Charging device and base station of robot

Abstract

The invention discloses a charging device and a base station of a robot. The charging device comprises a charging arm; the in-place detection assembly comprises a touch part, a sensor and a matching part, one end of the touch part is rotatably arranged in the charging arm, and at least part of the touch part extends out of the charging arm to be used for abutting against the robot; one of the sensor and the matching piece is arranged on the touch piece, the other one is arranged on the charging arm, and the matching piece and the sensor are selectively aligned or staggered. Therefore, one end of the touch piece is rotatably arranged in the charging arm, and when the robot reaches the base station main body, abuts against the touch piece and drives the touch piece to rotate, the matching piece and the sensor which are originally aligned with each other are staggered with each other, or the matching piece and the sensor which are originally staggered with each other are aligned with each other; therefore, the in-place judgment of the robot by the charging arm can be more accurate, and the in-place judgment principle is simpler and more direct.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of pool cleaning equipment technology, and in particular to a charging device and a base station for a robot. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of technology and the improvement of people's living standards, robots are gradually being applied to people's daily lives. Among them, pool robots can perform comprehensive cleaning of pools, improving the hygiene of pools while reducing manual maintenance costs.

[0003] In related technologies, when a swimming pool robot returns to its base station for charging, it's difficult to determine whether the robot is actually in position. This can lead to situations where the charging components begin supplying power before the robot has arrived, preventing the robot from effectively receiving power and resulting in poor charging reliability from the base station. Even when some swimming pool robots have detection mechanisms to determine their position at the base station, these mechanisms and principles are relatively complex. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. Therefore, one object of this invention is to provide a charging device that makes it simpler and more direct for a base station equipped with this charging device to detect whether a robot is in a predetermined position.

[0005] The present invention further proposes a base station for a robot.

[0006] The charging device according to the present invention includes: a charging arm, one end of which is connected to a base station, and the other end of which is provided with a charging component; a positioning detection component, the positioning detection component including a trigger, a sensor, and a mating component, one end of which is rotatably disposed within the charging arm, and the trigger at least partially extending from the charging arm for contacting a robot; one of the sensor and the mating component is disposed on the trigger, and the other is disposed on the charging arm, the mating component and the sensor being selectively aligned or misaligned to determine whether the robot is at a predetermined position of the base station.

[0007] Therefore, one end of the trigger is rotatably disposed inside the charging arm, with the trigger extending at least partially from the charging arm. When the robot reaches the base station body and comes into contact with the trigger, driving the trigger to rotate, the originally aligned mating parts and sensors will become misaligned, or the originally misaligned mating parts and sensors will become aligned, thereby determining that the robot is in position and causing the charging component to start charging the robot. This makes the charging arm's judgment of the robot's position more accurate, and the principle of position judgment is simpler and more direct.

[0008] In some examples of the present invention, the actuating element includes a rotating plate portion and an abutting plate portion, the rotating plate portion extending in the length direction of the charging arm and having one end rotatably disposed within the charging arm, one of the sensor and the mating member being disposed in the rotating plate portion, the abutting plate portion being connected to the rotating plate portion, and the abutting plate portion extending from within the charging arm and adapted to abut against the robot.

[0009] In some examples of the present invention, the abutting plate portion is triangular, and the cross-sectional area of ​​the abutting plate portion gradually decreases in the direction away from the rotating plate portion.

[0010] In some examples of the present invention, the first end of the rotating plate portion is rotatably connected to the charging arm, and the end of the abutting plate portion away from the first end of the rotating plate portion is arc-shaped.

[0011] In some examples of the present invention, the charging arm is provided with a clearance hole that extends in the length direction of the charging arm, at least a portion of the rotating plate portion covers the clearance hole, and at least a portion of the abutment plate portion extends beyond the clearance hole.

[0012] In some examples of the present invention, the mating member is disposed at the end of the rotating plate portion away from the first end in the length direction, and the sensor is disposed on the charging arm.

