c)

[0086] Step 3: Then the moving device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move along the length direction of the basin body 2 to the other end close to the feces drop opening 12 to rake the feces out of the cat litter. Fig. 9 (d) as shown; then the mobile device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move upward and tilt and rotate synchronously to push the feces into the feces drop port 12, thereby completing the cleaning of the cat litter, and at this time the cat litter rake 4 synchronously drives the flip cover 5 to flip open, as shown Fig. 9 (e)

[0087] Step 4: Finally, the mobile device 3 drives the cat litter rake 4 to move downward and store it in the rake box 7. At the same time, the flip cover 5 is flipped back to its original position and covered on the rake box 7 to cover the cat litter rake 4. The cleaning work is now completed. Fig. 9 (f) as shown.

[0088] In summary, the automatic cat litter box and cat litter cleaning method provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0089] (a) The automatic cleaning cat litter box of the present invention, the moving device 3 can not only drive the cat litter rake 4 to move along the length direction of the frame 1, but also drive the cat litter rake 4 to move up and down; therefore, when the cat litter rake 4 is driven to run from one end of the cat litter holding space 11 to the other end to rake the feces out of the cat litter, the cat litter rake 4 can be driven to rise by the moving device 3 to push the feces into the feces drop-out port 12, so that there is no need to return to the initial position of the cat litter box and rotate the cat litter rake 4 to a larger angle to make the feces fall like the traditional cat litter rake 4. It can be seen from this that the automatic cleaning cat litter box of the present invention can use the lifting trajectory to push the feces into the feces drop-out port 12, so there is no need to set up an additional rotating mechanism. Not only is the structure simple, but the cat litter cleaning movement trajectory is also relatively simple, and the control requirements for the system are also relatively low.

[0090] (ii) The automatic cleaning cat litter box of the present invention, the mobile device 3 is also provided with a transmission component that cooperates with the cat litter rake 4. When the cat litter rake 4 is driven to rise to push feces into the feces drop-out opening 12, the cat litter rake 4 can be synchronously driven to rotate so that the feces can be pushed into the feces drop-out opening 12 more conveniently; in addition, when feces are stuck on the cat litter rake 4, the cat litter rake 4 can also be driven to rise and fall and rotate to throw the feces off; in addition, when cat litter is piled up in the cat litter box, the cat litter pile can also be smoothed by using the lifting and rotating trajectory.

[0091] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or indirectly on the other element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or indirectly connected to the other element.

[0092] It should be understood that the orientations or positional relationships indicated by the terms "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc. are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the modules or elements referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0093] In addition, in the description of the present invention, “multiple” and “several” mean two or more than two, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0094] The technical means disclosed in the scheme of the present invention are not limited to the technical means disclosed in the above-mentioned implementation mode, but also include technical schemes composed of any combination of the above-mentioned technical features. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications are also regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic cat litter box cleaning device, characterized in that: include: A frame, wherein the frame is provided with a cat litter storage space and a feces drop-off opening in sequence along its length direction; A moving device, which is arranged on the side of the frame and can reciprocate along the length direction of the frame; A cat litter rake is horizontally placed on the frame and its end is arranged on the moving device; the moving device can drive the cat litter rake to move up and down; When the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move from one end of the cat litter holding space away from the feces drop-out opening to the other end close to the feces drop-out opening, the cat litter rake can rake feces out of the cat litter; then the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move upward to push the feces into the feces drop-out opening.

2. The automatic cleaning cat litter box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The moving device comprises a base, a lifting seat movably arranged on the base, and a first driving device for driving the lifting seat to move up and down, and the end of the cat litter rake is arranged on the lifting seat; when the first driving device drives the lifting seat to move up and down, the cat litter rake can be driven to move up and down synchronously; The base is also provided with a second driving device for driving it to reciprocate along the length direction of the frame; when the second driving device drives the base to reciprocate along the length direction of the frame, the cat litter rake can be synchronously driven to reciprocate along the length direction of the frame.

3. The automatic cat litter box according to claim 2, characterized in that: The frame is provided with a limiting guide rail, the limiting guide rail is provided with a limiting slide groove, and the base is provided with a limiting slider which is slidably arranged in the limiting slide groove and is used to limit the movement of the base along the width direction and the height direction of the frame.

4. The automatic cleaning cat litter box according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a guide assembly arranged between the base and the lifting seat, and the guide assembly includes a guide rod arranged on the base and a guide block arranged on the lifting seat and slidably arranged on the guide rod.

5. The automatic cleaning cat litter box according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: A rotating head is provided at the end of the cat litter rake, and the cat litter rake is rotatably arranged on the lifting seat through the rotating head.

6. The automatic cleaning cat litter box according to claim 5, characterized in that: It also includes a rake box arranged on the feces drop-off port. When the first driving device drives the cat litter rake to move downward and abut against the rake box, the cat litter rake can be driven to rotate and gradually flatten to be stored in the rake box.

