# US 11,998,160 B2 · Autonomous cleaning device

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- Number: US 11,998,160 B2
- Document ID: US11998160B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/409,791
- Filed: 2021-08-24
- Published: 2021-12-09
- Granted: 2024-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2016-04-14
- Assignees: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.; Beijing Roborock Technology Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Xing Li; Zitao Wang; Zhijun Li; Yongfeng Xia
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11998160B2

## CPC

- A47L 9/2852: {Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles}
- A47L 5/22: with rotary fans
- A47L 5/30: with driven dust-loosening tools, e.g. rotating brushes
- A47L 9/009: {Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles}
- A47L 9/0411: {driven by electric motor}
- A47L 9/0477: {Rolls}
- A47L 9/122: {flat}
- A47L 9/1409: {Rigid filtering receptacles (dust collecting receptacles for cyclones A47L9/1683)}
- A47L 9/2826: {the condition of the floor}
- A47L 9/2831: {Motor parameters, e.g. motor load or speed}
- A47L 9/2847: {Surface treating elements}
- A47L 9/2857: {User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays}
- A47L 9/2884: {Details of arrangements of batteries or their installation}
- A47L 9/2889: {Safety or protection devices or systems, e.g. for prevention of motor over-heating or for protection of the user}
- A47L 11/24: Floor-sweeping machines, motor-driven
- A47L 11/4011: {Regulation of the cleaning machine by electric means; Control systems and remote control systems therefor}
- A47L 11/4041: {Roll shaped surface treating tools}
- A47L 11/4061: {Steering means; Means for avoiding obstacles; Details related to the place where the driver is accommodated}
- A47L 11/4072: {Arrangement of castors or wheels}
- G05D 1/00: Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots (drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00)
- G05D 1/0238: {using obstacle or wall sensors (G05D1/0246 and G05D1/0289 take precedence; lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S17/93)}
- G05D 1/0242: {using non-visible light signals, e.g. IR or UV signals}
- G05D 1/0259: {using magnetic or electromagnetic means}
- G05D 1/227: Handing over between remote control and on-board control; Handing over between remote control arrangements
- G05D 1/243: Means capturing signals occurring naturally from the environment, e.g. ambient optical, acoustic, gravitational or magnetic signals (using passive navigation aids external to the vehicle G05D1/244; using signals from positioning sensors located off-board the vehicle G05D1/249)
- G05D 1/247: using signals provided by artificial sources external to the vehicle, e.g. navigation beacons
- G05D 1/628: following the obstacle profile, e.g. a wall or undulated terrain
- A47L 2201/00: Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
- A47L 2201/04: Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
- A47L 2201/06: Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning
- A47L: DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING (brushes A46B; cleaning quantities of bottles or of other hollow articles of one kind B08B9/00; laundry D06F); SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL (cleaning in general B08)
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES

