Cleaning mechanism and autonomous mobile equipment

Abstract

The utility model provides a cleaning mechanism and autonomous mobile equipment. The cleaning mechanism comprises a supporting and guiding assembly, a driving assembly and a cleaning assembly which are assembled together. A guide groove is formed in the side wall of a guide cylinder of the supporting guide assembly. A driving cylinder and a guiding cylinder of the driving assembly are coaxially sleeved together and can rotate in two directions, and a driving groove is formed in the side wall of the driving cylinder. A driven cylinder and a guide cylinder of the cleaning assembly are coaxially sleeved together, and the side wall of the driven cylinder is provided with a driven protrusion inserted into the guide groove and the driving groove. The cleaning assembly further comprises a rotating brush capable of rotating relative to the driven barrel. Thus, the driving groove and the guiding groove are matched with the driven protrusion, the cleaning mechanism can stretch out, draw back, ascend and descend relative to the main body part, and therefore the structure, achieving stretching out, drawing back, ascending and descending, of the cleaning mechanism is greatly simplified, and related cost is reduced. In addition, the autonomous mobile device can adopt different working modes according to the operating environment of the autonomous mobile device to adapt to more application scenes.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cleaning mechanism for an autonomous mobile device, and also relates to an autonomous mobile device comprising the same. BACKGROUND

[0002] An autonomous mobile device refers to an intelligent mobile device that autonomously performs a preset task, and is capable of moving on a travel surface autonomously according to a result of sensing by a sensing component thereof. At present, autonomous mobile devices generally include, but are not limited to, self-moving cleaning devices (such as intelligent sweeping machines, intelligent mopping machines, window-cleaning robots), companion-type mobile robots (such as intelligent electronic pets, nanny robots), service-type mobile robots (such as reception robots for hotels, inns, meeting places), industrial inspection intelligent devices (such as power inspection robots, intelligent forklifts, etc.), and security robots (such as intelligent security robots for home or business use).

[0003] For a self-moving cleaning device having a dry cleaning component and a wet cleaning component, it is capable of performing dry cleaning and wet cleaning on a surface to be cleaned. The dry cleaning component includes a main brush and an edge brush arranged at the bottom of the main body of the self-moving cleaning device, both of which are capable of cleaning the surface to be cleaned, and the cleaning functions of the two are different. The edge brush is mainly used to clean the interface (such as a corner) of the vertical surface (such as a wall) close to the surface to be cleaned, but due to the limitation of the overall shape of the self-moving cleaning device, it is difficult for the edge brush to effectively clean all the above-mentioned interfaces. In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, it is necessary for the edge brush to have the function of being able to stretch relative to the main body. In addition, during the operation of the edge brush, the edge brush can be contaminated by wet dirt such as water, jam and mud on the travel surface, or the edge brush can also come into contact with the carpet, thereby causing the carpet to be contaminated or the edge brush to stretch into the carpet to generate resistance to the travel of the self-moving cleaning device. In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, it is necessary for the edge brush to have the function of being able to lift relative to the main body. In order to realize the above-mentioned stretching and lifting functions, in the existing automatic cleaning device, two different mechanisms are generally used to realize the stretching of the edge brush relative to the main body and the lifting of the edge brush relative to the main body, respectively. SUMMARY

[0004] Based on the problems of the prior art described above, one object of the present disclosure is to provide a cleaning mechanism that realizes the stretching and lifting relative to the main body in a state where it is installed on the main body of an autonomous mobile device with a relatively simple structure. Other objects of the present disclosure are to provide an autonomous mobile device comprising the above-mentioned cleaning mechanism.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solutions.

[0006] The present disclosure provides a cleaning mechanism comprising:

[0007] a support guide assembly for being fixedly installed on an object to be installed and including a guide cylinder, a side wall of the guide cylinder being formed with a guide groove;

[0008] a drive assembly including a drive cylinder capable of bidirectional rotation relative to the guide cylinder, the drive cylinder being coaxially sleeved with the guide cylinder, a side wall of the drive cylinder being formed with a drive groove; and

[0009] a cleaning assembly including the driven cylinder and at least one rotating brush, the rotating brush being installed on the driven cylinder and capable of rotation relative to the driven cylinder, a side wall of the driven cylinder being provided with a driven protrusion, the driven protrusion being inserted into the guide groove and the drive groove.

[0010] In an alternative, the guide groove includes an axial groove portion and a circumferential groove portion in communication with each other, the axial groove portion extending along an axial direction of the guide cylinder, the circumferential groove portion extending along a circumferential direction of the guide cylinder from one end of the axial groove portion, and the drive groove extends along the circumferential direction while obliquely extending along the axial direction.

[0011] In another alternative, the guide cylinder is formed with two guide grooves, the two guide grooves being arranged in central symmetry relative to a central axis passing through the guide cylinder.

[0012] In another alternative, an axial length of the drive groove is equal to an axial length of the axial groove portion, and a circumferential length of the drive groove corresponds to a central angle of a circle smaller than or equal to a central angle of a circle corresponding to a circumferential length of the circumferential groove portion.