[0013] In some examples of the present invention, a first mounting bracket is provided on the rotating plate, and a second mounting bracket is provided on the charging arm. The first mounting bracket and the second mounting bracket are arranged opposite to each other. A first mounting hole and a second mounting hole are respectively provided on the first mounting bracket and the second mounting bracket. One of the mating component and the sensor is provided in the first mounting hole, and the other is provided in the second mounting hole.

[0014] In some examples of the present invention, the charging device further includes a resilient reset member connected between the actuating member and the charging arm. In some examples of the present invention, the actuating element is provided with a hook, and the elastic reset element is detachably attached to the hook.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a robot base station includes: a base station body adapted to carry a robot; and the charging device described above, wherein one end of the charging arm is connected to the base station body.

[0016] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily understood from the description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a robot base station according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a partial schematic diagram of the base station body according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 yes Figure 2 Enlarged view of region A in the middle; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a charging arm according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of an actuating element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure label: 1000, base station; 100. Charging device; 10. Charging arm; 11. Charging component; 12. Clearance hole; 13. Second mounting bracket; 14. Elastic reset component; 20. Position detection component; 21. Actuator; 211. Rotating plate; 2111. First mounting bracket; 2112. Hook; 212. Abutment plate; 22. Sensor; 23. Mating component; 30. Support plate; 40. Base station body. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. The embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary. The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below.

[0020] The following is for reference. Figures 1-5 A charging device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is described. The charging device 100 is applied to a robot base station 1000, which can be applied to a robot system.

[0021] Combination Figures 1-5 As shown, the charging device 100 according to the present invention may mainly include: a charging arm 10 and a positioning detection component 20, wherein one end of the charging arm 10 is used to connect to the base station 1000, and the other end of the charging arm 10 is provided with a charging component 11. The positioning detection component 20 includes a trigger 21, a sensor 22 and a mating component 23. One end of the trigger 21 is rotatably disposed in the charging arm 10, and the trigger 21 extends at least partially from the charging arm 10 for contact with the robot. One of the sensor 22 and the mating component 23 is disposed on the trigger 21, and the other is disposed on the charging arm 10. The mating component 23 and the sensor 22 are selectively aligned or misaligned to determine whether the robot is in a predetermined position of the base station 1000. The sensor 22 and the charging component 11 are electrically connected.

[0022] Specifically, one end of the charging arm 10 is connected to the base station body 40 of the robot's base station 1000. A charging component 11 is provided on the end of the charging arm 10 away from the base station body 40. When the robot cleans the pool and the battery level is lower than a preset value, the robot will return to the base station body 40 to recharge. During this process, when the charging docking part on the robot corresponds to the charging component 11 on the charging arm 10, the charging component 11 can accurately transmit electrical energy to the robot through the charging docking part to charge the robot. When the relative positions between the charging docking part on the robot and the charging component 11 are misaligned, the charging component 11 will not be able to accurately transmit electrical energy to the robot, or the efficiency of the charging component 11 in transmitting electrical energy to the robot will be low.

[0023] Therefore, by rotatably setting one end of the touch member 21 inside the charging arm 10, as the robot reaches the base station body 40 and moves along the front-back direction of the base station body 40, the touch member 21 extends at least partially from the charging arm 10. The robot can come into contact with the touch member 21 and drive the touch member 21 to rotate. It should be noted that this can drive the sensor 22 and the mating part 23 to move closer or further away from each other, thereby determining whether the robot is in position, that is, determining whether the charging docking part on the robot corresponds to the charging part 11 of the charging arm 10.

[0024] It should be noted that when the robot's base station 1000 is working normally, it will be placed on the edge of the pool. The side of the base station body 40 closest to the pool edge is set as the rear end, and the side away from the pool edge is set as the front end. When the robot reaches the base station body 40, it will continue to move forward on the base station body 40, thereby causing the trigger 21 to rotate.

