CLEANING ROBOT

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2024/098795, filed on Jun. 12, 2024, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202323371141.8, filed to China National Intellectual Property Administration on Dec. 11, 2023 and entitled “Cleaning Robot”, Chinese Patent Application No. 202410050718.5, filed to China National Intellectual Property Administration on Jan. 13, 2024 and entitled “Control Method and Device for Cleaning Apparatus, Apparatus, Medium and Product”, PCT International Application No. PCT/CN2023/100210, filed on Jun. 14, 2023 and entitled “Cleaning Apparatus”, PCT International Application No. PCT/CN2023/100199, filed on Jun. 14, 2023 and entitled “Control Method for Cleaning Apparatus, Cleaning Apparatus and Storage Medium”, and Chinese Patent Application No. 202420401515.1, filed to China National Intellectual Property Administration on Mar. 1, 2024 and entitled “Cleaning Robot”. The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to, but is not limited to, the technical field of cleaning apparatuses.

BACKGROUND

With the development of science and technology and the improvement of living standards, household cleaning robots have become increasingly popular, thereby reducing the burden of household chores on humans.

The bottom of a cleaning robot is typically provided with a side brush assembly, the side brush assembly including cleaning members such as a roller brush and a side brush. The side brush is generally disposed at a front-side edge of a robot body of the cleaning robot. When the cleaning robot is in operation, the side brush can rotate about its own axis to gather debris on the ground toward the interior of the cleaning robot, so that the debris can be sucked into a cavity of the cleaning robot via the roller brush and a dust suction port on the robot body of the cleaning robot, thereby cleaning the ground.

However, the cleaning robot has a technical problem of a limited cleaning range for hard-to-clean regions, such as corners.

SUMMARY

In view of the above problem, the embodiments of the present application provide a cleaning robot, which can improve the coverage of hard-to-clean regions, such as corners, and increase the cleaning range of the cleaning robot.

In order to achieve the above objective, the embodiments of the present application provide the following technical solutions:

An embodiment of the present application provides a cleaning robot, including: a robot body; and a side brush assembly, including a driving mechanism, a swing arm, and a cleaning member. The swing arm is rotatably connected to the robot body about a first rotation axis, and the cleaning member is disposed on the swing arm and is adapted to perform a cleaning operation; the driving mechanism is adapted to drive the swing arm to rotate about the first rotation axis, so that the swing arm moves between an extended position and a retracted position relative to the robot body; the cleaning member is farther away from the robot body when the swing arm is in the extended position than when the swing arm is in the retracted position; and when the swing arm is in the extended position, the cleaning member is capable of cleaning a corner between an edgewise path and a preset obstacle.

In the cleaning robot according to the present application, the swing arm of the side brush assembly is rotatably connected to the robot body, and the driving mechanism drives the swing arm to move relative to the robot body between the extended position and the retracted position. The cleaning member is disposed on the swing arm to move along with the swing arm, such that the swing arm drives the cleaning member to move between the extended position and the retracted position. When the swing arm is in the extended position, the cleaning member can clean the corner between the edgewise path and the preset obstacle. This increases the cleaning range of the cleaning member, avoids the problem of cleaning blind spots, enables the cleaning robot to cope with more complex cleaning conditions, and improves the user experience.

In some embodiments, the cleaning member includes a side brush, and when the swing arm is in the retracted position, the cleaning robot performs edgewise cleaning along the edgewise path; and when the swing arm is in the extended position, the side brush is deformed upon contact with the corner, so that the side brush reaches deep into the corner between the edgewise path and the preset obstacle to perform cleaning.

When the cleaning robot performs edgewise cleaning, at least a portion of the side brush assembly extends beyond an edge of the robot body. Therefore, the side brush assembly can perform edgewise cleaning when in the retracted position, avoiding frequent outward extension of the side brush assembly that could shorten the service life of the side brush assembly. When a preset obstacle exists on the edgewise cleaning path of the cleaning robot, a corner is formed between the edgewise path and the preset obstacle. Thanks to its flexibly deformable structure, the side brush is deformed upon contact with the corner, in which case the side brush has reached deep into the corner, so that the side brush can extend into the corner to perform cleaning. This facilitates cleaning of a narrow corner region, thereby improving the cleaning effect at the corner.

In some embodiments, the driving mechanism includes a driving member, which is rotatably disposed relative to the robot body about a second rotation axis. The driving member is used for driving the swing arm to move between the extended position and the retracted position, and the first rotation axis and the second rotation axis are parallel to each other or coincide with each other.

In this way, the swing arm is driven to rotate by the rotation of the driving member, making the movement of the swing arm and the driving member simple and easy to implement. Moreover, the side brush assembly rotates along with the swing arm about the second rotation axis to reach the extended position. The rotational extension facilitates obtaining a larger extended range while occupying less space within the robot body.

In some embodiments, the driving mechanism includes: a first driving mechanism, at least a driving force of the first driving mechanism driving the swing arm to move about the first rotation axis, so that the swing arm moves toward one of the extended position and the retracted position; and a second driving mechanism, at least a driving force of the second driving mechanism driving the swing arm to move toward the other one of the extended position and the retracted position.

In this way, different power sources can be provided respectively for movement processes of the swing arm from the extended position to the retracted position and from the retracted position to the extended position, so that the movement of the second driving mechanism can be simplified, thereby reducing the cost.

In some embodiments, the first driving mechanism is configured to at least partially drive the swing arm to move from the retracted position to the extended position; and the second driving mechanism is configured to at least partially overcome an acting force of the first driving mechanism to drive the swing arm to move from the extended position to the retracted position.

In this way, the swing arm is driven by the second driving mechanism and the first driving mechanism, respectively, to move between the extended position and the retracted position, so as to satisfy cleaning demands in different scenarios, thereby increasing the cleaning range, eliminating cleaning blind spots, and improving the user experience.

In some embodiments, the first driving mechanism includes an elastic member. One end of the elastic member is connected to the swing arm, and the other end of the elastic member is fixed relative to the robot body; and the elastic member drives the swing arm to move from the retracted position to the extended position by means of its own elastic force.

In this way, the elastic member can drive the swing arm to move from the retracted position to the extended position by means of its own elastic force, so that the structure is simple, no additional power member is required, and the cost is low. Moreover, when the side brush assembly is in the extended position and comes into contact with an obstacle, the elastic member enables the side brush assembly to tend to move toward the retracted position, thereby avoiding a rigid collision that would damage the side brush assembly.

In some embodiments, that elastic member is one of a torsion spring, a compression spring, and a tension spring.

In this way, the elastic member can drive the swing arm to move from the retracted position to the extended position by means of its own elastic force, so that the structure is simple, no additional power member is required, and the cost is low.

In some embodiments, the second driving mechanism includes the driving member. The driving member is configured to rotate relative to the robot body in a first direction and a second direction. The driving member rotates in the first direction so as to at least partially overcome the elastic force of the elastic member to push the swing arm to move from the extended position to the retracted position; when the driving member rotates in the second direction, the elastic member drives the swing arm to move from the retracted position to the extended position by means of its own elastic force; and the first direction is opposite to the second direction.

In this way, by adjusting the rotational direction of the driving member and in cooperation with the elastic member, the swing arm can be switched between the retracted position and the extended position. The overall implementation is relatively simple and easy to carry out.

In some embodiments, the second driving mechanism includes an extending motor and an extending gear set. The extending gear set includes planetary gears, the extending gear set is at least partially disposed below the driving member, and a rotation axis of the extending motor is coaxial with a revolution axis of the planetary gears, so that the rotation axis of the extending motor is coaxial with a rotation axis of the driving member.

In this way, by providing the extending gear set and configuring the extending gear set in the form of planetary gears, the driving member of the second driving mechanism can have multiple output modes, thereby better driving the swinging motion of the swing arm. Moreover, the planetary gears are disposed below the driving member, which helps save space. The side brush assembly primarily occupies the dimension of the robot body in a height direction, realizing stacking in the height direction and thus reducing the space occupied by the side brush assembly within the robot body.

In some embodiments, the second driving mechanism includes an extending motor and an extending gear set. The extending gear set includes parallel gears, a rotating shaft of at least one of the parallel gears is parallel to a rotating shaft of the extending motor, and a rotating shaft of at least another one of the parallel gears is coaxial with a rotating shaft of the driving member.

In this way, by providing the extending gear set and configuring the extending gear set in the form of parallel gears, a transmission ratio of the parallel gears can be adjusted as needed, thereby regulating the rotational speed of the driving member to better drive the swinging motion of the swing arm. In this case, the parallel gears are disposed on a side of the extending motor, enabling a rational spatial layout and helping reduce costs.

In some embodiments, the driving member includes a driving body and a driving portion. The driving portion is connected to the driving body and is disposed eccentrically relative to the second rotation axis of the driving member; and the swing arm includes an abutment surface mating with the driving portion, and when the driving member rotates about the second rotation axis in the first direction, the driving portion is adapted to push against the abutment surface, so as to cause the swing arm to move from the extended position to the retracted position.

In this way, the driving body can provide mounting support for the driving portion, and the driving portion can drive the swing arm to move. The driving member has a relatively simple structure and is easy to manufacture. It can be ensured that the driving portion can stably apply a pushing force to the swing arm, and the mating between the swing arm and the driving member is simple and reliable.

In some embodiments, one of the driving member and the swing arm further includes a mating portion, and the other one includes a mating recess which mates with the mating portion; when the swing arm is in the extended position, the mating portion and the mating recess are separated from each other; and when the swing arm is in the retracted position, the mating portion and the mating recess are connected to each other in a mating manner.

In this way, through the mating between the mating portion and the mating recess, the swing arm can be locked in the retracted position.

In some embodiments, when the swing arm is in the retracted position, the swing arm is driven by the first driving mechanism to apply an acting force on the mating portion, and the acting force applied by the swing arm on the mating portion is directed toward a rotation axis of the driving member, so as to lock the driving member in the retracted position.

In this way, since the length of a force arm is zero, the swing arm does not generate a reaction force capable of pushing the driving member to rotate, and the driving member can thus be locked in the retracted position, so that the structure is relatively simple, and the side brush assembly can be locked in the retracted position without the need for additional components.

In some embodiments, the driving portion includes a first cam surface, and the abutment surface is a second cam surface mating with the first cam surface, a rotation axis of the second cam surface being collinear with the first rotation axis.

In this way, when the driving member rotates, interference occurs between the first cam surface and the second cam surface, causing the first cam surface to push against the second cam surface to drive the rotation of the swing arm. Moreover, since both the first cam surface and the second cam surface are arc-shaped cam surfaces, the smoothness of the relative movement between the first cam surface and the second cam surface can be improved, thereby preventing jamming of the swing arm during rotation and improving the user experience.

In some embodiments, when the swing arm is in the retracted position, the swing arm is driven by the first driving mechanism to apply an acting force on the driving portion via the abutment surface, and the acting force applied by the abutment surface is directed toward a rotation axis of the driving member, so as to lock the driving member in the retracted position.

In this way, the swing arm can be stably locked in the retracted position with high reliability.

In some embodiments, when the swing arm is in the retracted position, the acting force applied by the second cam surface on the first cam surface is directed toward the rotation axis of the driving member.

