Wet Mop Support Layout to Prevent Cleaning Robot Wheel Slippage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous cleaning robots face issues with drive wheel slippage due to uneven friction forces from mop supports, leading to navigation problems and reduced cleaning performance, and existing solutions either require complex and costly control units or compromise cleaning efficiency.
Innovation Solution
Repositioning the mop supports behind the drive wheels' rotation axes to increase support force and friction, while optimizing the arrangement to prevent wheel slippage and improve cleaning quality, including features like transverse mop support displacement and strategic placement of the suction unit and power battery to enhance support forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the mop supports are arranged at the front and rear of the drive wheels, then the structure is simple, but the support forces on the floor are low because the lateral wheels take up the support forces
Solution Approach 1:
The mop supports are positioned behind the rotation axes of the drive wheels, utilizing the longitudinal dimension of the robot body to place the mops in a location where they can directly bear the robot's weight. This dimensional repositioning allows the mops to exert sufficient support force on the floor without requiring complex additional support structures.
2Volume of moving object
If the mop supports are arranged at the front and rear of the drive wheels, then the structure is compact, but the cleaning performance is limited due to low support forces
Solution Approach 1:
By repositioning the mop supports to extend beyond the rotation axes of the drive wheels in the longitudinal direction, the design maintains a compact overall robot volume while creating a configuration where the mops are positioned to maximize their contact force with the floor, thereby improving cleaning performance without increasing robot size.
3Reliability
If a more complex control unit is equipped to handle wheel slippage, then navigation reliability improves, but manufacturing costs significantly increase
Solution Approach 1:
The design converts the potential harmful effect of wheel slippage into a beneficial configuration by positioning the mop supports behind the drive wheel rotation axes. This arrangement ensures that the mops maintain sufficient contact force with the floor to prevent slippage, thereby improving navigation reliability through mechanical design rather than complex electronic control systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enhances cleaning performance by increasing support forces, preventing wheel slippage, and improving cleaning quality, while maintaining a compact and economical design for the autonomous cleaning robot.
Implementation Method 1
a suction unit which is housed at least partly in the main body and which is configured to generate an air flow through the suction opening
Implementation Method 2
the mops being configured to be in contact with the surface to be cleaned... when the mops do not exert the same friction forces on the floor to be cleaned
Data Source
AI summary
The autonomous cleaning robot includes a main body including a lower face and a suction opening, opening into the lower face; a wet cleaning device including two mop supports which are each movably mounted in translation relative to the main body in a direction of translation, and two mops mounted respectively on the two mop supports; and two drive wheels configured to roll over the surface to be cleaned and movably mounted in rotation on the main body respectively about two rotation axes which are substantially parallel. The two mop supports are located behind the rotation axes of the drive wheels, and the direction of translation extends substantially parallel to the rotation axes of the two drive wheels.