Robot Cleaner Spin-Mop Zigzag Travel for Complete Floor Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robot cleaners equipped with spin-mops face challenges in maintaining a straight path due to varying frictional forces, leading to incomplete cleaning, especially near obstacles and in central areas between spin-mops, resulting in uncleaned regions.
Innovation Solution
The robot cleaner employs a controller to manage the rotational directions and speeds of its spin-mops, allowing for zigzag pattern travel where the movement trajectory of one spin-mop during a second travel segment overlaps the previous segment's trajectory, ensuring comprehensive floor coverage without leaving uncleaned areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the robot cleaner travels using rotation of spin-mops, then it can perform mopping operation, but the varying frictional forces cause difficulty in traveling in a straight path
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner dynamically adjusts the rotation speeds of its left and right spin-mops based on real-time friction detection. When friction varies on one side, the controller modulates the rotation speed of that spin-mop to compensate, maintaining straight path travel while performing mopping operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot cleaner incorporates sensors to detect frictional forces between spin-mops and the floor surface. This feedback information is fed to the controller, which adjusts spin-mop rotation speeds accordingly to maintain stable straight path travel despite varying friction conditions.
2Productivity
If the robot cleaner travels in a straight path, then it can clean efficiently, but it cannot reliably move adjacent to walls or obstacles having straight surfaces, leaving uncleaned regions
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner periodically alternates between straight path travel and zigzag motion patterns. During zigzag phases, it intentionally deviates to clean areas adjacent to walls and obstacles, then returns to straight path travel for efficient coverage, ensuring complete cleaning without leaving uncleaned regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot cleaner dynamically switches between different travel patterns (straight path, zigzag, turning) based on its position relative to walls and obstacles. This dynamic pattern selection ensures complete cleaning coverage while maintaining overall cleaning efficiency.
3Manufacturing precision
If the robot cleaner uses S-shaped or zigzag travel pattern, then it can reduce uncleaned regions, but the travel speed and cleaning speed become slower
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner uses periodic zigzag motions only when necessary (e.g., near walls or obstacles), while maintaining fast straight path travel for the majority of the cleaning area. This selective periodic zigzag approach ensures complete coverage while minimizing speed reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot cleaner dynamically adjusts its travel pattern based on the environment, using fast straight path travel in open areas and switching to zigzag patterns only when approaching walls or obstacles. This dynamic adaptation optimizes both speed and cleaning completeness.
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 solution enables the robot cleaner to effectively clean the entire floor, increasing travel and cleaning speed while preventing uncleaned regions, and allows for both wet and dry cleaning operations.
Implementation Method 1
the rotary members are concurrently rotated on a floor surface while portions of the mops fixed to the rotary members are in contact with the floor surface to generate friction forces to move the robot cleaner
Implementation Method 2
A robot cleaner (also referred to as an autonomous cleaner) is an apparatus that autonomously travels and cleans a floor or other surface. The robot cleaner may suction foreign matter, such as dust, from the floor or may sweep away foreign matter on the floor while traveling autonomously.
Data Source
AI summary
A robot cleaner includes a cleaning module having a left spin-mop and a right spin-mop configured to contact a floor while rotating in a clockwise direction or in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from above. The robot cleaner also includes a controller that manages the cleaning module such that, when the robot cleaner travels in a zigzag pattern including a first travel, during which the robot cleaner travels straight in a first direction, and a second travel, during which the robot cleaner travels straight in a second direction, which is opposite the first direction, a movement trajectory of the left spin-mop or the right spin-mop during the second travel overlaps a movement trajectory of the left spin-mop and a movement trajectory of the right spin-mop during the first travel.