In this way, the swing arm can be stably locked in the retracted position with high reliability.

In some embodiments, when the swing arm is in the retracted position, a reaction force of the swing arm on the driving member is directed toward a rotation axis of the driving member, so as to lock the driving member in the retracted position.

In some embodiments, a side wall of the swing arm on at least one side in a rotational direction is further provided with a buffer member configured to buffer a collision between the swing arm and the robot body.

In this way, the buffer member can buffer the collision between the swing arm and the robot body, thereby preventing collision damage to the swing arm and also avoiding collision noise.

In some embodiments, the swing arm includes a swing arm outer side surface and a swing arm inner side surface; and the buffer member includes a first buffer member and a second buffer member. The first buffer member is disposed on the swing arm outer side surface to buffer the collision between the swing arm and the robot body when the swing arm moves from the retracted position to the extended position, and the second buffer member is disposed on the swing arm inner side surface to buffer a collision between the swing arm and a mounting seat of the driving mechanism when the swing arm moves from the extended position to the retracted position.

In some embodiments, when the swing arm moves from the extended position to the retracted position, an angle of rotation of the swing arm relative to the robot body ranges from 50° to 70°.

In this way, while ensuring that the swing arm can effectively transfer the cleaning member to the outside of the robot body, the swing arm can be prevented from occupying too much space due to excessive stroke. For example, when the angle of rotation is greater than 70°, the swing arm requires a large installation space within the robot body, and the position of the swing arm is too close to a front side of the robot body, thereby relatively reducing the cleaning range in a width direction of the robot body. When the angle of rotation is less than 50 degrees, the angle of rotation of the swing arm is too small, so that the side brush assembly is not close enough to the front side of the robot body, and the side brush assembly extends outward to a smaller extent, leading to a poor corner cleaning effect.

In some embodiments, when the side brush is in the retracted position, a gap exists between the side brush and the corner; when the side brush is in the extended position, the side brush is deformed upon contact with the corner to perform cleaning; and the edgewise path is a first wall edge, and the preset obstacle is an obstacle that the cleaning robot needs to turn to avoid when cleaning along the first wall edge.

In this way, when the side brush in the retracted position cannot clean the gap between the side brush and the corner, the swing arm can be controlled to rotate to the extended position, so that the side brush is in the extended position. The side brush is deformed upon contact with the corner, and the deformed side brush can extend into the narrow gap at the corner to perform cleaning, thereby providing a cleaning effect and improving the user experience.

In some embodiments, when the cleaning robot recognizes a target obstacle, the side brush is in the extended position to perform cleaning, the target obstacle has a cavity reachable by the side brush when in the extended position, and the target obstacle is recessed away from the robot body at least at a height where the side brush is located, to form the cavity.

In this way, when the robot body cannot approach the recessed cavity of the target obstacle, the side brush can extend into the cavity to perform cleaning, so as to better clean the interior of the cavity, thereby improving the cleaning effect, and enabling the cleaning robot to adapt to more complex cleaning conditions.

In some embodiments, a depth to which the side brush enters the cavity in the extended position is greater than a depth to which the side brush enters the cavity in the retracted position.

In this way, it can be ensured that the side brush can effectively clean the interior of the cavity.

In some embodiments, when the side brush assembly of the cleaning robot is in the extended position to perform cleaning, and a linear obstacle or a wet stain exists on a travel path, the driving mechanism drives the side brush assembly to switch from the extended position to the retracted position at a preset distance relative to the linear obstacle and/or the wet stain, so that the side brush avoids the linear obstacle and/or the wet stain.

In this way, the side brush can be retracted to the retracted position before reaching the linear obstacle and/or the wet stain, thereby preventing entanglement of the side brush with the linear obstacle, which could cause detachment or deformation of the side brush, and also preventing the side brush from picking up the wet stain, which could contaminate the side brush and reduce the cleaning capability.

In some embodiments, the side brush assembly further includes a controller adapted to control the movement of the swing arm between the extended position and the retracted position.

In this way, the movement of the swing arm can be conveniently controlled, improving the automation degree of the movement of the swing arm.

In some embodiments, the cleaning member is rotatably connected to the swing arm, and the side brush assembly further includes a third driving mechanism configured to drive the cleaning member to be rotatably connected to the swing arm.

In this way, the third driving mechanism can provide a driving force for rotation of the cleaning member, so as to facilitate cleaning of a surface to be cleaned by the cleaning member.

In some embodiments, the third driving mechanism and the second driving mechanism share an extending motor; the second driving mechanism further includes a clutch, and the extending motor drives at least one of the swing arm and the cleaning member to rotate by means of the clutch.

In this way, by providing the clutch, a single driving device can be used to drive each of the swing arm and the cleaning member to rotate, thereby enhancing the integration of the third driving mechanism and the second driving mechanism and facilitating a reduction in the space occupied by the side brush assembly.

In some embodiments, when the side brush assembly is in the retracted position, the clutch is configured such that the extending motor drives the cleaning member to rotate while the swing arm does not rotate, so as to lock the swing arm in the retracted position.

In this way, when cleaning the surface to be cleaned in the retracted position, the side brush assembly can maintain a fixed position, thereby ensuring smooth cleaning operations and facilitating an improvement in the cleaning efficiency.

In some embodiments, the cleaning robot further includes an electrical connection assembly. The electrical connection assembly includes an electrical connector electrically connected to the robot body. At least a portion of the electrical connector is disposed coaxially with the first rotation axis.

In this way, when the swing arm rotates relative to the robot body, the electrical connector moves synchronously with the swing arm about the first rotation axis, so that relative movement between the electrical connector and the swing arm is reduced, thereby decreasing wear on the electrical connector and prolonging the service life of the electrical connector.

In some embodiments, a wire through hole is provided in the swing arm, the wire through hole is arranged coaxially with the first rotation axis, and the wire through hole is configured to guide at least an extension direction of a portion of the electrical connector.

In this way, the wire through hole can guide and limit the extension of a portion of the electrical connector, enabling the electrical connector to be disposed coaxially with the first rotation axis, thereby improving the reliability of the coaxial arrangement between the electrical connector and the first rotation axis.

In some embodiments, the third driving mechanism is disposed on the swing arm and electrically connected to the electrical connector.

In this way, external dimensions of the side brush assembly can be reduced, thereby improving the structural compactness of the side brush assembly. Moreover, the third driving mechanism is electrically connected to the electrical connector, so that the electrical connector supplies power to the third driving mechanism.

In some embodiments, the third driving mechanism includes a second driving motor. The second driving motor is electrically connected to the electrical connector; and the second driving motor is configured to drive the cleaning member to rotate about the second rotation axis.

In this way, driving of the cleaning member can be achieved.

In some embodiments, the electrical connection assembly further includes a circuit board disposed in the robot body, and the electrical connector is electrically connected to the circuit board.

In some embodiments, when the swing arm is in the extended position, the swing arm extends outward relative to the robot body; and when the swing arm is in the retracted position, the swing arm is close to the robot body, the robot body has an accommodating recess, and when the swing arm is in the retracted position, the swing arm is accommodated in the accommodating recess.

In this way, when the swing arm is not required to extend, the swing arm can be properly accommodated, preventing collisions of the swing arm and reducing the risk of damage. Moreover, the aesthetic appearance of the cleaning robot can be improved.

In some embodiments, the shape of the swing arm and the shape of the accommodating recess are matched with each other, and when the swing arm is in the retracted position, an outer side surface of the swing arm forms a portion of the contour of the robot body.

In this way, the appearance consistency of the cleaning robot can be improved, providing a more aesthetic appearance.

In some embodiments, the side brush assembly further includes a housing. When the swing arm is in the retracted position, the housing forms a portion of the contour of the robot body.

In some embodiments, the housing is fixed to the swing arm; or the housing is movably connected to an outer side wall of the robot body, and when the swing arm is in the retracted position, the housing covers the accommodating recess.

In this way, the appearance consistency of the cleaning robot can be improved, providing a more aesthetic appearance.

In some embodiments, the cleaning member includes: a rubber strip, a first end of the rubber strip being connected to the third driving mechanism; and bristles disposed at a second end of the rubber strip.

In this way, the cleaning member has a relatively simple structure.

In some embodiments, the swing arm is covered with a flexible material layer, the side brush is connected to a distal end of the swing arm relative to the robot body, the flexible material layer circumferentially covers at least a portion of an outer side of the distal end of the swing arm, and/or the flexible material layer covers at least a portion of a side wall of the swing arm.

In this way, when the swing arm collides with the robot body or an obstacle during movement, the flexible material layer can provide a certain degree of buffering, thereby protecting the swing arm and component structures on an inner side of the swing arm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in embodiments of the present application, the accompanying drawings required for the descriptions of embodiments will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings from the drawings without any inventive effort.

FIG. 1 is a schematic state diagram of a partial structure of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application with a side brush assembly in an extended position.

FIG. 2 is a schematic state diagram of a partial structure of the cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application with the side brush assembly in a retracted position.

FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded view of a partial structure of the cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded view of the side brush assembly and a circuit board of the cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly of the cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 6 is a schematic exploded view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 7 is a schematic state diagram of the side brush assembly in the extended position according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 8 is a schematic state diagram of the side brush assembly in the retracted position according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly from another perspective according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly of another structure according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly from one angle according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly from another angle according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly from still another angle according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a partial structure of a driving mechanism of the side brush assembly according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of the structure of a driving member of the side brush assembly from one angle according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of the structure of the driving member of the side brush assembly from another angle according to an embodiment of the present application.

List of reference signs:

100 - cleaning robot;

110 - robot body;

120 - side brush assembly;

121 - swing arm; 1211 - protruding portion;

1212 - wire through hole; 1214 - first rotation axis;

1215 - abutment surface; 1216 - mating recess;

122 - cleaning member; 1221 - second rotation axis;

123 - first driving motor;

124 - driving member; 1241 - driving body; 1242 - stopper;

1243 - first cam surface; 1244 - driving portion; 1245 - roller;

1246 - mating portion;

125 - mounting seat; 1251 - first limiting portion; 1252 - second

limiting portion;

126 - second driving motor; 127 - speed reducer; 128 - wire guide frame;

1281 - guide groove;

129 - elastic member; 130 - electrical connection assembly;

131 - circuit board;

132 - electrical connector;

140 - abutment member; 141 - second cam surface.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

With the development of science and technology and the improvement of living standards, household cleaning robots have become increasingly popular, thereby reducing the burden of household chores on humans. The bottom of a cleaning robot is typically provided with a side brush assembly, the side brush assembly including cleaning members such as a roller brush, a side brush, and a mopping and wiping member. The side brush is generally disposed at a front-side edge of a robot body of the cleaning robot. When the cleaning robot is in operation, the side brush can rotate about its own axis to gather debris on the ground toward the interior of the cleaning robot, so that the debris can be sucked into a cavity of the cleaning robot via the roller brush and a dust suction port on the robot body of the cleaning robot, thereby cleaning the ground. The mopping and wiping member typically can perform wet or dry cleaning on a surface to be cleaned. The mopping and wiping member cleans the surface to be cleaned by mopping and removing dirt, thereby further enhancing the cleaning capability of the cleaning robot. However, when the cleaning members are fixed relative to the cleaning robot, the cleaning range of the cleaning robot is limited in hard-to-clean regions, such as right-angle regions or deeply recessed corners, resulting in the technical problem of cleaning blind spots.