[0013] In another alternative, axial positions of two ends of the drive groove are respectively identical to axial positions of two ends of the axial groove portion.

[0014] In another alternative, the guide cylinder is located at an outermost side, the drive cylinder is located at an inner side of the guide cylinder, and the driven cylinder is located at an inner side of the drive cylinder.

[0015] In another alternative, the drive cylinder is formed with a shoulder portion, the shoulder portion being rested on the guide cylinder so that the drive cylinder can rotate relative to the guide cylinder in a state supported by the guide cylinder.

[0016] In another alternative, the drive assembly further includes a first motor, the first motor being installed on the support guide assembly or the object to be installed, and the first motor being in transmission coupling with the drive cylinder to drive the drive cylinder to rotate bidirectionally,

[0017] The first motor has a motor gear for outputting torque, and the driving cylinder has a plurality of gear teeth which are always in mesh with the motor gear.

[0018] In another alternative, the cleaning assembly further comprises a second motor, an extension arm and a transmission assembly,

[0019] The second motor is at least partially received inside the driven cylinder,

[0020] One end of the extension arm is fixedly installed on the driven cylinder, and the rotating brush is installed on the other end of the extension arm and can rotate relative to the extension arm, and

[0021] The transmission assembly is at least partially received inside the extension arm, and the second motor is drivingly coupled with the rotating brush via the transmission assembly.

[0022] The present disclosure also provides an autonomous mobile device comprising a main body as the object to be installed and the cleaning mechanism according to any one of the above technical solutions, and the support and guide assembly of the cleaning mechanism is fixedly installed on the main body.

[0023] In an alternative, the axial direction of the guide cylinder of the cleaning mechanism is consistent with the up-down direction of the autonomous mobile device; and the rotating brush of the cleaning mechanism is located at the lowermost position of the entire cleaning mechanism.

[0024] By adopting the above technical solutions, the present disclosure provides a cleaning mechanism and an autonomous mobile device. In the cleaning mechanism, a support and guide assembly, a driving assembly and a cleaning assembly are assembled together to work in cooperation. The support and guide assembly is used for fixedly installing on an object to be installed and comprises a guide cylinder, and a guide groove is formed in the side wall of the guide cylinder. The driving assembly comprises a driving cylinder which can rotate bidirectionally relative to the guide cylinder, and the driving cylinder is coaxially sleeved with the guide cylinder, and a driving groove is formed in the side wall of the driving cylinder. The cleaning assembly comprises a driven cylinder and at least one rotating brush, the rotating brush is installed on the driven cylinder and can rotate relative to the driven cylinder, the driven cylinder is coaxially sleeved with the guide cylinder, and a driven protrusion is formed in the side wall of the driven cylinder and inserted into the guide groove and the driving groove. Thus, as the driving cylinder rotates bidirectionally, the driving groove can drive the driven protrusion to move along the guide groove, thereby driving the cleaning assembly to reciprocate linearly along the axial direction of the guide cylinder and to reciprocate swingingly along the circumferential direction of the guide cylinder.

[0025] Thus, when a cleaning mechanism, for example, as a side brush, is installed on the main body of the autonomous mobile device, and the axis of the guide tube of the cleaning mechanism is substantially aligned with the vertical direction of the autonomous mobile device, the extension, retraction, and lifting of the cleaning mechanism relative to the main body can be achieved by utilizing the drive groove and guide groove in conjunction with the driven protrusion. Compared to a scheme that uses two independent mechanisms to achieve extension, retraction, and lifting of the cleaning mechanism separately, this significantly simplifies the structure of the mechanism for extension, retraction, and lifting of the cleaning mechanism and reduces related costs. Moreover, the cleaning mechanism of this disclosure operates smoothly and is less prone to malfunctions during operation. Furthermore, autonomous mobile devices including the aforementioned cleaning mechanism have the same effect. In addition, this autonomous mobile device can adopt different operating modes according to its operating environment, enabling it to adapt to more application scenarios. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figures 1A-1C This is a perspective view of a cleaning mechanism according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the cleaning mechanism is in different working states.

[0027] Figure 2 It shows Figures 1A-1C A three-dimensional schematic diagram of the support and guidance components of the cleaning mechanism.

[0028] Figure 3 It shows Figures 1A-1C A three-dimensional schematic diagram of the drive components of the cleaning mechanism.

[0029] Figure 4 It shows Figures 1A-1C A three-dimensional schematic diagram of the cleaning components of the cleaning mechanism.

[0030] Figure 5A This is a front view schematic diagram illustrating an autonomous mobile device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which includes... Figures 1A-1C Cleaning facilities in the country.

[0031] Figure 5B It shows Figure 5A A diagram showing the autonomous mobile device viewed from below.

[0032] Figure 5C It shows Figure 5A and Figure 5B A three-dimensional schematic diagram of the autonomous mobile device, in which the rotating brush of the cleaning mechanism is in a retracted position and an elevated position relative to the main body, and corresponding to... Figure 1A The working status of the cleaning agency.

