Cleaning robot and cleaning robot system

Abstract

A cleaning robot and a cleaning robot system. An audio assembly (300) is arranged on a cover (200), and the audio assembly (300) is arranged adjacent to a sound pickup hole (210) of the cover (200), thereby ensuring effective sound pickup by the audio assembly (300). The cleaning robot comprises: a robot body (100) for mobile cleaning; the cover (200), which is used for at least partially covering the robot body (100), the cover (200) being provided with at least one sound pickup hole (210); and at least one audio assembly (300), which is connected to the cover (200) and located on the side of the cover (200) facing the robot body (100), wherein the audio assembly (300) is opposite the at least one sound pickup hole (210) and is configured to pick up sound via the sound pickup hole (210).

Description

Cleaning robot and cleaning robot system

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on March 8, 2024, with application number 202420454241.2, and invention name “A Cleaning Robot and Cleaning Robot System”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of smart home technology, and in particular to a cleaning robot and a cleaning robot system. Background Art

[0003] With the increasing popularity of intelligent cleaning robots, daily cleaning tasks are becoming easier and more timely, providing a better living environment and gaining increasing market favor. Cleaning robots can be controlled in a variety of ways, such as through buttons on the cleaning robot itself or remotely via a remote control. However, both require the user to press buttons, and the remote control signal is sensitive to distance and obstruction, making control inconvenient.

[0004] Voice-controlled cleaning robots can solve the drawbacks of control methods such as buttons and remote controls. Existing voice-controlled cleaning robots mainly include a main body and an upper cover. The main body can move and perform cleaning functions. The upper cover covers a portion of the top surface of the main body to shield the exposed structure of the main body from the outside, providing protection and decoration. Existing microphones for receiving sound are set on the main body. In order to seal the microphone and prevent external noise from affecting the sound pickup effect, the main body is usually connected to a seal. The top of the seal is provided with an opening. The microphone is set in the seal and picks up sound through the opening. When the upper cover is connected to the main body, it abuts the seal opening to achieve the sealing of the microphone. However, the inventors realized that since the main body will generate vibrations when cleaning, it will cause relative displacement between the upper cover and the main body. Moreover, the upper cover is prone to deformation after long-term use, which will cause a gap between the upper cover and the seal, resulting in seal failure. The user's voice will leak through the gap, and the noise of the main body working will enter through the gap, resulting in poor sound test effect of the microphone.

[0005] Application Contents

[0006] The present application provides a cleaning robot and a cleaning robot system, which ensures that the audio component can effectively pick up sound by arranging an audio component on a cover body and arranging the audio component and the sound pickup hole of the cover body in close proximity.

[0007] In one aspect, the present application provides a cleaning robot, comprising:

[0008] A robot body (100), the robot body (100) is used for mobile cleaning;

[0009] A cover body (200), the cover body (200) at least partially covers the robot body (100), and at least one sound pickup through hole (210) is provided on the cover body (200);

[0010] At least one audio component (300) is connected to the cover (200) and is located on a side of the cover (200) opposite to the robot body (100). The audio component (300) is opposite to at least one sound pickup through-hole (210) and is used to pick up sound through the sound pickup through-hole (210).

[0011] On the other hand, the present application also provides a cleaning robot system, comprising any of the cleaning robots described above, and a base station, wherein the cleaning robot is configured to selectively dock at the base station. Beneficial effects

[0012] The cleaning robot and cleaning robot system proposed in the present application, by arranging the audio component on the cover body, and the audio component and the sound pickup hole of the cover body are arranged in close proximity, thereby ensuring effective sealing between the audio component and the sound pickup hole, and ensuring that the audio component effectively picks up sound. In the related art, the microphone is arranged in the seal and picks up sound through the opening of the seal. When the upper cover is connected to the main body, it abuts against the opening of the seal, and a gap is easily formed between the upper cover and the seal, resulting in sealing failure and poor sound pickup effect of the microphone. In the technical solution of the present application, the audio component is arranged on the cover body. Compared with being arranged on the robot body, the audio component is arranged directly adjacent to the sound pickup hole on the cover body. The vibration or deformation of the cover body will not affect the sealing effect between the audio component and the cover body, so that the voice entering through the sound pickup hole can be received more by the audio component, and the influence of the noise of the robot body on the audio component is reduced, thereby achieving a better sound pickup effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0014] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of a cover and an audio component of a cleaning robot provided in an embodiment of the present application from a first perspective;