In order to solve the above problem, the embodiments of the present application provide a cleaning robot, in which a side brush assembly is movably connected to a robot body. The side brush assembly includes a swing arm, a cleaning member, and a driving mechanism. The driving mechanism drives the swing arm to move relative to the robot body between an extended position and a retracted position. The cleaning member is disposed on the swing arm to move along with the swing arm, so that the swing arm drives the cleaning member to move between the extended position and the retracted position. In this way, the cleaning range of the cleaning member is increased, the problem of cleaning blind spots is avoided, and the user experience is improved.

In order to make the above objectives, features and advantages of embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Apparently, the embodiments described are merely some of, but not all of, the embodiments of the present application. All the other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without any creative effort shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

FIG. 1 is a schematic state diagram of a partial structure of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application with a side brush assembly in an extended position; FIG. 2 is a schematic state diagram of a partial structure of the cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application with the side brush assembly in a retracted position; FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded view of a partial structure of the cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded view of the side brush assembly and a circuit board of the cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly of the cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 6 is a schematic exploded view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 7 is a schematic state diagram of the side brush assembly in the extended position according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 8 is a schematic state diagram of the side brush assembly in the retracted position according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly from another perspective according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly of another structure according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly from one angle according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly from another angle according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a partial structure of the side brush assembly from still another angle according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a partial structure of a driving mechanism of the side brush assembly according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 15 is a schematic view of the structure of a driving member of the side brush assembly from one angle according to an embodiment of the present application; and FIG. 16 is a schematic view of the structure of the driving member of the side brush assembly from another angle according to an embodiment of the present application.

The cleaning robot 100 of the embodiments of the present application is described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 16.

The cleaning robot 100 of this embodiment may be a cleaning robot 100 for both dry and wet cleaning. The cleaning robot 100 may be a sweeping robot, or a sweeping and mopping robot. The cleaning robot 100 includes: a robot body 110 and a side brush assembly 120.

The robot body 110 is adapted to travel along a surface to be cleaned, such as a floor, a tabletop, or a carpet. A travel system is provided on the robot body 110 for driving the robot body 110 to achieve self-propelled traveling on the surface to be cleaned. The travel system generally includes a driver and a travel component. The driver drives the travel component to move. Generally, there may be two travel components, which are symmetrically arranged on the robot body 110. The travel components may be, but are not limited to, driving wheels, track wheels, or steering adjustable steering wheels. For example, the steering wheels are Mecanum wheels. In addition, the travel system is swingably arranged on the robot body 110 to provide the cleaning robot 100 with an obstacle crossing function during travel. The surface to be cleaned may be, but is not limited to, a surface or scenario of an object such as a floor, a tabletop, glass, or a wall. For ease of description, the surface to be cleaned is described below by taking the floor as an example.

The side brush assembly 120 may include a driving mechanism, a swing arm 121, and a cleaning member 122. The swing arm 121 is rotatably connected to the robot body 110 about a first rotation axis 1214, and the cleaning member 122 is disposed on the swing arm 121, so that the cleaning member 122 can rotate with the swing arm 121 relative to the robot body 110. The cleaning member 122 is adapted to perform cleaning operations, for example, the cleaning member 122 may be a side brush assembly.

The driving mechanism is adapted to drive the swing arm 121 to rotate about the first rotation axis 1214, so that the swing arm 121 moves between an extended position and a retracted position relative to the robot body 110. The retracted position corresponds to a state in which the side brush assembly 120 is retracted relative to the robot body 110. At this time, the side brush assembly 120 (e.g., including the swing arm 121) is in the retracted position, and correspondingly, the cleaning member 122 is in the retracted position. The extended position corresponds to a state in which the side brush assembly 120 is extended relative to the robot body 110. At this time, the side brush assembly 120 (e.g., including the swing arm 121) is in the extended position, and correspondingly, the cleaning member 122 is in the extended position. The side brush assembly 120 is at least partially extended out of the robot body 110, such that a region beyond a reachable range of the robot body 110 can be cleaned. For example, regions having right-angle edges or deeply recessed regions can be cleaned, and corners or other hard-to-clean regions can be covered, thereby increasing a cleaning range, eliminating cleaning blind spots, and improving user experience.

It can be understood that the cleaning member 122 is farther away from the robot body 110 when the swing arm 121 is in the extended position than when the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position. In other words, when the swing arm 121 is in the extended position, the cleaning member 122 can clean regions that are farther away from the robot body 110. When the swing arm 121 is in the extended position, the cleaning member 122 can clean a corner between an edgewise path and a preset obstacle. In this way, when the side brush assembly 120 is in the extended position, a corner region can be better cleaned, thereby improving the user experience.

In FIG. 1, the swing arm 121 is in a retracted state relative to the robot body 110 (corresponding to the retracted position). In FIG. 2, the swing arm 121 is in an extended state relative to the robot body 110 (corresponding to the extended position). In this way, when the floor to be cleaned has a right-angle or inwardly recessed region, the swing arm 121 can move from the retracted state to the extended state relative to the robot body 110, and the cleaning member 122 can clean the region to be cleaned, thereby increasing the cleaning range of the cleaning robot 100.

In a first case, when the swing arm 121 is in the extended position, the swing arm 121 is outside the contour of the robot body 110. At this time, at least a portion of the cleaning member 122 extends beyond the contour of the robot body 110. When the swing arm 121 is in the extended position, at least a portion of the swing arm 121 extends beyond the contour of the robot body 110 to clean a corner region. At this time, at least a portion of the cleaning member 122 extends beyond the contour of the robot body 110, or the cleaning member 122 is located outside the contour of the robot body 110. Alternatively, in a second case, when the swing arm 121 is in the extended position, a partial structure of the swing arm 121 is located outside the contour of the robot body 110. When the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the distance by which the swing arm 121 extends beyond the contour of the robot body 110 is smaller than the distance by which the swing arm 121 extends beyond the contour of the robot body 110 when in the extended position.

The robot body 110 is generally formed in shapes such as circular, D-shaped, and rectangular, the contour of the robot body 110 is a circular contour, a D-shaped contour, or a rectangular contour of the robot body 110, and the range of the contour of the robot body 110 can be determined according to the projection of a housing of the robot body 110 on a horizontal plane.

The cleaning member 122 may be a side brush, a mopping and wiping member, or the like. The side brush may be, for example, a rubber strip or a bristle brush, and the mopping and wiping member may be, for example, a disc-shaped cleaning cloth. In this way, the cleaning member 122 sweeps or wipes the floor during rotation. Alternatively, the cleaning member 122 may be a flexibly deformable structure, so that the cleaning member 122 has a good flexible deformation performance upon contact with an external obstacle, avoiding a rigid collision to ensure the passability of the cleaning robot 100.

The cleaning member 122 is rotatably disposed on the swing arm 121. In this way, when the cleaning member 122 rotates relative to the swing arm 121, the cleaning member 122 can clean the floor by means of sweeping, wiping, etc.

In the cleaning robot 100 according to the embodiments of the present application, the swing arm 121 of the side brush assembly 120 is rotatably connected to the robot body 110. The driving mechanism drives the swing arm 121 to move between the extended position and the retracted position relative to the robot body 110. The cleaning member 122 is disposed on the swing arm 121 to move along with the swing arm 121, such that the swing arm 121 drives the cleaning member 122 to move between the extended position and the retracted position. When the swing arm 121 is in the extended position, the cleaning member 122 can clean the corner between the edgewise path and the preset obstacle. This increases the cleaning range of the cleaning member 122, avoids the problem of cleaning blind spots, enables the cleaning robot 100 to cope with more complex cleaning conditions, and improves the user experience.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side brush assembly 120 may be disposed at a position near an edge of the bottom of the robot body 110. For example, the side brush assembly 120 is disposed close to a front edge of the bottom of the robot body 110. In this way, during the movement of the cleaning robot 100, the rotation of the cleaning member 122 relative to the swing arm 121 can gather dust, impurity particles, and the like on the floor toward the inner side of the robot body 110 of the cleaning robot 100.

In addition, a dust suction cavity (not shown) is provided inside the robot body 110. The bottom of the robot body 110 is provided with a dust suction port (not shown) in communication with the dust suction cavity, and a roller brush (not shown). A negative pressure generating device (not shown), such as rotating blades, may be disposed in the dust suction cavity. In this way, a negative pressure suction force can be generated in the dust suction cavity through, for example, the rotation of the blades. After the side brush rotates to gather dust and impurity particles on the floor toward the inner side of the cleaning robot 100, the dust and impurity particles can be sucked into the dust suction cavity of the robot body 110 by means of the roller brush and the dust suction port.

In some embodiments, the cleaning member 122 includes a side brush. When the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the cleaning robot 100 performs edgewise cleaning along the edgewise path; and when the swing arm 121 is in the extended position, the side brush is deformed upon contact with the corner, so that the side brush reaches deep into the corner between the edgewise path and the preset obstacle to perform cleaning.

When the swing arm is in the retracted position, the side brush extends beyond the edge of the robot body. During edgewise cleaning of the cleaning robot, the side brush can sweep the debris near the edge, so that the swing arm can remain in the retracted position for edgewise cleaning, reducing the extension frequency of the side brush assembly and thus prolonging the service life of the side brush assembly. When a corner is formed between the edgewise path and the preset obstacle, since the side brush has a flexibly deformable structure, when the swing arm is in the extended position, the side brush can reach deep into the corner to perform cleaning. Especially when the side brush is deformed upon contact with the corner, the side brush can reach a deep portion of the corner to perform cleaning. This facilitates cleaning of a narrow corner region, thereby improving the cleaning effect at the corner. For the corner formed between the edgewise path and the preset obstacle, other non-deformable cleaning components are difficult to reach deep into the corner to perform cleaning. For example, a mop assembly is generally formed as a circular or rectangular cleaning component, and a mop is mounted to a mop mounting plate. The mop mounting plate is generally a rigid structure, making it difficult to reach deep into the corner for thorough cleaning.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 4, the driving mechanism may include a driving member 124. The driving member 124 is rotatably disposed relative to the robot body 110 about a second rotation axis 1221, so as to drive the swing arm 121 to move between the extended position and the retracted position relative to the robot body 110. The first rotation axis 1214 and the second rotation axis 1221 are parallel to each other or coincide with each other, to facilitate the compact arrangement of the driving mechanism. The first rotation axis 1214 is an axis fixed relative to the robot body 110, and the second rotation axis 1221 may also be an axis fixed relative to the robot body 110. In this way, the swing arm 121 is driven to rotate by the rotation of the driving member 124, making the movement of the swing arm 121 and the driving member 124 relatively simple and easy to implement. In some other possible embodiments, the first rotation axis 1214 and the second rotation axis 1221 may also form a certain angle; and may be in the same plane or in different planes.