[0033] Figure 5D It shows Figure 5A and Figure 5BFIG. 1 is a perspective view of an autonomous mobile device in which a cleaning mechanism is in a retracted position relative to a body portion and in a raised position corresponding to a first operating state of the cleaning mechanism. Figure 1B FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the autonomous mobile device in which the cleaning mechanism is in an extended position relative to the body portion and in the raised position corresponding to the first operating state of the cleaning mechanism.

[0034] Figure 5E FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the autonomous mobile device in which the cleaning mechanism is in the extended position relative to the body portion and in a lowered position corresponding to a second operating state of the cleaning mechanism. Figure 5A FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the autonomous mobile device in which the cleaning mechanism is in the extended position relative to the body portion and in a third operating state of the cleaning mechanism. Figure 5B Figure 1C FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the autonomous mobile device in which the cleaning mechanism is in the extended position relative to the body portion and in a fourth operating state of the cleaning mechanism.

[0035] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0036] CA - cleaning mechanism;

[0037] 1 - support guide assembly; 11 - guide cylinder; 111 - first half; 112 - second half; 11c1 - axial slot portion; 11c2 - circumferential slot portion; 12 - support column;

[0038] 2 - drive assembly; 21 - first motor; 211 - motor gear; 22 - drive cylinder; 22s - shoulder; 22t - tooth; 22c - drive slot;

[0039] 3 - cleaning assembly; 31 - driven cylinder; 311 - driven protrusion; 32 - rotating brush; 33 - extension arm; 34 - second motor;

[0040] A - axial;

[0041] MB - body portion;

[0042] 4 - main machine;

[0043] 5 - wheel assembly;

[0044] D1 - left-right direction; D2 - up-down direction; D3 - front-rear direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate understanding, there can be elements shown in the drawings that represent dimensions and scales, etc. that are different from actual dimensions and scales, etc. among the elements shown in the respective drawings.

[0046] ​In the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, "front (front side)", "rear (rear side)", "left (left side)", "right (right side)", "upper (upper side)", "lower (lower side)" are relative to the normal operating state of the autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure. Specifically, the autonomous mobile device has a forward movement direction (i.e. forward direction) in the normal operating state, and the so-called "normal operating state" refers to the movement state of the autonomous mobile device when performing a task, which is distinguished from the retreat, swing and other abnormal operating states of the autonomous mobile device in the escape mode. "Front (front side)", "rear (rear side)" refer to the front side and the rear side in the forward direction of the autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure when the autonomous mobile device is in the normal operating state on the travel surface (e.g. the surface to be cleaned), "left (left side)", "right (right side)" refer to the left side and the right side when viewed from the front side in the forward direction, and "upper (upper side)", "lower (lower side)" refer to the upper side and the lower side in the height direction perpendicular to the travel surface when the autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure is in the normal operating state on the travel surface.

[0047] In the present disclosure, the autonomous mobile device is capable of autonomous movement according to the control scheme preset in the processing unit thereof, and the travel surface on which the autonomous mobile device moves autonomously can be a plane or a curved surface with a large radius of curvature, typically for example the floor in each room of a building. The processing unit in the present disclosure is collectively referred to, and the type, number and form of the processing unit are not limited. Specifically, the processing unit can be one or more of MCU, DSP, FPGA, GPU, or other various hardware chips, processors or software algorithms with data processing and computing capabilities. Further, the processing unit can be a unified and unique processor of the autonomous mobile device, or a collection of multiple processing units, and the connection mode and the allocation of functions and computing power of the multiple processing units can be adjusted as needed. For example, in an alternative scheme, a first processing unit and a second processing unit can be included, and in this case, the first processing unit and the second processing unit collectively implement the various functions of the processing unit described above. In addition, the processing unit of the autonomous mobile device of the present disclosure can receive parameters from the sensing assembly and control the autonomous mobile device through the preset program stored in the storage unit. In the present disclosure, the data, information, programs required by the processing unit in the processing process can be stored in the storage unit and obtained from the storage unit as needed, and the processing unit can store the processed data, information, etc. in the storage unit again. The storage unit can be RAM, ROM, etc., or a cloud / server / mobile terminal with storage function connected through wired / wireless network and / or the like.

[0048] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, "extension" refers to the extension and retraction of the rotating brush of the cleaning mechanism of the autonomous mobile device relative to the main body; and "lifting" refers to the lifting and lowering of the rotating brush of the cleaning mechanism of the autonomous mobile device relative to the main body.

[0049] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, "axial", "circumferential" and "radial" refer to the axial, circumferential and radial directions of the guide cylinder of the support and guide assembly of the cleaning mechanism.

[0050] In the present disclosure, "driving connection" refers to the connection between two components that can transmit torque, including direct connection and indirect connection between the two components.

[0051] The cleaning mechanism according to the embodiments of the present disclosure is described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the specification.

[0052] As shown in Figures 1A-1C , the cleaning mechanism CA according to the embodiments of the present disclosure includes a support and guide assembly 1, a driving assembly 2 and a cleaning assembly 3 assembled together, which is used for an autonomous mobile device and can serve as the side brush (see Figures 5A-5E ) of the autonomous mobile device, thereby performing dry cleaning on the travel surface (e.g. the surface to be cleaned) of the autonomous mobile device, especially for cleaning the interface part (e.g. the corner) of the travel surface close to the vertical surface (e.g. the wall).

