Cleaning robot
By designing multimodal motion for the squeegee and roller brush components in the cleaning robot, the problem of the single function of the cleaning components is solved, achieving flexible cleaning modes and equipment compactness, and improving water absorption performance and user experience.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202411146165.X
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-08-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-03
AI Technical Summary
Existing cleaning robots have limited cleaning components that cannot meet the diverse cleaning scenarios and needs.
The squeegee assembly is designed as a sub-lifting mechanism of the roller brush assembly, enabling it to rise and fall independently or synchronously with the roller brush assembly to achieve multimodal cleaning. The squeegee assembly and the roller brush assembly are integrated into a whole, reducing the distance between them to improve water absorption performance and equipment compactness.
This enables cleaning robots to be flexibly adjusted according to different cleaning scenarios and needs, improving user experience, reducing costs, and promoting miniaturization.
Smart Images

Figure CN121587609A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of cleaning equipment, and more particularly to a cleaning robot. Background Technology
[0002] Cleaning equipment with cleaning functions (floor scrubbing, mopping, etc.) generally includes a roller brush and a squeegee located at the bottom of the machine. The roller brush mainly removes dust, debris, and other small particles from the floor through rotation, while the squeegee is mainly used in conjunction with cleaning liquid to scrape the floor to remove liquid stains.
[0003] In related technologies, the cleaning components of cleaning equipment are mainly implemented using an overall lifting scheme, with the roller brush and squeegee both being lifted and lowered as a whole via a set of drive mechanisms. However, this setup results in relatively limited functionality for the cleaning equipment, as the cleaning functions provided by the roller brush and squeegee can only be performed simultaneously, failing to meet different cleaning scenarios and needs. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a cleaning robot that solves the problem that cleaning robots have a single working mode and cannot meet the needs of different cleaning scenarios.
[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:
[0006] A cleaning robot is provided, comprising:
[0007] Organism;
[0008] A roller brush assembly is movably disposed on the machine body, and the roller brush assembly can move relative to the machine body between a lifting position and a falling position under the drive of the first drive assembly;
[0009] A squeegee assembly is movably disposed on the roller brush assembly, and the squeegee assembly moves relative to the roller brush assembly between a rising position and a falling position under the action of the second drive assembly;
[0010] When both the roller brush assembly and the squeegee assembly are in the falling position, both the roller brush assembly and the squeegee assembly are in contact with the target plane; when the roller brush assembly is in the rising position, both the roller brush assembly and the squeegee assembly are detached from the target plane; when the roller brush assembly is in the falling position and the squeegee assembly is in the rising position, the roller brush assembly is in contact with the target plane, and the squeegee assembly is detached from the target plane.
[0011] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the squeegee assembly, as a sub-lifting mechanism subordinate to the roller brush assembly, allows the squeegee assembly to lift and lower independently when the roller brush assembly is in the falling position, while it can also be integrated into the roller brush assembly and lift and lower synchronously with the roller brush assembly. This allows the cleaning robot to achieve multimodal operation according to different cleaning scenarios and needs, meet different scenario requirements, and improve the user experience.
[0012] The squeegee assembly is movably mounted on the roller brush assembly, allowing the squeegee assembly and the roller brush assembly to be integrated into a single cleaning device. The position of the squeegee assembly on the cleaning robot is moved forward and placed close to the roller brush assembly, improving the structural compactness and integration of the cleaning robot.
[0013] Meanwhile, the shortened distance between the roller brush assembly and the squeegee assembly enables the miniaturization of the squeegee assembly, reducing its width. Under the same power, the squeegee assembly generates a greater negative pressure on the ground, improving its water absorption performance. Furthermore, the wet area formed on the ground after the cleaning robot turns is more easily covered by the squeegee assembly, thus saving equipment space, reducing costs, and facilitating the miniaturization and lightweight design of the cleaning robot. Attached Figure Description
[0014] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.
[0015] Figure 1 This is one of the schematic diagrams of the overall structure of the cleaning robot described in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] Figure 2 This is a bottom view of the cleaning robot described in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] Figure 3 This is a second schematic diagram of the overall structure of the cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention (body omitted);
[0018] Figure 4 This is the third schematic diagram of the overall structure of the cleaning robot described in this embodiment of the invention (body omitted);
[0019] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the state of the cleaning robot in the non-cleaning operation mode according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the state of the cleaning robot in water washing cleaning mode according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the state of the cleaning robot in dry sweeping mode according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] Figure 8for Figure 1 Enlarged view of part A;
[0023] Figure 9 This is one of the partial structural diagrams of the cleaning robot described in an embodiment of the present invention (the squeegee assembly is in the lowered position);
[0024] Figure 10 This is a second partial structural diagram of the cleaning robot described in an embodiment of the present invention (the squeegee assembly is in the lifting position);
[0025] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the squeegee assembly described in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] Figure 12 This is an exploded view of the squeegee assembly described in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0027] Figure 13 This is one of the side views of the squeegee assembly described in an embodiment of the present invention (the cover plate is located on the insertion and removal path of the squeegee body);
[0028] Figure 14 This is a second side view of the squeegee assembly described in an embodiment of the present invention (the cover plate is located outside the insertion and removal path of the squeegee body).
[0029] In the diagram: 10. Body; 11. Height adjustment mechanism; 111. Adjustment component; 1111. Support part; 1112. External thread; 112. Connecting component; 12. Drive wheel; 13. Steering wheel; 20. Roller brush assembly; 21. Obstacle-crossing wheel; 22. Floor scraper strip; 30. First drive assembly; 31. First fixed end; 32. First drive end; 40. First transmission assembly; 41. Transmission rope; 411. Sheet metal component; 42. Grooved wheel; 50. Squeegee assembly; 51. Support assembly; 511. Mounting cavity; 512. Assembly port; 513. 514. Cover plate; 52. Guide slide; 52. Squeegee body; 521. First squeegee body; 522. Second squeegee body; 523. Vacuum gap; 524. Elastic fitting; 525. Guide slider; 5251. Mounting plate; 53. Elastic mechanism; 60. Second drive assembly; 61. Second fixed end; 62. Second drive end; 70. Second transmission assembly; 71. Cam; 711. Protrusion; 72. Drive rod; 73. First structural plane; 74. Limiting structure; 80. Quadrilateral transmission mechanism; 90. Dust mop assembly; 91. Dust mop bracket. Detailed Implementation
[0030] To make the technical problems solved by the present invention, the technical solutions adopted, and the technical effects achieved clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.
[0031] In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "connected," "linked," and "fixed" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.
[0032] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can include direct contact between the first and second features, or contact between the first and second features through another feature between them. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature includes the first feature directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature includes the first feature directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.
[0033] A cleaning robot is an intelligent robotic device designed to perform cleaning tasks. They typically feature autonomous navigation, environmental awareness, and high cleaning efficiency. Equipped with sensors and navigation systems, cleaning robots can detect and identify obstacles and dirt in their environment, and automatically plan paths and execute cleaning operations based on preset cleaning programs and algorithms.
[0034] Cleaning robots can be categorized into household cleaning robots, commercial cleaning robots, special environment cleaning robots, and professional service cleaning robots based on their functions and uses. Currently, the most commonly used household and commercial cleaning robots are primarily used for cleaning in homes and commercial settings, respectively. They typically include a roller brush and a squeegee located at the bottom of the robot. The roller brush removes dust, debris, and other small particles from the floor, while the squeegee works in conjunction with cleaning fluid to remove liquid stains.
[0035] As can be seen from the background technology, the cleaning components of cleaning equipment are mainly implemented using an overall lifting scheme, with the roller brush and squeegee both being lifted and lowered as a whole by a set of drive mechanisms. However, this design results in relatively limited functionality for the cleaning equipment, as the cleaning functions provided by the roller brush and squeegee can only be performed simultaneously, failing to meet different cleaning scenarios and needs.
[0036] In view of this, this embodiment provides a cleaning robot in which the squeegee assembly is a sub-lifting mechanism subordinate to the roller brush assembly. This allows the squeegee assembly to rise and fall synchronously with the roller brush assembly, or to rise and fall independently of the roller brush assembly when the roller brush assembly is in the lowered position. This enables the cleaning robot to selectively use the roller brush assembly or both the roller brush assembly and the squeegee assembly to clean the ground according to different cleaning environments and needs, thus solving the problem that the cleaning robot has a single working mode and cannot meet the needs of different cleaning scenarios.
[0037] Please refer to the attached document. Figures 1-4 The cleaning robot includes:
[0038] The body 10 serves as the supporting foundation for the cleaning robot and is a core component of the cleaning robot. It provides installation space and corresponding installation positions for the functional components associated with the cleaning robot.
[0039] For example, in a specific application scenario, the cleaning robot can provide sensors, drive devices and cleaning equipment with different functions, all of which are carried on the body 10.
