Tire and cleaning robot

Abstract

The application discloses a tire and a cleaning robot. The tire comprises a tire body, a plurality of teeth and tooth grooves are arranged on the outer periphery of the tire body alternately, and two adjacent teeth define a tooth groove. The plurality of tooth grooves comprise a first tooth groove and a second tooth groove, and the size of the first tooth groove along the circumferential direction of the tire body is greater than the size of the second tooth groove along the circumferential direction of the tire body. The obstacle crossing ability of the cleaning robot can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of cleaning equipment technology, and more particularly to a tire and a cleaning robot. Background Technology

[0002] Cleaning robots are devices capable of cleaning floors, such as robotic vacuum cleaners, robotic mops, and robotic vacuum and mop combos. Cleaning robots are typically equipped with tires for movement, allowing them to travel across the floor and thus expand their cleaning range.

[0003] However, in related technologies, cleaning robots have poor obstacle-crossing ability. When crossing obstacles, cleaning robots can only rely on the friction between the outer arc surface of the tires and the obstacle, which makes the tires prone to slipping and thus leads to obstacle-crossing failure. Utility Model Content

[0004] This application provides a tire and a cleaning robot that can improve the obstacle-crossing ability of the cleaning robot.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a tire for use in a cleaning robot, the tire comprising:

[0006] The tire body has a plurality of teeth and grooves arranged alternately along the outer periphery of the tire body, and two adjacent teeth define one groove.

[0007] The plurality of tooth grooves include a first tooth groove and a second tooth groove, wherein the dimension of the first tooth groove along the circumferential direction of the tire body is greater than the dimension of the second tooth groove along the circumferential direction of the tire body.

[0008] Secondly, this application also provides a cleaning robot, including a body and wheels, the wheels being mounted on the bottom of the body and including tires.

[0009] The beneficial effects of this application are as follows: Compared to the second tooth groove, the first tooth groove has a larger circumferential dimension along the tire body. When the tire moves to an obstacle and the top corner of the obstacle inserts into the first tooth groove, when the tooth located above the top surface of the obstacle (hereinafter referred to as the upper tooth) of the two teeth defining the first tooth groove touches the top surface of the obstacle, due to the relatively large size of the first tooth groove, the tooth located below the top surface of the obstacle (hereinafter referred to as the lower tooth) can separate from the side of the obstacle or have less contact with the side of the obstacle, allowing the upper tooth to fully contact the top surface of the obstacle, ensuring the contact area between the upper tooth and the top surface of the obstacle. This allows the robot to overcome obstacles by utilizing the support provided by the top surface of the obstacle, thus giving the cleaning robot equipped with this tire good obstacle-crossing ability. In addition, the second tooth groove has a smaller circumferential dimension along the tire body, which can increase the contact area between the tire and the ground when the tire rolls to the point where the second tooth groove faces the ground, thereby improving the tire's grip and preventing slippage and other problems. Attached Figure Description

[0010] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments or related technologies of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0011] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the tire structure from a first-view perspective in one embodiment of this application;

[0012] Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of a tire from a second perspective in one embodiment of this application;

[0013] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a tire going over a threshold in one embodiment of this application;

[0014] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a tire going over a threshold in one embodiment of this application.

[0015] Figure label:

[0016] 10. Tire body; 21. First tooth; 22. Second tooth; 23. Third tooth; 24. First tooth groove; 25. Second tooth groove; 26. Tooth top surface; 27. Cavity; 31. Sill top surface; 32. Sill side surface; N. Rotation axis; d1. Dimension of the first tooth groove along the circumference of the tire body; d2. Dimension of the second tooth groove along the circumference of the tire body; X. Direction of tire travel; Y. Direction of tire rotation. Detailed Implementation

[0017] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0018] Cleaning robots are devices capable of cleaning floors, such as robotic vacuum cleaners, robotic mops, and robotic vacuum and mop combos. Cleaning robots are typically equipped with tires for movement, allowing them to travel across the floor and thus expand their cleaning range.

[0019] However, in related technologies, cleaning robots have poor obstacle-crossing ability. The outer circumference of the tires of cleaning robots is usually provided with teeth, and the spacing between the teeth is usually small. When cleaning robots cross obstacles, due to the obstruction of adjacent teeth, it is difficult for the teeth that are in contact with the threshold surface of the obstacle to get on the threshold surface. As a result, the robot can only rely on the friction between the outer arc surface of the tire and the obstacle to cross the obstacle. This leads to the tire slipping easily when crossing obstacles, resulting in failure to cross the obstacle.