[0053] In the present embodiment, the support and guide assembly 1 is used for fixed installation on the object to be installed (e.g. the main body MB of the autonomous mobile device). Specifically, as shown in Figures 1A-1C and Figure 2 , the support and guide assembly 1 includes a guide cylinder 11 and two support columns 12 fixed to each other. The guide cylinder 11 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the inside of the guide cylinder 11 is formed as a cylindrical hollow cavity. The two support columns 12 are provided at the outer peripheral portion of the guide cylinder 11 at a predetermined distance apart in the circumferential direction, and each support column 12 can be formed with a plurality of connection holes for inserting, for example, threaded connectors, so that the support and guide assembly 1 can be fixed to the object to be installed via the support columns 21.

[0054] As shown in Figure 2As shown, the side wall of the guide cylinder 11 is formed with two guide grooves 11c1, 11c2, which are coincident after rotating 180 degrees central angle relative to the central axis of the guide cylinder 11, that is, the two guide grooves 11c1, 11c2 are central symmetric relative to the central axis. Each guide groove 11c1, 11c2 penetrates the guide cylinder 11 in the radial direction, and each guide groove 11c1, 11c2 includes an axial groove portion 11c1 and a circumferential groove portion 11c2 which communicate with each other. In the side wall of the guide cylinder 11, the axial groove portion 11c1 extends linearly along the axial direction A for a certain length and the axial ends thereof do not extend to the axial ends of the guide cylinder 11, and the circumferential groove portion 11c2 extends from one end of the axial groove portion 11c1 along the circumferential direction for a certain length. Each guide groove 11c1, 11c2 is used for inserting the driven protrusion 311 of the driven cylinder 31, so as to jointly position the position of the driven protrusion 311 according to the extension trajectory of the guide groove 11c1, 11c2 and the extension trajectory of the drive groove 22c of the drive cylinder 22 described below, thereby positioning the cleaning assembly 3 (especially the rotating brush 32).

[0055] In order to facilitate the assembly of the entire cleaning mechanism, the guide cylinder 11 is configured to have a split structure. As shown in Figure 2 The guide cylinder 11 can include a first half 111 and a second half 112 which can be detachably assembled together. The first half 111 includes a first circular arc portion and first lugs formed at both side end portions of the first circular arc portion, and the first lugs are formed with first connecting holes. The second half 112 includes a second circular arc portion and second lugs formed at both side end portions of the second circular arc portion, and the second lugs are formed with second connecting holes corresponding to the first connecting holes. The first half 111 and the second half 112 can be fixedly assembled together by a connecting piece inserted through the first connecting hole into the second connecting hole. The first circular arc portion and the second circular arc portion define a hollow cavity in a state that the first half 111 and the second half 112 are fixed to each other. In addition, two support columns 12 are respectively fixed to the second lugs and extend along the axial direction A.

[0056] In the present embodiment, as shown in Figures 1A-1C and Figure 3 The drive assembly 2 is installed to the support and guide assembly 1. Specifically, the drive assembly 2 includes a first motor 21 and a drive cylinder 22.

[0057] The first motor 21 can be fixedly installed to an object to be installed via a motor support, or can be fixedly installed to the support and guide assembly 1 via the motor support. As shown in Figure 3As shown, the first motor 21 has a motor gear 211 for outputting torque, and the motor gear 211 is always in meshing state with the gear teeth 22t of the driving cylinder 22, so that the first motor 21 and the driving cylinder 22 are in driving connection to drive the driving cylinder 22 to rotate bidirectionally around the central axis thereof. In addition, the driving cylinder 22 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the inside of the driving cylinder 22 defines a hollow cavity in a cylindrical shape. The driving cylinder 22 is coaxially sleeved with the guide cylinder 11 and can rotate relative to the guide cylinder 11. The driving cylinder 22 is formed with a shoulder 22s protruding towards the radial outside, and the shoulder 22s is placed on the top of the guide cylinder 11, so that the driving cylinder 22 can rotate relative to the guide cylinder 11 in a state supported by the guide cylinder 11. This is conducive to the structural stability of the driving cylinder 22 and improves the smoothness of the operation of the entire cleaning mechanism CA. The driving cylinder 22 is formed with a plurality of gear teeth 22t in meshing state with the motor gear 211 at the position close to the shoulder 22s. In this way, the driving cylinder 22 can be driven to rotate bidirectionally by the first motor 21 as the driving source, and this scheme is simple in structure and easy to implement.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 1, the driving cylinder 22 is coaxially sleeved with the guide cylinder 11 and can rotate relative to the guide cylinder 11. The driving cylinder 22 is formed with a shoulder 22s protruding towards the radial outside, and the shoulder 22s is placed on the top of the guide cylinder 11, so that the driving cylinder 22 can rotate relative to the guide cylinder 11 in a state supported by the guide cylinder 11. This is conducive to the structural stability of the driving cylinder 22 and improves the smoothness of the operation of the entire cleaning mechanism CA. Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1, the driving cylinder 22 is coaxially sleeved with the guide cylinder 11 and can rotate relative to the guide cylinder 11. The driving cylinder 22 is formed with a shoulder 22s protruding towards the radial outside, and the shoulder 22s is placed on the top of the guide cylinder 11, so that the driving cylinder 22 can rotate relative to the guide cylinder 11 in a state supported by the guide cylinder 11. This is conducive to the structural stability of the driving cylinder 22 and improves the smoothness of the operation of the entire cleaning mechanism CA.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 1, the driving cylinder 22 is coaxially sleeved with the guide cylinder 11 and can rotate relative to the guide cylinder 11. The driving cylinder 22 is formed with a shoulder 22s protruding towards the radial outside, and the shoulder 22s is placed on the top of the guide cylinder 11, so that the driving cylinder 22 can rotate relative to the guide cylinder 11 in a state supported by the guide cylinder 11. This is conducive to the structural stability of the driving cylinder 22 and improves the smoothness of the operation of the entire cleaning mechanism CA. Figures 1A-1C Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1, the driving cylinder 22 is coaxially sleeved with the guide cylinder 11 and can rotate relative to the guide cylinder 11. The driving cylinder 22 is formed with a shoulder 22s protruding towards the radial outside, and the shoulder 22s is placed on the top of the guide cylinder 11, so that the driving cylinder 22 can rotate relative to the guide cylinder 11 in a state supported by the guide cylinder 11. This is conducive to the structural stability of the driving cylinder 22 and improves the smoothness of the operation of the entire cleaning mechanism CA.​