[0040] To ensure the cleaning robot's stability, the body 10 is typically made of high-strength materials to provide sufficient structural strength to support the aforementioned functional components. The sensors mounted on the body 10 can be at least one of infrared sensors, ultrasonic sensors, and cameras, enabling the cleaning robot to perceive its surroundings in real time during cleaning operations. This includes information such as obstacles, floor materials, and the degree of dirt. By collecting this information, the cleaning robot can plan its cleaning path, avoid collisions, and perform efficient cleaning for different surfaces and levels of dirt (different cleaning scenarios and needs).
[0041] Furthermore, continuing with the example of a cleaning robot in a specific scenario, the robot's body 10 is also equipped with drive units, such as motors and wheels. These drive units enable the cleaning robot to move freely on the target plane and adjust its speed and direction as needed.
[0042] In terms of cleaning equipment, cleaning robots are usually equipped with cleaning components such as roller brushes, vacuum cleaners, squeegees, and mops. Some devices are also equipped with water systems to wet the target surface with clean water or cleaning solution during the cleaning operation.
[0043] It should be understood that the target plane described in this embodiment can be determined by the wheels of the cleaning robot. For example, when the cleaning robot is supported by the ground to be cleaned, the bottom ends of the wheels located at the bottom of the cleaning robot abut against the ground to be cleaned and form a tangential engagement with the ground. In this way, the ground to be cleaned is determined by each wheel as the target plane. It is understood that the target plane does not specifically refer to a smooth and flat surface. That is to say, the target plane can be smooth and flat, or it can be rough, or even uneven, as long as it geometrically satisfies the characteristics of two-dimensional space.
[0044] Please continue to refer to the appendix. Figures 1-7 Following the above embodiments, the cleaning robot includes a body 10 and also includes a roller brush assembly 20 and a squeegee assembly 50 as an example.
[0045] The roller brush assembly 20 is typically located at the bottom of the main body 10. It can be driven by a motor or other drive device to rotate the roller brush body at high speed, effectively sweeping up dust, debris, and other dirt from the ground. In this embodiment, the roller brush assembly 20 is also equipped with a suction port and a dust box connected to the suction port. Under the high-speed rotation of the roller brush body, dust and other particulate debris are guided to the suction port and, under the negative pressure of the suction system, enter the dust box through the suction channel from the suction port.
[0046] In related technologies, roller brushes are generally divided into two types: rubber roller brushes and bristle roller brushes. Rubber roller brushes can be used to pick up larger debris, while bristle roller brushes are more often used to pick up hair and fine dust from the ground. Typically, the roller brush assembly 20 of a cleaning robot uses a combination of both to improve the cleaning efficiency of the robot.
[0047] The specific structural forms of the roller brush body, the suction port and the roller brush body mentioned in the above embodiments are all conventional choices for those skilled in the art, so they will not be described or explained in detail in this embodiment.
[0048] The squeegee assembly 50 is a component used by the cleaning robot to absorb water after wetting the target surface. Its main function is to remove excess moisture from the target surface, preventing it from becoming too wet. The squeegee assembly 50 is typically located behind the roller brush assembly 20 and consists of absorbent material, a scraper, or a mounting plate, and a suction system capable of generating negative pressure. While the cleaning robot wets the target surface, the squeegee assembly 50 uses its scraper to press firmly against the surface, guiding excess moisture to the absorbent material or the target area where the suction system generates negative pressure. This reduces excess moisture on the target surface, effectively preventing watermarks or slippery conditions. In some applications of cleaning robots with a dust mop assembly 90, it can also effectively improve the dust removal efficiency of the dust mop assembly 90 on the target surface.
[0049] To facilitate a deeper understanding of this embodiment, the length, width, and height directions of the cleaning robot will be defined separately in this embodiment:
[0050] Length direction: The length direction of a cleaning robot usually refers to the main direction of the robot when it moves in a straight line, that is, its front-to-back direction, such as... Figures 1-7 The "length direction" is indicated by the middle arrow. This direction is usually consistent with the robot's travel path and cleaning work path. In conjunction with the above-described embodiments of the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50, the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 are arranged at a certain interval along the length direction of the cleaning robot. The roller brush assembly 20 is closer to the front of the cleaning robot than the squeegee assembly 50, ensuring that after the cleaning robot performs a series of processes such as sweeping and vacuuming the target surface, the squeegee assembly 50, in conjunction with the water system, wets and absorbs water from the target surface for cleaning.
[0051] Width direction: The width direction of a cleaning robot is a dimension perpendicular to its length direction; it can also be understood as the left-right direction of the cleaning robot. Figures 1-7 , Figure 11 The "width direction" is indicated by the middle arrow. During the cleaning process, the width direction determines the lateral range that the cleaning robot can clean simultaneously, that is, it determines the range that the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 can cover on a non-overlapping motion trajectory during the cleaning operation.
[0052] Height direction: The height direction of the cleaning robot is perpendicular to the target plane and also perpendicular to the length and width directions, such as... Figures 1-7 The middle arrow indicates the "height direction". This direction typically represents the overall thickness of the cleaning robot, that is, the distance from the target plane to the top of the cleaning robot.
[0053] To enable the cleaning robot to provide corresponding cleaning functions in different modes, based on the above-described embodiment of the cleaning robot including a roller brush assembly 20 and a squeegee assembly 50, in other embodiments, the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 can be replaced with cleaning components that can provide other cleaning functions, so as to achieve the purpose of coordination between other cleaning functions and independent operation. Please refer to the appendix. Figures 1-10 The roller brush assembly 20 is movably disposed on the body 10, specifically at the bottom of the body 10. Based on the fact that the roller brush assembly 20 can move relative to the body 10, the roller brush assembly 20 can further move between the lifting position and the falling position under the drive of the first drive assembly 30, so that the roller brush assembly 20 as a whole moves closer to or away from the target plane.
[0054] The squeegee assembly 50 is movably mounted on the roller brush assembly 20, specifically located on the rear side of the roller brush assembly 20, forming an integrated cleaning device with the roller brush assembly 20. The squeegee assembly 50 can move independently relative to the roller brush assembly 20, and during its movement relative to the roller brush assembly 20, it will also move relative to the body 10. In order to ensure that the squeegee assembly 50 can move between two positions that meet the corresponding working conditions of the cleaning robot, the squeegee assembly 50 can move between the lifting position and the falling position relative to the roller brush assembly 20 under the action of the second drive assembly 60, so that the squeegee assembly 50 can also move towards or away from the target plane independently.
[0055] Based on the above functional descriptions of the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50:
[0056] When both the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 are in the falling position, both the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 are in a position closer to the target plane than the body 10. At the same time, both the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 are in contact with the target plane.
[0057] When the roller brush assembly 20 is in the raised position, the squeegee assembly 50 is also in a position closer to the body 10 than the target plane, along with the roller brush assembly 20. At this time, both the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 are detached from the target plane.
[0058] When the roller brush assembly 20 is in the falling position and the squeegee assembly 50 is in the rising position, the roller brush assembly 20 abuts against the target plane, and the squeegee assembly 50 disengages from the target plane.
[0059] The definition of the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 abutting against the target plane is that during the cleaning operation of the cleaning robot, the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 come into contact or rub against the target plane (such as the ground to be cleaned) so that the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 can provide the desired cleaning function mentioned in the above functional description of the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50.
[0060] The definition of the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 being detached from the target plane is that during the cleaning operation, the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 do not come into contact with the target plane, that is, a certain distance or gap is created between them and the target plane.
[0061] Based on the technical solution provided above, it can be understood that, depending on the combination of the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 in different positional states, the cleaning robot can provide at least three working modes:
[0062] like Figure 5 The diagram shows the state of the cleaning robot in non-cleaning operation mode. In this state, the roller brush assembly 20 is in the raised position, so that the squeegee assembly 50 is suspended in the air above the target plane along with the roller brush assembly 20. Of course, in this state, the squeegee assembly 50 can also be in the raised position to further increase the distance between the squeegee assembly 50 and the target plane (distance from the ground). At this time, neither the roller brush assembly 20 nor the squeegee assembly 50 provides the corresponding cleaning function, allowing the cleaning robot to quickly move to the target area on the target plane to perform cleaning operations and other corresponding functions.
[0063] like Figure 6 The diagram shows the state of the cleaning robot in water washing cleaning mode. In this mode, both the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 are in the falling position, so that both the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 are against the target plane. At the same time, in conjunction with the water system of the cleaning robot, the roller brush assembly 20 can first sweep most of the garbage, especially large particles, into the dust box through the suction port. Under the blocking effect of the floor scraper 22 on the rear side of the roller brush body, the large particles of garbage are blocked at the roller brush assembly 20, allowing the roller brush body to continue to sweep. Only the water after washing will remain on the target plane through the gap formed between the floor scraper 22 and the target plane. As the cleaning robot continues to move forward (moving to the right in the diagram), the excess water remaining on the target plane will enter the negative pressure zone of the water suction system through the scraper of the squeegee assembly 50 and be absorbed.