[0015] FIG3 is a schematic structural diagram of a sound pickup of a cleaning robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0016] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of a cover and an audio component of a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present application at a second viewing angle;

[0017] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of an audio component, a buffer seal, and a barrier film of a cleaning robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of a cover of a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present application at a second viewing angle;

[0019] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot body and a buffer member of a cleaning robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Among them, the robot body-100, the main shell-110, the accommodating groove-111, the cover body-200, the sound pickup hole-210, the limiting protrusion-220, the audio component-300, the control substrate-310, the substrate opening-311, the pickup-320, the cable-330, the limiting hole-340, the buffer-400, the first sub-buffer-410, the second sub-buffer-420, the buffer seal-500, the seal hole-510, the barrier membrane-600, and the isolation sleeve-700. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] In order to further explain the technical means and effects adopted by this application to achieve the predetermined application purpose, the following is a detailed description of the specific implementation method, structure, characteristics and effects of a cleaning robot proposed in this application in combination with the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments.

[0022] As shown in Figures 1-2, an embodiment of the present application provides a cleaning robot, comprising:

[0023] A robot body (100), the robot body (100) is used for mobile cleaning;

[0024] A cover body (200), the cover body (200) at least partially covers the robot body (100), and at least one sound pickup through hole (210) is provided on the cover body (200);

[0025] At least one audio component (300) is connected to the cover (200) and is located on a side of the cover (200) opposite to the robot body (100). The audio component (300) is opposite to at least one sound pickup through-hole (210) and is used to pick up sound through the sound pickup through-hole (210).

[0026] The robot body (100) includes a main housing (110) and a plurality of functional units connected to the main housing (110). The main housing (110) can be further divided into an upper housing and a lower housing. The upper housing and the lower housing both include a plurality of hollows and grooves for the functional units to be installed. The upper housing and the lower housing are used to be spliced ​​together to limit the functional units to form a complete robot body (100). The functional unit can be a mobile unit, mainly including a mobile wheel and a driver, the mobile wheel is rotatably connected to the main housing (110) and rolls under the drive of the driver to move the robot body (100); another example is that the functional unit can be a mopping assembly, including a drag plate and a water tank, the drag plate and the water tank are both detachably connected to the main housing (110), and the water tank can continuously be used for water seepage for the drag plate. The functional unit can also be a sweeping unit, a dust collecting unit, an infrared detection unit, etc., which are all common functional units in the prior art and are not described here one by one. The functional units of the robot body (100) enable the robot body (100) to independently complete movement and cleaning work. The cover (200) covers the upper shell from above. The cover (200) can be directly connected to the robot body (100), such as being detachably connected to the upper shell by a snap-on connection. When connected to the upper shell, it plays a covering role; or the cover (200) is always connected to the upper shell by a hinge and can be rotated to selectively cover the upper shell or not cover the upper shell. Alternatively, the cover (200) may not be connected to the robot body (100), such as the cover (200) is a cover (200) that can be separated from the robot body (100). The cover (200) is used to protect the functional units exposed from the upper shell and plays a decorative role. In some embodiments, the cover (200) can cover a part of the upper shell, the entire upper shell, or the cover (200) can also cover at least a part of the lower shell.