[0060] As shown in Figures 1A-1C and Figure 4 The driven cylinder 31 can be used as the housing of the second motor 34 and is coaxially sleeved with the guide cylinder 11. The side wall of the driven cylinder 31 has a driven protrusion 311, and each driven protrusion 311 is inserted into a pair of corresponding guide grooves and drive grooves 22c. Thus, as the drive cylinder 22 is bidirectionally rotated by the first motor 21, the drive grooves 22c can drive the driven protrusions 311 to move along the guide grooves 11c1, 11c2 to jointly position the positions of the driven protrusions 311 according to the extension trajectories of the drive grooves 22c of the drive cylinder 22 and the extension trajectories of the guide grooves 11c1, 11c2 of the guide cylinder 11, so as to realize the reciprocating linear motion of the cleaning assembly 3 along the axial direction A of the guide cylinder 11 and the reciprocating swing of the cleaning assembly 3 along the circumferential direction of the guide cylinder 11. In addition, one end of the extension arm 33 can be fixed with the driven cylinder 31, and the three rotating brushes 32 are mounted to the other end of the extension arm 33 in a manner that can rotate relative to the extension arm 33 and the driven cylinder 31. The three rotating brushes 32 are uniformly arranged at intervals from each other, so that the three rotating brushes 32 can effectively clean the running surface during rotation. The second motor 34 is at least partially received in the interior of the driven cylinder 31, the transmission assembly is at least partially received in the interior of the extension arm 33, and the second motor 34 is drivingly coupled with the rotating brushes 32 via the transmission assembly. In an optional scheme, the transmission assembly can have various transmission mechanisms such as a gear transmission mechanism composed of multiple gear pairs or a belt transmission mechanism composed of a belt wheel and a belt. Thus, the above-mentioned rotating brush 32 rotation scheme is simple in structure and easy to implement, and the extension arm 33 can make the rotating brush 32 swing relatively by a larger amplitude during the driving of the driven cylinder 31, which is beneficial to improve the cleaning effect of the rotating brush 32.

[0061] By adopting the above scheme, in the case that the cleaning mechanism CA such as a side brush is installed on the main body part MB of the autonomous mobile device, and the axial direction A of the guide cylinder 11 of the cleaning mechanism CA is substantially consistent with the up-down direction D2 of the autonomous mobile device, the extension and retraction and the lifting and lowering of the cleaning mechanism CA relative to the main body part MB can be achieved by the cooperation of the driving groove 22c and the guide grooves 11c1 and 11c2 with the driven protrusion 311. Compared with the scheme of achieving the extension and retraction and the lifting and lowering of the cleaning mechanism by two sets of independent mechanisms respectively, the structure of the cleaning mechanism CA for extension and retraction and lifting and lowering is greatly simplified, and the related cost is reduced. More specifically, in the scheme of the present application, the extension and retraction and the lifting and lowering of the cleaning mechanism CA relative to the main body part MB can be achieved by using the same power source (the first motor 21), so compared with the scheme of using different power sources to achieve the above extension and retraction and lifting and lowering respectively, the power source and the structure related to the power source are simplified, and the related cost is reduced. Moreover, the cleaning mechanism CA of the present disclosure operates smoothly and is not prone to failure during operation. Further, the structure of each groove in the driving groove 22c and the guide grooves 11c1 and 11c2 for driving and guiding the driven protrusion 311 is simple and easy to implement.