[0020] In view of the above problems, this application provides a tire and a cleaning robot to solve the problems of poor obstacle crossing ability of cleaning robots and increased cost of cleaning robots by adding a chassis lifting mechanism.

[0021] Firstly, this application provides a tire that can be used in cleaning robots, such as... Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the tire includes a carcass 10. Multiple teeth and grooves are arranged alternately along the outer periphery of the carcass 10, with two adjacent teeth defining one groove. It can be understood that the carcass 10 is generally wheel-shaped, and the teeth are convex tooth structures formed on the outer periphery of the carcass 10. The space between two adjacent teeth forms a groove. Multiple teeth can define multiple grooves. The teeth and grooves can significantly improve the tire's grip, obstacle-crossing ability, and climbing ability.

[0022] The multiple tooth grooves include a first tooth groove 24 and a second tooth groove 25. The circumferential dimension d1 of the first tooth groove 24 along the tire body 10 is greater than the circumferential dimension d2 of the second tooth groove 25 along the tire body 10. The circumferential direction of the tire body 10 refers to the direction of extension of the outer periphery of the tire body 10. When the tire is regarded as a structure similar to a gear, the circumferential dimension d1 of the first tooth groove 24 along the tire body 10 can be characterized by the tooth groove width of the first tooth groove 24, and the circumferential dimension d2 of the second tooth groove 25 along the tire body 10 can be characterized by the tooth groove width of the second tooth groove 25.

[0023] Understandably, the larger the circumferential dimension of the tooth groove along the tire body 10, the larger the circumferential distance between the two teeth forming the groove in the tire body 10. Relative to the second tooth groove 25, the circumferential dimension d1 of the first tooth groove 24 along the tire body 10 is larger. Figure 3 Taking the perspective shown as an example, when the tire moves to the right to reach a low obstacle, due to the height difference between the obstacle and the ground, the tire needs to cross the obstacle before it can continue to move to the right. The obstacle can be a threshold, step, blanket, slide rail, or furniture leg, etc., which are protruding objects that protrude from the ground. Taking the threshold as an example, when the tire moves to the top corner of the threshold and inserts into the first tooth groove 24, the tooth located above the threshold top surface 31 (hereinafter referred to as the upper tooth) of the two teeth of the first tooth groove 24 is defined to put into contact with the threshold top surface 31. Since the size of the first tooth groove 24 is relatively large, the tooth located below the threshold top surface 31 (hereinafter referred to as the lower tooth) can separate from the threshold side surface 32 or make less contact with the threshold side surface 32, so that the upper tooth can fully contact the threshold top surface 31, ensuring the contact area between the upper tooth and the threshold top surface 31. Thus, the tire can cross the obstacle with the support force provided by the threshold top surface 31, so that the cleaning robot with this tire can easily cross the obstacle without the help of the chassis lifting mechanism.

[0024] In addition, the second tooth groove 25 has a smaller circumferential dimension d2 along the tire body 10, which can increase the contact area between the tire and the ground when the tire rolls to the point where the second tooth groove 25 faces the ground, thereby improving the tire's grip and preventing slippage and other problems.

[0025] It should also be noted that when the tire moves to the right to reach the threshold, if the top surface 31 of the threshold is low, so that any part of the tire can contact the threshold to provide sufficient support for the tire to pass over the threshold, the tire can directly and smoothly pass over the obstacle without using the first tooth 24 to pass over the threshold; if the top surface 31 of the threshold is high, so that the tire cannot rely on the friction between the outer arc surface of the tire and the threshold and the second tooth 25 to pass over the threshold, the tire will rotate at the threshold until the top corner of the threshold inserts into the first tooth 24, and then the first tooth 24 can be used to pass over the obstacle.

[0026] In some embodiments, the circumferential dimension d1 of the first tooth groove 24 along the tire body 10 is greater than or equal to twice the circumferential dimension d2 of the second tooth groove 25 along the tire body 10, such that the distance between the two teeth defining the first tooth groove 24 is sufficiently large, so that when the upper tooth engages with the top surface 31 of the sill, the lower tooth does not need to contact the side surface 32 of the sill, thereby allowing the upper tooth to fully contact the top surface 31 of the sill. Here, d1 can be twice, 2.1 times, 2.5 times, 3 times, or other multiples of d2.