In some embodiments, when the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, a reaction force of the swing arm 121 on the driving member 124 is directed toward a rotation axis of the driving member 124, so as to lock the driving member 124 in the retracted position. In this way, the locking of the driving member 124 can be achieved, thereby locking the swing arm 121 in the retracted position. The cleaning member 122 can maintain a stable position when performing a cleaning operation in the retracted position, ensuring the smooth progress of the cleaning operation.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 4, the first rotation axis 1214 and the second rotation axis 1221 are parallel to each other. This simplifies the movement of the swing arm 121 and the driving member 124, and can reduce the space occupied by a cleaning structure.

In some embodiments, the driving mechanism may include: a first driving mechanism and a second driving mechanism. At least a driving force of the first driving mechanism drives the swing arm 121 to move about the second rotation axis 1221, so that the swing arm 121 moves toward one of the extended position and the retracted position; and at least a driving force of the second driving mechanism drives the swing arm 121 to move toward the other one of the extended position and the retracted position. For example, it is possible that only the driving force of the first driving mechanism drives the swing arm 121 to move from the retracted position to the extended position about the second rotation axis 1221, and only the driving force of the second driving mechanism drives the swing arm 121 to move from the extended position to the retracted position. Alternatively, it is also possible that at least one of the movement processes of the swing arm 121 from the extended position to the retracted position and from the retracted position to the extended position is realized by the cooperation of the first driving mechanism and the second driving mechanism. In this way, different power sources can be provided respectively for the movement processes of the swing arm 121 from the extended position to the retracted position and from the retracted position to the extended position, so that the movement of the second driving mechanism can be simplified, thereby reducing the cost.

In some embodiments, the first driving mechanism is configured to at least partially drive the swing arm 121 to move from the retracted position to the extended position, and the second driving mechanism is configured to at least partially overcome the acting force of the first driving mechanism to drive the swing arm 121 to move from the extended position to the retracted position. In this way, the swing arm 121 is driven by the second driving mechanism and the first driving mechanism, respectively, to move between the extended position and the retracted position, so as to satisfy cleaning demands in different scenarios, thereby increasing the cleaning range, eliminating cleaning blind spots, and improving the user experience.

In some embodiments, referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the first driving mechanism may include an elastic member 129. One end of the elastic member 129 is connected to the swing arm 121, and the other end of the elastic member 129 is relatively fixed to the robot body 110. The elastic member 129 can drive the swing arm 121 to move from the retracted position to the extended position by means of its own elastic force. It can be understood that the elastic member 129 can drive the swing arm 121 to move from the retracted position to the extended position by means of its own elastic force, so that the structure is simple, no additional power member is required, and the cost is low.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the elastic member 129 may be one of a torsion spring, a compression spring, or a tension spring, as long as the elastic member can drive the swing arm 121 to move from the retracted position to the extended position by means of its own elastic force. For example, the elastic member 129 drives the swing arm 121 by means of its own elastic force, enabling the swing arm 121 to move from a position retracted relative to the robot body 110 to a position extended relative to the robot body 110, so that the cleaning robot 100 can clean a deeply recessed region and the like, thereby increasing the cleaning range.

When the elastic member 129 is a torsion spring, one end of the torsion spring is connected to the swing arm 121, and the other end of the torsion spring is fixedly connected to the robot body 110. Moreover, an axis of the torsion spring is disposed coaxially with the first rotation axis 1214. For example, the swing arm 121 rotates about a rotating shaft fixed relative to the robot body 110, and a central axis of the rotating shaft is the first rotation axis 1214. The torsion spring may be directly sleeved on the rotating shaft. In this way, no additional structure is required to limit and fix the torsion spring, resulting in a simple structure and convenient installation. Subsequently, one end of the torsion spring is connected to the swing arm 121, and the other end of the torsion spring is fixed relative to the robot body 110. When the swing arm 121 is in the extended position, the torsion spring has a certain elastic torque. When there is no structure for blocking the movement of the swing arm 121 along a movement path from the retracted position to the extended position, the swing arm 121 can move from the retracted position to the extended position under the action of the elastic torque of the torsion spring, so that the swing arm 121 is extended relative to the robot body 110.

The driving member 124 rotates in the first direction so as to at least partially overcome the elastic force of the elastic member 129 to push the swing arm 121 to move from the extended position to the retracted position. When the driving member 124 rotates in the second direction, the elastic member 129 drives the swing arm 121 to move from the retracted position to the extended position by means of its own elastic force. The first direction is opposite to the second direction.

It should be noted that the driving member 124 not only functions to drive the swing arm 121 to move, but also to limit the position of the swing arm 121.

In a specific implementation, when the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position and the driving member 124 is stationary relative to the robot body 110, the driving member 124 locks the swing arm 121, enabling the swing arm 121 to stop in the retracted position. When the swing arm 121 is required to move from the retracted position to the extended position, the driving member 124 rotates in the second direction, for example. In this way, as the driving member 124 rotates, the interference between the driving member 124 and the swing arm 121 is eliminated, allowing the swing arm 121 to gradually move from the retracted position to the extended position under the action of the elastic force of the elastic member 129. When the driving member 124 stops rotating, the driving member 124 continues to block the further movement of the swing arm 121, so that the swing arm 121 stops at a position corresponding to the driving member 124. In this way, the swing arm 121 can stop at any position between the retracted position and the extended position. That is, in a stopped state, the driving member 124 is mainly used to limit and lock the swing arm 121. When the swing arm 121 is required to continue moving, it is only necessary to make the driving member 124 continue to rotate in the second direction, so that the driving member 124 releases the locking force on the swing arm 121. The swing arm 121 then continues to move toward the extended position under the action of the elastic force of the elastic member 129 until the driving member 124 rotates to a limit position in the second direction. At this time, the swing arm 121 can move to the extended position (as shown in FIG. 11), i.e., the maximum extended position of the swing arm 121. When the swing arm 121 is required to move from the extended position to the retracted position, the driving member 124 rotates in the first direction, and the driving member 124 at least partially overcomes the elastic force of the elastic member 129 to push the swing arm 121, so that the swing arm 121 moves from the extended position to the retracted position. In this way, the driving member 124 and the elastic member 129 respectively drive the swing arm 121 to move between the retracted position and the extended position, enabling the cleaning member 122 to clean hard-to-clean positions such as corners, thereby increasing the cleaning range and improving the user experience. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, through the mating between the driving member 124, the elastic member 129, and the driving member 124 and the swing arm 121, the swing arm 121 can move between the retracted position and the extended position. For example, when the elastic member 129 drives the swing arm 121 to move from the retracted position to the extended position, by eliminating the locking and/or interference between the driving member 124 and the swing arm 121, the elastic member 129 can drive the swing arm 121 to move by means of its own elastic force, resulting in a simple structure, convenient operation, and low costs.

In some embodiments, the second driving mechanism further includes a first driving motor 123. The first driving motor 123 is adapted to drive the driving member 124 to rotate. That is, the first driving motor 123 can drive the driving member 124 to rotate about the second rotation axis 1221. In this way, the first driving motor 123 can provide power for the rotation of the driving member 124, and a power device of the second driving mechanism is relatively simple with low costs. The first driving motor 123 may be directly connected to the driving member 124, or may be connected to the driving member 124 via an intermediate transmission mechanism. The transmission form between the first driving motor 123 and the driving member 124 can be properly selected according to actual requirements.

In some embodiments, the first driving motor 123 may be located on the inner side of the edge of the robot body 110. In this way, the first driving motor 123 can be prevented from occupying the space on the outer side of the robot body 110, thereby making the overall structure compact, improving the aesthetic appearance, and also better protecting the first driving motor 123.

In some embodiments, referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the second driving mechanism includes a driving member 124. The driving member 124 is adapted to rotate in a first direction and a second direction. The driving member 124 rotates in the first direction so as to at least partially overcome the elastic force of the elastic member 129 to push the swing arm 121 to move from the extended position to the retracted position. When the driving member 124 rotates in the second direction, the swing arm 121 is driven by the first driving mechanism to move from the retracted position to the extended position, i.e., the elastic member 129 drives the swing arm 121 to move from the retracted position to the extended position by means of its own elastic force. The first direction is opposite to the second direction. For example, the first direction may be a counterclockwise direction, and the second direction may be a clockwise direction. That is, when the driving member 124 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, the swing arm 121 can be pushed from the extended position to the retracted position; and when the driving member 124 rotates in the clockwise direction, the swing arm 121 is driven by the first driving mechanism to move from the retracted position to the extended position. It can be understood that when rotating in the second direction, the driving member 124 can be separated from the swing arm 121 to avoid pushing the swing arm 121, thereby facilitating the operation of the first driving mechanism. In this way, by adjusting the rotational direction of the driving member 124 and in cooperation with the elastic member 129, the swing arm 121 can be switched between the retracted position and the extended position. The overall implementation is relatively simple and easy to carry out.

In some embodiments, the second driving mechanism includes an extending motor (i.e., the first driving motor 123) and an extending gear set. The extending gear set may include planetary gears, and the extending gear set is at least partially disposed below the driving member. The extending gear set may serve as a transmission mechanism between the extending motor and the driving member 124. A rotation axis of the extending motor is coaxial with a revolution axis of the planetary gears, so that the rotation axis of the extending motor is coaxial with a rotation axis of the driving member. In this way, by providing the extending gear set and configuring the extending gear set in the form of planetary gears, the driving member 124 of the second driving mechanism can have multiple output modes, thereby better driving the swinging motion of the swing arm 121. Moreover, the planetary gears are disposed below the driving member 124, which helps save space.

In some embodiments, the first driving mechanism and the second driving mechanism may share the same driving mechanism. For example, both the first driving mechanism and the second driving mechanism may be driven by the first driving motor 123.

In a specific embodiment, the driving mechanism includes a reverser for adjusting the rotational direction of the side brush assembly 120. By way of example, when the extending motor rotates in the first direction, the side brush assembly 120 rotates in a first rotational direction to perform cleaning; and when the extending motor rotates in the second direction, the rotational direction of the side brush assembly 120 will change if no reverser is provided. By providing the reverser, the direction of the driving force of the extending motor is changed, and the rotational direction of the side brush assembly 120 is thus adjusted, so that the side brush assembly 120 continues to rotate in the first rotational direction to perform cleaning. For example, the side brush assembly 120 rotates in the counterclockwise direction (from a top view) to perform cleaning. When the side brush assembly 120 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, the side brush assembly 120 makes better contact with corners, thereby achieving a better cleaning effect.

As an alternative to the configuration of the extending gear set in the form of planetary gears as described above, in some other embodiments, the second driving mechanism includes an extending motor, and an extending gear set including parallel gears. A rotating shaft of at least one of the parallel gears is parallel to a rotating shaft of the extending motor. That is, the extending motor is located on one side of the parallel gears, and the rotating shaft of at least another one of the parallel gears is coaxial with the rotating shaft of the driving member. In this way, by providing the extending gear set and configuring the extending gear set in the form of parallel gears, a transmission ratio of the parallel gears can be adjusted as needed, thereby regulating the rotational speed of the driving member 124 to better drive the swinging motion of the swing arm 121. In this case, the parallel gears are disposed on a side of the extending motor, enabling a rational spatial layout and helping reduce costs.