[0062] The use of two symmetrically arranged guide grooves 11c1 and 11c2, and the driving groove 22c corresponding to each guide groove 11c1 and 11c2 and the corresponding driven protrusion 311, is conducive to improving the structural stability of the driven cylinder 31, and further improving the smoothness of the operation of the entire cleaning mechanism CA. In addition, the guide cylinder 11 is located at the outermost side, the driving cylinder 22 is located inside the guide cylinder 11, and the driven cylinder 31 is located inside the driving cylinder 22. Not only is it conducive to the structural stability of the driven cylinder 31, but it also relatively simplifies the disassembly of the cleaning mechanism CA, which is conducive to maintenance and repair work.

[0063] The autonomous mobile device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is a self-moving cleaning device. As shown in Figures 5A-5E The autonomous mobile device includes a main body part MB and the cleaning mechanism CA described above assembled together. In the present embodiment, the rotating brush 32 of the cleaning mechanism CA can be extended and retracted and lifted and lowered relative to the main body part MB.

[0064] In the present embodiment, as Figure 5BAs shown, the main body portion MB can include a main body 4 having a substantially circular shape as a whole. The shape of the main body 4 is not limited to this, and in alternative embodiments, the main body 4 can have other shapes, such as a square shape, an oval shape, a D-shape, etc. When the autonomous mobile device according to embodiments of the present disclosure is in a normal operating state, the bottom surface of the main body 4 is opposite to a travel surface (e.g., a surface to be cleaned), and the bottom surface of the main body 4 is parallel to the travel surface. Here, "parallel" includes not only a geometric parallel relationship between the bottom surface of the main body 4 and the travel surface, but also a substantially parallel relationship between the two. The "substantially" indicates that within a reasonable error range recognized by those skilled in the art, the parallel relationship between the two can be determined to be established. In addition, other components of the autonomous mobile device can be provided on the main body 4, and most of the structure of the autonomous mobile device is installed inside or on the surface of the main body 4, or has a connection relationship with the main body 4, in order to support and protect the other components. The autonomous mobile device can also be provided with a processing unit and a sensing assembly in the main body 4.

[0065] In the present embodiment, as shown in Figures 5A-5E In order to achieve autonomous movement of the autonomous mobile device, the main body portion MB of the autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure can also include a wheel assembly 5 in order to achieve autonomous movement of the autonomous mobile device. The wheel assembly 5 can be installed on the main body 4 and protrude from the bottom surface of the main body 4, and is used to drive the entire autonomous mobile device to travel on the travel surface under the control of the processing unit. By rotating the two wheels (drive wheels) of the wheel assembly 5 at the same speed in the same direction (e.g., both clockwise or both counterclockwise), the autonomous mobile device can be driven to move in a straight line along a forward direction of travel. By rotating the two wheels of the wheel assembly 5 at different speeds and / or in different directions (e.g., one clockwise and the other counterclockwise), the autonomous mobile device can be driven to turn in a direction different from the forward direction of travel. The autonomous mobile device can also include a universal wheel (not shown) provided on the main body 4, so that the universal wheel can support the entire autonomous mobile device regardless of the manner in which the wheels roll on the travel surface.

[0066] In the present embodiment, the support and guide assembly 1 of the cleaning mechanism CA is fixedly installed on the main body portion MB (particularly, the main body 4 thereof) as the object to be installed. The axial direction A of the guide cylinder 11 of the cleaning mechanism CA coincides with (including substantially coincides with) the up-down direction D2 of the autonomous mobile device, and the rotating brush 32 of the cleaning mechanism CA is located at the lowermost position of the entire cleaning mechanism CA in the up-down direction D2. As shown in Figure 5B The cleaning mechanism CA is located at the front of the main body 4 in the front-rear direction D3, and is located at the right side of the main body 4 relative to the center line (extending along the front-rear direction D3) of the main body 4 in the left-right direction D1. In the case where the cleaning mechanism CA is installed on the main body 4 of the main body portion MB of the autonomous mobile device, the rotating brush 32 can be telescoped and lifted relative to the main body 4 of the main body portion MB.

[0067] In the present instance, the working method of the autonomous mobile device enables the autonomous mobile device to be at least in a first working mode, a second working mode and a third working mode as described below, in the case where the autonomous mobile device has the configuration as described above.

[0068] In the course of the autonomous mobile device travelling on the travelling surface, when the autonomous mobile device detects that there is a carpet or wet dirt on the travelling route, as shown in Figure 5C , the autonomous mobile device can adopt the first working mode. Further as shown in Figure 1A , in the first working mode, the driven protrusion 311 of the driven cylinder 31 is located at the upper end of the axial groove portion 11c1 of the guide cylinder 11 and at the upper end of the driving groove 22c of the driving cylinder 22, thereby causing the guide cylinder 11, the driving cylinder 22 and the driven cylinder 31 to be arranged substantially completely overlapping each other in the up-down direction D2, and the extending arm 33 is not swung out relative to the main machine 4 of the main body portion MB. Therefore, as shown in Figure 5C , the rotating brush 32 of the cleaning mechanism CA is positioned at the retracted position relative to the main body portion MB and at the raised position. In this way, when the carpet or wet dirt is identified on the travelling surface, the rotating brush 32 of the cleaning mechanism CA can be positioned at the retracted position relative to the main body portion MB and at the raised position before the autonomous mobile device enters the carpet range or the range where there is wet dirt, so that the bristles of the rotating brush 32 do not come into contact with the carpet or wet dirt. Thus, on the one hand, the dirt on the bristles of the rotating brush 32 is prevented from causing undesirable contamination to the carpet, and the bristles of the rotating brush 32 are also prevented from possibly extending into the carpet to cause hindrance to the travelling of the autonomous mobile device; on the other hand, the bristles of the rotating brush 32 are also prevented from being contaminated by the wet dirt, reducing the frequency of cleaning or replacement of the rotating brush 32.