[0027] The audio component (300) is used to obtain the user's voice information and convert the mechanical vibration driven by the voice into an electrical signal and transmit it to the main controller of the robot body (100). The main controller analyzes the electrical signal and then controls the robot body (100) to perform operations such as stopping cleaning, starting cleaning, switching to a mopping mode, etc. according to the analysis results. The audio component (300) is fixed to the lower surface of the cover (200). When the cover (200) and the robot body (100) are connected, the audio component (300) is located between the cover (200) and the robot body (100). The side of the audio component (300) provided with the diaphragm is opposite to the cover (200), and the sound hole (321) of the audio component (300) is aligned with the sound pickup through hole (210). The audio component (300) can be connected to the cover body (200) in a variety of ways, such as using a dispensing process, ultrasonic connection, or a connection method with shock absorption that will be provided below. Regardless of the connection method, the connection between the audio component (300) and the cover body (200) is a sealed connection, that is, the audio component (300) is arranged close to the sound pickup through hole (210), and the sound pickup through hole (210) is sealed by the audio component (300) on the side opposite to the audio component (300), so that the voice entering the sound pickup through hole (210) can be received by the audio component (300), and the noise is prevented from entering, thereby ensuring the sound pickup effect.

[0028] The number of audio components (300) can be one or more, such as three, and can be arranged at different positions of the cover (200), such as evenly distributed at positions near the edges of different sides of the cover (200), so as to achieve better sound pickup at all angles. The sound pickup through-holes (210) are through-holes opened on the cover (200), and any audio component (300) can correspond to one or more sound pickup through-holes (210), and the sound pickup through-holes (210) can correspond one-to-one with the sound pickups (320) on the audio components (300).

[0029] The cleaning robot and cleaning robot system proposed in the embodiments of the present application, by arranging the audio component on the cover body, the audio component and the sound pickup hole of the cover body are arranged in close proximity, thereby ensuring that the audio component effectively picks up sound. In the related art, the microphone is arranged in the seal and picks up sound through the opening of the seal. When the upper cover is connected to the main body, it abuts against the opening of the seal. A gap is likely to appear between the upper cover and the seal, resulting in sealing failure and poor sound pickup effect. In the technical solution of the present application, the audio component is arranged on the cover body. Compared with being arranged on the robot body, the audio component is arranged directly adjacent to the sound pickup hole on the cover body. The vibration or deformation of the cover body will not affect the sealing effect between the audio component and the cover body, so that the voice entering through the sound pickup hole can be received more by the audio component, and the influence of the noise of the robot body on the audio component is reduced, thereby achieving a better sound pickup effect.

[0030] In one embodiment, the cleaning robot further includes a buffer seal (500), the audio component (300) is connected to the cover body (200) via the buffer seal (500), a seal hole (510) is provided on the buffer seal (500), and the seal hole (510) is opposite to the sound pickup through hole (210).

[0031] The buffer seal (500) is used to seal the gap between the audio component (300) and the cover (200); the buffer seal (500) is uniform in thickness; the seal hole (510) is aligned with the sound pickup through hole (210); and the sound hole (321) of the audio component (300) is aligned with the seal hole (510).

[0032] Furthermore, the buffer seal (500) is elastically deformable. When the cover (200) is affected by the vibration of the robot body (100) and vibrates along with the robot body (100), the deformation of the buffer seal (500) can buffer the vibration of the cover (200), thereby reducing the impact of the vibration of the cover (200) on the sound pickup effect. More specifically, the buffer seal (500) can be a foam rubber, which can effectively seal and buffer vibrations.

[0033] The audio component (300) can be in various forms, as long as it can convert sound into electrical signals for transmission. For example, in one embodiment, the audio component (300) includes a control substrate (310) and at least one pickup (320). The control substrate (310) is provided with a substrate opening (311). The control substrate (310) is connected to the cover (200), and the substrate opening (311) is opposite to the pickup through hole (210). The pickup (320) is connected to the side of the control substrate (310) opposite to the cover (200), and the pickup (320) is opposite to the substrate opening (311).