In some embodiments, with reference to FIGS. 11 to 16, the driving member 124 may include a driving body 1241 and a driving portion 1244. The driving body 1241 can provide mounting support for the driving portion 1244, and the shape of the driving body 1241 can be properly selected according to actual requirements. For example, the driving body 1241 may be roughly formed into a cam, a Geneva structure, or other structures. The driving body 1241 may be connected to the robot body 110, and the driving portion 1244 is connected to the driving body 1241 and is eccentrically disposed relative to the second rotation axis 1221 of the driving member 124, i.e., the driving portion 1244 is spaced apart from the second rotation axis 1221. In this way, when the driving member 124 rotates about its own axis (i.e., the second rotation axis 1221), the driving portion 1244 has an arc-shaped travel stroke. Based on the acting force applied by the driving portion to the swing arm, the swing arm 121 is pushed to move from the extended position to the retracted position. In this way, the driving member 124 can drive the swing arm 121 to move, and the driving member 124 has a relatively simple structure and is easy to manufacture.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 12, the swing arm 121 has an abutment surface 1215. The abutment surface 1215 mates with the driving portion 1244. When the driving member 124 rotates in the first direction about the second rotation axis 1221, the driving portion 1244 is adapted to push against the abutment surface 1215, so that the swing arm 121 moves from the extended position to the retracted position. The driving portion 1244 may be in surface contact or line contact with the abutment surface 1215, so as to ensure that the driving portion 1244 can stably apply a pushing force to the swing arm 121, and the mating between the swing arm 121 and the driving member 124 is simple and reliable.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the swing arm 121 is provided with a driving groove. A recess is provided on a side of the driving groove facing the driving member 124, a groove wall of the driving groove may form the abutment surface 1215, and the abutment surface 1215 may be formed as an arc-shaped surface. The driving portion 1244 may be cylindrical, and the driving portion 1244 may be disposed on an outer periphery of an upper surface of the driving body 1241 and offset from the second rotation axis 1221. The driving portion 1244 may enter the driving groove from the recess to mate with and push against the abutment surface 1215. The arc-shaped surface facilitates stable abutment and enables position locking when the swing arm is in the retracted position. Of course, in some other embodiments, the abutment surface 1215 may be a flat surface or have other shapes, and the driving portion 1244 may be formed into other shapes adapted to push against the abutment surface 1215.

To reduce friction between the driving portion 1244 and the abutment surface 1215, a roller 1245 may be provided on an outer side of the driving portion 1244. During the rotation of the driving member 124, the roller 1245 rolls along the abutment surface 1215, thereby improving the smoothness of movement of the swing arm 121.

As shown in FIG. 16, the driving portion 1244 may be disposed at an edge of the driving body 1241 and located at a position on the driving body 1241 with a maximum distance from the second rotation axis 1221. In this way, when the driving portion 1244 is in contact with the abutment surface 1215, the power required by the driving member 124 can be minimized, and the stroke of the swing arm 121 may be sufficiently large.

In some embodiments, referring to FIGS. 11 to 16, one of the driving member 124 and the swing arm 121 may further include a mating portion 1246, and the other has a mating recess 1216 that mates with the mating portion 1246. For example, it is possible that the mating portion 1246 is formed on the driving member 124, and the mating recess 1216 is formed on the swing arm 121; or that the mating portion 1246 is formed on the swing arm 121, and the mating recess 1216 is formed on the driving member 124. By way of example, the following description assumes that the mating portion 1246 is formed on the driving member 124 and the mating recess 1216 is formed on the swing arm 121: When the swing arm 121 is in the extended position, the mating portion 1246 and the mating recess 1216 are separated from each other; and when the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the mating portion 1246 and the mating recess 1216 are connected to each other in a mating manner. In this case, the mating between the driving member 124 and the swing arm 121 is a Geneva mechanism. A peripheral wall of the mating portion 1246 forms a locking surface of the driving member 124, and an inner wall of the mating recess 1216 forms a locking mating surface of the swing arm 121. In this way, through the mating between the mating portion 1246 and the mating recess 1216, the swing arm 121 can be locked in the retracted position.

In some embodiments, the shape of a side wall of the mating portion 1246 matches the shape of an edge of the mating recess 1216, so that when the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the mating portion 1246 and the mating recess 1216 are engaged with each other. In this way, when the mating portion 1246 and the mating recess 1216 are engaged with each other, the swing arm 121 cannot rotate relative to the driving member 124, thereby stably locking the swing arm 121 in the retracted position.

In some embodiments, referring to FIGS. 12 and 14, both the side wall of the mating portion 1246 and the edge of the mating recess 1216 are arc-shaped. In this way, the shapes of the mating portion 1246 and the mating recess 1216 are adapted to the movement process of the structures where they are located, facilitating both the entry and exit of the mating portion 1246 into and from the mating recess 1216. Moreover, the mating portion 1246 and the mating recess 1216 have relatively simple structures and are easy to implement.

Referring to FIG. 16, the driving portion 1244 and the mating portion 1246 of the driving member 124 have different angles relative to its rotation axis, i.e., the second rotation axis 1221. In this way, it can be ensured that when the driving portion 1244 mates with the abutment surface 1215, the mating portion 1246 is separated from the mating recess 1216; and when the mating portion 1246 mates with the mating recess 1216, the driving portion 1244 is separated from the abutment surface 1215, thereby making the switching process of the swing arm 121 between the extended position and the retracted position smoother.

To improve the mating stability between the mating portion 1246 and the mating recess 1216, both the peripheral wall of the mating portion 1246 and the inner wall of the mating recess 1216 may be formed as non-flat surfaces. For example, one of the two is formed as a stepped surface, and the other is formed as an adapted inverted stepped surface. In this way, the contact area between the peripheral wall of the mating portion 1246 and the inner wall of the mating recess 1216 can be increased, thereby improving the stability of the swing arm 121 when locked in the retracted position.

Referring to FIGS. 11, 12, 15 and 16, the mating portion 1246 is formed as a Geneva structure, the mating portion 1246 and the driving portion 1244 are located on the same side of the driving body 1241, and the distance between the peripheral wall of the mating portion 1246 and the second rotation axis 1221 is smaller than the distance between the driving portion 1244 and the second rotation axis 1221. Correspondingly, the mating recess 1216 and the driving groove may be distributed in an axial direction corresponding to the first rotation axis 1214. For example, the mating recess 1216 is located on an upper side of the driving groove, and the radius of the mating recess 1216 is smaller than that of the driving groove. In this way, the structure of the swing arm 121 is made more compact. The circles where the peripheral wall of the mating recess 1216 and the groove wall of the driving groove, i.e., a driving surface, are located may be concentric.

In some embodiments, when the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the swing arm 121 is driven by the first driving mechanism to apply an acting force on the mating portion 1246. When the acting force applied by the swing arm 121 to the mating portion 1246 is directed toward the rotation axis of the driving member 124, the length of a force arm is zero, so that the swing arm 121 does not generate a reaction force capable of pushing the driving member 124 to rotate, and the driving member 124 can be locked in the retracted position at this time.

As an alternative to the mating mode where the driving member 124 and the swing arm 121 form a Geneva mechanism as described above, referring to FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, in some other embodiments, the swing arm 121 and the driving member 124 may adopt a mating mode of a cam mechanism. Specifically, in this embodiment, the driving portion 1244 has a first cam surface 1243, and the abutment surface 1215 is a second cam surface 141 mating with the first cam surface 1243. A rotation axis of the second cam surface 141 is collinear with the first rotation axis 1214. In this way, the position locking and position switching of the swing arm 121 are realized by means of the cam mechanism. It can be understood that since different positions of the first cam surface 1243 have different distances from a rotation center of the driving member 124, and different positions of the second cam surface 141 have different distances from the first rotation axis 1214, when the driving member 124 rotates, interference occurs between the first cam surface 1243 and the second cam surface 141, causing the first cam surface 1243 to push against the second cam surface 141 to drive the rotation the swing arm 121. Moreover, since both the first cam surface 1243 and the second cam surface 141 are arc-shaped cam surfaces, the smoothness of the relative movement between the first cam surface 1243 and the second cam surface 141 can be improved, thereby preventing jamming of the swing arm 121 during rotation and improving the user experience.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 9, the driving portion 1244 serves as a stopper 1242. A side of the stopper 1242 facing the swing arm 121 has the first cam surface 1243. For example, the stopper 1242 is disposed at one end of the driving body 1241, and the side of the stopper 1242 facing the swing arm 121 is provided with the first cam surface 1243. The height of the stopper 1242 may be greater than that of the driving body 1241 to increase the abutment area between the first cam surface 1243 and the second cam surface 141, thereby improving the reliability of the driving member 124 when pushing the swing arm 121 to move.

It can be understood that, referring to FIG. 9, an extension path of the stopper 1242 on the driving body 1241 matches an extension path of the first cam surface 1243. In this way, the side of the stopper 1242 facing the swing arm 121 can be configured as the first cam surface 1243, i.e., the first cam surface 1243 and the stopper 1242 are formed into an integrated structure, thereby reducing the number of installation procedures and lowering costs.

The stopper 1242 and the driving body 1241 may also be formed into an integrated structure through an integral forming process, such as injection molding or casting, thereby reducing the number of procedures and lowers process costs.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 10, the swing arm 121 further includes an abutment member 140. The abutment member 140 may be disposed on a side of the swing arm 121 close to the driving member 124 via a threaded connector such as a screw, and the second cam surface 141 may be disposed on the abutment member 140. In this way, when the driving member 124 rotates in the first direction, the abutment member 140 can be pushed to cause the swing arm 121 to move together with the abutment member 140 from the extended position to the retracted position. It can be understood that the height of the swing arm 121 can be adjusted by means of the abutment member 140, so that the position of the second cam surface 141 matches the position of the first cam surface 1243.

In some embodiments, when the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the swing arm 121 is driven by the first driving mechanism to apply an acting force on the driving portion 1244 via the abutment surface 1215, and the acting force applied by the abutment surface 1215 is directed toward the rotation axis of the driving member 124, so as to lock the driving member 124 in the retracted position. In this way, the swing arm 121 can be stably locked in the retracted position with high reliability.

Further, when the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the acting force applied by the second cam surface 141 on the first cam surface 1243 is directed toward the rotation axis of the driving member 124. In this way, the swing arm 121 can be stably locked in the retracted position with high reliability.

In some embodiments, with reference to FIGS. 7 to 13, the driving mechanism may further include a mounting seat 125. The mounting seat 125 is configured to be fixed relative to the robot body 110, and the swing arm 121 can rotate about the first rotation axis 1214 to move relative to the mounting seat 125, thereby further moving relative to the robot body 110. For example, the mounting seat 125 may be detachably connected to the robot body 110 via a threaded connector or a snap-fit member, so as to facilitate the replacement of the mounting seat 125 and/or the side brush assembly 120. Alternatively, the mounting seat 125 may be integrally formed on the robot body 110. Alternatively, the mounting seat 125 may be fixedly connected to the robot body 110 by bonding, welding, or other methods, as long as the mounting seat 125 can be fixed relative to the robot body 110, which is not limited thereto.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, the driving member 124 is disposed on the mounting seat 125 and can rotate relative to the mounting seat 125. A first limiting portion 1251 and a second limiting portion 1252 are disposed on the mounting seat 125 at intervals in the rotational direction of the driving member 124. The driving member 124 is configured to rotate between the first limiting portion 1251 and the second limiting portion 1252. In this way, the driving member 124 is limited by the first limiting portion 1251 and the second limiting portion 1252, so as to improve the accuracy of the movement range of the swing arm 121, and avoid failure to clean a designated region due to an inaccurate movement position of the swing arm 121, thereby improving the user experience.