[0027] like Figure 4 As shown, in some embodiments, the dimension of the end of the first tooth groove 24 that is furthest from the axis of rotation of the tire along the circumference of the tire body 10 is L, and L satisfies:

[0028] Where R is the tire radius, H is the preset sill height, and r is the radius of the tire body 10. H is less than R. The length units of A, B, C, and L are all rad (radians). It should be noted that the sill height refers to the height of the top surface 31 of the sill, and the preset sill height refers to the height of the highest sill that the tire needs to be able to overcome. H can be selected according to actual needs and can be less than 50 mm.

[0029] by Figure 4 As illustrated in the diagram, when the apex of the sill is inserted into the first tooth groove 24, and the tip of the upper wheel tooth contacts the top surface 31 of the sill, the upper wheel tooth begins to mesh with the sill. At this time, if the apex of the sill contacts the bottom surface of the first tooth groove 24, the length of the part of the top surface 31 of the sill extending into the first tooth groove 24 reaches its maximum, so that the contact area when the tire rotates to the point where the upper wheel tooth and the top surface 31 of the sill are in contact is the maximum, thereby enabling the top surface 31 of the sill to provide the tire with the maximum sill support force. At this time, if the tip of the lower wheel tooth just touches the side surface 32 of the sill, then L satisfies: L=R*A. It can be understood that, from the above formula, when L>R*A, the tip of the lower wheel tooth can separate from the side surface 32 of the sill. In this embodiment, by setting L to be greater than or equal to R*A, the contact between the lower wheel tooth and the side surface 32 of the sill can be avoided from affecting the meshing of the upper wheel tooth with the sill.

[0030] It should also be noted that, in one embodiment, L can be set to R*A. This minimizes L while preventing the lower wheel tooth from contacting the side 32 of the sill and affecting the meshing of the upper wheel tooth with the sill, thereby reducing the probability of slippage and vibration during tire rolling. Of course, L can also be selected without using the above formula. L can also be chosen according to actual needs. For example, those skilled in the art can directly perform image simulation on an obstacle of a certain height to determine the first tooth groove without deliberately calculating L.

[0031] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in some embodiments, multiple first tooth grooves 24 can be provided, and the multiple first tooth grooves 24 are arranged at intervals along the outer periphery of the tire body 10. This can increase the probability that when the tire rolls to the threshold, the area on the tire that contacts the threshold is a first tooth groove 24, thereby allowing the tire to directly use the first tooth grooves 24 to cross the obstacle without stopping and rotating at the threshold. The number of first tooth grooves 24 can be two, three or more.

[0032] Furthermore, the plurality of first tooth grooves 24 can be evenly distributed along the outer periphery of the tire body 10, that is, the included angle between two adjacent first tooth grooves 24 is the same. For example, when there are three first tooth grooves 24, the included angle between two adjacent first tooth grooves 24 is 120 degrees. In other embodiments, the plurality of first tooth grooves 24 can also be unevenly distributed along the outer periphery of the tire body 10.

[0033] In some embodiments, the tooth closest to the first tooth groove 24 is the second tooth groove 25, that is, along the circumference of the tire body 10, the tooth groove located at the end of the first tooth groove 24 and the tooth groove closest to the first tooth groove 24 is the second tooth groove 25. Only one tooth groove at one end of the first tooth groove 24 can be set as the second tooth groove 25, or both tooth grooves at both ends of the first tooth groove 24 can be set as the second tooth groove 25. This can prevent the continuous arrangement of multiple first tooth grooves 24 from causing insufficient grip and support in the part of the tire where the first tooth groove 24 is provided, and reduce the probability of slippage and shaking problems when the tire rolls.

[0034] Furthermore, at least two second toothed grooves 25 are provided between two adjacent first toothed grooves 24 to further reduce the impact of the first toothed grooves 24 on the tire's anti-vibration and anti-skid performance.

[0035] In some embodiments, along the rotation direction of the tire, two teeth defining the first tooth groove 24 are designated as first teeth 21. At least one of the two first teeth 21 is a solid structure, and along the rotation direction Y of the tire in the forward direction X of the cleaning robot, at least the downstream first tooth 21 among the two teeth defining the first tooth groove 24 is a solid structure. It should be noted that... Figure 3 From the perspective shown, taking the first tooth groove 24 that meshes with the sill as an example, the first wheel tooth 21 located downstream is the upper wheel tooth located above the first tooth groove 24. When the tire is applied to the cleaning robot, the forward direction of the cleaning robot is the forward direction X of the tire. The solid structure means that there are no gaps or cavities 27 inside the first wheel tooth 21. Compared with the hollow structure, the solid structure is less prone to deformation, so that the deformation of the first wheel tooth 21 when it contacts the top surface 31 of the sill is smaller. This allows the top surface 31 of the sill to provide the first wheel tooth 21 with a sill-crossing support force perpendicular to the top surface 31 of the sill, which can further improve the obstacle-crossing ability of the tire.

