Robot Cleaner Wheel Structure for Obstacle Climbing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional robot cleaner wheels struggle to effectively overcome obstacles due to a small contact area between the wheel and the obstacle, leading to stopped operation when the obstacle height exceeds a certain threshold.
Innovation Solution
A wheel design featuring an outer ring, an inner ring, and a plurality of spokes and ribs, where the spokes connect the outer and inner rings, forming independent spaces that allow air to pass through and absorb deformation, with ribs limiting the outer ring's movement towards the inner ring, enhancing the contact area with obstacles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional solid wheel is used, then the wheel structure is simple, but the contact area with obstacles is small, causing the robot cleaner to slide and stop when obstacle height exceeds a predetermined threshold
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel is divided into multiple segments including an outer ring, inner ring, multiple spokes, and multiple ribs, creating an expandable structure that can deform to increase contact area with obstacles while maintaining structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic expandable structure where the outer ring can move outward relative to the inner ring along the spokes, allowing the wheel to adapt its shape to obstacles and maintain reliable contact
2Reliability
If the outer ring is allowed to move freely toward the inner ring, then the wheel can deform to increase contact area, but the ribs would not be able to effectively limit the movement, reducing obstacle climbing performance
Solution Approach 1:
The thickness and length parameters of the ribs are specifically optimized (thickness smaller than outer ring, length smaller than spoke length) to provide appropriate resistance to outer ring movement, enabling controlled deformation for obstacle climbing while maintaining structural stability
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
The wheel design improves the robot cleaner's ability to climb over obstacles by widening the contact area with the surface, allowing it to maintain operation even when encountering higher obstacles.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of spokes which connect the outer ring and the inner ring, and form a plurality of independent spaces through which air passes
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of ribs disposed in the plurality of independent spaces to limit movement of the outer ring when the outer ring is moved toward the inner ring
Implementation Method 3
the tire 220 is formed of an elastic material... in order to improve the obstacle climbing ability of the robot cleaner, development of a wheel which can widen a contact area between the wheel and an obstacle is required
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6A~6B
AI summary
A wheel for a robot cleaner includes an outer ring in contact with a surface to be cleaned, an inner ring which is disposed inside the outer ring and receives a driving force, a plurality of spokes which connect the outer ring and the inner ring, and form a plurality of independent spaces through which air passes, and a plurality of ribs disposed in the plurality of independent spaces, each of the plurality of ribs having a shorter length than a length of each of the plurality of spokes.