Mobile cleaning robot with skids
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous mobile cleaning robots face challenges in maintaining effective debris extraction and mobility across various floor surfaces due to the rigid connection between drive wheels and the robot's body, which restricts ride height and cleaning performance.
Innovation Solution
The use of a plurality of skids to support the robot's body and define its ride height, allowing the drive wheels to move freely and reducing the load variance, while the skids engage with the floor to stabilize the cleaning head for effective cleaning across different surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If drive wheels are rigidly connected to the robot's body, then structural stability is improved, but ride height adaptability and cleaning performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The robot's support system is segmented into multiple independent elements: multiple drive wheels and multiple skids. This segmentation allows each element to independently adapt to floor variations while collectively providing stable support. The skids are separated from the main body and can move independently to define ride height, resolving the contradiction between structural stability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection between skids and the robot body is made dynamic rather than rigid. The skids can move relative to the body to adapt ride height to different floor surfaces, while the multiple contact points maintain overall structural stability. This dynamic configuration allows the system to transition between stable support and adaptive positioning as needed.
2Strength
If drive wheels are rigidly connected to the robot's body, then structural support is improved, but mobility and load adaptation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The support function is segmented between drive wheels and skids. The drive wheels provide primary structural support through their rigid connection to the body, while the skids provide adaptive load distribution. This segmentation allows the system to maintain strong structural support while adapting to varying loads and floor conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The skids act as intermediary elements between the robot body and the floor surface. They mediate the interaction by absorbing load variations and preventing these variations from being transmitted directly to the drive wheels and body, thus protecting the rigid structure while adapting to load changes.
3Device complexity
If ride height is fixed, then structural simplicity is improved, but cleaning effectiveness across various surfaces deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The ride height is made dynamic through the movable skids that can adjust their position relative to the robot body. This allows the cleaning head to maintain optimal contact with various floor surfaces without requiring a completely complex adjustable mechanism. The dynamic skid positioning provides adaptability while maintaining relative structural simplicity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If drive wheels are allowed to move freely, then mobility is improved, but structural stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support system is segmented into multiple drive wheels and multiple skids that work together. The drive wheels can move freely for mobility, while the multiple skids provide distributed contact points that maintain structural stability. The segmentation allows independent optimization of mobility and stability functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The drive wheels and skids are combined into a unified support system where both elements work together. The drive wheels provide mobility through free movement, while the skids provide stability through multiple contact points. The merging of these two subsystems achieves both mobility and structural stability simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile cleaning robot can include a body, a drive wheel, and a plurality of skids. The drive wheel can be connected to the body and can be engageable with a floor surface of an environment. The drive wheel can be operable to move the mobile cleaning robot about an environment. The skids can be separate skids that can be connected to the body and can be engageable with the floor surface to support, together with the drive wheel, the mobile cleaning robot with respect to the floor surface.