Mobile cleaning robot suspension
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile cleaning robots face challenges in maintaining consistent wheel downforce across varying obstacles and floor surfaces, leading to inconsistent traction and increased drag, particularly due to differences in downforce when moving forward and backward.
Innovation Solution
A suspension system with a linkage that maintains a virtual center of rotation near or below the drive wheel, allowing consistent downforce delivery throughout its range of travel and between forward and reverse movements, enhancing traction and reducing drag.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a front-pivoting suspension system is used, then wheel downforce can be delivered effectively, but the downforce varies at different heights of the drive wheel and between forward and rearward movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the suspension linkage to position the virtual center of rotation at or below the drive wheel center. This parameter modification ensures that the drive wheel maintains consistent downforce throughout its range of motion and in both forward and reverse directions, resolving the variability issue of conventional front-pivoting systems.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the drive wheel traverses over obstacles of varying shape and size, then the robot can navigate different surfaces, but the required wheel downforce varies during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The suspension system automatically self-adjusts the drive wheel downforce through its linkage mechanism. As the robot encounters obstacles of varying heights and surfaces, the linkage passively maintains the virtual center of rotation position, causing the drive wheel to self-regulate its downforce without requiring external control intervention, thus adapting to different navigation conditions.
3Speed
If conventional suspension systems are used, then the robot can move forward and backward, but drag increases due to inconsistent downforce
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of positioning the pivot point at the front of the robot body, the patent inverts the approach by positioning the virtual center of rotation at or below the drive wheel center. This inverted configuration ensures that both forward and reverse movements generate consistent downforce, eliminating the drag caused by downforce variability in conventional systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile cleaning robot can be movable within an environment, the mobile cleaning robot can include a body and a drive arm movable with respect to the body between an extended position and a retracted position. The robot can include a drive wheel connected to the drive arm and movable therewith. The drive wheel can be operable to move the mobile cleaning robot. The robot can include a first link connected to the body and connected to the drive arm. The robot can include a second link connected to the body and connected to the drive arm to, together with the first link, the body, and the drive arm, define a center of rotation about which the drive arm and the drive wheel rotate between the extended position and the retracted position.