[0025] In some embodiments of the present invention, the charging arm 10 is located above the base station body 40. After the robot arrives at the base station body 40, the charging docking part on the upper side of the robot will dock with the charging part 11 on the charging arm 10 for charging. The trigger 21 extends downward from the charging arm 10 at least partially. The robot can contact the trigger 21 and drive the trigger 21 to rotate upward toward the inside of the charging arm 10. It should be noted that the charging arm 10 needs to be provided with a clearance space to avoid the trigger 21.

[0026] In some embodiments of the present invention, the charging component 11 is a magnetic charging component. In this way, after the robot reaches the predetermined position, the magnetic charging component 11 and the charging docking component will be magnetically attracted together. The magnetic charging component 11 can directly transmit electrical energy to the robot through the charging docking component to charge the robot. This makes the mutual correspondence between the charging component 11 and the charging docking component and the charging more stable.

[0027] In some embodiments of the present invention, when the robot has not reached the base station body 40, the sensor 22 and the mating part 23 are spaced apart in the vertical direction. When the robot drives the touch member 21 to rotate upward toward the inside of the charging arm 10, the sensor 22 and the mating part 23 can gradually approach each other. When the robot drives the touch member 21 to rotate to the predetermined position, the sensor 22 and the mating part 23 correspond to each other. The sensor 22 can sense the mating part 23. At this time, it is determined that the robot is in place. That is, at this time, the charging docking part on the robot corresponds to the charging part 11 on the charging arm 10.

[0028] In some embodiments of the present invention, when the robot has not reached the base station body 40, the sensor 22 and the mating part 23 are in contact or close to each other. When the robot drives the touch member 21 to rotate upward toward the inside of the charging arm 10, the sensor 22 and the mating part 23 can gradually move away from each other. When the robot drives the touch member 21 to rotate to the predetermined position, the sensor 22 can no longer sense the mating part 23. At this time, it is determined that the robot is in position, that is, at this time the charging docking part on the robot corresponds to the charging part 11 on the charging arm 10.

[0029] In summary, the two embodiments can be selectively configured according to the structural design requirements of the base station 1000, thereby reducing the difficulty of manufacturing the base station 1000.

[0030] In some embodiments of the present invention, the sensor 22 can be a Hall sensor, and the mating part 23 can be a magnetic part. The Hall sensor is a magnetoelectric conversion device based on the Hall effect, which can convert the magnetic signal of the sensed magnetic part into an electrical signal, thereby determining the position of the trigger 21 and then determining the position of the robot. This can further improve the stability and reliability of determining whether the robot is in position.

[0031] Furthermore, once the robot is in place, the waste recycling component inside the base station body 40 will also start working, so that the waste cleaned and collected by the robot in the pool is recycled into the base station body 40, so that the robot can return to the pool for cleaning.

[0032] In addition, a support plate 30 is connected to the rear side of the base station body 40. The support plate 30 extends in the vertical direction and its upper end is rotatably connected to the base station body 40. When the base station body 40 is placed on the edge of the pool, the support plate 30 fits against the side wall of the pool. When the robot needs to return to the base station body 40 to charge, the robot comes into contact with the support plate 30, and the support plate 30 drives the robot to rotate upward. When the support plate 30 rotates to a preset angle, the robot can move forward onto the base station body 40.

[0033] Therefore, one end of the trigger 21 is rotatably disposed inside the charging arm 10. When the robot reaches the base station body 40 and abuts against the trigger 21 and drives the trigger 21 to rotate, the originally aligned mating parts 23 and sensor 22 will be misaligned, or the originally misaligned mating parts 23 and sensor 22 will be aligned, thereby determining that the robot is in position and causing the charging component 11 to start charging the robot. This makes the determination of the robot's position by the charging arm 10 more accurate, and the principle of position determination is simpler and more direct.

[0034] Combination Figure 5 As shown, the trigger 21 includes a rotating plate portion 211 and an abutting plate portion 212. The rotating plate portion 211 extends in the length direction of the charging arm 10 and is rotatably disposed within the charging arm 10 at one end. One of the sensor 22 and the mating member 23 is disposed in the rotating plate portion 211. The abutting plate portion 212 is connected to the rotating plate portion 211 and extends out from the charging arm 10 and is adapted to abut against the robot.

