Mast systems for autonomous mobile robots

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11110595-B2
Application number	US-201816216386-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 11, 2018
Priority date	Dec 11, 2018
Publication date	Sep 7, 2021
Grant date	Sep 7, 2021

Abstract

An autonomous mobile robot includes a flexible member including a polymer layer extending along an entire length of the flexible member, and an end portion vertically movable away from a body of the robot. A first portion of a fastening mechanism extends along a first lateral edge of the polymer layer and a second portion of the fastening mechanism extends along a second lateral edge of the polymer layer. The first portion of the fastening mechanism is attached to the second portion of the fastening mechanism and forms a conduit to support the image capture device. The conduit includes an inner surface and an outer surface, and the outer surface of the conduit is at least partially defined by the polymer layer. An image capture device is mounted to an end portion of the flexible member.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An autonomous mobile robot comprising:
a body;
a drive to maneuver the body across a floor surface;
an image capture device; and
an elongate flexible member comprising
a polymer layer forming a central portion of the flexible member, the polymer layer extending along an entire length of the flexible member,
first and second fabric portions forming lateral portions of the flexible member, the first and second fabric portions extending along first and second lateral edges, respectively, of the polymer layer,
a first portion of a fastening mechanism extending along a lateral edge of the first fabric portion and a second portion of the fastening mechanism extending along a lateral edge of the second fabric portion, wherein the first portion of the fastening mechanism is directly attached to the second portion of the fastening mechanism to connect the lateral edge of the first fabric portion and the lateral edge of the second fabric portion such that the first and second fabric portions, the polymer layer, and the fastening mechanism form a conduit to support the image capture device, the conduit comprising an inner surface and an outer surface, and the outer surface of the conduit being defined by the polymer layer, the first and second fabric portions, and the fastening mechanism, and
an end portion vertically movable away from the body, wherein the central portion is configured to deflect such that the lateral edges of the first and second fabric portions are moved toward one another as the end portion of the flexible member moves away from the body, and wherein the image capture device is mounted to the end portion of the flexible member such that the image capture device moves vertically away from the body as the end portion moves vertically away from the body,
wherein a perimeter of a cross section of the conduit comprises a first segment and a second segment, the first segment comprising a first end connected to a first end of the second segment and a second end connected to a second end of the second segment, wherein the second segment has a curvature more than a curvature of the first segment, and wherein the polymer layer extends along the second segment.

2. The robot of claim 1 , wherein:
the end portion is a first end portion, and the flexible member comprises a second end portion attached to a spool within the body of the robot, the flexible member configured to be coiled onto the spool as the first end portion moves vertically toward the body, and
the central portion is configured to deflect such that the lateral edges of the first and second fabric portions are moved away from one another as the first end portion of the flexible member moves vertically toward the body.

3. The robot of claim 1 , wherein a section of the flexible member is deflectable between a flattened configuration in which the lateral portions of the flexible member along the section are separated from one another by the central portion of the flexible member along the section and a curled configuration in which the lateral portions of the flexible member are attached to one another.

4. The robot of claim 1 , wherein the flexible member comprises a transition region comprising a first end in which the first and second portions of the fastening mechanism are attached to one another and a second end in which the first and second portions of the fastening mechanism are separated from one another by at least a width of the polymer layer,
wherein a distance between the first and second portions of the fastening mechanism decreases and a curvature of the polymer layer increases from the first end of the transition region to the second end of the transition region.

5. The robot of claim 1 , wherein the polymer layer extends along 50% to 90% of a width of the flexible member.

6. The robot of claim 1 , wherein the first and second fabric portions extending along no more than 20% of a width of the flexible member.

7. The robot of claim 1 , wherein the first and second fabric portions are sewed to the polymer layer along the first and second lateral edges of the polymer layer, respectively, of the polymer layer.

8. The robot of claim 7 , wherein:
the first fabric portion is sewed to the polymer layer such that an outer surface of the first fabric portion at least partially defining the outer surface of the conduit faces the outer surface of the polymer layer, and
the second fabric portion is sewed to the polymer layer such that an outer surface of the second fabric portion at least partially defining the outer surface of the conduit faces the outer surface of the polymer layer.

9. The robot of claim 1 , wherein the flexible member comprises a metallic layer longitudinally extending along the flexible member, wherein the robot comprises a sensor to detect the metallic layer.

10. The robot of claim 9 , wherein the sensor comprises a Hall effect sensor.

11. The robot of claim 9 , wherein a width of the metallic layer varies longitudinally along the flexible member.

12. The robot of claim 11 , wherein a maximum width of the metallic layer is between 2 and 10 centimeters, and a minimum width of the metallic layer is between 0.1 and 5 centimeters.

13. The robot of claim 9 , wherein the polymer layer is a first polymer layer, the flexible member further comprises a second polymer layer underlying the first polymer layer, and the metallic layer is positioned between the first polymer layer and the second polymer layer.

14. The robot of claim 9 , wherein an inner surface of the conduit is at least partially defined by the metallic layer, the metallic layer being a metallic film bonded to the polymer layer.

15. The robot of claim 9 , wherein a width or a pattern of the metallic layer is indicative of a distance travelled by the end portion of the flexible member based on the detected metallic layer.

16. The robot of claim 1 , wherein the polymer layer of the flexible member comprises woven polymer fibers.

17. The robot of claim 1 , wherein the polymer layer is pre-formed such that a radius of curvature of the polymer layer in an unstressed state is between 10 and 60 millimeters.

18. The robot of claim 1 , wherein the fastening mechanism comprises a zipper mechanism, the first portion and the second portion of the fastening mechanism corresponding to first clasps and second clasps, respectively, of the zipper mechanism.

19. The robot of claim 18 , wherein a gauge size of the first and second clasps is #3, #4, #5, #6, or #7.

20. The robot of claim 1 , wherein the first and second portions of the fastening mechanism are positioned along the first segment.

21. The robot of claim 1 , wherein a length of the first segment is between 2 and 50 millimeters, and a length of the second segment is between 4 and 10 centimeters.

22. The robot of claim 1 , wherein a length of the first segment is between 5 and 50% of a length of the perimeter of the conduit, and a length of the second segment is between 50 and 95% of the length of the perimeter of the conduit.

23. The robot of claim 1 , further comprising a passive roller comprising a frustoconical member at least partially defining an outer surface of the passive roller along which the flexible member is routed.

24. The robot of claim 1 , further comprising a plug attached to the end portion of the flexible member, the plug being bonded to the end portion along at least 80% of an inner perimeter of the end porti

Assignees

• Irobot Corp

Inventors

• Chow Patrick
• Lee Irene
• Holm Jr Kenneth
• Hook Frederic D
• Petrossian Patrick
• Alibozek Fred

Classifications

• B25J9/162

  Mobile manipulator, movable base with manipulator arm mounted on it · CPC title

• B25J18/06

  flexible · CPC title

• B25J18/02

  extensible · CPC title

• B25J13/089 Primary

  Determining the position of the robot with reference to its environment · CPC title

• B25J9/0012

  making use of synthetic construction materials, e.g. plastics, composites · CPC title