[0064] like Figure 7The diagram shows the state of the cleaning robot in dry sweeping mode. In this mode, the roller brush assembly 20 is in the falling position to provide normal sweeping and absorption of particulate matter such as dust, while the squeegee assembly 50 is in the rising position to detach from the target plane. At the same time, the water system also stops operating to avoid wetting the target plane.
[0065] In this way, cleaning robots can perform multimodal work according to different cleaning scenarios and needs, meet different scenario requirements, and thus improve the user experience.
[0066] Furthermore, it should be noted that the squeegee assembly 50 and the roller brush assembly 20 of the cleaning robot are integrated into a single cleaning device. This allows the squeegee assembly 50 to be positioned closer to the roller brush assembly 20 on the cleaning robot and to form a connection and cooperation relationship with the roller brush assembly 20, thereby improving the compactness and integration of the cleaning robot's structure. Meanwhile, because the roller brush assembly 20 is located close to the squeegee assembly 50, the position of the roller brush assembly 20 on the body 10 of the cleaning robot is moved forward, shortening the distance between the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50. This achieves miniaturization of the squeegee assembly 50, and the width of the squeegee assembly 50 can be reduced. Under the same power, the negative pressure generated by the squeegee assembly 50 on the ground will be greater, improving the water absorption performance of the squeegee assembly 50. At the same time, the wet area formed on the ground after the cleaning robot turns is more easily covered by the squeegee assembly 50. There is no need to increase the size of the squeegee assembly 50 in the width direction to compensate for the difference in the movement radius caused by the large distance between it and the roller brush assembly 20, thereby saving equipment space, reducing costs, and facilitating the miniaturization and lightweight design of the cleaning robot.
[0067] It should be noted that the water system of the cleaning robot is provided with nozzles (not shown) for spraying cleaning water or cleaning liquid on the front side of the roller brush assembly 20 or on the roller brush assembly 20. When the cleaning robot is in the water washing cleaning mode, as the cleaning robot turns, the cleaning water or cleaning liquid sprayed from the nozzle will generate a wetted area that is the same as or close to the width of the roller brush body under the action of the roller brush assembly 20. In embodiments where the squeegee assembly 50 is located relatively far from the roller brush assembly 20, due to the large distance between the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50, the wetting path generated by the roller brush assembly 20 will be misaligned with the scraping path of the squeegee assembly 50. When the dimensions of the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 are equal in the width direction, the wetting area of the roller brush assembly 20 and the scraping area of the squeegee assembly 50 will be partially misaligned, resulting in residual water marks on the target plane. In order to ensure that the scraping area can cover the wetting area to solve the above problem, the scraper of the squeegee assembly 50 must be set to be wide enough in the width direction. This is not only detrimental to the lightweight and miniaturized design of the cleaning robot, but also leads to an increase in product cost and a reduction in the negative pressure of the water absorption system. In the technical solution provided in this embodiment, since the squeegee assembly 50 is disposed on the roller brush assembly 20, the distance between the squeegee assembly 50 and the roller brush assembly 20 is shortened. Thus, the distance between the wetting path and the scraping path is also narrowed. When the dimensions of the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 in the width direction are equal, the area of the offset part between the wetting area and the scraping area is also reduced accordingly. That is, the water marks generated on the target plane are narrowed. Thus, while ensuring that the scraping area can cover the wetting area, the dimension of the squeegee assembly 50 in the width direction is also shorter than that of the above solution, which improves the compactness of the cleaning robot and is conducive to the miniaturization design of the equipment. At the same time, with the same vacuum source power, the smaller squeegee assembly 50 is also conducive to the water suction system generating a larger negative pressure, thereby improving its water suction performance and reducing the amount of water residue left on the target plane after being scraped by the squeegee assembly 50.
[0068] It is worth mentioning that the advantage of using two drive components for the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 is that the cleaning robot can be flexibly adjusted according to different cleaning needs and environmental conditions. In addition, the distance between the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 and the target plane when they are in contact can also be adjusted independently, so that the cleaning robot can achieve better cleaning results.
[0069] Furthermore, if the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 share a single drive assembly, then if the drive mechanism fails, neither of them may be able to provide normal cleaning functions. By using two independent drive assemblies, even if one of them fails, the other can still continue to work, thereby reducing the overall failure rate and improving the stability and reliability of the robot.
[0070] For a specific structural form of the first drive component 30 and the roller brush component 20, please refer to the appendix. Figures 3-4 The first drive component 30 includes a first fixed end 31 and a first drive end 32, the first drive end 32 being movable relative to the first fixed end 31.
[0071] In the first drive assembly 30 and the second drive assembly 60 described in this embodiment, the fixed end (including the first fixed end 31 and the subsequent second fixed end 61) generally refers to the stable part of the drive assembly, which is responsible for providing stable support and positioning for the entire assembly. For example, when the drive assembly is a motor, the fixed end can be the motor housing, used to connect with components such as the stator and bearing system to ensure the stability of the motor during operation. The drive end (including the first drive end 32 and the subsequent second drive end 62) is the output end of the drive assembly, also known as the front end of the drive assembly. It is responsible for generating power for devices moving relative to the fixed end and connecting with the load or mechanical equipment to drive the operation of the entire system. For example, when the drive assembly is a motor, the drive end can be the output shaft of the motor.
[0072] It should be noted that this embodiment does not impose specific and strict limitations on the movement mode of the first driving component 30 and the second driving component 60. In the first driving component 30, the relative movement between the first driving end 32 and the first fixed end 31 can be a linear extension or rotation, etc. Similarly, in the second driving component 60, the relative movement between the second driving end 62 and the second fixed end 61 can be a linear extension or rotation, etc.
[0073] Following the above embodiment of the first drive assembly 30, the first fixed end 31 is installed on the body 10, and a first transmission assembly 40 is provided between the first drive end 32 and the roller brush assembly 20 to ensure that the force generated by the first drive assembly 30 can be transmitted between the body 10 and the roller brush assembly 20. Thus, through the relative movement of the first drive end 32 and the first fixed end 31, the roller brush assembly 20 is driven to reciprocate between the lifting position and the falling position.
[0074] The first transmission component 40 is responsible for transmitting force between the first drive end 32 and the roller brush assembly 20, so that the first drive end 32 can drive the roller brush assembly 20 to move from at least one position to another position through the first transmission component 40.
[0075] In some embodiments, in addition to transmitting the power and torque generated by the power source (first drive end 32) to the roller brush assembly 20, the first transmission component 40 can also play a series of roles such as speed regulation, conversion of motion form, and change of force transmission direction, so that the roller brush assembly 20 can move between the lifting position and the falling position at a preset running speed according to the design requirements of the cleaning robot, and / or allow the first drive component 30 and the roller brush assembly 20 to make adaptive adjustments to their relative positions according to the installation position and installation space provided by the body 10.
[0076] It should be understood that the first transmission component 40 can be adaptably configured as one or more combinations of many types according to the design requirements of the cleaning robot, such as gear transmission components, belt transmission components, worm gear components, friction wheel transmission components, key connection components, etc.
[0077] In one embodiment, the first transmission component 40 includes a transmission rope 41, wherein the two ends of the transmission rope 41 are respectively connected to the first drive end 32 and the roller brush assembly 20. Using the transmission rope 41 as the mechanical transmission method between the first drive component 30 and the roller brush assembly 20 can effectively transmit the linear motion between the first drive component 30 and the roller brush assembly 20, thereby improving the movement efficiency and stability of the roller brush assembly 20 between two positions. Simultaneously, the transmission rope 41 has a relatively simple component structure and is easy to process, resulting in relatively low manufacturing and maintenance costs. This also reduces the space occupied inside the body 10, contributing to the compactness and miniaturization of the cleaning robot. Furthermore, the transmission rope 41, with its smooth transmission, noiseless, vibration-free, and impact-free characteristics, suppresses noise generated during the switching of the cleaning robot between different working modes, making the mode switching process smoother and reducing the equipment failure rate.
[0078] Please continue to refer to the appendix. Figures 3-4 In this embodiment, the two ends of the transmission rope 41 can be connected to the first drive end 32 and the roller brush assembly 20 only through the sheet metal component 411. Through the relatively simple sheet metal component 411 and connection method, the series of beneficial effects provided by the transmission rope 41 for the transmission of the first drive assembly 30 and the roller brush assembly 20 can be achieved.
[0079] In one embodiment, the end of the transmission rope 41 connected to the roller brush assembly 20 is located at the upper part of the roller brush assembly 20. When the roller brush assembly 20 needs to move from the falling position to the rising position, under the action of the first drive assembly 30, the transmission rope 41 applies an upward force to the roller brush assembly 20, thereby lifting the roller brush assembly 20 to move from the falling position to the rising position. When the roller brush assembly 20 needs to move from the rising position to the falling position, the transmission rope 41 gradually releases the roller brush assembly 20 from top to bottom under the action of the first drive assembly 30, allowing the roller brush assembly 20 to gradually fall with its own weight to the falling position that is in contact with the target plane. This can reduce the operating burden of the first drive assembly 30 to a certain extent. At the same time, when the roller brush assembly 20 is in the falling position, there is still enough room for movement between the roller brush assembly 20 and the first drive assembly 30 (the transmission rope 41 has no restraining force on the roller brush assembly 20 in this state), so as to avoid the roller brush assembly 20 transmitting the corresponding force to the first drive assembly 30 and causing damage to it when encountering obstacles or other special circumstances.