[0069] In the course of the autonomous mobile device travelling on the travelling surface, when the autonomous mobile device needs to perform a regular cleaning operation on the travelling surface, as shown in Figure 5D , the autonomous mobile device can adopt the second working mode. Further as shown in Figure 1B , in the second working mode, the driven protrusion 311 of the driven cylinder 31 is located at the lower end of the axial groove portion 11c1 of the guide cylinder 11 (i.e. one end of the circumferential groove portion 11c2) and at the lower end of the driving groove 22c of the driving cylinder 22, thereby causing the guide cylinder 11 and the driving cylinder 22 to be arranged substantially completely overlapping each other in the up-down direction D2, and the driven cylinder 31 to extend relative to the guide cylinder 11 and the driving cylinder 22, and the extending arm 33 is not swung out relative to the main body portion MB. Therefore, as shown in Figure 5DAs shown, the rotating brush 32 of the cleaning mechanism CA is in a retracted and lowered position relative to the main body MB. This position allows the rotating brush 32 to fully contact the traveling surface, such as the surface to be cleaned, ensuring its normal operation. At this time, the bristles of the rotating brush 32 clean dry dirt on the traveling surface, collecting it at or near the location of the main brush, and then sucking it into the dustbin of the autonomous mobile device.

[0070] When autonomous mobile equipment needs to clean the boundary between the travel surface and vertical obstacles, such as Figure 5E As shown, autonomous mobile devices can adopt a third operating mode. Further as... Figure 1C As shown, in the third operating mode, the driven protrusion 311 of the driven cylinder 31 is located at the other end of the circumferential groove 11c2 of the guide cylinder 11 and at the lower end of the drive groove 22c of the drive cylinder 22. This causes the guide cylinder 11 and the drive cylinder 22 to be arranged in a substantially complete overlap with each other in the vertical direction D2, and the driven cylinder 31 extends relative to the guide cylinder 11 and the drive cylinder 22, while the extended arm 33 swings out relative to the main body MB. Therefore, as... Figure 5E As shown, the rotating brush 32 of the cleaning mechanism CA is in an extended and lowered position relative to the main body MB. This allows the rotating brush 32 of the cleaning mechanism CA to be positioned in an extended and raised position relative to the main body MB. Therefore, the rotating brush 32 can extend a considerable distance relative to the main body MB while making full contact with the travel surface, such as the surface to be cleaned. This expands the cleaning range of the rotating brush 32 compared to its normal operating state. Thus, when the autonomous mobile device is in edge-following mode, the main body MB of the autonomous mobile device does not need to be too close to vertical obstacles (such as walls), and the rotating brush 32 can reach the boundary between the travel surface and the vertical obstacle (such as a corner), thereby effectively cleaning the boundary area and effectively avoiding so-called "cleaning dead zones."

[0071] By adopting the above scheme, a typical operating mode of the autonomous mobile device using the cleaning mechanism CA disclosed herein is proposed, which facilitates the adaptation of the autonomous mobile device to more application scenarios. Moreover, in different application scenarios, the autonomous mobile device adopts the corresponding operating mode, thereby avoiding the cleaning mechanism CA from hindering the movement of the autonomous mobile device, avoiding unnecessary contamination of the cleaning mechanism CA, and enabling the cleaning mechanism CA to effectively clean the desired location.

[0072] It should be understood that the above embodiments are only exemplary and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes to the above embodiments under the teaching of the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For the technical solutions of the present disclosure, the following supplementary explanations are made.

[0073] i. It can be understood that, in addition to the examples of the self-moving cleaning device described in the above specific embodiments, the technical concept of the present disclosure can also be applied to other autonomous mobile devices, and to components that need to be lifted and telescoped. The above autonomous mobile device generally refers to an intelligent mobile device that autonomously performs a preset task, including a self-moving cleaning device (such as a smart sweeper, a smart mop, a window-cleaning robot) that performs similar functions to the self-moving cleaning device described in the above embodiments, a companion mobile robot (such as a smart electronic pet, a nanny robot), a service mobile robot (such as a reception robot in a hotel, a hotel, a meeting place), an industrial inspection intelligent device (such as a power inspection robot, a smart forklift, etc.), a security robot (such as a smart security robot for home or business), and a two-dimensional planar mobile robot with a wheel set or a track as a driving unit. Of course, the solutions of the present disclosure can also be applied to other fields, and no exhaustive description is made.