## Abstract

An autonomous cleaning device is provided. The autonomous cleaning device includes: a device body; and a drive module, a cleaning module and a sensing module, wherein the drive module, the cleaning module and the sensing module are detachably assembled to the device body, respectively.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A main brush assembly for an autonomous cleaning device, comprising:
a main brush; and
a main brush casing for receiving the main brush, wherein the main brush casing comprises: at least two anti-winding guards each extending between a forward side and a rearward side of the main brush casing, wherein the forward side is arranged opposite to forward of the rearward side; and wherein each of the at least two anti-winding guards comprises an obstacle-crossing assisting member lower than a plane defined by the lower most point of the forward side and the rearward side of the main brush casing; and
a flexible wiping strip arranged rearward of the at least two anti-winding guards and extending in a lengthwise direction of the main brush, wherein the flexible wiping strip is at a preset distance away from the main brush to intercept and collect objects that is not directly swept up by the main brush;
wherein each said obstacle-crossing assisting member is a protrusion at a rearward end of one of the anti-winding guards.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The main brush assembly of claim 1, wherein the protrusion has a tapered cross-section having a forward slope and a rearward slope, and the forward slope is configured to direct the autonomous cleaning device across an obstacle during an obstacle ride of the autonomous cleaning device.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The main brush assembly of claim 2, wherein the rearward slope of the protrusion abuts against an upper surface of the flexible wiping strip.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The main brush assembly of claim 1, wherein the protrusion has a lowest point not lower than a lowest end face of the main brush casing.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The main brush assembly of claim 1, wherein the main brush is a rubber and hair integrated brush with a rubber brush member and a hair brush member integrated with each other; and wherein the rubber brush member has a first deviation angle along a circumferential direction of a rotating shaft in a cylindrical surface of the main brush; and the hair brush member has a second deviation angle along the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft in the cylindrical surface of the main brush, such that when hair tufts of the hair brush member are arranged sequentially along an axial direction of the rotating shaft, a preset angle of coverage over the main brush is achieved in the circumferential direction, and the first deviation angle is less than the second deviation angle.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The main brush assembly of claim 5, wherein the rubber brush member is arranged straight line along the axial direction of the rotating shaft in the cylindrical surface of the main brush.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The main brush assembly of claim 6, wherein the autonomous cleaning device further comprises a dust box assembly and a power unit, wherein the main brush assembly, the dust box assembly and the power unit are sequentially arranged from front to rear; wherein the autonomous cleaning device further comprises a primary air channel located between the main brush assembly and the dust box assembly and a secondary air channel between the dust box assembly and the power unit, wherein the secondary air channel interfaces with the power unit such that debris is delivered to the dust box assembly by a wind generated by the power unit; wherein a middle portion of the rubber brush member is curved in the forward direction, so that the wind generated by the power unit can collect the debris at the middle portion.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The main brush assembly of claim 5, wherein the hair brush member is configured to fully cover a circumferential direction of the main brush in the cylindrical surface of the main brush.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The main brush assembly of claim 1, wherein the main brush casing further comprises at least two strips which are uniformly arranged perpendicular to the forward direction of the autonomous cleaning device to block oversized objects from being carried into the main brush assembly.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

The main brush assembly of claim 7, wherein the secondary air channel is configured that the wind can be directed from the dust box assembly to an air intake of the power unit.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The main brush assembly of claim 10, wherein the secondary air channel has an air outlet located at a remote end from the cleaned object storage component, the air outlet is in a plane intersecting with the horizontal plane.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The main brush assembly of claim 11, wherein the air outlet of the secondary air channel interfaces with the air intake of the power unit, wherein the power unit comprises a vortex fan, and the air intake of the power unit is aligned with a rotation axis of the vortex fan.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The main brush assembly of claim 10, wherein the primary air channel has a flared shape; and an area of a cross section of the primary air channel is inversely correlated with a distance from the cross section to the power unit.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The main brush assembly of claim 10, wherein the primary air channel comprises an air inlet facing the main brush assembly, and a width of a horizontal cross section of the air inlet in a direction perpendicular to the forward direction increases from top to bottom.

### Claim 15 (depends on 10)

The main brush assembly of claim 10, wherein the primary air channel comprises an air inlet facing the main brush of the main brush assembly via an opening on the main brush; and a side wall at a rear end of the main brush assembly in the forward direction is along a tangential direction of a circular cross section of the main brush assembly.

### Claim 16 (depends on 10)

The main brush assembly of claim 10, wherein the primary air channel is located at a rear end of the main brush, an air inlet of the primary air channel faces the main brush located obliquely below in the forward direction; an air outlet interfaced with an air inlet of the dust box assembly is located obliquely behind upward in the forward direction, and the air outlet of the dust box assembly is not located at a top side of the dust box assembly; and a side wall is located at a front end of the primary air channel in the forward direction and tilted toward a horizontal plane, such that the wind generated by the power unit is directed to the top side of the dust box assembly and reflected by the top side to the air outlet of the dust box assembly, wherein the wind generated by the power unit delivers the cleaned objects to the top side of the dust box assembly such that the cleaned objects fall in the dust box assembly.

### Claim 17 (depends on 9)

The main brush assembly of claim 9, wherein the secondary air channel includes an air outlet interfaced with the power unit; and a side wall facing the air outlet of the secondary air channel bulges outward to expand an inner space of the secondary air channel at the air outlet, to reduce energy loss of the wind generated by the power unit at the air outlet of the secondary air channel below a preset level.

### Claim 18 (depends on 10)

The main brush assembly of claim 10, wherein the dust box assembly comprises a removable side wall, wherein when the side wall is removed from the dust box assembly, a dumping opening is formed on the dust box assembly for dumping the cleaned objects stored in the dust box assembly.