In some embodiments, the first limiting portion 1251 includes a first limiting rib, and the second limiting portion 1252 includes a second limiting rib. In this way, the movement range of the driving member 124 is limited by the first limiting rib and the second limiting rib, thereby improving the accuracy of the movement range of the swing arm 121. Moreover, the two limiting portions have relatively simple structures.

The first limiting rib and the second limiting rib may be formed into an integrated structure with the mounting seat 125 through a process such as injection molding or casting, so as to reduce the number of process steps and lower costs.

To improve the compactness of the cleaning robot 100, in some embodiments, the first driving motor 123 may be disposed on the mounting seat 125, and an output shaft of the first driving motor is disposed coaxially with the rotation axis of the driving member 124. This reduces the external size of the cleaning robot 100 and improves the compactness of the overall structure of the cleaning robot 100.

The rotational direction of the driving member 124 may be changed by the forward rotation and reverse rotation of the first driving motor 123. For example, when the first driving motor 123 rotates forward, the first driving motor 123 can provide power to the driving member 124 to cause the driving member 124 to rotate in the first direction; and when the first driving motor 123 rotates reversely, the driving member 124 can be driven to rotate in the second direction.

In addition, referring to FIG. 9, the first driving mechanism may further include a speed reducer 127. The speed reducer 127 is disposed between the first driving motor 123 and the driving member 124, so as to adjust the rotational speed of the driving member 124 by means of the speed reducer 127. The speed reducer 127 may be configured as a first-stage speed reducer, a second-stage speed reducer, a speed third-stage reducer, or the like according to actual requirements, which is not specifically limited herein.

In some embodiments, a side wall of the swing arm 121 on at least one side in the rotational direction is further provided with a buffer member. For example, since the swing arm 121 can rotate both from the extended position to the retracted position and from the retracted position to the extended position, buffer members may be respectively disposed on the side of the swing arm 121 facing the extended position and the side facing the retracted position in its circumferential direction. The buffer members may be rubber members, sponges, etc., which are used for buffering the collision between the swing arm 121 and the robot body 110, thereby preventing collision damage to the swing arm 121 and also avoiding collision noise. Of course, in some alternative embodiments, the buffer members corresponding to both sides of the swing arm 121 may be disposed on the robot body 110, so as to reduce the weight of the swing arm 121 and make the movement thereof smoother.

In some embodiments, the swing arm 121 includes a swing arm outer side surface and a swing arm inner side surface, and the buffer members may include a first buffer member and a second buffer member. The first buffer member is disposed on the swing arm outer side surface, and the swing arm outer side surface refers to the surface of the swing arm 121 close to the robot body in the rotational direction during the extending process. In this way, the first buffer member can buffer the collision between the swing arm 121 and the robot body 110 when the swing arm 121 moves from the retracted position to the extended position. The second buffer member is disposed on the swing arm inner side surface, and the swing arm inner side surface refers to the surface of the swing arm 121 close to the mounting seat 125 of the driving mechanism in the rotational direction during the retracting process. The second buffer member can buffer the collision between the swing arm 121 and the mounting seat 125 of the driving mechanism when the swing arm 121 moves from the extended position to the retracted position.

In some embodiments, when the swing arm 121 moves from the extended position to the retracted position, an angle of rotation of the swing arm 121 relative to the robot body 110 ranges from 50° to 70°. For example, the angle of rotation of the swing arm 121 relative to the robot body 110 may be 50°, 55°, 60°, 65°, or 70°. Of course, the present application is not limited thereto. The angle of rotation of the swing arm 121 relative to the robot body 110 may be properly selected within the above range according to actual requirements. In this way, while ensuring that the swing arm 121 can effectively transfer the cleaning member 122 to the outside of the robot body 110, the swing arm 121 can be prevented from occupying too much space due to excessive stroke.

In some embodiments, when the swing arm 121 is in the extended position, the minimum distance from the end of the swing arm 121 away from the robot body 110 to the robot body 110 is greater than or equal to 10 cm. Herein, the minimum distance from the end of the swing arm 121 away from the robot body 110 to the robot body 110 refers to a minimum distance from the end of the swing arm 121 away from the robot body 110 to the contour of the robot body 110. In this way, the cleaning member 122 can have a sufficiently large cleanable range to better adapt to complex working conditions, thereby improving the user experience.

In some embodiments, when the side brush is in the retracted position, a gap exists between the side brush and the corner; when the side brush is in the extended position, the side brush is deformed upon contact with the corner to perform cleaning; and the edgewise path is a first wall edge, and the preset obstacle is an obstacle that the cleaning robot 100 needs to turn to avoid when cleaning along the first wall edge. For example, the preset obstacle may be a table or chair leg, a columnar object, a flower pot, etc. When the side brush in the retracted position cannot clean the gap between the side brush and the corner, the swing arm can be controlled to rotate to the extended position, so that the side brush is in the extended position. The side brush is deformed upon contact with the corner, and the deformed side brush can extend into the narrow gap at the corner to perform cleaning, thereby providing a cleaning effect and improving the user experience.

In some embodiments, when the cleaning robot 100 recognizes a target obstacle, the side brush is in the extended position to perform cleaning, the target obstacle has a cavity reachable by the side brush when in the extended position, and the target obstacle is recessed away from the robot body at least at a height where the side brush is located, to form the cavity. For example, a lower edge of the target obstacle may have an arc-shaped and/or fold-line structure to form an inwardly recessed portion. It can be understood that the robot body has a relatively large volume, the side brush is provided with bristles which can more easily clean narrow spaces, and the side brush has a relatively small overall volume and moves more flexibly; therefore, the side brush is more suitable for cleaning the interior of the cavity of the target obstacle. When the robot body cannot approach the recessed cavity of the target obstacle, the side brush can extend into the cavity to perform cleaning, so as to better clean the interior of the cavity, thereby improving the cleaning effect, and enabling the cleaning robot 100 to adapt to more complex cleaning conditions.

In some embodiments, a depth to which the side brush enters the cavity in the extended position is greater than a depth to which the side brush enters the cavity in the retracted position. In this way, it can be ensured that the side brush can effectively clean the interior of the cavity. That is, although the side brush can also enter the cavity in the retracted position, the cleaning effect is limited. When in the extended position, the side brush can reach deeper into the cavity to perform cleaning.

In some embodiments, when the side brush of the cleaning robot 100 is in the extended position to perform cleaning, and a linear obstacle or a wet stain exists on a travel path, the driving mechanism drives the side brush assembly to switch from the extended position to the retracted position at a preset distance relative to the linear obstacle and/or the wet stain, so that the side brush avoids the linear obstacle and/or the wet stain. Herein, the preset distance can be preset by a user or determined based on cleaning data collected by the cleaning robot 100. The preset distance may be the same or different for different preset obstacles. In the embodiments of the present application, the linear obstacle may refer to an obstacle with a linear feature, such as a wire and a knitted fabric, and the wet stain may refer to a stain with moisture, such as a water stain, a tea stain, and feces. The linear obstacle and the wet stain are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In this way, the side brush can be retracted to the retracted position before reaching the linear obstacle and/or the wet stain, thereby preventing entanglement of the side brush with the linear obstacle, which could cause detachment or deformation of the side brush, and also preventing the side brush from picking up the wet stain, which could contaminate the side brush and reduce the cleaning capability.

In some embodiments, an obstacle detection sensor may be provided on the robot body 110. When an obstacle of a preset type, such as a wire harness, a fabric, and a wet stain, is detected based on environmental information, the side brush is prone to entanglement or contamination if it is in the extended position. Then, a retraction switching instruction may be generated to control the cleaning robot 100 to switch the side brush from the extended position to the retracted position at a preset distance. In this way, the side brush can be actively retracted to avoid contact with the linear obstacle and/or the wet stain, preventing the side brush from being contaminated and thus reducing the number of cleanings.

In some embodiments, the side brush assembly 120 further includes a controller adapted to control the movement of the swing arm 121 between the extended position and the retracted position. In this way, the movement of the swing arm 121 can be conveniently controlled, improving the automation degree of the movement of the swing arm 121.

In some embodiments, the controller is adapted to control the swing arm 121 to be in the extended position when there are a first obstacle and a second obstacle on the travel path of the cleaning robot 100. The first obstacle and the second obstacle extend in different horizontal directions, respectively, and there is a corner between the first obstacle and the second obstacle. For example, at a wall corner or a corner formed between table or chair legs, the swing arm 121 can be controlled to extend, so as to extend the cleaning member 122 to the wall corner for cleaning the wall corner.

In some embodiments, the controller is adapted to control the swing arm 121 to be in the extended position when there is a third obstacle on the path of the cleaning robot 100. The third obstacle has an inwardly recessed region, such as the space at the bottom of a washing machine, or a cavity of another type of third obstacle that is recessed away from the robot body 110 at the height corresponding to the cleaning member 122. In this case, the swing arm 121 can be controlled to extend into the cavity to perform cleaning.

In some embodiments, the controller is adapted to control the swing arm 121 to be in the retracted position when there is a fourth obstacle on the path of the cleaning robot 100. The fourth obstacle is an obstacle that hinders the operation of the cleaning member 122. For example, the fourth obstacle may be a linear obstacle and/or a wet stain. At a preset distance relative to the linear obstacle and/or the wet stain, the swing arm 121 is controlled to switch from the extended position to the retracted position, so that the swing arm 121 avoids the linear obstacle and/or the wet stain.

In conclusion, the cleaning robot 100 of this embodiment can better avoid the obstacle during operation, and can effectively clean the corner space around the obstacle, thereby improving the adaptability of the cleaning robot 100 to complex working conditions, increasing the degree of intelligence, and facilitating an improvement in the user experience.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 4, the cleaning robot 100 further includes an electrical connection assembly 130. The electrical connection assembly 130 includes an electrical connector 132. The electrical connector 132 is electrically connected to the robot body 110, and at least a portion of the electrical connector 132 is disposed coaxially with the first rotation axis 1214. The electrical connector 132 may be a wire harness or the like for establishing an electrical connection between two components. The electrical connector 132 is electrically connected to the robot body 110. For example, the swing arm 121 is provided with an electrical component; the electrical connector 132 is connected to the electrical component on the swing arm 121 to provide an electrical connection and/or signal connection for the electrical component. At least a portion of the electrical connector 132 is disposed coaxially with the first rotation axis 1214. In this way, when the swing arm 121 rotates relative to the robot body 110, the electrical connector 132 will move synchronously with the swing arm 121 about the first rotation axis 1214. This reduces the relative movement between the electrical connector 132 and the swing arm 121, thereby reducing wear on the electrical connector 132 and prolonging the service life of the electrical connector 132.