[0074] ii. In the above specific embodiments, it is described that the guide cylinder 11 is located at the outermost side, the drive cylinder 22 is located at the inner side of the guide cylinder 11, and the driven cylinder 31 is located at the inner side of the drive cylinder 22, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In an alternative solution, the guide cylinder 11 is located at the innermost side, the drive cylinder 22 is located at the outer side of the guide cylinder 11, and the driven cylinder 31 is located at the outer side of the drive cylinder 22.

[0075] iii. In the above specific embodiments, the specific shapes of the guide grooves 11c1, 11c2 and the drive groove 22c are described, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. As long as the guide grooves 11c1, 11c2 and the drive groove 22c can limit the position of the driven protrusion 311 using their extension trajectories, so as to realize the telescoping and lifting of the rotating brush 32 relative to the main machine 4, the guide grooves 11c1, 11c2 and the drive groove 22c can adopt any shape.

[0076] iv. In the above specific embodiments, it is described that three rotating brushes 32 are provided, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The number and layout of the rotating brushes 32 can be adjusted as needed. For example, only one rotating brush 32 can be provided, or more than three rotating brushes 32 can be provided.

[0077] v.It can be understood that, in the case that the autonomous mobile device of the present disclosure is a self-moving cleaning device, the self-moving cleaning device can further comprise a dry cleaning element such as a main brush and a wet cleaning element comprising a mop or a rolling brush, etc. Thus, the processing unit can obtain environmental parameters through the sensing assembly, and the processing unit can control the entire autonomous mobile device to autonomously move on the travel surface based on the obtained environmental parameters, and in the process, the travel surface is cleaned by the dry cleaning element and / or the wet cleaning element. In different working modes, the cleaning operation includes but is not limited to one or more of the following operations: sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, etc.

Claims

1. A cleaning mechanism, characterized by, Comprising: a support guide assembly for fixed installation to an object to be installed and including a guide cylinder, a side wall of the guide cylinder being formed with a guide groove; a drive assembly including a drive cylinder capable of bidirectional rotation relative to the guide cylinder, the drive cylinder being coaxially sleeved with the guide cylinder, a side wall of the drive cylinder being formed with a drive groove; and a cleaning assembly including a driven cylinder and at least one rotating brush, the rotating brush being installed to the driven cylinder and capable of rotation relative to the driven cylinder, the driven cylinder being coaxially sleeved with the guide cylinder, a side wall of the driven cylinder having a driven protrusion, the driven protrusion being inserted into the guide groove and the drive groove.

2. The cleaning mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the guide groove includes an axial groove portion and a circumferential groove portion which are in communication with each other, the axial groove portion extending along an axial direction of the guide cylinder, and the circumferential groove portion extending along a circumferential direction of the guide cylinder from one end of the axial groove portion, and the drive groove extends along the circumferential direction while obliquely extending along the axial direction. The guide cylinder is formed with two guide grooves which are arranged in central symmetry with respect to a central axis passing through the guide cylinder.

3. The cleaning mechanism of claim 1, wherein, 4. The cleaning mechanism according to claim 2, wherein an axial length of the drive groove is equal to an axial length of the axial groove portion, and a circumferential length of the drive groove corresponds to a central angle which is smaller than or equal to a central angle corresponding to a circumferential length of the circumferential groove portion. Axial positions of both ends of the drive groove are respectively identical to axial positions of both ends of the axial groove portion.

5. The cleaning mechanism of claim 4, wherein, The guide cylinder is located at an outermost side, the drive cylinder is located at an inner side of the guide cylinder, and the driven cylinder is located at an inner side of the drive cylinder.

6. The cleaning mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, The drive cylinder is formed with a shoulder portion which is placed on the guide cylinder such that the drive cylinder can rotate relative to the guide cylinder in a state supported by the guide cylinder.

7. The cleaning mechanism of claim 6, wherein, The drive assembly further includes a first motor which is installed to the support guide assembly or the object to be installed, and the first motor is drivingly coupled with the drive cylinder to drive the drive cylinder to rotate bidirectionally, 8. The cleaning mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, the first motor has a motor gear for outputting a torque, and the drive cylinder has a plurality of gear teeth which are always in meshing state with the motor gear. The cleaning assembly further includes a second motor, an extension arm, and a transmission assembly, 9. The cleaning mechanism of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, the second motor is at least partially accommodated inside the driven cylinder, one end portion of the extension arm is fixedly installed to the driven cylinder, the rotating brush is installed to another end portion of the extension arm and capable of rotation relative to the extension arm, and the transmission assembly is at least partially accommodated inside the extension arm, and the second motor is drivingly coupled with the rotating brush via the transmission assembly. Comprising a main body portion as the object to be installed and the cleaning mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the support guide assembly of the cleaning mechanism being fixedly installed to the main body portion.

10. An autonomous mobile device, comprising: ​ 11. The autonomous mobile device of claim 10, wherein, An axial direction of a guide cylinder of the cleaning mechanism is consistent with a top-bottom direction of the autonomous mobile device; and a rotating brush of the cleaning mechanism is located at a lowermost position of the entire cleaning mechanism.

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