Robotic vacuum

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11096535-B2
Application number	US-201916415012-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 17, 2019
Priority date	May 23, 2018
Publication date	Aug 24, 2021
Grant date	Aug 24, 2021

Abstract

A robotic vacuum (1) includes a main body (2) having a suction port (15) in a bottom surface (2B) thereof; a storage unit (6) housed in the main body and configured to store dust and debris suctioned in via the suction port (15); and at least one wheel (9) that supports the main body (2). The main body (2) has a width Wb in a first direction that is parallel to a rotational axis (AX) of the wheel (9), the storage unit (6) has a width Ws in the first direction, the main body (2) has a height Hb in a second direction that is perpendicular to the rotational axis (AX) and perpendicular to the first direction, and the storage unit (6) has a height Hs in the second direction. The width Wb is 470-600 mm, and the condition 0.5×Wb≤Ws≤0.7×Wb is satisfied.

First claim

We claim:

1. A robotic vacuum comprising:
a main body having a suction port in a bottom surface thereof;
at least one wheel supporting the main body, at least a portion of the at least one wheel protrudes below the bottom surface;
a storage unit having a lower side storage space physically separated from an upper side storage space by a tray;
a lower side collection port defined in the storage unit in fluid communication with the lower side storage space; and
an upper side collection port defined in the storage unit in fluid communication with the upper side storage space;
wherein:
the main body has a width Wb in a first direction that is parallel to a rotational axis of the wheel,
the main body has a height Hb in a second direction that is perpendicular to the rotational axis and perpendicular to the first direction, and
the main body further comprises:
a lower side passageway fluidly connecting the suction port to the lower side collection port; and
an upper side passageway fluidly connecting the suction port to the upper side collection port, the upper side passageway being isolated from the lower side passageway so that there is no fluid communication between the upper side passageway and the lower side passageway.

2. The robotic vacuum according to claim 1 , wherein:
the width Wb is 470-600 mm, and
the height Hb is 130-300 mm.

3. The robotic vacuum according to claim 1 , wherein:
the at least one wheel protrudes from the bottom surface by an amount T in the range of 15-50 mm, and
the wheel has a diameter D in the range of 100-150 mm.

4. The robotic vacuum according to claim 3 , wherein:
the width Wb is 470-600 mm, and
the height Hb is 130-300 mm.

5. The robotic vacuum according to claim 1 , wherein:
the height Hb is 130-300 mm, and
the condition 2.6×Hb≤Wb≤4.0×Hb is satisfied.

6. The robotic vacuum according to claim 1 , wherein:
the storage unit is housed in the main body and is configured to store dust and debris suctioned in via the suction port;
the storage unit has a width Ws in the first direction, and
the storage unit has a height Hs in the second direction.

7. The robotic vacuum according to claim 6 , wherein:
the width Wb is 470-600 mm, and
the condition 0.5×Wb≤Ws≤0.7×Wb is satisfied.

8. The robotic vacuum according to claim 7 , wherein:
the height Hb is 130-300 mm, and
the condition 0.5×Hb≤Hs≤1.0×Hb is satisfied.

9. The robotic vacuum according to claim 6 , wherein:
the height Hb is 130-300 mm, and
the condition 0.5×Hb≤Hs≤1.0×Hb is satisfied.

10. The robotic vacuum according to claim 6 , wherein:
the width Ws is 280-420 mm, and
the height Hs is 130-300 mm.

11. The robotic vacuum according to claim 6 , wherein:
the suction port has a width Wi in the first direction, and
the condition 0.9×Wi≤Ws≤1.1×Wi is satisfied.

12. The robotic vacuum according to claim 6 , wherein the storage unit has a capacity of 2.0-5.0 liters.

13. The robotic vacuum according to claim 6 , wherein:
the at least one wheel comprises two wheels; and
the storage unit is disposed between the two wheels in the first direction.

14. The robotic vacuum according to claim 6 , wherein:
the at least one wheel protrudes beyond the bottom surface by an amount T, and
the condition 0.1×Hs≤T≤0.4×Hs is satisfied.

15. The robotic vacuum according to claim 14 , wherein the amount T is 15-50 mm.

16. The robotic vacuum according to claim 14 , wherein:
the wheel has a diameter D, and
the condition 0.4×Hs≤D≤1.2×Hs is satisfied.

17. The robotic vacuum according to claim 6 , wherein:
the wheel has a diameter D, and
the condition 0.4×Hs≤D≤1.2×Hs is satisfied.

18. The robotic vacuum according to claim 17 , wherein the diameter D of the wheel is 100-150 mm.

19. The robotic vacuum according to claim 6 , further comprising:
at least one wheel motor configured to rotate the at least one wheel; and
at least battery mounting part configured to mount at least one rechargeable battery;
wherein the at least one wheel motor is driven with electric power supplied from the rechargeable battery.

Assignees

• Makita Corp

Inventors

• Koura Kentaro
• Sugino Yudai
• Sumiyoshi Hirotaka

Classifications

• A47L11/24 Primary

  Floor-sweeping machines, motor-driven · CPC title

• A47L9/2857

  User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays · CPC title

• A47L9/0488

  Combinations or arrangements of several tools, e.g. edge cleaning tools · CPC title

• A47L2201/00

  Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation · CPC title

• A47L9/2852

  Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles · CPC title