Robot cleaner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12478232-B2
Application number	US-202018018681-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 5, 2020
Priority date	Aug 6, 2020
Publication date	Nov 25, 2025
Grant date	Nov 25, 2025

Abstract

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner and, more particularly, to a robot cleaner comprising: a main body forming the outer appearance; a suction unit provided in the main body; a dust collecting unit which is provided in the main body and collects dust introduced through the suction unit; a driving motor which provides rotating power to move the main body, and includes a driving shaft and a driving gear coupled to one end portion of the driving shaft; a driving wheel rotating according to driving of the driving motor; a deceleration gear unit which connects the driving motor to the driving wheel and transmits the rotating power generated by the driving motor to the driving wheel; a first housing which is coupled to the driving motor and covers at least a part of the driving wheel; and a second housing which is provided between the driving wheel and the first housing to be respectively coupled to the driving wheel and the first housing, and has a wheel accommodation unit provided at one side thereof for accommodating the driving wheel, and a gear accommodation unit provided at the other side for accommodating the deceleration gear unit. The first housing may be fixed by being coupled to the driving motor, and the second housing and the driving wheel coupled to the second housing may be provided to pivotably rotate together by using, as a rotary shaft, a gear shaft of a deceleration gear included in the deceleration gear unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A robot cleaner comprising:
a main body for forming an outer appearance of the robot cleaner; a suction portion disposed in the main body; a dust collecting portion disposed in the main body so as to collect dust introduced via the suction portion; a driving motor for providing a rotational force including a driving shaft and a driving gear coupled to one end of the driving shaft; a driving wheel rotating by driving the driving motor; a reduction gear assembly for connecting the driving motor and the driving wheel to each other and transmitting the rotational force generated from the driving motor to the driving wheel; a first housing coupled to the driving motor and covering at least a portion of the driving wheel; and a second housing coupled to the driving wheel and the first housing, wherein the second housing has a wheel accommodating portion for accommodating therein the driving wheel at a first side thereof, and a gear accommodating portion for accommodating therein the reduction gear assembly at a second side thereof, wherein the first housing is fixed by the coupling with the driving motor, wherein the second housing and the driving wheel coupled thereto are constructed to pivot together using a gear shaft of a reduction gear included in the reduction gear assembly as a pivoting shaft, and wherein the driving shaft is parallel with the pivoting shaft.

2 . The robot cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the reduction gear assembly includes a plurality of reduction gears disposed in the gear accommodating portion so as to be engaged with each other and a plurality of gear shafts extending through respective central portions of the plurality of reduction gears,
wherein the plurality of reduction gears are coupled to the gear accommodating portion by the plurality of gear shafts, respectively, wherein the second housing is coupled to the first housing so as to pivot using one of the plurality of gear shafts as the pivoting shaft, and wherein the driving wheel is constructed to pivot together with the second housing using one of the plurality of gear shafts as the pivoting shaft.

3 . The robot cleaner of claim 2 , wherein the second housing is coupled to the first housing so as to pivot using a gear shaft of a reduction gear located closest to the driving motor among the plurality of reduction gears as the pivoting shaft, and
wherein the driving wheel is constructed to pivot together with the second housing using the gear shaft of the reduction gear located closest to the driving motor as the pivoting shaft.

4 . The robot cleaner of claim 2 , wherein the reduction gear assembly includes a first reduction gear constructed to be engaged with the driving gear, a second reduction gear constructed to be engaged with the first reduction gear, and a third reduction gear constructed to be engaged with the second reduction gear, and
wherein the driving wheel is constructed to pivot together with the second housing using a gear shaft of the first reduction gear as the pivoting shaft.

5 . The robot cleaner of claim 4 , wherein the reduction gear assembly further includes a first gear shaft extending through a central portion of the first reduction gear, a second gear shaft extending through a central portion of the second reduction gear, and a third gear shaft extending through a central portion of the third reduction gear, and
wherein the driving wheel is constructed to pivot together with the second housing using the first gear shaft as the pivoting shaft.

6 . The robot cleaner of claim 5 , wherein the first gear shaft serving as the pivoting shaft of the driving wheel is not disposed coaxially with the driving shaft.

7 . The robot cleaner of claim 5 , wherein the gear accommodating portion includes a first partition wall protruding from the wheel accommodating portion and a first disposition surface partitioned by the first partition wall such that the reduction gear assembly is disposed thereon, and
wherein the first partition wall and the first disposition surface respectively have extensions extending toward the driving motor more than the wheel accommodating portion and partially overlapping the first housing.

8 . The robot cleaner of claim 7 , wherein the extension of the first partition wall extends along a circumferential direction of a circle centered on the first gear shaft.

9 . The robot cleaner of claim 8 , wherein the extension of the first partition wall includes an upper portion disposed at a higher location than the first gear shaft in a state before the second housing pivots, and a lower portion disposed at a lower location than the first gear shaft in the state before the second housing pivots, and
wherein the upper portion of the extension of the first partition wall and the lower portion of the extension of the first partition wall are formed to be spaced apart from each other, and the driving gear is disposed therebetween.

10 . The robot cleaner of claim 9 , wherein the first housing includes a second housing coupled portion partially overlapping the extension of the first partition wall and the extension of the first disposition surface,
wherein the second housing coupled portion includes a second partition wall protruding in the same direction as a protruding direction of the first partition wall from the first housing, and a second disposition surface partitioned by the second partition wall such that the extension of the first disposition surface is disposed thereon, and wherein the extension of the first disposition surface and the second disposition surface are coupled to each other as the first gear shaft sequentially extends therethrough.

11 . The robot cleaner of claim 10 , wherein an area of the second disposition surface is smaller than an area of the extension of the first disposition surface.

12 . The robot cleaner of claim 10 , wherein the second partition wall continuously extends so as to cover the upper portion of the extension of the first partition wall and the lower portion of the extension of the first partition wall together, and
wherein, in a space surrounded by the second partition wall, the upper portion of the extension of the first partition wall, the lower portion of the extension of the first partition wall, and the extension of the first disposition surface, a driving gear movement portion where the driving gear slides when the second housing pivots is defined.

13 . The robot cleaner of claim 12 , wherein the driving gear movement portion extends along the circumferential direction of the circle centered on the first gear shaft by an angle equal to or greater than a pivoting angle of the second housing, and
wherein the driving gear is disposed at a different location within the driving gear movement portion when the second housing pivots.

14 . The robot cleaner of claim 13 , wherein the driving gear is disposed adjacent to the upper portion of the extension of the first partition wall than to the lower portion of the extension of the first partition wall within the driving gear movement portion in the state before the second housing pivots, and
wherein, in a state after the second housing pivots, the driving gear is disposed adjacent to the lower portion of the extension of the first partition wall than to the upper portion of the extension of the first partition wall within the driving gear movement portion.

15 . The robot cleaner of claim 2 , wherein the reduction gear assembly further includes a wheel gear coupled to the driving wheel and a wheel gear shaft extending through a central portion o

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Song Hyunsup
• Lee Sangik
• Lee Seungjin

Classifications

• 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

• A47L9/2805

  Parameters or conditions being sensed · CPC title

• B60B2200/49

  Domestic appliances, e.g. vacuum cleaners · CPC title

• B60B33/028

  being actuated automatically · CPC title