Surface-Cleaning Robot with Movable Suction Cup for Obstacle Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional robots designed for cleaning surfaces, such as windows and doors, face issues with stability and leakage when encountering obstacles due to improper distribution of acting forces and lack of resilience, leading to incomplete cleaning and safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A robot design featuring a suction cup that can move relative to its body, with a pump module creating negative pressure and through holes for pivot insertion, allowing the suction cup to maintain contact with the surface and distribute acting forces effectively, preventing leakage and ensuring airtightness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the traveling unit travels on an obstructer, then the robot encounters obstacles during cleaning, but the robot becomes entirely tilted or lifted up causing leakage of the closed space
Solution Approach 1:
The robot is divided into functionally independent segments: the body with traveling unit and the suction cup with operational unit. This segmentation allows the suction cup to independently compensate for body tilting when encountering obstacles, maintaining airtightness while enabling obstacle handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The suction cup is designed to be movable relative to the body through pivots, creating a dynamic structure. This allows the suction cup to automatically adjust its position and maintain contact with the surface during body tilting, preventing leakage while accommodating obstacle encounters.
2Ease of operation
If the ratio of acting force of traveling unit to operational unit is improper, then the robot can travel, but the robot skids and cannot travel forward or the operational unit cannot clean effectively
Solution Approach 1:
Different parts of the robot are given different functional qualities: the body houses the traveling unit for movement, while the suction cup contains the operational unit for cleaning. The area ratio between these components is specifically designed to optimize the distribution of acting forces, ensuring both effective traveling and cleaning operations.
3Force
If the suction cup area is increased to improve adsorption force, then the negative pressure acts more strongly, but the acting force distribution becomes improper causing skidding
Solution Approach 1:
The design optimizes the area ratio parameter between the suction cup and body to achieve proper force distribution. By carefully selecting this geometric parameter, the system balances adsorption force with traveling stability, preventing skidding while maintaining effective cleaning pressure.
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 robot maintains airtightness and stable operation on surfaces, preventing leakage and ensuring effective cleaning by distributing acting forces according to the area ratio of the suction cup and body spaces, allowing for consistent performance even when encountering obstacles.
Implementation Method 1
The pump module is disposed in the body. The suction cup is movable relative to the body. Upon an operation of the robot, the body, the suction cup and the plate form a closed space. The closed space is kept at a negative pressure by use of the pump module.
Data Source
AI summary
A robot comprises a body, at least one traveling device, a suction cup and a pump module. The at least one traveling device disposed in the body is for causing the robot to move on a surface of a plate. The suction cup and the pump module are disposed in the body. The suction cup can move relative to the body. Upon an operation of the robot, the body, the suction cup and the plate form a closed space, and the closed space is kept at a negative pressure by use of the pump module.