Robot Cleaner Wheel Assembly for Crossing Doorsill Obstacles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robot cleaners often experience travel interruption when encountering obstacles like doorsills, as the center of the device can get caught, leading to separation of the wheel and disruption of the cleaning operation.
Innovation Solution
The robot cleaner is equipped with a main wheel and an auxiliary wheel connected via a drive shaft, where the auxiliary wheel protrudes downward to assist in escaping obstacles by reaching the floor when the main wheel is lifted, ensuring continuous travel and cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the robot cleaner uses a single main wheel configuration, then the device structure is simple, but the cleaning operation is interrupted when the center is caught by obstacles like doorsills
Solution Approach 1:
The drive device is segmented into a main wheel for normal operation and an auxiliary wheel for obstacle overcoming. When the center is caught by an obstacle, the main wheel is lifted and the auxiliary wheel protrudes downward to reach the floor, allowing the robot to escape from the obstacle without interrupting cleaning operations
Solution Approach 2:
The drive device dynamically switches between main wheel and auxiliary wheel based on operating conditions. The auxiliary wheel is positioned closer to the center and can protrude downward when needed, creating a dynamic adaptation mechanism that responds to obstacle conditions
2Reliability
If the auxiliary wheel is positioned closer to the center, then it can reach the floor when main wheel is lifted, but the main brush cleaning coverage is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary wheel is positioned in the radial dimension closer to the center, but the main brush extends in the tangential dimension to reach close to the rim. This dimensional arrangement allows the auxiliary wheel to provide obstacle passing capability while the main brush maintains wide cleaning coverage through its extended length
3Stability of the object's composition
If the main wheel is positioned at the periphery, then the device has good stability, but it cannot reach the floor when the center is caught by obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary wheel acts as an intermediary element between the main wheel and the floor. When the center is caught by an obstacle, the auxiliary wheel protrudes downward to reach the floor and provide support, mediating the transition from unstable to stable state during obstacle passage
Data Source
AI summary
A robot cleaner to perform cleaning without interruption of travel when passing over an obstacle. The robot cleaner includes a main body, and drive devices at left and right sides of the main body. Each drive device includes a main wheel to drive the main body, a drive motor to rotate the main wheel, a gear assembly to transmit power from the drive motor to the main wheel, a drive shaft to assist the main wheel in rotating by rotation power, and an auxiliary wheel connected to a distal end of the drive shaft so as to be located closer to the center of the main body than the main wheel. If the main wheel is lifted from a floor when passing over an obstacle during traveling, the auxiliary wheel protrudes downward to reach the floor, assisting the main body in traveling to escape from the obstacle.