Cleaning robot

Abstract

Cleaning robot (10) for cleaning a floor, comprising a housing (11) and at least one edge cleaning element (12) arranged in the edge region of the housing (11), wherein the at least one edge cleaning element (12) has a bristle carrier (50) provided with bristles (51) and / or a shaft (52) for attaching the at least one edge cleaning element (12) to a drive shaft, characterized in that the shaft (52) is elastically deformable.

Description

Robot CleanerThe invention relates to a cleaning robot for cleaning a floor, having a housing and having at least one edge cleaning element which is arranged in the edge region of the housing, wherein the at least one edge cleaning element has a bristle carrier provided with bristles and / or a shaft shaft for fastening the at least one edge cleaning element to a drive shaft.DE 10 2014 100 162 A1 describes a self-propelled cleaning appliance for cleaning a floor with an edge brush for cleaning edge regions of an obstacle. The robot cleaner is equipped with a first sensor for detecting the obstacle above a ground level and a second sensor for detecting the obstacle at the ground level.EP 3 409 168 B1 mentions a modular cleaning robot, on which a corner cleaning module can be placed as required for improved cleaning of wall corners.WO 01 / 91623 A2 discloses a cleaning robot with a round housing in which a plurality of rotating brushes are arranged next to one another in the front in the direction of travel. In this way, cleaning is to be improved, in particular in the region of walls and wall corners.US 2018 / 0317724 A1 describes a cleaning robot for cleaning room floors. For this purpose, the cleaning robot is equipped with a roller brush and two edge cleaning elements. The cleaning elements are of flexible design and are connected to plate-shaped connecting parts. Concentric to the connecting parts, mounting parts are integrated into the connecting parts. In each of the connecting parts there is a bore for receiving a screw element. In this way, the cleaning elements can be fastened to a drive shaft by means of screw elements.JP 2015-112424 A discloses a cleaning robot which is equipped with two cleaning elements in addition to a roller brush. The cleaning elements have arm-shaped extensions, at the ends of which flexible bristles are located. The arm-shaped extensions can be elastically deformable.An edge cleaning brush for a floor cleaning appliance is mentioned in US 2021 / 0298548 A1. The edge cleaning brush is provided with a plurality of bristle sets which are arranged in a star shape on a rotational body. The rotational body can be fastened to a drive shaft by means of a screw element.A sweeping brush for a self-actuated cleaning device is described in DE 102017 119 216 A1. The sweeping brush is provided with a tuft receptacle, to the ends of which bristle tufts are attached. The tuft receptacle has a curvature to optimize the cleaning property and the life of the sweeping brush.DE 10 2018 206 772 A1 discloses an robotic vacuum for autonomous cleaning of a vehicle interior. The robotic vacuum takes up a footprint of less than 200 cm 2.The invention has the object of improving a generic cleaning robot in such a way that an edge region of an obstacle and / or a corner region produced by an obstacle can be reliably cleaned.The invention achieves the object set with a cleaning robot of the type mentioned at the beginning, in which a shaft shaft is deformable according to the invention. When, in the cleaning operation, the bristle carrier of an edge cleaning element is pressed against an obstacle standing in the way of the cleaning robot, the shaft shaft can be elastically deformed. This effect occurs even more strongly if the bristle carrier protrudes at least partially beyond a housing of the cleaning robot. The edge cleaning element can be a rotary brush with an axis of rotation oriented in the Z direction of the housing. The axis of rotation can be realized by a drive shaft and the shaft shaft. Consequently, the edge cleaning member with the shaft shaft elastically deformed can continue to rotate and clean an edge portion and / or corner portion of the obstacle freely. The cleaning robot can even contact the obstacle with its housing, whereby the cleaning performance of the cleaning robot is increased. The obstacle can be, for example, a wall or a smaller obstacle with smaller dimensions than that of the cleaning robot, in particular a lower height than that of the cleaning robot, for example a key band, a pair of shoes or the like.In an advantageous further development of the invention, the bristle carrier is additionally designed to be elastically deformable.Due to the deformability of the cleaning element or of the shaft shaft and optionally of the bristle carrier, clamping, catching or tilting of the edge cleaning element on the smaller obstacle is hardly possible, so that the risk of undesired operating faults is reduced. The smaller obstacle can even be overcome by the cleaning robot and travel over it because the elastically deformable shaft shaft and optionally the bristle carrier do not offer any resistance to the obstacle, but rather yield to the obstacle. Consequently, the elastic deformability of the edge cleaning element, of the shaft shaft and optionally of the bristle carrier also contributes to the freedom of movement of the cleaning robot.Good cleaning results are achieved if the bristle carrier is designed as a hollow cone or as a disk. In particular, the bristle carrier designed as a hollow cone also has a certain dimensional stability in addition to the elastic deformability. Thus, in the cleaning operation, the speed of the cleaning robot slows down when it presses the rotating cleaning element against the obstacle. This improves the cleaning effect in the region of the obstacle.A hub opening can be provided on the shaft shaft in order to mount the at least one edge cleaning element on the drive shaft in a replaceable manner by means of a shaft-hub connection. In order that the edge cleaning element is reliably fastened to the drive shaft and can be set in rotation, an interference fit can be provided for the shaft-hub connection and the drive shaft can be flattened.For the purpose of cost-effective production, the bristle carrier and the bristles or the bristle carrier, the bristles and the shaft shaft can be formed in one piece.In order to realize the elastic deformability of the bristle carrier, the bristles and the shaft shaft, the bristle carrier, the bristles and the shaft shaft can be made of an elastomer. The elastomer can advantageously be processed in an injection molding process, in a laser sintering process or with an FDM pressure. These methods are also well suited for making the bristle carrier, the bristles and the shaft shaft in one piece.Satisfactory cleaning results and a long service life of the edge cleaning element are achieved if the bristle carrier has a wall thickness in the range from 0.2 mm to 2 mm.The bristles can be produced easily if they are formed as circumferential castellations on the edge of the bristle carrier. The castellations are preferably also elastically deformable and can be rectangular.To improve the cleaning effect, the at least one edge cleaning element can be mounted on the cleaning robot in the region of a corner of the housing.The robot cleaner may have a footprint of less than 200 cm 2. It is then particularly well suited for cleaning a vehicle interior. The robot cleaner with this small area used for cleaning the vehicle interior is particularly challenging in the cleaning process around obstacles.Various exemplary embodiments of a cleaning robot according to the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the attached drawings.In detail, the following show: FIG. 1 shows a side view of a cleaning robot in a first operating mode; FIG. 2 shows a side view of the cleaning robot from FIG. 1 in a second operating mode; FIG. 3 shows a side view of the cleaning robot from FIG. 1 in a third operating mode; FIG. 4 shows a side view of the cleaning robot from FIG. 3 in a fourth operating mode; FIG. 5 shows a perspective top view of an edge cleaning element; FIG. 6 shows a perspective top view from below of the edge cleaning element from FIG. 5.FIGS. 1 to 4 show a robot cleaner 10 with a housing 11 for cleaning a floor. The bottom is not shown for better illustration of the invention. The robot cleaner 10 is provided at its nose in the periphery of the housing 11 with a periphery cleaning member 12, see also FIGS. 5 and 6.The edge cleaning element 12 is a rotationally symmetrical component which can rotate about itself about an axis of rotation in the Z direction. The edge cleaning element 12 has a bristle carrier 50 designed as a hollow cone, on which several bristles 51 are attached in a circumferential manner. Furthermore, on the edge cleaning element 12 there is a shaft shaft 52 which can be interchangeably mounted on a drive shaft. For this purpose, the shaft shaft 52 is provided with a hub opening 53. The hub opening 53 is provided with a flat 54 for reliable transmission of a torque. Thus, torque from the input shaft may be transmitted to the shaft shaft 52 with a shaft-hub connection. In order for the edge cleaning element 12 to remain securely connected to the drive shaft during operation, the shaft-hub connection has an interference fit.The bristle carrier 50, the bristles 51 and the shaft shaft 52 are made of an elastically deformable material, so that the entire edge cleaning element 12 can be elastically deformed and produced in one piece. Therefore, the edge cleaning element 12 can deform during the cleaning process and thus adapt to the contour of the obstacle when the cleaning robot 10 with the edge cleaning element 12 hits an obstacle, see FIGS. 2 to 4. Furthermore, the shaft shaft 52 can elastically deform when the cleaning robot 10 with the edge cleaning element 12 travels against the obstacle, see FIG. 4. The cleaning robot 10 can thus approach an obstacle 14 that is not overturned for it in any desired manner and even touch it with its housing 11, wherein the rotational movement of the edge cleaning element 12 and thus the cleaning process are continued without being affected. In this way, the effectiveness of the cleaning process is also ensured in the immediate vicinity of the obstacle 14.An obstacle 30 lower than the height of the robot cleaner 10 can even be overcome, i.e., passed over, the robot cleaner 10 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The edge cleaning element 12 can clean the floor during the deformation until it no longer touches the floor. The robot cleaner 10 can thus continue its forward movement unimpeded and finally pass over the obstacle 30. Consequently, the elastic deformability of the edge cleaning element 12, the bristle carrier 50 and the shaft shaft 52 also improves the freedom of movement of the cleaning robot 10.List of reference characters10 Robot cleaner 11 Housing 12 Edge cleaner 13 Motor 14 Obstacle 30 Obstacle 50 Bristle carrier 51 Bristles 52 Shaft shaft 53 Boss opening 54 Flattening