[0080] Continuing with the above embodiment as a basis, in this embodiment, a grooved wheel 42 is also provided between the transmission rope 41 and the body 10. The grooved wheel 42 is rotatably mounted on the body 10 via a rotating component such as a rotating shaft. The grooved wheel 42 has a support groove surrounding its outer periphery around its rotation axis. The transmission rope 41 passes over the grooved wheel 42 from one end to the other and abuts against the support groove, so that the transmission rope 41 changes the direction of force transmission at its two ends through the grooved wheel 42. This allows the relative position of the first drive assembly 30 and the roller brush assembly 20 to be adapted to the space and position provided by the body 10, making the layout of the relevant functional components inside the cleaning robot more reasonable and improving the compactness of the cleaning robot's structure.
[0081] In the embodiment where the transmission rope 41 lifts the roller brush assembly 20 via the first drive assembly 30, the section of the transmission rope 41 connected to the first drive assembly 30 forms an angle of 90° or close to 90° with the section connected to the roller brush assembly 20. The transmission rope 41 serves as a medium for power transmission and, driven by the first drive assembly 30, enables the roller brush assembly 20 to move between the lifting and lowering positions. The grooved wheel 42 serves as a support and guide component for the transmission rope 41. Its support groove allows the transmission rope 41 to be stably wound around it and rotates with the movement of the transmission rope 41 under the action of friction, ensuring effective power transmission.
[0082] The transmission of force and torque between the body 10 and the brush assembly 20 during its movement between the lifting and lowering positions, as well as during operation, can be achieved by setting a guide mechanism, thereby ensuring the stability between the brush assembly 20 and the body 10.
[0083] Departing from any of the above-mentioned implementations based on the core solution, to ensure the stability of the roller brush assembly 20 during its movement between the lifting and lowering positions, and between it and the body 10 in the corresponding positions, especially in embodiments where the first transmission assembly 40 includes a transmission rope 41, since the constraint strength of the transmission rope 41 on the roller brush assembly 20 is limited, a guide mechanism can be provided between the body 10 and the roller brush assembly 20. It is understood that in the mechanical field, there are various types of guide mechanisms. Cleaning robots can adopt a type of guide mechanism that matches their specific design requirements and application scenarios. These guide mechanism types include, but are not limited to, longitudinal arm guide mechanisms, transverse arm guide mechanisms, guide rail and slider mechanisms, and guide hole and guide post mechanisms.
[0084] The guide mechanism, located between the body 10 and the roller brush assembly 20, specifically provides the following functions:
[0085] Positioning function: The guide mechanism can accurately determine the lifting and lowering positions of the roller brush assembly 20, ensuring that the roller brush assembly 20 will not be misaligned during movement and when it reaches the corresponding position, thus ensuring that the cleaning robot can provide the corresponding cleaning function normally.
[0086] Guiding function: Allows the roller brush assembly 20 to move along a preset motion path between the lifting position and the falling position, avoiding collisions with the main body 10 and other related functional components.
[0087] In this embodiment, a quadrilateral transmission mechanism 80 is provided between the machine body 10 and the roller brush assembly 20 to improve the stability of the roller brush. The main feature of the quadrilateral transmission mechanism 80 is that it uses four rods (usually connecting rods) connected end to end in sequence to form a quadrilateral frame. Among them, one of any two opposite connecting rods is installed on the frame, and the other is connected to the roller brush assembly 20. During the movement of the roller brush assembly 20 between the lifting position and the falling position, the other two opposite connecting rods swing or rotate with the lifting and lowering movement of the roller brush assembly 20, thereby achieving the positioning and guidance of the roller brush assembly 20.
[0088] It should be explained that the quadrilateral transmission mechanism 80 comes in various forms, including but not limited to parallelogram mechanisms and trapezoidal mechanisms, and its design can be adaptively adjusted according to the functions and performance required by the cleaning robot.
[0089] Furthermore, the quadrilateral transmission mechanism 80 can easily adjust the range of motion and performance of the mechanism by changing the length of the connecting rod, the position of the connection point between the connecting rods, or the driving method, thereby adjusting the lifting and lowering positions of the roller brush assembly 20.
[0090] like Figures 3-4As shown, since the roller brush assembly 20 has a certain width, in this embodiment, quadrilateral transmission mechanisms 80 are provided at both ends of the roller brush assembly 20 in the width direction. Both ends of the roller brush assembly 20 are movably connected to the body 10 through the quadrilateral transmission mechanisms 80 to ensure that the roller brush assembly 20 as a whole has good stability and smooth movement with the body 10.
[0091] Please refer to the attached document. Figures 3-4 As an embodiment of the above-mentioned scheme relating to the first drive component 30 including the first fixed end 31 and the first drive end 32, the first drive component 30 is used in which the first drive end 32 can extend and retract between positions close to and far from the first fixed end 31, and the extension and retraction trajectory of the first drive end 32 relative to the first fixed end 31 can be a straight line or a curve.
[0092] The first drive assembly 30, depending on the aforementioned movement method, may employ, but is not limited to, cylinders, hydraulic cylinders, electromagnets, linear motors, electric push rods, etc. During its extension and retraction movement, the first drive assembly 30 drives the roller brush assembly 20 to move via the first transmission assembly 40. In particular, in embodiments where the first transmission assembly 40 includes a transmission rope 41, the first drive assembly 30 can lift the roller brush assembly 20 to the rising position by pulling and releasing the transmission rope 41, and use the weight of the roller brush assembly 20 to self-reposition to the falling position, thereby ensuring that the roller brush assembly 20 remains stable during movement and in the corresponding position states.
[0093] Furthermore, the cooperation between the first drive component 30, which can perform telescopic movements, and the transmission rope 41, in the embodiment combined with the grooved wheel 42, can also effectively change the direction of force transmission, allowing the first drive component 30 to be assembled in a suitable position and space according to the installation position provided by the body 10. This ensures that the cleaning robot has excellent structural compactness and integration, and also provides sufficient space for the subsequent installation of the squeegee component 50. This avoids the squeegee component 50 from interfering with the squeegee component 50 in the embodiment where the squeegee component 50 is installed on the roller brush component 20, which improves the integration of the squeegee component 50 and the roller brush component 20.
[0094] Of course, in other embodiments, the movement mode of the first drive component 30 is not limited to this. It can also be a drive component that performs rotational movement or other movements. The specific movement mode can be determined according to the design requirements of the cleaning robot, as long as the structural layout between the functional components is reasonable and they do not interfere with each other during the corresponding movement.
[0095] Please continue to refer to the appendix. Figures 3-4 , Figures 9-10As can be seen from the above embodiments, in order to drive the squeegee assembly 50 between the lifting position and the falling position, the second drive assembly 60 includes a second fixed end 61 and a second drive end 62. The second fixed end 61 is installed on the roller brush assembly 20, and a second transmission assembly 70 is provided between the second drive end 62 and the squeegee assembly 50 to ensure that the force generated by the second drive assembly 60 can be transmitted between the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50. Thus, through the relative movement of the second drive end 62 and the second fixed end 61, the squeegee assembly 50 is driven to reciprocate between the lifting position and the falling position.
[0096] Similar to the principle described for the first drive assembly 30, the second transmission assembly 70 is responsible for transmitting force between the second drive end 62 and the squeegee assembly 50, allowing the second drive end 62 to drive the squeegee assembly 50 to reciprocate between two positions via the second transmission assembly 70.
[0097] In some embodiments, the second transmission component 70, in addition to transmitting the power and torque generated by the power source (second drive end 62) to the roller brush component 20, can also play a series of roles such as speed regulation, conversion of motion form, and change of force transmission direction, so that the squeegee component 50 can move between the lifting position and the falling position at a preset running speed according to the design requirements of the cleaning robot, and / or allow the second drive component 60 and the squeegee component 50 to make adaptive adjustments to their relative positions according to the installation position and installation space provided by the body 10.
[0098] It should be understood that the second transmission component 70 can be adaptably configured as one or more combinations of many types according to the design requirements of the cleaning robot, such as gear transmission components, belt transmission components, worm gear components, friction wheel transmission components, key connection components, etc.
[0099] Please refer to the attached document. Figures 9-10 In one embodiment, the second transmission component 70 is a crank-swing arm mechanism. Of course, in other embodiments, a drive component capable of driving the component to be driven to reciprocate between two extreme positions can also be used.
