Robotic cleaner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robotic vacuum cleaners face challenges in effectively cleaning edges and obstacles, such as walls, due to their geometry and movement behavior, which can impact the performance of side brushes.
Innovation Solution
The robotic cleaner is equipped with a controller that communicates with driven wheels, edge cleaning implements, and environmental sensors. The controller executes a method of cleaning that involves maneuvering the robotic cleaner to approach vertically extending surfaces, adjusting the rotation speed of side brushes based on detected obstacles and movement directions, and following cleaning paths that include row portions and turn-around portions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the robotic vacuum cleaner uses a standard geometry design, then the device structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the cleaning performance adjacent to walls and obstacles is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning device is divided into functional modules: a main body unit, detachable side brushes, and interchangeable edge cleaning implements. This segmentation allows the core structure to remain simple while enabling enhanced cleaning capabilities through add-on components that can be attached when edge cleaning is needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The side brushes are designed with adjustable positioning mechanisms that allow them to dynamically extend or retract based on cleaning needs. The edge cleaning implements can be attached or detached to change the device's functional configuration, making the structure adaptable rather than fixed.
2Reliability
If side brushes are added to improve edge cleaning, then cleaning performance adjacent to walls improves, but the movement behavior control becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates sensors that detect the presence of walls and obstacles, providing feedback to the control system. This feedback enables the controller to automatically adjust side brush activation and positioning, as well as modify movement patterns, without requiring complex manual control logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system autonomously manages the coordination between side brushes and movement based on sensor input. The device self-regulates its cleaning behavior by automatically activating side brushes when walls are detected and adjusting its movement pattern to optimize edge cleaning, reducing the need for external control complexity.
3Reliability
If the robotic cleaner follows a systematic cleaning path with row portions and turn-around portions, then cleaning coverage is improved, but the cleaning time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device prepares for edge cleaning by pre-positioning side brushes and adjusting their rotation speed before actually contacting the wall. This preliminary action ensures that when the cleaner reaches turn-around portions or detects edges, the side brushes are already ready to engage, eliminating delays and improving cleaning efficiency without sacrificing coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning path is structured with periodic turn-around portions that create opportunities for edge cleaning. By systematically incorporating these turn-around movements into the cleaning cycle, the device ensures thorough edge coverage while maintaining an efficient overall pattern that balances completeness with time management.
Data Source
AI summary
A robotic cleaner may include one or more driven wheels, one or more environmental sensors, at least one of the one or more environmental sensors configured to detect a first obstacle having a first vertically extending surface, one or more edge cleaning implements, and a controller communicatively coupled to the one or more driven wheels and the one or more environmental sensors. In response to detecting the first obstacle, the controller may be configured to cause the robotic cleaner to move through a rotation angle such that at least one of the one or more edge cleaning implements approaches the first vertically extending surface.