[0035] Specifically, by extending the rotating plate portion 211 along the length direction of the charging arm 10, and rotatably arranging one end of the rotating plate portion 211 within the charging arm 10, one of the sensor 22 and the mating member 23 is disposed in the rotating plate portion 211, and the other is disposed inside the charging arm 10.

[0036] Furthermore, the abutment plate 212 is connected to the rotating plate 211 and extends from the charging arm 10. After the robot arrives at the base station body 40, the robot can contact and abut with the abutment plate 212, thereby driving the entire touch member 21 to rotate. This makes the robot's abutment drive of the touch member 21 more stable and smooth.

[0037] Combination Figure 5 As shown, the abutting plate portion 212 is triangular, and the cross-sectional area of ​​the abutting plate portion 212 gradually decreases in the direction away from the rotating plate portion 211.

[0038] Specifically, by setting the abutment plate portion 212 in a triangular shape, the structural reliability of the abutment plate portion 212 can be ensured. In the direction away from the rotating plate portion 211, the cross-sectional area of ​​the abutment plate portion 212 gradually decreases. This allows the robot to have a smaller contact area with the touch member 21 when it comes into contact with the touch member 21, thereby improving the flexibility of the robot in driving the touch member 21.

[0039] Combination Figure 5 As shown, the first end of the rotating plate portion 211 is rotatably connected to the charging arm 10, and the end of the abutting plate portion 212 away from the first end of the rotating plate portion 211 is arc-shaped.

[0040] Specifically, since the first end of the rotating plate 211 is rotatably connected to the charging arm 10, when the robot abuts against the driving abutment plate 212, thereby causing the touch member 21 to rotate together, the touch member 21 will rotate around the first end of the rotating plate 211 as the rotation center, and the end of the abutment plate 212 away from the first end of the rotating plate 211 will be arc-shaped, so that the end of the abutment plate 212 away from the first end of the rotating plate 211 follows the rotation trajectory, preventing collision with the housing of the charging arm 10 and affecting the smoothness of the rotation of the touch member 21.

[0041] Combination Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the mating part 23 is disposed at the end of the rotating plate portion 211 away from the first end in the length direction, and the sensor 22 is disposed on the charging arm 10. With this arrangement, when the robot drives the touch member 21 to rotate, thereby causing the mating part 23 and the sensor 22 to move relative to each other, the relative movement distance between the mating part 23 and the sensor 22 can be maximized, thereby improving the accuracy of the positioning detection.

[0042] In some embodiments of the present invention, the rotating plate portion 211 extends in the vertical direction, the upper end of the rotating plate portion 211 is rotatably connected to the charging arm 10, and the mating member 23 is disposed at the lower end of the rotating plate portion 211.

[0043] Combination Figure 4 As shown, the charging arm 10 is provided with a clearance hole 12, which extends in the length direction of the charging arm 10. At least a portion of the rotating plate portion 211 covers the clearance hole 12, and at least a portion of the abutting plate portion 212 extends out of the clearance hole 12.

[0044] Combination Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, a first mounting bracket 2111 is provided on the rotating plate 211, and a second mounting bracket 13 is provided on the charging arm 10. The first mounting bracket 2111 and the second mounting bracket 13 are arranged opposite to each other. The first mounting bracket 2111 and the second mounting bracket 13 are respectively provided with a first mounting hole and a second mounting hole. One of the mating part 23 and the sensor 22 is provided in the first mounting hole, and the other is provided in the second mounting hole. This can improve the stability and reliability of the mating part 23 and the sensor 22 in the charging arm 10.

[0045] Combination Figure 3 As shown, the charging device 100 also includes an elastic reset member 14, which is connected between the trigger member 21 and the charging arm 10.