In some embodiments, referring to FIGS. 4 to 6, a wire through hole 1212 is provided in the swing arm 121. The wire through hole 1212 is disposed coaxially with the first rotation axis 1214, and the wire through hole 1212 is configured to guide at least an extension direction of a portion of the electrical connector 132. For example, the electrical connector 132 passes through the wire through hole 1212. In this way, the wire through hole 1212 can guide and limit the extension of a portion of the electrical connector 132, enabling the electrical connector 132 to be disposed coaxially with the first rotation axis 1214, thereby improving the reliability of the coaxial arrangement between the electrical connector 132 and the first rotation axis 1214.

The electrical connector 132 passes through the wire through hole 1212, so that the extension direction of the electrical connector 132 is guided and limited by the wire through hole 1212. In this way, when the swing arm 121 swings about the first rotation axis 1214, the electrical connector 132 moves synchronously with the swing arm 121, to reduce the relative movement between the electrical connector 132 and the swing arm 121, thereby reducing wear on the electrical connector 132 and prolonging the service life of the electrical connector 132.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 4, a protruding portion 1211 is provided on the swing arm 121. The wire through hole 1212 is located in the protruding portion 1211, and the protruding portion 1211 has a recess portion in communication with the wire through hole 1212. The electrical connector 132 passes through the wire through hole 1212 via the recess portion.

For example, the protruding portion 1211 is disposed at the end of the swing arm 121 facing the first rotation axis 1214. When the swing arm 121 is placed horizontally as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the protruding portion 1211 is disposed at the top of the swing arm 121. The wire through hole 1212 is located in the protruding portion 1211, and the protruding portion 1211 has a recess portion in communication with the wire through hole 1212. The electrical connector 132 passes through the wire through hole 1212 via the recess portion (not shown). It can be understood that by providing the protruding portion 1211 on the swing arm 121 and by providing the wire through hole 1212 in the protruding portion 1211, the electrical connector 132 can pass through the wire through hole 1212 via the recess portion, so that cross-misalignment between the electrical connector 132 and the swing arm 121 can be avoided, which would cause wear on the electrical connector 132, thereby prolonging the service life of the electrical connector 132.

In addition, in some embodiments, a wire guide frame 128 (as shown in FIG. 5) is further provided on the robot body 110. The wire guide frame 128 is disposed on the swing arm 121, and the wire guide frame 128 is configured to guide the electrical connector 132 to the wire through hole 1212. The electrical connector 132 is movably connected to the wire guide frame 128. In this way, the electrical connector 132 is guided by the wire guide frame 128, so that the electrical connector 132 can extend along a specified routing path to the wire through hole 1212, to reduce the relative movement between the swing arm 121 and the electrical connector 132, thereby reducing wear on the electrical connector 132.

To further improve the guidance for the electrical connector 132 and reduce wear on the electrical connector 132, in some embodiments, still referring to FIG. 5, a guide groove 1281 is provided on the wire guide frame 128. The electrical connector 132 is movably disposed in the guide groove 1281, such that the electrical connector 132 is guided by the guide groove 1281.

It should be noted that an extension direction of the guide groove 1281 is consistent with a routing direction of the electrical connector 132, so that the guide groove 1281 guides the wire harness to the wire through hole 1212, and a portion of the electrical connector 132 is disposed coaxially with the wire through hole 1212 and the first rotation axis 1214, to reduce wear on the electrical connector 132.

In addition, the shape of the contour of a groove wall of the guide groove 1281 facing the electrical connector 132 may match the shape of the contour of the electrical connector 132, to reduce wear between the guide groove 1281 and the electrical connector 132, thereby prolonging the service life of the electrical connector 132.

In some embodiments, the cleaning member 122 is rotatably connected to the swing arm 121. In this way, the cleaning member 122 can rotate relative to the swing arm 121 to clean the surface to be cleaned.

In some embodiments, the side brush assembly 120 may further include a third driving mechanism configured to drive the cleaning member 122 to be rotatably connected to the swing arm 121. In this way, the third driving mechanism can provide a driving force for the rotation of the cleaning member 122. For example, when the cleaning member 122 rotates, the cleaning member 122 can sweep and gather dust particles on the floor toward the inner side of the robot body 110, so that the dust particles are sucked into the dust suction cavity through the dust suction port. Alternatively, when the third driving mechanism drives the cleaning member 122 to rotate relative to the swing arm 121, the cleaning member 122 may be a cleaning cloth, for example, to wipe and clean the floor with the cleaning cloth.

In some embodiments, the third driving mechanism and the second driving mechanism may share an extending motor; and the second driving mechanism may further include a clutch, and the extending motor drives at least one of the swing arm and the cleaning member to rotate by means of the clutch. In this way, by providing the clutch, a single driving device can be used to drive each of the swing arm 121 and the cleaning member 122 to rotate, thereby enhancing the integration of the third driving mechanism and the second driving mechanism and facilitating a reduction in the space occupied by the side brush assembly 120.

By way of example, when the side brush assembly 120 is in the retracted position, the extending motor is used for driving at least the cleaning member 122 to rotate. At this time, under an acting force of the clutch, the swing arm 121 does not rotate, or the swing arm 121 has a rotational movement tendency under the action of the extending motor, but the movement tendency thereof is limited by the limiting structure, so that the swing arm 121 is maintained in the retracted position; and/or when the side brush assembly 120 is in the extended position, the extending motor is used for driving at least the cleaning member 122 to rotate. At this time, under the acting force of the clutch, the swing arm 121 does not rotate, or the swing arm 121 has a rotational tendency under the action of the extending motor, but the rotational tendency thereof is limited by the limiting structure, so that the swing arm 121 is maintained in the extended position; and/or during the movement of the side brush assembly 120 from the retracted position to the extended position, or from the extended position to the retracted position, under the action of the clutch, the extending motor drives both the cleaning member 122 and the swing arm 121 to move. In this way, during the swinging of the swing arm 121 toward the retracted position or the extended position, the cleaning member 122 rotates relative to the swing arm 121, so that the cleaning member 122 can also keep rotating during the extending or retracting process, reducing the number of motors used while ensuring the cleaning effect.

Further, when the side brush assembly 120 is in the retracted position, the clutch is used for enabling the extending motor to drive only the cleaning member 122 to rotate, so that the swing arm 121 is locked in the retracted position. In this way, when cleaning the surface to be cleaned in the retracted position, the side brush assembly 120 can maintain a fixed position, thereby ensuring smooth cleaning operations and facilitating an improvement in the cleaning efficiency.

In some embodiments, the third driving mechanism may be disposed on the swing arm 121. In this way, external dimensions of the side brush assembly 120 can be reduced, thereby improving the structural compactness of the side brush assembly 120. Moreover, the third driving mechanism is electrically connected to the electrical connector 132, so that the electrical connector 132 supplies power to the third driving mechanism.

Furthermore, by disposing the third driving mechanism on the swing arm 121 and by electrically connecting the electrical connector 132 to the third driving mechanism, the third driving mechanism and the electrical connector 132 will move synchronously with the swing arm 121, to reduce the relative movement between the electrical connector 132 and the swing arm 121, thereby reducing wear on the electrical connector 132 and prolonging the service life of the electrical connector 132.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 6, the third driving mechanism includes a second driving motor 126. The second driving motor 126 is electrically connected to the electrical connector 132; and the second driving motor 126 is configured to drive the cleaning member 122 to rotate about the second rotation axis 1221. In this way, driving of the cleaning member 122 can be achieved.

Further, the third driving mechanism includes a second driving motor 126 and a speed reducer 127. The second driving motor 126 is electrically connected to the electrical connector 132, and the speed reducer 127 is disposed between the second driving motor 126 and the cleaning member 122. For example, the speed reducer 127 is connected to an output shaft of the second driving motor 126, and an output shaft of the speed reducer 127 is connected to the cleaning member 122. The second driving motor 126 drives the cleaning member 122 to rotate about the second rotation axis 1221 by means of the speed reducer 127. The cleaning member 122 may be a disc-shaped structure, for example, and the second rotation axis 1221 is disposed coaxially with the central axis of the disc-shaped cleaning member 122, for example.

The cleaning member 122 includes a disc-shaped base, and bristles, a cleaning cloth, or a rubber strip disposed on the disc-shaped base. The second rotation axis 1221 is disposed coaxially with the central axis of the disc-shaped base. In this way, the second driving motor 126 drives the disc-shaped base to rotate about the second rotation axis 1221 by means of the speed reducer 127, so that the bristles, a cleaning portion, or the rubber strip on the disc-shaped base rotates along with the disc-shaped base to clean the floor.

It can be understood that the speed reducer 127 of the third driving mechanism is also used for adjusting the rotation speed of the cleaning member 122. The speed reducer 127 may also be provided with a first-stage speed reducer, a second-stage speed reducer, or a third-stage speed reducer according to user requirements. In this way, the rotation speed of the cleaning member 122 can be adjusted according to different cleaning requirements, thereby improving the user experience.

The structure of the speed reducer 127 can refer to related technologies and will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments, the cleaning member 122 includes at least one of a side brush and a mopping and wiping member. In this way, the cleaning member 122 has various forms, and different cleaning members 122 can be used according to different task requirements.

In some embodiments, referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the electrical connection assembly 130 further includes a circuit board 131. The circuit board 131 is disposed in the robot body 110, and the electrical connector 132 is electrically connected to the circuit board 131. For example, the second driving motor 126 of the third driving mechanism is electrically connected to the circuit board 131 via the electrical connector 132, so that the circuit board 131 supplies electrical energy to the second driving motor 126. In addition, the first driving motor 123 of the first driving mechanism may also be electrically connected to the circuit board 131, and so on.

In some embodiments, the cleaning robot 100 may further include a position sensor. The position sensor is disposed at a front end of the robot body 110 and is in signal connection with the circuit board 131. The position sensor is configured to detect the position of the robot body 110 and/or the side brush assembly 120. The swing arm 121 rotates to the extended position or the retracted position according to a signal detected by the position sensor, thereby improving the accuracy of determining whether the swing arm 121 needs to be retracted or extended. The position sensor may be formed as a collision plate structure.

For example, when the position sensor detects that the cleaning position where the robot body 110 is located is a hard-to-clean region, such as a corner, the swing arm 121 moves from the retracted position to the extended position according to the signal detected by the position sensor. Specifically, the first driving mechanism (e.g., the elastic member 129) drives the swing arm 121 to rotate to the outer side of the robot body 110, so that the swing arm 121 is extended relative to the robot body 110 to clean the hard-to-clean region, such as a corner. In some embodiments, the robot body 110 has an accommodating recess. When the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the swing arm 121 is accommodated in the accommodating recess. In this way, when the swing arm 121 is not required to extend, the swing arm 121 can be properly accommodated, preventing collisions of the swing arm 121 and reducing the risk of damage. Moreover, the aesthetic appearance of the cleaning robot 100 can be improved.