[0034] As shown in FIG4 , the pickup (320) adopts a microphone (MIC) with a back-mounted microphone (321) that emits sound. The pickup (320) includes a sound hole (321) and a pin (322) for welding. The sound hole (321) and the pin (322) are located on the same side of the pickup (320). The control substrate (310) can be a PLC circuit board. The pin (322) of the pickup (320) is welded to the back of the PCB board through a soldering pad connection, thereby achieving mechanical and electrical connection. The sound hole (321) of the pickup (320) is aligned with the substrate opening (311). The PCB board is connected to the cover (200) from the front. The substrate opening (311) is aligned with the sound pickup through hole (210). The voice is transmitted into the pickup (320) after passing through the sound pickup through hole (210) and the substrate opening (311). In the aforementioned embodiment, the sealed connection between the audio component (300) and the cover (200) refers to the sealed connection between the control substrate (310) and the cover (200), which can be specifically bonded to the cover (200) via a buffer seal (500). The PCB board can further process the electrical signal of the pickup (320), such as amplification, wireless transmission and reception, or preliminary data analysis, and then transmit the processed signal to the main controller in the robot body (100) for further processing.

[0035] Furthermore, as shown in FIG2-3 , a limiting protrusion (220) is further provided on the cover (200), and the audio component (300) includes a limiting hole (340), and the limiting protrusion (220) is used to be inserted into the limiting hole (340) to limit the audio component (300).

[0036] The number of the limiting protrusions (220) and the limiting holes (340) can be three, and the limiting holes (340) are spaced apart on the control substrate (310). The limiting protrusions (220) and the limiting holes (340) are plugged in one-to-one, ensuring that the control substrate (310) is accurately installed and the control substrate (310) is limited to avoid lateral movement. It can be understood that in the embodiment including the buffer seal (500), the buffer seal (500) is provided with a clearance hole corresponding to the limiting protrusion (220).

[0037] In order to ensure the sealing between the microphone (320) and the control substrate (310), to ensure that the voice entering the substrate opening (311) can be captured by the microphone (320) to the greatest extent, and to prevent noise such as vibration of the robot body (100) from entering the microphone (320) through the gap between the microphone (320) and the control substrate (310), in one embodiment, the cleaning robot further includes an isolation sleeve (700), which is connected to the audio component (300) to cover the outside of the microphone (320) of the audio component (300), and the isolation sleeve (700) is used for sound insulation.

[0038] The isolation sleeve (700) can be a rubber sleeve with a bottle cap-shaped structure, including a top opening and a receiving cavity connected to the top opening. The isolation sleeve (700) is sleeved on the periphery of the pickup (320), and the edge of the top opening is sealed and connected to the control substrate (310) using adhesive.

[0039] In order to further reduce the vibration of the cover (200) and reduce the noise caused by the vibration of the robot body (100), in one embodiment, the cleaning robot further includes a buffer member (400), the buffer member (400) is connected to one of the cover (200) and the robot body (100), and the other of the cover (200) and the robot body (100) is used to abut against the buffer member (400).

[0040] The setting of the buffer member (400) can, on the one hand, play the effect of buffering the vibration of the robot body (100), so that the vibration of the cover body (200) is weakened and the vibration noise is reduced; on the other hand, it can prevent the noise caused by the vibration of the cover body (200) and the collision with the robot body (100), thereby reducing noise input and ensuring a better sound pickup effect. The buffer member (400) is one or more and can be fixedly connected to the cover body (200). When the cover body (200) is connected to the robot body (100), the buffer member (400) and the robot body (100) are in contact. Alternatively, the buffer member (400) and the robot body (100) are fixedly connected. When the cover body (200) and the robot body (100) are connected, the buffer member (400) and the cover body (200) are in contact. When the main shell (110) and the cover body (200) are connected, the buffer member (400) is located on different sides of the audio component (300), such as on opposite sides, to achieve a balanced shock absorption effect. Furthermore, the spacing between the audio components (300) is less than a preset distance, specifically less than a preset distance from the edge of the control substrate (310), so as to achieve a better shock absorption effect for the audio components (300). The preset distance can be 1 cm, 0.5 cm, etc. In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 4 and 7, taking the buffer member (400) as an example of being arranged on the robot body (100), the buffer member (400) includes a first sub-buffer member (410) and a second sub-buffer member (420), the audio component (300) is arranged in an annular shape, and a speaker is arranged in the middle area surrounded by the audio component (300), the shape of the first sub-buffer member (410) is adapted to the shape of the speaker, covers the speaker, and extends to the inner edge close to the audio component (300), and the second sub-buffer member (420) is an annular structure, is located around the outer periphery of the audio component (300), and is arranged close to the audio component (300), playing a buffering and shock-absorbing role on the audio component (300) by the opposite sides of the inner and outer sides of the annular audio component (300). The first sub-buffer member (410) and the second sub-buffer member (420) can both be made of soft rubber material.

