Cleaning Robot Obstacle Sensing for Edge Cleaning and Soft Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cleaning robots struggle to effectively clean corners and perimeters due to their circular design, often getting tangled with wires or hair, and face clogging issues in the dust collection path, which can lead to reduced suction force and cleaning efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning robot equipped with an obstacle sensor and controller that adjusts speed and direction to minimize collisions, aligns with obstacles for thorough edge cleaning, and includes a contact sensor to manage interactions with obstacles, ensuring effective dust collection and maintaining suction force by monitoring suction motor RPM.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the cleaning robot travels at normal speed, then cleaning efficiency is maintained, but collision impact with obstacles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller reduces the driving speed of the cleaning robot before it contacts an obstacle, based on distance information detected by the obstacle sensor. This preliminary speed reduction minimizes collision impact while allowing the robot to maintain normal cleaning speed when no obstacles are present, thus resolving the contradiction between cleaning efficiency and collision impact.
2Ease of operation
If the cleaning robot uses a circular main body design, then direction changes are easy, but corner and perimeter cleaning effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning robot introduces a side brush that protrudes from the main body, creating an asymmetric structure. This side brush enables the robot to effectively clean corners and perimeters while the main body remains circular for easy direction changes, thus resolving the contradiction between maneuverability and cleaning effectiveness in hard-to-reach areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of the circular shape (inability to clean corners effectively) into a benefit by adding a side brush that specifically targets corner and perimeter areas. The side brush compensates for the geometric limitation of the circular main body, allowing effective cleaning of previously inaccessible areas.
3Productivity
If the side brush protrudes from the main body, then corner cleaning effectiveness is improved, but the side brush gets tangled with wires and hair
Solution Approach 1:
The side brush is designed to be rotatable relative to the main body, allowing it to dynamically adjust its orientation. When the robot encounters wires or hair, the side brush can rotate to avoid tangling while maintaining its corner cleaning function, thus resolving the contradiction between cleaning effectiveness and reliability.
4Productivity
If the cleaning robot collects dust in a dust collecting unit, then dust collection capability is improved, but clogging occurs in the flow path
Solution Approach 1:
The controller monitors the suction motor RPM and compares it to a reference value to detect flow path clogging. When clogging is detected, the controller generates a flow path load alarm and can adjust operation accordingly. This feedback mechanism allows the robot to maintain high dust collection capability while preventing reliability issues from undetected clogging.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a cleaning robot including: a driving unit configured to move the cleaning robot; an obstacle sensor configured to sense an obstacle; and a controller configured to reduce, if a distance between the cleaning robot and the obstacle is shorter than or equal to a reference distance, a driving speed of the cleaning robot so that the driving speed of the cleaning robot is lower than a shock absorbing speed when the cleaning robot contacts the obstacle.