Robotic Vacuum Brush Roller Self-Cleaning Using Vertical Engagement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robotic vacuum cleaners face issues with brush rollers becoming clogged with hair and threads, which reduces their cleaning effectiveness, and existing solutions are not suitable for self-propelled robots as they require manual actuation for cleaning.
Innovation Solution
The brush roller is vertically movable, engaging with a blade for automatic cleaning, where the robotic vacuum cleaner drives onto a ramp to raise the brush roller into a cleaning position, allowing the blade to remove hair and threads while the suction fan operates, enhancing cleaning efficiency without additional adjustment devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a blade is arranged above the brush roller to cut hair and threads, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but the device complexity increases due to requiring manual actuation mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The brush roller cleaning system performs self-service by automatically raising itself to engage with the stationary blade for cleaning. The brush roller includes a raising mechanism that lifts it from a lower operating position to an upper cleaning position without external manual intervention, allowing the system to clean itself during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The brush roller is designed with dynamic vertical movement capability, transitioning between a lower position during normal operation and an upper position for cleaning. This dynamic positioning allows the same component to serve dual functions: cleaning the substrate during operation and being cleaned by the blade when raised.
2Reliability
If additional adjustment devices are added to the vacuum robot for brush roller cleaning, then cleaning functionality is improved, but the robot's mobility and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum robot performs self-service cleaning by automatically raising its own brush roller to engage with the stationary blade. This eliminates the need for separate adjustment devices or manual intervention, maintaining robot mobility while enabling effective brush roller cleaning.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning function is merged with the existing robot structure by using a stationary blade integrated into the housing and the brush roller's own raising mechanism. This combination eliminates the need for additional independent adjustment devices, preserving robot simplicity and mobility.
3Device complexity
If the brush roller is fixed in position, then structural simplicity is maintained, but cleaning effectiveness deteriorates due to inability to engage with the blade
Solution Approach 1:
The brush roller incorporates dynamic vertical movement, transitioning between a lower operating position and an upper cleaning position. This dynamic capability enables engagement with the stationary blade for effective cleaning while maintaining relative structural simplicity through the use of guides and springs rather than complex mechanisms.
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 automatic and effective cleaning of the brush roller, improving the robotic vacuum cleaner's mobility and cleaning performance by using the robot's own mechanisms to position the brush roller for cleaning, thus enhancing its operational efficiency and reducing manual intervention.
Implementation Method 1
a suction fan (21) that can be operated independently of the drive wheels (5) and creates a pressure difference
Implementation Method 2
the bristles of the brush roller whirl up dirt particles that have gotten caught in a carpet, for example, so that they can be sucked in more easily
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a robot vacuum (1) with a brush roller (11) which is arranged on an underside (3) of a housing (2) of the robot vacuum (1) and can be rotated about a horizontal axis (14). The robotic vacuum cleaner (1) is characterized in that a blade (20) fixed relative to the housing (2) is arranged above the brush roller (11), and that the axis (14) of the brush roller (11) relative to the housing ( 2) adjustable in height, in a lower position the brush roller (11) is spaced from the blade (20) and in an upper position the brush roller (11) is in engagement with the blade (20). The invention also relates to a method for cleaning a brush roller (11) of such a vacuum robot (1).