[0100] In the embodiment where a crank-arm is used as the second transmission component 70, the second transmission component 70 specifically includes a cam 71 and a drive rod 72. The cam 71 is connected to the second drive end 62 and can rotate under the drive of the second drive component 60. One side of the cam 71 has a protrusion 711 extending radially therein. During the rotation of the cam 71, the protrusion 711 can move around the rotation axis of the cam 71 according to the specific rotation direction of the cam 71. One end of the drive rod 72 is rotatably connected to the protrusion 711, allowing the drive rod 72 to move with the protrusion. The peak 711 changes position due to its movement on the cam 71. The other end of the drive rod 72 is rotatably connected to the squeegee assembly 50. When the drive rod 72 is driven by the peak 711 to produce overall movement, the peak 711 moves around the rotation axis of the cam 71, and its horizontal height changes, thereby causing the drive rod 72 to also change in height. Finally, the drive rod 72 drives the squeegee assembly 50 to produce relative movement with the roller brush assembly 20 through its other end, realizing the switching of the squeegee assembly 50 between the lifting position and the falling position.
[0101] It should be noted that, since the main purpose of this embodiment is to drive the squeegee assembly 50 to change its position in the height direction macroscopically through the second drive assembly 60 and the second transmission assembly 70, the other end of the drive rod 72 will be constrained by the squeegee assembly 50 during the movement of the drive rod 72 with the protrusion 711. In order to avoid interference in the rotation direction between the drive rod 72, the cam 71 and the squeegee assembly 50, the drive rod 72 in this embodiment is rotatably connected to both ends of the protrusion 711 and the squeegee assembly 50, so that when the drive rod 72 moves with the protrusion 711 and drives the squeegee assembly 50, relative rotation can occur between the cam 71 and the drive rod 72, and between the drive rod 72 and the squeegee assembly 50, to ensure that the squeegee assembly 50 has good stability during the movement.
[0102] In one embodiment, the cam 71 and the drive rod 72 are rotatably connected by a rotating shaft. The rotating shaft can be disposed on the protrusion 711, and the drive rod 72 is provided with a waist-shaped groove that matches the rotating shaft on the protrusion 711. The waist-shaped groove is disposed along the length direction of the drive rod 72, so that the position of the drive rod 72 on the cam 71 can be adjusted by the movement of the protrusion 711 along the direction of the waist-shaped groove. In this way, the height of the lifting position and the falling position of the squeegee assembly 50 on the roller brush assembly 20 can be independently fine-tuned.
[0103] In one embodiment, an elastic mechanism 53 is further provided between the squeegee assembly 50 and the body 10 or the roller brush assembly 20. The two opposite ends of the elastic mechanism 53 act on the squeegee assembly 50 and the body 10 or the roller brush assembly 20 respectively, and continuously apply an elastic force in the direction of falling position to the squeegee assembly 50.
[0104] An elastic mechanism 53 is provided between the squeegee assembly 50 and the body 10 or the roller brush assembly 20, which can eliminate the assembly gap between the squeegee assembly 50 and the second transmission assembly 70, and between the second transmission assembly 70 and the second drive assembly 60, ensuring that the squeegee assembly 50 remains stable and accurately positioned during movement.
[0105] Meanwhile, when the squeegee assembly 50 is in the falling position, the elastic force generated by the elastic mechanism 53 will be transmitted to the target plane through the squeegee assembly 50. That is, the elastic mechanism 53 can stably press the squeegee assembly 50 against the target plane, thereby ensuring that the squeegee assembly 50 and the target plane can be kept within the preset counterforce range. This allows the squeegee assembly 50 to more efficiently collect excess water on the target plane while improving the airtightness between the squeegee assembly 50 and the target plane. As a result, the negative pressure generated by the water absorption system can more effectively absorb the excess water collected by the squeegee.
[0106] With the above settings, there is no need to add counterweight to the squeegee assembly 50, which simplifies the structure of the squeegee assembly 50 and saves on the weight and volume of the squeegee assembly 50, thereby saving materials and reducing costs.
[0107] Please refer to the attached document. Figures 9-10 In order to improve the stability of the second transmission mechanism in different positions of the squeegee assembly 50, the cam 71 is formed with a first structural plane 73 that is set along the height direction and passes through its rotation center. When the squeegee assembly 50 is in the lifting position, the protrusion 711 is located on the first side of the first structural plane 73. When the squeegee assembly 50 is in the falling position, the protrusion 711 is located on the second side of the first structural plane 73.
[0108] It is understandable that when the line connecting the rotation centers of the convex peak 711 and the cam 71 is collinear with the length direction of the drive rod 72, the crank arm is at a dead point position. In this embodiment, the dead point position of the crank arm is located on the first structural plane 73. That is, during the movement of the convex peak 711 between the first side and the second side of the first structural plane 73, the crank arm will pass through the dead point to avoid staying at the dead point and making it difficult for the crank arm to continue to operate. Under the action of the elastic mechanism 53, it can better achieve locking on the first side and the second side of the first structural plane 73, and maintain the stability of the squeegee assembly 50 in the lifting and lowering positions.
[0109] For example, in an embodiment where both the second drive assembly 60 and the second transmission assembly 70 are located on the rear side of the roller brush assembly 20, the first side of the first construction plane 73 is located on the side of the cam 71 that is closer to the roller brush assembly 20 in the horizontal direction (front side), while the second side of the first construction plane 73 is located on the side of the cam 71 that is relatively farther away from the roller brush assembly 20 in the horizontal direction (rear side).
[0110] Following the above embodiment, when the squeegee assembly 50 is in the falling position, the second transmission assembly 70 drives the squeegee assembly 50 to move through the second drive assembly 60. At the same time, the cam 71's convex peak 711 moves from the first side to the second side of the first structural plane 73, and its horizontal height when in the falling position is less than the horizontal height of the squeegee assembly 50 when in the rising position. The squeegee assembly 50 abuts against the target plane to constrain and limit it through the target plane, so that the squeegee assembly 50 can be stably in the falling position.
[0111] In order to ensure that the squeegee assembly 50 can also be stably in the lifting position, and to ensure that the squeegee assembly 50 is in the lifting position, the cam 71's peak 711 can be stably on the first side of the first structural plane 73 and its horizontal height is greater than the horizontal height of the peak 711 when the squeegee assembly 50 is in the falling position. As shown in the figure, the roller brush assembly 20 in this embodiment is also provided with a limiting structure 74 near the second drive assembly 60. The limiting structure 74 is located on the first side of the first structural plane 73 and is used to constrain the peak 711 to the extreme position on the first side of the first structural plane 73.
[0112] In practical application, when the squeegee assembly 50 moves from the falling position to the lifting position, under the action of the second drive assembly 60, the crank rotates and its protrusion 711 moves from the second side of the first structural plane 73 to the first side. When the protrusion 711 moves to abut against the limiting structure 74 and is restricted by the limiting structure 74 from continuing to rotate the cam 71, the horizontal height of the protrusion 711 is greater than the horizontal height of the protrusion 711 when the squeegee assembly 50 is in the falling position, so that the squeegee assembly 50 is separated from the target plane, completing the switching of the position state of the squeegee assembly 50. In this state, due to the presence of the elastic mechanism 53, after the crank arm structure crosses the dead point position from the second side of the first structural plane 73 to the first side, the elastic mechanism 53 will apply a downward elastic force to the squeegee assembly 50, and let this elastic force be transmitted to the cam 71 through the drive rod 72, so that the protrusion 711 abuts against the limiting structure 74, realizing the self-locking of the squeegee assembly 50 in the lifting position.
[0113] In one embodiment, the limiting structure 74 can be a sheet metal part, which saves installation space between the roller brush assembly 20 and the body 10, and is more conducive to the reasonable layout of internal functional components of the cleaning robot.
[0114] According to the above-described embodiment of the second drive assembly 60, the first side of the squeegee assembly 50 is rotatably connected to the roller brush assembly 20, so that the second side of the squeegee assembly 50 can swing relative to the roller brush assembly 20 about the rotation axis of its first side. This is close to the definition of the first side and the second side of the first structural plane 73 described above. In this embodiment, the first side of the squeegee assembly 50 is the side (front side) close to the roller brush assembly 20, while the second side of the squeegee assembly 50 is the side (rear side) away from the roller brush assembly 20. In this way, the rear end of the squeegee assembly 50 can swing about the rotation axis of its front end, realizing the lifting and lowering of the second end of the squeegee assembly 50 in the horizontal direction. Thus, when the hanging plate is set at or near the second end of the squeegee assembly 50, the lifting and lowering movement of the scraper can be controlled, so that the hanging plate abuts against or disengages from the target plane.
[0115] Of course, in other embodiments, the squeegee assembly 50 can also be rotatably connected to the roller brush assembly 20 through its upper side or other side position, thereby realizing the swing of the squeegee assembly 50 relative to the roller brush assembly 20 and completing the function of switching between the lifting position and the falling position.