7. The automatic cat litter box according to claim 6, characterized in that: It also includes a flip cover which is arranged on the rake box, wherein: When the cat litter rake raks feces out of the cat litter, the first driving device drives the cat litter rake to move upward and synchronously drives the flip cover to flip and open. Then, when the first driving device drives the cat litter rake to move downward and store it in the rake box, the flip cover flips and resets and covers the rake box to cover the cat litter rake.

8. The automatic cat litter box according to claim 5, characterized in that: It also includes a transmission component arranged between the base and the rotating head. When the first driving device drives the cat litter rake to move up and down, the cat litter rake can be synchronously driven to rotate through the transmission component.

9. The automatic cleaning cat litter box according to claim 8, characterized in that: The transmission assembly is a slide rail and slide rod assembly, which includes a slide rail arranged on the base and at least partially inclined, and a slide rod with one end slidably arranged on the slide rail and the other end sleeved on the rotating head; When the first driving device drives the lifting seat to move up and down, the sliding rod can be driven to slide and rotate on the sliding rail synchronously, and the sliding rod drives the rotating head to rotate so as to drive the cat litter rake to rotate.

10. The automatic cleaning cat litter box according to claim 9, characterized in that: The slide rail comprises a first vertical section at a lower height, a second vertical section at a higher height and spaced apart from the first vertical section, and an inclined section respectively connecting the first vertical section and the second vertical section; When the first driving device drives the sliding rod to slide along the sliding rail, the sliding rod can be rotated.

11. The automatic cleaning cat litter box according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that: It also includes a limiting structure arranged between the rotating head and the sliding rod and an elastic member arranged on the rotating head, one end of the elastic member abuts against the rotating head, and the other end of the elastic member abuts against the sliding rod or the lifting seat; Under the elastic force of the elastic member, the rotating head can be driven to rotate and fixed on the sliding rod through the limiting structure, thereby realizing the limiting fixation of the cat litter rake.

12. The automatic cleaning cat litter box according to claim 11, characterized in that: The limiting structure comprises a limiting groove and a limiting block slidably arranged in the limiting groove. One of the limiting groove and the limiting block is arranged on the sliding rod, and the other is arranged on the rotating head.

13. The automatic cleaning cat litter box according to claim 11, characterized in that: The elastic member is a torsion spring, and the torsion spring comprises a torsion spring body and a first torsion arm and a second torsion arm provided at two ends of the torsion spring body, wherein: The torsion spring body is sleeved on the rotating head; The rotating head is provided with a slot, and the first torsion arm is clamped in the slot; The second torsion arm abuts against the sliding rod or the lifting seat.

14. The automatic cleaning cat litter box according to claim 8, characterized in that: The transmission assembly is a gear rack assembly, which includes a rack arranged on the base and a gear plate rotatably engaged with the rack, and the other end of the gear plate is sleeved on the rotating head; When the first driving device drives the lifting seat to move up and down, the gear plate can be driven to rotate on the rack synchronously, and then the rotating head can be driven to rotate through the gear plate to drive the cat litter rake to rotate.

15. A method for cleaning cat litter, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Step 1: Provide an automatic cat litter box, the automatic cat litter box comprising: a frame, a moving device and a cat litter rake; the frame is provided with a cat litter storage space and a feces drop-off opening in sequence along its length direction; the moving device is arranged at the side of the frame and can reciprocate along the length direction of the frame; the end of the cat litter rake is arranged on the moving device, and the moving device can drive the cat litter rake to move up and down; in addition, it also comprises a rake box arranged at the upper part of the feces drop-off opening, and the moving device can drive the cat litter rake to move and store it in the rake box; Step 2: When the cat litter needs to be cleaned, the moving device first drives the cat litter rake to move upward to leave the rake box, and then the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move backward along the length direction of the frame to an end of the cat litter holding space away from the feces drop-off opening, and then the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move downward so that the cat litter rake is located in the cat litter holding space; Step 3: The moving device drives the cat litter rake to move along the length direction of the cat litter holding space to the other end close to the feces drop-out opening to rake the feces out of the cat litter, and then the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move upward and push the feces into the feces drop-out opening, thereby completing the cleaning of the cat litter; Step 4: The moving device drives the cat litter rake to move and store it in the rake box.

16. The cat litter cleaning method according to claim 15, characterized in that: In step three, when the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move upward, the moving device simultaneously drives the cat litter rake to move forward along the length direction of the cat litter holding space so that the cat litter rake moves upward at an angle to push the feces into the feces drop opening.

17. The cat litter cleaning method according to claim 15, characterized in that: In step 2, when the moving device drives the cat litter rake to move downward, the moving device simultaneously drives the cat litter rake to move forward along the length direction of the cat litter holding space so that the cat litter rake moves downward at an angle to enter the cat litter holding space.

18. The cat litter cleaning method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that: The end of the cat litter rake is rotatably arranged on the mobile device; a transmission assembly which is in transmission with the cat litter rake is also arranged in the mobile device. When the mobile device drives the cat litter rake to move up and down, the cat litter rake can be synchronously driven to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise through the transmission assembly.

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