[0041] In a more specific embodiment, as shown in FIG7 , the robot body (100) includes a main housing (110), a cover (200) for connecting to the main housing (110), such as by snap-fitting or hinged connection, or the cover (200) may not be connected to the main housing (110), and the cover (200) is used to cover at least a portion of the main housing (110). The main housing (110) is provided with an opening and a receiving groove (111) communicating with the opening. When the cover (200) covers the main housing (110), the audio component (300) is located in the receiving groove (111), and the buffer (400) is connected to or abuts against the edge of the opening.

[0042] When the buffer member (400) is arranged on the robot body (100), the buffer member (400) is fixedly connected to the edge of the receiving groove (111). Specifically, a mounting boss can be arranged on the edge, and the buffer member (400) is fixed on the mounting boss using an adhesive to ensure that the buffer member (400) is firmly positioned and not easily fallen off. The receiving groove (111) serves to make way for the audio component (300). The buffer member (400) is arranged at the edge of the opening, ensuring that the buffer member (400) is close to the audio component (300), thereby more effectively performing shock absorption.

[0043] In one embodiment, the cleaning robot further comprises a barrier membrane (600), the barrier membrane (600) is connected to the cover body (200), the barrier membrane (600) covers the sound pickup through hole (210), and the barrier membrane (600) is a waterproof and sound-permeable membrane.

[0044] The barrier film (600) is used to prevent external fluid or dust impurities from entering through the sound pickup hole (210) and contaminating the audio component (300), thereby preventing the performance of the pickup (320) from being affected. The barrier film (600) can be set on the top surface of the cover (200) opposite to the audio component (300), or the barrier film (600) is set between the audio component (300) and the cover (200). During production, the barrier film (600) is first fixed to the bottom surface of the cover (200) at a position covering the sound pickup hole (210), and then foam glue is applied. The coverage of the foam glue exceeds the edge of the barrier film (600). Then, the control substrate (310) of the audio component (300) is bonded to the foam glue to achieve the barrier film (600) being fixed to the cover (200). In addition, in order to prevent the barrier film (600) from affecting the tightness of the bonding between the foam and the cover body (200), a barrier film mounting groove (230) can be provided on the back of the cover body (200), the sound pickup through hole (210) is located at the bottom of the barrier film mounting groove (230), the barrier film (600) is provided in the barrier film mounting groove (230), and the bottom surface of the barrier film (600) is coplanar with the bottom surface of the cover body (200).

[0045] The communication between the audio component (300) and the main controller of the robot body (100) can be wireless communication, the audio component (300) includes a first wireless module, the robot body (100) includes a second wireless module, and the audio component (300) and the robot body (100) are wirelessly connected via the first wireless module and the second wireless module to perform signal transmission.

[0046] Alternatively, as shown in FIG4 , the audio component (300) includes a flat cable (330) for electrically connecting to the robot body (100) so that the audio component (300) and the robot body (100) are electrically connected for signal transmission. The flat cable (330) is a flexible wire and an electrical socket extending from the control substrate (310) and can be electrically connected to the main controller of the robot body (100) in a pluggable manner to achieve wired signal transmission.