Claims

Cleaning robot (10) for cleaning a floor, having a housing (11) and having at least one edge cleaning element (12) which is arranged in the edge region of the housing (11), wherein the at least one edge cleaning element (12) has a bristle carrier (50) provided with bristles (51) and / or a shaft shaft (52) for fastening the at least one edge cleaning element (12) to a drive shaft, characterized in that the shaft shaft (52) is elastically deformable.Robot cleaner according to claim 1, characterised in that the bristle carrier (50) is additionally elastically deformable.Robot cleaner (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bristle carrier (50) is designed as a hollow cone or b) as a disc.Robot cleaner (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bristle carrier (50) and the bristles (51) or the bristle carrier (50), the bristles (51) and the shaft shaft (52) are formed in one piece.Robot cleaner (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the bristle carrier (50), the bristles (51) and the shaft shaft (52) are made of an elastomer.Robot cleaner (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bristle carrier (50) has a wall thickness in the range from 0.2 mm to 2 mm.Robot cleaner (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bristles (51) are formed as castellations running around the edge of the bristle carrier (50).Robot cleaner (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one edge cleaning element (12) is mounted in the region of a corner of the housing (11).Robot cleaner (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it has a base area of less than 200 cm 2.Robot cleaner (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a hub opening (53) is provided on the shaft shaft (52).

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