[0116] Therefore, in order to drive the second side of the squeegee assembly 50 to move around its first side, the second transmission assembly 70 is connected to the second side of the squeegee assembly 50.
[0117] This embodiment sets the movement of the squeegee assembly 50 to a swivel motion around the other end, ensuring a stable connection between the squeegee assembly 50 and the roller brush assembly 20, and making the movement of the squeegee assembly 50 smoother between the rising and falling positions. Furthermore, the squeegee assembly 50's rotatable connection with the roller brush assembly 20 saves space during position switching compared to using other linear guide structures, thus improving the overall layout rationality of the cleaning robot's functional components.
[0118] It should be noted that the main reason for using a transmission rope 41 to lift and release the roller brush assembly 20 and a crank-arm to drive the squeegee assembly 50 to move between the lifting and lowering positions in this embodiment is that the roller brush assembly 20 has a large self-weight. During its movement from the lifting position to the lowering position, the roller brush assembly 20 can move directly from top to bottom under its own weight. Therefore, the first drive assembly 30 only needs to lift the roller brush assembly 20 from the lowering position to the lifting position via the transmission rope 41. During the movement from the lifting position to the lowering position, the first drive assembly 30 gradually releases the roller brush assembly 20 via the transmission rope 41, allowing it to return to its original position under its own weight. Since the squeegee assembly 50 has a smaller self-weight, a crank-arm mechanism that can both move the squeegee assembly 50 from the lowering position to the lifting position and vice versa is used to ensure the stability of the squeegee assembly 50 during position switching.
[0119] It is understood that, in the above embodiments, in order to facilitate the driving of the second transmission assembly 70, the second drive assembly 60 adopts a drive assembly, such as a motor, in which the second drive end 62 can rotate relative to the second fixed end 61. Thus, when the second transmission assembly 70 adopts a crank-rocker arm mechanism, the cam 71 can rotate around its rotation axis by being coaxially connected to the second drive end 62, and drive the drive rod 72 to move, thereby achieving more efficient and reliable movement of the squeegee assembly 50.
[0120] Of course, in other embodiments, the movement mode of the second drive component 60 is not limited to this, and it can also be set as a linear drive mechanism or other conditions according to the design requirements of the cleaning robot.
[0121] Please refer to the attached document. Figures 1-8 In one embodiment, a height adjustment mechanism 11 is provided between the body 10 and the roller brush assembly 20. The height adjustment mechanism 11 is used to adjust the distance between the body 10, the roller brush assembly 20, and the squeegee assembly 50 in the height direction, thereby adjusting and constraining the maximum opposing force between the roller brush assembly 20 and the target plane in the falling position and the maximum opposing force between the squeegee assembly 50 and the target plane. Of course, in the above embodiment, the squeegee assembly 50 can also be adjusted independently relative to the roller brush assembly 20. However, the present embodiment provides a scheme in which the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 are adjusted and constrained simultaneously, so as to facilitate the debugging of the cleaning robot during assembly and the subsequent use of the robot, and adjust the opposing forces between the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 and the target plane according to the needs of the cleaning scenario.
[0122] In this embodiment, since the height adjustment mechanism 11 is located on the roller brush assembly 20, while the height adjustment mechanism 11 adjusts the height of the roller brush assembly 20, the squeegee assembly 50 also moves along the height direction with the roller brush assembly 20. There are many ways for the height adjustment mechanism 11 to adjust the height of the roller brush assembly 20 (and the squeegee assembly 50). For example, the relative position of the body 10 and the roller brush assembly 20 can be adjusted by utilizing the height adjustment mechanism 11's own structure to move in the height direction; or, the corresponding effect can be achieved through the relative movement of the height adjustment mechanism 11 and the body 10; or, the height position of the roller brush assembly 20 on the body 10 can be adjusted through the relative movement of the height adjustment mechanism 11 and the roller brush assembly 20.
[0123] It is worth mentioning that among the at least three technical solutions provided above, one can be chosen or a combination can be used to achieve the final height adjustment effect.
[0124] For example, in an embodiment where the height adjustment mechanism 11 achieves height adjustment by utilizing its own structure, the height adjustment mechanism 11 can be composed of two movable and adjustable components. The two movable components are respectively connected to the body 10 and the roller brush assembly 20, so that the relative position of the body 10 and the roller brush assembly 20 can be adjusted by adjusting the relative movement of the two movable components.
[0125] In an embodiment where the height adjustment mechanism 11 can be adjusted movably with the body 10, the height adjustment mechanism 11 is configured to be movably connected to the body 10.
[0126] In an embodiment where the height adjustment mechanism 11 can be movably adjusted with the roller brush assembly 20, the height adjustment mechanism 11 is configured to be movably connected to the roller brush assembly 20.
[0127] The height adjustment mechanism 11 itself, and the adjustment method between the height adjustment mechanism 11 and the body 10 or the roller brush assembly 20, can be through damping adjustment, thread adjustment, air pressure adjustment, hydraulic adjustment, gear and rack mechanism adjustment, etc. This embodiment does not strictly limit this.
[0128] Please refer to the attached document. Figure 8This embodiment adopts the above-mentioned height adjustment mechanism 11 which can be adjusted movably with the body 10. The height adjustment mechanism 11 includes an adjustment component 111 and a connecting component 112. The adjustment component 111 is adjustablely connected to the body 10 along the height direction. The adjustment component 111 and the body 10 can be locked to each other. At the same time, the adjustment component 111 itself can also move relative to the body 10 along the height direction. Furthermore, the adjustment part is provided with a support part 1111 for cooperating with the connecting component 112 on the lower side of the body 10. One side of the connecting component 112 is fixedly connected to the roller brush assembly 20, and the other side is hung on the support part 1111. The height adjustment mechanism 11 uses two relatively independent components to connect with the frame and the roller brush assembly 20 respectively. During the installation process between the body 10 and the roller brush assembly 20, the adjustment component 111 and the connecting component 112 can be set on the body 10 and the roller brush assembly 20 respectively before the two are installed and matched, thereby reducing the installation difficulty of the height adjustment mechanism 11.
[0129] By adjusting the movement of the adjusting component 111 and the body 10, the adjusting component 111 can drive the roller brush assembly 20 (with the squeegee assembly 50) to move in the height direction through the connecting component, thereby adjusting the opposing force between the two and the target plane.
[0130] The adjustable connection between the adjusting component 111 and the body 10 is simpler and more convenient than adjusting using the height adjusting mechanism 11 itself or by adjusting the adjusting mechanism in conjunction with the roller brush assembly 20. This is mainly because the body 10 provides more installation and adjustment space than the space between the roller brush assembly 20 and the body 10, and the structure of the body 10 is simpler than that of the roller brush assembly 20. Therefore, adjusting the connection between the adjusting component 111 and the body 10 is also relatively simple and convenient.
[0131] The connecting component 112 and the adjusting component 111 are connected by a hanging method. The connecting component 112 is hung on the adjusting component 111 along the direction of gravity. This ensures that the adjusting component 111 and the connecting component 112 are mutually limited in the direction of relative distance, while not restricting the movement of the connecting component 112 and the adjusting component 111 in the direction of mutual approach. In this way, when the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 encounter obstacles, the adjusting component 111 and the connecting component 112 can provide corresponding movement space for the two to move towards the body 10 to avoid obstacles. It also restricts the mutual resistance force between the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 and the target plane respectively.
[0132] As a more specific implementation of the above embodiment, the adjusting component 111 is an adjusting rod. The two ends of the adjusting rod pass through the machine body 10 at intervals and are both provided with external threads 1112. By providing nuts at both ends of the adjusting rod, a stable connection between the adjusting rod and the machine body 10 is ensured. Furthermore, the middle part of the adjusting rod is set at an angle to its two ends, so that the adjusting rod as a whole has an approximately "U" shaped structure. In this way, the middle part of the adjusting rod can form a hook-shaped support part 1111.
[0133] Specifically, the adjusting rod enters from the lower side of the body 10 and exits from the upper part of the body 10. In order to achieve height adjustment, the extension directions of the two ends of the adjusting rod need to be set in a parallel structure. During the adjustment of the adjusting rod, the nut located at the end of the adjusting rod can be turned to make the nut and the corresponding external thread 1112 structure move relative to each other, thereby achieving the adjustment of the end of the adjusting rod along the height direction. At the same time, the nut can also constrain and limit the adjusting rod to prevent the adjusting rod from detaching from the body 10.
[0134] Correspondingly, the connecting component 112 is a connecting plate. The two ends of the connecting plate are spaced apart and arranged opposite each other. The two ends can be fixedly connected by a connecting structure to improve the structural strength and stability of the connecting component 112. Furthermore, the connecting plate arranged in this way will be roughly "n" shaped, so that it can be hooked together with the adjusting rod by an inverted buckle. The connecting plate is hung on the support part 1111 through its middle part. The two are mutually constrained in the direction away from each other, and can provide relative movement space in the direction close to each other, thus meeting the requirements proposed in the above embodiment.