In some embodiments, the shape of the swing arm 121 matches the shape of the accommodating recess. When the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the outer side surface of the swing arm 121 forms a portion of the contour of the robot body 110. For example, when the robot body 110 is circular, an exposed portion of the swing arm 121 when in the retracted position is also arc-shaped, and the exposed portion of the swing arm 121 and the contour of the robot body 110 are on the same circle. In this way, the appearance consistency of the cleaning robot 100 can be improved, providing a more aesthetic appearance.

In some embodiments, the side brush assembly 120 may further include a housing. When the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the housing forms a portion of the contour of the robot body 110. In this way, the appearance consistency of the cleaning robot 100 can be improved, providing a more aesthetic appearance.

In some embodiments, the housing may be fixed to the swing arm 121. For example, the housing may be fixed to the swing arm 121 by means of bolt connection, snap-fit, bonding, etc. Alternatively, the housing is movably connected to an outer side wall of the robot body 110, and when the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the housing covers the accommodating recess. In other words, the housing can be used to open or close the accommodating recess. In this way, when the swing arm 121 is in the retracted position, the housing can properly protect the swing arm 121.

In some embodiments, the cleaning member 122 may include: a rubber strip and bristles. Specifically, a first end of the rubber strip is connected to the third driving mechanism. The rubber strip may be directly connected to the third driving mechanism, or may be connected to the third driving mechanism via an intermediate transmission device. The bristles are disposed at a second end of the rubber strip, and the bristles are used to clean the surface to be cleaned. In this way, the cleaning member 122 has a relatively simple structure.

In some embodiments, the swing arm 121 is covered with a flexible material layer. The side brush is connected to a distal end of the swing arm 121 relative to the robot body 110, to ensure a large cleanable range of the side brush. The flexible material layer may circumferentially cover at least a portion of an outer side of the distal end of the swing arm 121. Herein, the distal end of the swing arm 121 refers to the end of the swing arm 121 that is farthest from the robot body 110 when in the extended position. Since the distal end of the swing arm 121 may be a position on the swing arm 121 that is most likely to collide with the obstacle, in this embodiment, the distal end of the swing arm 121 is coated with the flexible material layer in the circumferential direction of the swing arm 121. This can provide buffering for the swing arm when the distal end of the swing arm 121 collides with other objects, preventing collision damage.

Of course, considering that other positions of the swing arm 121 may also collide with the obstacle or the robot body, at least a portion of the side wall of the swing arm 121 may be also coated with the flexible material layer. In this case, only a portion of the side wall of the swing arm 121, or the entire side wall of the swing arm 121 may be coated with the flexible material layer, so as to ensure the overall collision buffering effect of the swing arm 121.

In some embodiments, the cleaning member 122 is a flexible cleaning member. In this way, the cleaning member 122 can be prevented from being bent and deformed when being squeezed, and the service life of the cleaning member can be prolonged.

In some embodiments, the swing arm 121 is a flexible member. In this way, the swing arm 121 can be deformed to a certain extent and is more easily to extend outward around the obstacle, so that the cleaning member 122 can clean the region around the obstacle.

In some embodiments, the cleaning member 122 is liftably disposed on the swing arm 121 to switch between a cleaning position and a raised position. When in the cleaning position, the cleaning member 122 cleans the surface to be cleaned; and when in the raised position, the cleaning member 122 is separated from the surface to be cleaned to prevent the dirt on the cleaning member 122 from causing secondary contamination of the surface to be cleaned.

For example, when the cleaning robot 100 moves to a floor with liquid stains or sticky stains, the cleaning member 122 can be controlled to switch from the cleaning position to the raised position to prevent the cleaning member 122 from contacting the stains and carrying and smearing the stains to other positions on the floor, such as cleaned positions, thereby preventing secondary contamination of the floor. Alternatively, when the cleaning member 122 has cleaned the floor and a large amount of dirt is adhered to the cleaning member 122, the cleaning member 122 can be controlled to switch from the cleaning position to the raised position to prevent the cleaning member 122 from contacting the surface to be cleaned, thereby preventing secondary contamination of the floor.

In some embodiments, the cleaning robot 100 includes at least two side brush assemblies 120. The at least two side brush assemblies 120 are spaced apart and movably connected to the front of the robot body 110. For example, the number of side brush assemblies 120 may be one, two, or more. When there are two or more side brush assemblies 120, the two or more side brush assemblies 120 are spaced apart at a front edge of, for example, of the robot body 110. It can be understood that the front of the robot body 110 means that in the movement direction of the robot body 110, the side of the robot body 110 facing the front is the front of the robot body 110, and the opposite side is the rear of the robot body 110; and a left side of the robot body 110 is the left, and the right side of the robot body 110 is the right. When there are two side brush assemblies 120, the two side brush assemblies 120 may be symmetrically disposed at the front of the robot body 110. In this way, the two side brush assemblies 120 can gather dust and impurity particles on the floor toward the inner side of the robot body 110, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning robot 100.

The side brush assemblies 120 include a swingable side brush assembly 120 and a non-swingable side brush assembly 120. The swingable side brush assembly 120 swings relative to the robot body 110 by means of the swing arm 121, and the position of the non-swingable side brush assembly 120 is fixed relative to the robot body 110. When the cleaning robot 100 includes one side brush assembly 120, the side brush assembly 120 is a swingable side brush assembly 120. The swingable side brush assembly 120 may be disposed at an upper right corner (also referred to as a right front corner) of the robot body 110. In this way, when the swing arm 121 is extended relative to the robot body 110, the cleaning member 122 can clean a right-angle or inwardly recessed region, thereby eliminating cleaning blind spots, increasing the cleaning range of the cleaning robot 100, and improving the user experience. Alternatively, when the cleaning robot 100 includes two side brush assemblies 120, both side brush assemblies 120 may be swingable side brush assemblies 120, or one of the two side brush assemblies 120 is a swingable side brush assembly 120, and the other is a non-swingable side brush assembly 120. The swingable side brush assembly 120 may be disposed on the right side of the cleaning robot 100.

It can be seen from the above that, in the embodiments of the present application, at least one swingable side brush assembly 120 is movably connected to the robot body 110, the side brush assembly 120 includes a swing arm 121, a cleaning member 122, and an electrical connection assembly 130, the swing arm 121 is rotatably connected to the robot body 110 about the first rotation axis 1214, so that the swing arm 121 moves relative to the robot body 110 between the extended position and the retracted position. The cleaning member 122 is disposed on the swing arm 121 to move along with the swing arm 121. In this way, the cleaning range of the cleaning member 122 is increased, the problem of cleaning blind spots is avoided, and the user experience is improved. In addition, the electrical connection assembly 130 includes an electrical connector 132. The electrical connector 132 is electrically connected to the robot body 110, and at least a portion of the electrical connector 132 is disposed coaxially with the first rotation axis 1214. When the swing arm 121 moves, the electrical connector 132 moves synchronously with the swing arm 121 about the first rotation axis 1214, to reduce the relative movement between the electrical connector 132 and the swing arm 121, thereby reducing wear on the electrical connector 132 and prolonging the service life of the electrical connector.

In some embodiments, the front end of the cleaning robot 100 is generally provided with a collision detection structure (not shown), such as a collision plate structure (not shown). When a collision occurs at the front end of the cleaning robot 100, the collision plate structure undergoes a displacement change to trigger collision detection of the cleaning robot 100, and the collision plate structure at least partially surrounds the front side of the cleaning robot 100. The collision plate structure is provided with a clearance space, which is used to provide clearance for the side brush assembly 120 and provide a movement space for the side brush assembly 120 to move from the extended position to the retracted position. The clearance space may be formed as a recess.

When the side brush assembly 120 moves relative to the robot body 110 from the extended position to the retracted position, the side brush assembly 120 may move from the extended position to the retracted position along the bottom of the robot body 110; or the side brush assembly 120 may move from the extended position to the retracted position along the side wall of the robot body 110.

In some embodiments, the driving member 124 has a driving surface, and the swing arm 121 has an abutment surface 1215 that mates with the driving surface. When the driving member 124 rotates about its own axis in the first direction, the driving surface pushes against the abutment surface 1215, so that the swing arm 121 moves from the extended position to the retracted position. It can be understood that by providing the driving surface on the driving member 124 and by providing the abutment surface 1215 mating with the driving surface on the swing arm 121, the driving surface pushes against the abutment surface 1215, so that the accuracy of pushing the driving member 124 against the swing arm 121 can be improved during the movement of the swing arm 121, thereby avoiding the problem of movement delay caused by large abutment errors.

In some embodiments, a cam mechanism is formed between the driving member 124 and the swing arm 121, and the position of the swing arm 121 is locked by means of the cam mechanism. The cam mechanism includes a first cam surface 1243 and a second cam surface 141. Referring to the figures, the driving surface includes the first cam surface 1243, and the abutment surface 1215 includes the second cam surface 141 that mates with the first cam surface 1243. An axis of the second cam surface 141 is collinear with the first rotation axis 1214. It can be understood that since different positions of the first cam surface 1243 have different distances from a rotation center of the driving member 124, and different positions of the second cam surface 141 have different distances from the first rotation axis 1214, when the driving member 124 rotates, interference occurs between the first cam surface 1243 and the second cam surface 141, causing the first cam surface 1243 to push against the second cam surface 141 to drive the rotation the swing arm 121. Moreover, since both the first cam surface 1243 and the second cam surface 141 are arc-shaped cam surfaces, the smoothness of the relative movement between the first cam surface 1243 and the second cam surface 141 can be improved, thereby preventing jamming of the swing arm 121 during rotation and improving the user experience.

The cleaning robot 100 according to the embodiments of the present application includes a robot body 110 and a side brush assembly 120. The side brush assembly 120 is movably connected to the robot body 110. The side brush assembly 120 includes a swing arm 121, a cleaning member 122, and an electrical connection assembly 130. The swing arm 121 is rotatably connected to the robot body 110 about the first rotation axis 1214, so that the swing arm 121 moves relative to the robot body 110 between the extended position and the retracted position. The cleaning member 122 is disposed on the swing arm 121 to move along with the swing arm 121. In this way, the cleaning range of the cleaning member 122 is increased, the problem of cleaning blind spots is avoided, and the user experience is improved. In addition, the electrical connection assembly 130 includes an electrical connector 132. The electrical connector 132 is electrically connected to the robot body 110, and at least a portion of the electrical connector 132 is disposed coaxially with the first rotation axis 1214. When the swing arm 121 moves, the electrical connector 132 moves synchronously with the swing arm 121 about the first rotation axis 1214, to reduce the relative movement between the electrical connector 132 and the swing arm 121, thereby reducing wear on the electrical connector 132 and prolonging the service life of the electrical connector.

The embodiments or implementations in this specification are described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on the difference from other embodiments, and for the same or similar parts of the embodiments, reference can be made to each other.

In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms such as “one implementation”, “some implementations”, “an illustrative implementation”, “an example”, “a specific example” or “some examples” means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described with reference to the implementation or example are included in at least one implementation or example of the present application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments or examples. In addition, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in an appropriate manner.

It should be finally noted that the above embodiments are merely used for illustrating rather than limiting the technical solution of the present application. Although the present application has been illustrated in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features thereof may be equivalently substituted; and these modifications or substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solution depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.