[0036] It should also be noted that in some embodiments, in the two first gear teeth 21 that define the first tooth groove 24, both first gear teeth 21 may be solid structures, or only the first gear tooth 21 located downstream may be set as a solid structure, in which case the first gear tooth 21 located upstream may have a cavity.

[0037] In some embodiments, the wheel teeth further include a second wheel tooth 22 with an internal cavity 27, so that the second wheel tooth 22 forms a hollow structure, thereby making the second wheel tooth 22 more deformable and having better cushioning and shock absorption capabilities, thereby reducing the vibration when the tire rolls, and the second wheel tooth 22 can deform when it contacts the ground, so that the contact area between the second wheel tooth 22 and the ground is larger, which can improve the tire's grip and prevent the tire from slipping.

[0038] Furthermore, the tooth adjacent to the solid first tooth 21 can be a second tooth 22 with a cavity 27, so that when the tire rolls on the ground, after the solid first tooth 21 rolls across the ground, the tooth that subsequently contacts the ground is the second tooth 22 with a cavity 27. The second tooth 22 with a cavity 27 has less vibration and greater grip when it contacts the ground, which can reduce or even eliminate the vibration of the tire caused by the solid first tooth 21 contacting the ground. This can stabilize the tire and prevent the tire from having insufficient grip and shock absorption performance due to the continuous arrangement of multiple solid first teeth 21, thus reducing the probability of slippage and shaking problems when the tire rolls.

[0039] In other embodiments, all teeth except the first tooth 21 may have cavities 27 to further enhance the tire's shock absorption and anti-skid performance. In other embodiments, all teeth may not have cavities 27, meaning the teeth do not include the second tooth with an internal cavity 27. In other embodiments, the teeth adjacent to the solid first tooth 21 may also be solid teeth.

[0040] It should also be noted that a cavity 27 can be formed in the second gear tooth 22 by making a hole in the second gear tooth 22. The hole can extend along the axial direction of the tire body 10 to penetrate one or both sides of the tire body 10; the hole can also extend along the radial direction of the tire body 10 to penetrate one or both sides of the tire body 10.

[0041] In some embodiments, the tip surface 26 of the solid first gear tooth 21 is lower than the tip surface 26 of the second gear tooth 22 with cavity 27, that is, the radius of the tip surface 26 of the first gear tooth 21 is smaller than the radius of the tip surface 26 of the second gear tooth 22. Understandably, when neither the solid first tooth 21 nor the hollow second tooth 22 is compressed, the tooth tip 26 of the hollow second tooth 22 is more convex than that of the solid first tooth 21. When the tooth contacts the ground, the compression of the solid first tooth 21 is relatively small, while the compression of the hollow second tooth 22 is relatively large. This means that when the hollow second tooth 22 contacts the ground, the tooth tip 26 of the hollow second tooth 22 can be basically flush with the tooth tip 26 of the solid first tooth 21. This results in a smaller change in the tire's center of gravity height when the solid first tooth 21 contacts the ground, thus preventing the tire from shaking due to the up-and-down movement of the tire's center of gravity during rolling.

[0042] In other embodiments, the top surface 26 of the first tooth 21, which is a solid structure, may be higher than or flush with the top surface 26 of the second tooth 22, which has a cavity 27.

[0043] In some embodiments, the tire includes a plurality of tire bodies 10 arranged side-by-side along the tire's axial direction. The tire bodies 10 can be interconnected. The teeth on one tire body 10 and the grooves on adjacent tire bodies 10 are arranged adjacently, such that, in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the tire body 10, the orthographic projection of the teeth on one tire body 10 can at least partially coincide with the orthographic projection of the grooves on the other tire body 10. Thus, when the tire rolls until the grooves on one tire body 10 face the ground, the teeth on the other tire body 10 can face and contact the ground, thereby providing sufficient support for the tire, reducing tire compression, and increasing the contact area between the tire and the ground, thereby further enhancing the tire's anti-vibration and anti-skid performance. The axial direction of the tire body 10 refers to the direction of extension of the centerline of the tire body 10. The number of tire bodies 10 can be two, three, or more.