[0047] On the other hand, the present application also provides a cleaning robot system, comprising any of the cleaning robots described above, and a base station, wherein the cleaning robot is configured to selectively dock at the base station.

[0048] The cleaning robot system includes the features of any of the aforementioned cleaning robots and the advantages of any of the aforementioned cleaning robots, which will not be repeated here.

[0049] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A cleaning robot, wherein: include: A robot body (100), the robot body (100) is used for mobile cleaning; a cover body (200), the cover body (200) at least partially covering the robot body (100), and the cover body (200) being provided with at least one sound pickup through hole (210); At least one audio component (300), the audio component (300) is connected to the cover (200) and is located on a side of the cover (200) opposite to the robot body (100), and the audio component (300) is opposite to at least one of the sound pickup holes (210) and is used to pick up sound through the sound pickup hole (210).

2. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein: The cleaning robot also includes: A buffer seal (500), the audio component (300) is connected to the cover (200) via the buffer seal (500), a seal hole (510) is provided on the buffer seal (500), and the seal hole (510) is opposite to the sound pickup through hole (210).

3. The cleaning robot according to claim 2, wherein: The buffer seal (500) is elastically deformable.

4. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein: The audio component (300) includes a control substrate (310) and at least one pickup (320); A substrate opening (311) is provided on the control substrate (310), the control substrate (310) is connected to the cover (200), and the substrate opening (311) is opposite to the sound pickup through hole (210); The pickup (320) is connected to the side of the control substrate (310) facing away from the cover (200), and the pickup (320) is opposite to the substrate opening (311).

5. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein: The cleaning robot also includes: An isolation sleeve (700) is connected to the audio component (300) to cover the outside of the pickup (320) of the audio component (300), and the isolation sleeve (700) is used for sound insulation.

6. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein: The cleaning robot also includes: A buffer member (400) is connected to one of the cover body (200) and the robot body (100), and the other of the cover body (200) and the robot body (100) is used to abut against the buffer member (400).

7. The cleaning robot according to claim 6, wherein: When the cover (200) covers the robot body (100), the buffer member (400) is located on a different side of the audio component (300), and the interval between the buffer member (400) and the audio component (300) is less than a preset distance.

8. The cleaning robot according to claim 7, wherein: The audio component (300) is annular, the buffer (400) includes a first sub-buffer (410) and a second sub-buffer (420), the second sub-buffer (420) being an annular buffer, and when the cover (200) covers the robot body (100), the audio component (300) surrounds the outer periphery of the first sub-buffer (410), and the second sub-buffer (420) surrounds the outer periphery of the audio component (300).

9. The cleaning robot according to claim 6, wherein: The robot body (100) includes a main housing (110), and the cover (200) at least partially covers the main housing (110); The main shell (110) is provided with an opening and a receiving groove (111) connected to the opening; when the cover (200) covers the main shell (110), the audio component (300) is located in the receiving groove (111), and the buffer (400) is connected to or abuts against the edge of the opening.

10. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein: The cleaning robot also includes: A barrier film (600) is connected to the cover body (200), the barrier film (600) covers the sound pickup through hole (210), and the barrier film (600) is a waterproof and sound-permeable film.

11. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein: The audio component (300) includes a first wireless module, the robot body (100) includes a second wireless module, and the audio component (300) and the robot body (100) are wirelessly connected via the first wireless module and the second wireless module to perform signal transmission; Alternatively, the audio component (300) includes a flat cable (330), and the flat cable (330) is used to be electrically connected to the robot body (100), so that the audio component (300) is electrically connected to the robot body (100) for signal transmission.

12. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein: A limiting protrusion (220) is also provided on the cover body (200), and the audio component (300) includes a limiting hole (340). The limiting protrusion (220) is used to be inserted into the limiting hole (340) to limit the audio component (300).

13. A cleaning robot system, wherein: comprising the cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 12, and a base station; The cleaning robot is used to selectively dock at the base station.

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