[0046] Specifically, the elastic reset member 14 is connected between the touch member 21 and the charging arm 10. When the robot has not yet come into contact with the touch member 21 and the touch member 21 has not yet rotated, the elastic reset member 14 does not deform. When the robot drives the touch member 21 to rotate, the elastic reset member 14 is stretched along with the rotation of the touch member 21, deforms and generates elastic potential energy. After the robot leaves the base station body 40, the contact force on the touch member 21 will be removed, the elastic reset member 14 will reset, and will also drive the touch member 21 to reset together, so that the touch member 21 usually extends out of the clearance hole 12 of the charging arm 10.

[0047] Combination Figure 5 As shown, the trigger 21 is provided with a hook 2112, and the elastic reset member 14 is detachably hooked and fixed to the hook 2112.

[0048] Specifically, by providing a hook 2112 on the actuating member 21 and detachably attaching and fixing the elastic reset member 14 to the hook 2112, the installation and setting of the elastic reset member 14 in the charging arm 10 can be facilitated.

[0049] The robot base station 1000 according to the present invention may mainly include: the charging device 100 and the base station body 40 described above. The base station body 40 is adapted to carry the robot. One end of the charging arm 10 of the charging device 100 is connected to the base station body 40. The robot leaves the base station 1000 only when it needs to perform a task, and returns to the base station 1000 when the task is completed or the battery is low, so as to clean, store, or charge the robot, avoiding ineffective standby or idling.

[0050] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.

[0051] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example.

[0052] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A charging device, characterized in that, include: A charging arm (10) is provided at one end for connection to a base station (1000), and a charging component (11) is provided at the other end of the charging arm (10). The positioning detection component (20) includes an actuator (21), a sensor (22) and a mating component (23). One end of the actuator (21) is rotatably disposed in the charging arm (10), and the actuator (21) extends at least partially from the charging arm (10) for contacting the robot. One of the sensor (22) and the mating part (23) is disposed on the actuating part (21), and the other is disposed on the charging arm (10). The mating part (23) and the sensor (22) are selectively aligned or misaligned to determine whether the robot is at a predetermined position of the base station (1000).

2. The charging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The trigger (21) includes a rotating plate (211) and an abutting plate (212). The rotating plate (211) extends along the length of the charging arm (10) and is rotatably disposed within the charging arm (10) at one end. One of the sensor (22) and the mating member (23) is disposed in the rotating plate (211). The abutting plate (212) is connected to the rotating plate (211) and extends out from the charging arm (10) and is adapted to abut against the robot.

3. The charging device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The abutting plate portion (212) is triangular, and its cross-sectional area gradually decreases in the direction away from the rotating plate portion (211).

4. The charging device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first end of the rotating plate portion (211) is rotatably connected to the charging arm (10), and the end of the abutting plate portion (212) away from the first end of the rotating plate portion (211) is arc-shaped.

5. The charging device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The charging arm (10) is provided with a clearance hole (12) which extends in the length direction of the charging arm (10). At least a portion of the rotating plate portion (211) covers the clearance hole (12), and at least a portion of the abutment plate portion (212) extends out of the clearance hole (12).

6. The charging device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The mating part (23) is disposed at the end of the rotating plate (211) away from the first end in the length direction, and the sensor (22) is disposed on the charging arm (10).

7. The charging device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The rotating plate (211) is provided with a first mounting bracket (2111), and the charging arm (10) is provided with a second mounting bracket (13). The first mounting bracket (2111) and the second mounting bracket (13) are arranged opposite to each other. The first mounting bracket (2111) and the second mounting bracket (13) are respectively provided with a first mounting hole and a second mounting hole. One of the mating part (23) and the sensor (22) is provided in the first mounting hole, and the other is provided in the second mounting hole.

8. The charging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a resilient reset member (14) connected between the trigger (21) and the charging arm (10).

9. The charging device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The trigger (21) is provided with a hook (2112), and the elastic reset member (14) is detachably attached to the hook (2112).

10. A base station for a robot, characterized in that, include: The base station body (40) is adapted to carry a robot; The charging device (100) according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein one end of the charging arm (10) is connected to the base station body (40).

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