[0044] In some embodiments, the plurality of teeth further includes a third tooth 23. The third tooth 23 on one tire carcass 10 and the first tooth groove 24 on an adjacent tire carcass 10 are arranged adjacently, such that in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the tire carcass 10, the orthographic projection of the third tooth 23 on one of the two adjacent tire carcasses 10 can at least partially coincide with the orthographic projection of the first tooth groove 24 on the other tire carcass 10. This allows the third tooth 23 to serve as a reinforcing structure to compensate for the lack of a support structure in the area where the first tooth groove 24 is located, ensuring that when the tire rolls to the point where the first tooth groove 24 on one tire carcass 10 faces the ground, the third tooth 23 on the other tire carcass 10 can face the ground and contact the ground, thereby providing sufficient support for the tire.

[0045] Further, refer to Figure 3 On a plane perpendicular to the axis of the tire body 10, the orthographic projection of the third tooth 23 covers the orthographic projection of the first tooth groove 24 or coincides with the orthographic projection of the first tooth groove 24. That is, the tooth thickness of the third tooth 23 is greater than or equal to the tooth groove width of the first tooth groove 24. This ensures that when the tire rolls on the ground and the first tooth groove 24 on a tire body 10 passes over the ground, at least one third tooth 23 on the tire body 10 can always maintain contact with the ground. This allows the third tooth 23 to better compensate for the lack of a support structure in the area where the first tooth groove 24 is located.

[0046] In this embodiment, the third tooth 23 also has a cavity inside. There can be one cavity or multiple cavities, and the multiple cavities are arranged at intervals along the circumference or axial direction of the tire body 10. Of course, in other embodiments, the third tooth 23 can also be a solid structure.

[0047] In some embodiments, the circumferential dimension of the tooth groove along the tire body 10 gradually increases in the direction away from the rotation axis N of the tire, so that the two groove sides (hereinafter referred to as the threshold surfaces) arranged circumferentially along the tire body 10 can be inclined in the direction away from the rotation axis N and away from the center of the tooth groove, thereby making the dimension of the side of the tooth groove away from the tire body 10 larger, thereby making the distance between the two adjacent teeth away from the rotation axis N larger, which can further improve the overall obstacle crossing ability of the tire. Furthermore, when the tooth groove faces the ground, the threshold surface can form a non-90-degree angle with the ground, so that the ground can provide a greater reaction force to the tire and prevent the tire from slipping.

[0048] Secondly, based on the aforementioned tires, this application also provides a cleaning robot, which includes a body and wheels. The wheels are mounted on the bottom of the body and include tires as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0049] Among them, the cleaning robot can be a sweeping robot, a mopping robot, or a sweeping and mopping robot; the walking wheel can be at least one of the driving wheel and the omnidirectional wheel of the cleaning robot.

[0050] It is worth mentioning that in this embodiment, the tire is a one-piece molded structure made of rubber.

[0051] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A tire, characterized in that, The tires, used in cleaning robots, include: The tire body has a plurality of teeth and grooves arranged alternately along the outer periphery of the tire body, and two adjacent teeth define one groove. The plurality of tooth grooves include a first tooth groove and a second tooth groove, wherein the dimension of the first tooth groove along the circumferential direction of the tire body is greater than the dimension of the second tooth groove along the circumferential direction of the tire body.

2. The tire according to claim 1, characterized in that, The dimension of the first tooth groove along the circumference of the tire body is greater than or equal to twice the dimension of the second tooth groove along the circumference of the tire body.

3. The tire according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tooth groove closest to the first tooth groove is the second tooth groove.

4. The tire according to claim 1, characterized in that, The two teeth defining the first tooth groove are defined as first teeth, and at least one of the two first teeth is a solid structure; In the forward direction of the cleaning robot, along the rotation direction of the tire, of the two teeth defining the first tooth groove, at least the downstream first tooth is a solid structure.

5. The tire according to claim 4, characterized in that, The gear teeth also include a second gear tooth with an internal cavity.

6. The tire according to claim 5, characterized in that, The tip surface of the first tooth, which is solid, is lower than the tip surface of the second tooth, which has a cavity.

7. The tire according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tire includes a plurality of tire bodies arranged side by side along the axial direction of the tire, and the tooth on one tire body and the tooth groove on the adjacent tire body are arranged adjacent to each other.

8. The tire according to claim 7, characterized in that, The gear teeth also include a third gear tooth, wherein the third gear tooth on one of the tire bodies is arranged adjacent to the first tooth groove on the adjacent tire body.

9. The tire according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tooth groove gradually increases in size along the circumferential direction of the tire carcass in a direction away from the axis of rotation of the tire.

10. A cleaning robot, characterized in that, It includes a fuselage and wheels, the wheels being mounted on the bottom of the fuselage, and the wheels including tires as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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