[0135] For a specific feasible structure of the squeegee assembly 50, please refer to the appendix. Figures 11-14 The squeegee assembly 50 includes a support assembly 51 that serves as the support base of the squeegee assembly 50, and a squeegee body 52 that serves as the scraper mentioned in the above embodiment. The squeegee body 52 is mounted on the support assembly 51 so as to achieve a corresponding cooperation relationship with the roller brush assembly 20 through the support assembly 51.
[0136] As can be seen from the above embodiments, the support assembly 51 is movably disposed on the roller brush assembly 20 so that the squeegee body 52 mounted on the support assembly 51 can move synchronously with the support assembly 51 during the movement of the roller brush, so as to abut against or detach from the target plane.
[0137] To achieve the mounting and fixing of the squeegee body 52 on the support assembly 51, this embodiment designs the support assembly 51 as a shell structure. The support assembly 51 has a hollow mounting cavity 511 inside, and an opening at the bottom of the support assembly 51 communicating with its exterior and the mounting cavity 511. Furthermore, at least one side of the support assembly 51 along its width direction has an assembly port 512 communicating with the mounting cavity 511. The squeegee body 52 is inserted into the mounting cavity 511 along its width direction through the assembly port 512, and with the squeegee body 52 located within the mounting cavity 511, at least a portion of the squeegee body 52 extends out of the support assembly 51 from the bottom of the mounting cavity 511. During the assembly and disassembly of the squeegee body 52 and the support assembly 51, the squeegee body 52 can be inserted into and removed from the mounting cavity 511 along the width direction from the end of the support assembly 51 with the assembly port 512. The process can be completed without lifting or disassembling the support assembly 51, which facilitates the replacement of the squeegee body 52.
[0138] In one embodiment, a guide structure can be provided between the squeegee body 52 and the support assembly 51 to ensure stability during assembly and disassembly along the width direction. For example, as Figures 11-14 As shown, the upper part of the squeegee body 52 is provided with a guide slider 525 with a cross-sectional shape roughly in the shape of an "I". Correspondingly, the support assembly 51 is provided with a guide groove 514 in the mounting cavity 511 that matches the structure of the guide slider 525. The guide slider 525 and the guide groove 514 can provide relative freedom of movement in the width direction and can mutually constrain the freedom of movement in other directions besides the width direction. This allows the squeegee body 52 to be disassembled and assembled with the support assembly 51 along the width direction while maintaining the stability of the squeegee body 52 when it is installed on the support assembly 51.
[0139] Following the above embodiments, please continue to refer to the appendix. Figures 11-14 The support assembly 51 is also provided with a cover plate 513, which is movably installed on the side of the support assembly 51 where the assembly port 512 is opened.
[0140] The cover plate 513 can move relative to the support assembly 51 between a locked position and an unlocked position. When the cover plate 513 is in the locked position, it is located on the insertion / removal path of the squeegee body 52. When the cover plate 513 is in the unlocked position, it is located outside the insertion / removal path of the squeegee body 52. When the squeegee body 52 is installed on the support assembly 51, the cover plate 513 can block the squeegee body 52's freedom of movement in the width direction, thereby preventing the squeegee body 52 from detaching from the support assembly 51 through the mounting port 512.
[0141] In one embodiment, the cover plate 513 can be reset by gravity or by spring reset to ensure that it remains in the insertion and removal path of the squeegee body 52 when no external force is applied to it, thereby blocking the squeegee body 52 from disengaging from the support assembly 51 along the insertion and removal path (the insertion and removal path can be understood as the movement path of the squeegee body 52 during the disassembly and assembly process relative to the support assembly 51, which can be understood as the aforementioned width direction).
[0142] In one embodiment, such as Figures 11-14 As shown, the squeegee body 52 includes a first squeegee body 521 and a second squeegee body 522. The upper parts of the first squeegee body 521 and the second squeegee body 522 are connected. In the embodiment where the squeegee body 52 is provided with a guide slider 525, the lower part of the guide slider 525 can extend downward to form a mounting plate 5251, and the upper ends of the first squeegee body 521 and the second squeegee body 522 are respectively mounted on the front and rear sides of the mounting plate 5251, thereby connecting the upper ends of the first squeegee body 521 and the second squeegee body 522. In this way, the first squeegee body 521 and the second squeegee body 522 are separated by the mounting plate 5251, forming a vacuum gap 523 between the first squeegee body 521 and the second squeegee body 522. The water absorption system in the above embodiment is connected to the vacuum gap 523 to generate a certain negative pressure in the vacuum gap 523, thereby absorbing excess water.
[0143] When the squeegee assembly 50 is in the falling position, both the first squeegee body 521 and the second squeegee body 522 are against the target plane to ensure that the vacuum gap 523 has a certain degree of airtightness. In order to allow excess water to enter the vacuum gap 523, multiple perforations are opened on the first squeegee body 521 at intervals, which allow excess water to enter the vacuum gap 523 through the perforations under the guidance of the first squeegee body 521, and be absorbed by the negative pressure generated by the water absorption system under the guidance of the second squeegee body 522.
[0144] As can be seen from the above, the first squeegee body 521 is located on the front side of the squeegee assembly 50, while the second squeegee body 522 is located on the rear side of the squeegee assembly 50.
[0145] To ensure that the first squeegee body 521 and the second squeegee body 522 can be stably installed in the mounting cavity 511, the squeegee body 52 also includes an elastic fitting 524. The elastic fitting 524 can be an elastic plate extending along the width direction. The elastic fitting 524 is located on the side of the second squeegee body 522 away from the first squeegee body 521. The rear side of the elastic fitting 524 abuts against the cavity wall on the rear side of the mounting cavity 511, and its front side continuously applies an elastic force to the second squeegee body 522 in the direction of the first squeegee body 521, so that the first squeegee body 521 and the second squeegee body 522 are pressed against each other, while the first squeegee body 521 abuts against the cavity wall on the front side of the mounting cavity 511.
[0146] In one embodiment, the side (front side) of the roller brush assembly 20 away from the squeegee assembly 50 is also provided with obstacle-crossing wheels 21. Generally, there are at least two obstacle-crossing wheels 21, which are distributed at opposite ends of the roller brush assembly 20 along the width direction of the roller brush assembly 20. The horizontal height of the bottom end of the obstacle-crossing wheel 21 is greater than the horizontal height of the bottom end of the roller brush assembly 20, thereby avoiding the situation where the obstacle-crossing wheel 21 comes into contact with the target plane during the normal cleaning function of the cleaning robot. This ensures that when the cleaning robot encounters obstacles protruding from the target plane, the obstacle-crossing wheel 21 will come into contact with the obstacle, and the force exerted by the obstacle on the obstacle-crossing wheel 21 will drive the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 to be lifted and cross the obstacle as a whole, reducing the risk of damage to the cleaning robot.
[0147] It is worth mentioning that in related technical solutions, the wheels used by cleaning robots to cross obstacles are mostly omnidirectional wheels that remain in contact with the ground. This causes the omnidirectional wheels to wear down due to continuous contact with the ground, thus scratching the ground. In this embodiment, the obstacle-crossing wheel 21 is mounted on the roller brush assembly 20 using a cantilever structure, so that it is suspended above the target plane under normal conditions, avoiding the above-mentioned situation.
[0148] Please refer to the attached document. Figures 1-7 As mentioned in the above embodiment, the bottom of the body 10 is provided with drive wheels 12 and steering wheels 13 at intervals along its length. The drive wheels 12 are responsible for providing power and controlling the movement of the robot in the forward and backward direction. They are usually driven by a motor. The steering wheels 13 are used to control the steering of the robot. The cleaning robot usually changes its actual running direction by changing the angle of the steering wheels 13 and coordinating with the rotation direction of the drive wheels 12.
[0149] In this embodiment, since the squeegee assembly 50 is mounted on the roller brush assembly 20, both the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 are positioned between the drive wheel 12 and the steering wheel 13. Specifically, the roller brush assembly 20 is located on the side closer to the steering wheel 13, while the squeegee assembly 50 is located on the side closer to the drive wheel 12. This ensures that the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 are large enough in the width direction to cover the area covered by the entire body 10 in the width direction, while avoiding the possibility of interference between the squeegee assembly 50 and the drive wheel 12. It also allows the squeegee assembly 50 and the roller brush assembly 20 to maintain good integration, thereby achieving the beneficial effect provided by shortening the distance between the squeegee assembly 50 and the roller brush assembly 20.
[0150] Finally, in some embodiments of the cleaning robot provided above, the cleaning robot may further include a dust mop assembly 90. In this embodiment, the dust mop assembly 90 mainly includes a dust mop bracket 91 and a dust mop cloth (not shown). The dust mop cloth is attached to the lower surface of the dust mop bracket 91 for adsorbing garbage and dust on the ground. The dust mop bracket 91 is movably mounted on the body 10. In the above embodiments, the dust mop assembly 90 is located on the side of the drive wheel 12 away from the squeegee assembly 50 and can move between a raised position and a lowered position. Similarly, when the dust mop assembly 90 is in the lowered position, the dust mop cloth abuts against the target plane to provide the function of adsorbing dust and garbage, etc., while when the dust mop assembly 90 is in the raised position, the dust mop cloth detaches from the target plane.
[0151] like Figure 7 The diagram shows the state of the cleaning robot in dust mop mode. This mode is based on the cleaning robot in dry sweeping mode. By having the dust mop component 90 in a falling position, it wipes and absorbs the dust and debris missed by the roller brush component 20 and left on the target surface, thereby improving the cleaning ability of the cleaning robot.
[0152] In summary, by changing the cooperation relationship and relative position between the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee 50, and integrating the roller brush assembly 20 and the squeegee assembly 50 into a whole, the cleaning robot achieves the effect of shortening the distance between the two. This allows the cleaning robot to switch between different modes, meeting different cleaning scenarios and needs, while also improving the compactness of the cleaning robot, which is conducive to the miniaturization design of the product and reduces costs.
[0153] In the description herein, it should be understood that the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," and other orientations or positional relationships are used only for ease of description and simplification of operation, 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, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used merely for descriptive distinction and have no special meaning.
[0154] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "an embodiment," "example," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example.
[0155] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style of the specification is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.
[0156] The technical principles of the present invention have been described above with reference to specific embodiments. These descriptions are merely for explaining the principles of the invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the invention in any way. Based on this explanation, those skilled in the art can readily conceive of other specific embodiments of the invention without inventive effort, and these embodiments will all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. A cleaning robot, characterized in that, include: Body (10); A roller brush assembly (20) is movably disposed on the body (10), and the roller brush assembly (20) can move relative to the body (10) between a lifting position and a falling position under the drive of the first drive assembly (30); A squeegee assembly (50) is movably disposed on the roller brush assembly (20). The squeegee assembly (50) moves relative to the roller brush assembly (20) between a rising position and a falling position under the action of the second drive assembly (60). When both the roller brush assembly (20) and the squeegee assembly (50) are in the falling position, both the roller brush assembly (20) and the squeegee assembly (50) are in contact with the target plane; when the roller brush assembly (20) is in the rising position, both the roller brush assembly (20) and the squeegee assembly (50) are detached from the target plane; when the roller brush assembly (20) is in the falling position and the squeegee assembly (50) is in the rising position, the roller brush assembly (20) is in contact with the target plane, and the squeegee assembly (50) is detached from the target plane.
2. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first driving component (30) includes a first fixed end (31) and a first driving end (32), wherein the first driving end (32) is movable relative to the first fixed end (31); The first fixed end (31) is installed on the body (10), and a first transmission component (40) is provided between the first drive end (32) and the roller brush assembly (20).
3. The cleaning robot according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first transmission assembly (40) includes a transmission rope (41), the two ends of which are respectively connected to the first drive end (32) and the roller brush assembly (20).
4. The cleaning robot according to claim 3, characterized in that, A grooved wheel (42) is provided between the transmission rope (41) and the machine body (10). The grooved wheel (42) is rotatably disposed on the machine body (10). The transmission rope (41) at least partially abuts against the upper part of the grooved wheel (42). Furthermore, the transmission rope (41) changes the direction of force transmission at its two ends through the grooved wheel (42).
5. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, A quadrilateral transmission mechanism (80) is provided between the body (10) and the roller brush assembly (20).
6. The cleaning robot according to any one of claims 2-5, characterized in that, The first drive end (32) can extend and retract between positions close to and far from the first fixed end (31).
7. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second drive assembly (60) includes a second fixed end (61) and a second drive end (62); The second fixed end (61) is installed on the roller brush assembly (20), and a second transmission assembly (70) is provided between the second drive end (62) and the squeegee assembly (50).
8. The cleaning robot according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second transmission assembly (70) includes: A cam (71) is connected to the second drive end (62) and can rotate under the drive of the second drive assembly (60). A convex peak (711) extending radially is provided on one side of the cam (71). The drive rod (72) is rotatably connected at one end to the protrusion (711) and rotatably connected at the other end to the squeegee assembly (50).
9. The cleaning robot according to claim 8, characterized in that, An elastic mechanism (53) is provided between the squeegee assembly (50) and the body (10) or the roller brush assembly (20); The two ends of the elastic mechanism (53) act on the squeegee assembly (50) and the body (10) or the roller brush assembly (20) respectively, and continuously apply an elastic force in the direction of falling position to the squeegee assembly (50).
10. The cleaning robot according to claim 9, characterized in that, The cam (71) has a first structural plane (73) that is arranged along the height direction and passes through its rotation center; When the squeegee assembly (50) is in the raised position, the protrusion (711) is located on the first side of the first structural plane (73), and when the squeegee assembly (50) is in the lowered position, the protrusion (711) is located on the second side of the first structural plane (73).
11. The cleaning robot according to claim 10, characterized in that, The roller brush assembly (20) is also provided with a limiting structure (74), which is located on the first side of the first construction plane (73) and is used to constrain the peak (711) to the extreme position on the first side of the first construction plane (73).
12. The cleaning robot according to any one of claims 7-11, characterized in that, The first side of the squeegee assembly (50) is rotatably connected to the roller brush assembly (20) so that the second side of the squeegee assembly (50) can swing relative to the roller brush assembly (20) about the rotation axis of its first side. The second transmission component (70) is connected to the second side of the squeegee component (50).
13. The cleaning robot according to any one of claims 7-11, characterized in that, The second driving end (62) can rotate relative to the second fixed end (61).
14. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, A height adjustment mechanism (11) is provided between the body (10) and the roller brush assembly (20). The height adjustment mechanism (11) is used to adjust the distance between the body (10), the roller brush assembly (20), and the squeegee assembly (50) in the height direction.
15. The cleaning robot according to claim 14, characterized in that, The height adjustment mechanism (11) includes: An adjusting component (111) is adjustablely connected to the body (10) along the height direction. The adjusting component is provided with a support (1111) on the lower side of the body (10). The connecting component (112) is fixedly connected to the roller brush assembly (20) on one side, and the other side of the connecting component (112) is hung on the support part (1111).
16. The cleaning robot according to claim 15, characterized in that, The adjusting component (111) is an adjusting rod. The two ends of the adjusting rod pass through the body (10) at intervals and are both provided with external threads (1112). The middle part of the adjusting rod is set at an angle to the two ends of the adjusting rod so that the middle part of the adjusting rod forms the supporting part (1111). The connecting component (112) is a connecting plate, with its two ends spaced apart and arranged opposite to each other, and the connecting plate is hung on the supporting part (1111) through its middle part.
17. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The squeegee assembly (50) includes: A support assembly (51) is movably disposed in the roller brush assembly (20). The support assembly (51) has a mounting cavity (511) whose bottom communicates with the outside of the support assembly (51). The support assembly (51) has an assembly port (512) communicating with the mounting cavity (511) on at least one side along the width direction. The squeegee body (52) is inserted into the mounting cavity (511) through the assembly port (512) and the support assembly (51) extends out from the bottom of the mounting cavity (511).
18. The cleaning robot according to claim 17, characterized in that, The support assembly (51) is also provided with a cover plate (513), which is movably installed on the side of the support assembly (51) where the assembly port (512) is opened; The cover plate (513) is movable relative to the support assembly (51) between a locked position and an unlocked position. When the cover plate (513) is in the locked position, the cover plate (513) is located on the insertion and removal path of the squeegee body (52). When the cover plate (513) is in the unlocked position, the cover plate (513) is located outside the insertion and removal path of the squeegee body (52).
19. The cleaning robot according to claim 17, characterized in that, The squeegee body (52) includes: First body (521); and The second excavator (522) is connected to the first excavator (521), and a vacuum gap (523) is formed between the first excavator (521) and the second excavator (522); An elastic fitting (524) is disposed on the side of the second cutter body (522) away from the first cutter body (521), and the first cutter body (521) and the second cutter body (522) are pressed together by continuously applying an elastic force toward the first cutter body (521) to the second cutter body (522).
20. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The roller brush assembly (20) is provided with an obstacle-crossing wheel (21) on the side away from the squeegee assembly (50), and the horizontal height of the bottom end of the obstacle-crossing wheel (21) is greater than the horizontal height of the bottom end of the roller brush assembly (20).
21. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the body (10) is provided with drive wheels (12) and steering wheels (13) spaced apart along its length. The roller brush assembly (20) and the squeegee assembly (50) are both located between the drive wheels (12) and the steering wheels (13).
22. The cleaning robot according to claim 21, characterized in that, Also includes: A dust mop assembly (90) is movably disposed on the body (10). The dust mop assembly (90) is located on the side of the drive wheel (12) away from the squeegee assembly (50) and can move between the lifting position and the falling position.