# US 12,765,731 B2 · Dust box, automatic cleaning apparatus and dust collection pile

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- Number: US 12,765,731 B2
- Document ID: US12765731B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/574,711
- Filed: 2022-06-24
- Published: 2024-09-05
- Granted: 2026-10-20
- Earliest claimed: 2021-06-28
- Assignees: Beijing Roborock Technology Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Beijing Roborock Technology Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Hongliang Xu; Guang Yu; Chuanlin Duan; Dahong Gong; Yongfei Zhou
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12765731B2

## CPC

- A47L 9/1409: {Rigid filtering receptacles (dust collecting receptacles for cyclones A47L9/1683)}
- A47L 9/0063: {External storing devices; Stands, casings or the like for the storage of suction cleaners}
- A47L 9/122: {flat}
- A47L 9/149: {Emptying means; Reusable bags}
- F16K 15/063: {the valve being loaded by a spring}
- A47L 2201/024: Emptying dust or waste liquid containers
- A47L 2201/04: Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
- 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)
- F16K: VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING {(devices for emptying and evacuating the excess liquid in valves or conduits F16L55/07)}

## Abstract

Disclosed are a dust box, an automatic cleaning apparatus and a dust collection pile. The dust box includes: a dust box body including a bottom wall and sidewalls disposed around edges of the bottom wall, the sidewalls extend from the bottom wall away from the bottom wall, the bottom wall and the sidewalls define an accommodation space, the sidewall is defined with a first through hole, and the first through hole is a pathway for garbage to enter or move out of the accommodation space, a check valve assembly is disposed on the sidewall of the dust box, and the check valve assembly is biased in a closed state, and in response to an external acting force applied to the check valve assembly being greater than a threshold, the check valve assembly is switched from the closed state to an open state.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A dust box, comprising:
a dust box body, comprising a bottom wall and sidewalls disposed around edges of the bottom wall, wherein the sidewalls extend from the bottom wall away from the bottom wall, the bottom wall and the sidewalls define an accommodation space; and
wherein the sidewalls comprise a first sidewall and a second sidewall, the first sidewall is defined with a first through hole, and the first through hole is a pathway for garbage to enter or move out of the accommodation space, a check valve assembly is disposed on the second sidewall of the dust box, wherein the check valve assembly includes a second through hole defined on the second sidewall, and
the check valve assembly is biased in a closed state, and in response to an external acting force applied to the check valve assembly being greater than a threshold, the check valve assembly is switched from the closed state to an open state, and when the check valve assembly is in the open state, the second through hole serves as an air inlet of the dust box, such that the garbage in the dust box is collected via the first through hole under an action of a fan.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The dust box according to claim 1, wherein the check valve assembly further comprises:
a valve component, wherein the valve component is configured to abut against an edge of the second through hole to close the second through hole in response to the check valve assembly being in the closed state; and the valve component is configured to be separated from at least a portion of the edge of the second through hole in response to the check valve assembly being in the open state, such that an airflow enters the accommodation space via the second through hole; and
an elastic component connected to the valve component, and configured to bias the valve component to a position where the second through hole is closed.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The dust box according to claim 2, wherein the second sidewall is adjacent to the first sidewall.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The dust box according to claim 3, further comprising:
a filter screen assembly detachably accommodated in the accommodation space,
wherein the filter screen assembly divides the accommodation space into a first accommodation space and a second accommodation space, and the first accommodation space and the second accommodation space are disposed sequentially away from the bottom wall; and
the first through hole and the second through hole are both located between the filter screen assembly and the bottom wall.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The dust box according to claim 4, wherein the sidewalls further comprise a third sidewall defined with an air outlet; the air outlet is disposed at a side of the filter screen assembly away from the bottom wall; and the second sidewall is opposite to the third sidewall.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

An automatic cleaning apparatus, comprising:
the dust box according to claim 5;
a first fan connected to the air outlet, wherein the first fan is configured to extract an airflow from the accommodation space via the air outlet; and
a ventilation port communicated with the first through hole to provide a pathway for the garbage to enter or move out of the automatic cleaning apparatus.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The automatic cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, wherein in response to the automatic cleaning apparatus being in a cleaning work mode, the first fan generates the external acting force applied to the check valve assembly, and the external acting force is less than the threshold.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

A dust collection pile, wherein the dust collection pile is configured to collect the garbage in the dust box of the automatic cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, and the dust collection pile comprises:
a dust-collection air path provided with an inlet and an outlet, wherein the inlet of the dust-collection air path is configured to be communicated with the ventilation port when the automatic cleaning apparatus is connected to the dust collection pile to carry out a dust collection operation;
a dust-collection container provided with an air inlet and an air outlet, wherein the air inlet of the dust-collection container is communicated with the outlet of the dust-collection air path, and the dust-collection container is configured to accommodate the garbage from the dust box of the automatic cleaning apparatus; and
a second fan connected to the air outlet of the dust-collection container to extract the airflow from the accommodation space via the first through hole.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The dust collection pile according to claim 8, wherein in response to the automatic cleaning apparatus being in a dust exhaust mode, the first fan and the second fan simultaneously generate the external acting force applied to the check valve assembly, and the external acting force is greater than the threshold.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The dust collection pile according to claim 9, wherein a working power of the first fan when the automatic cleaning apparatus is in the dust exhaust mode is less than or equal to a working power of the first fan when the automatic cleaning apparatus is in a cleaning work mode.

### Claim 11 (depends on 6)

The automatic cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a cleaning module configured to clean at least a portion of a support surface when the automatic cleaning apparatus moves on the support surface, wherein the dust box is communicated with the cleaning module.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The automatic cleaning apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the support surface is ground.

### Claim 13 (depends on 6)

The automatic cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the dust box comprises a dust box cover, wherein the dust box cover matches the dust box body and is configured to cover a top of the accommodation space.

### Claim 14 (depends on 5)

The dust box according to claim 5, wherein an orthographic projection of the second accommodation space on the third sidewall covers the air outlet.

### Claim 15 (depends on 4)

The dust box according to claim 4, wherein the filter screen assembly is a rectangular shaped plate, an inner wall of the sidewall of the dust box body is provided with a stepped structure, and the stepped structure is configured to support the filter screen assembly.

### Claim 16 (depends on 4)

The dust box according to claim 4, wherein an orthographic projection of the first accommodation space on the first sidewall covers the first through hole, and an orthographic projection of the first accommodation space on the second sidewall covers the second through hole.

### Claim 17 (depends on 2)

The dust box according to claim 2, wherein the valve component comprises a plate-like structure and a pivoting portion connected to the plate-like structure.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The dust box according to claim 17, wherein the elastic component is a spring, and the elastic component is connected with the pivoting portion, and configured to bias the valve component to a position where the second through hole is closed.

### Claim 19 (depends on 1)

The dust box according to claim 1, further comprising: a dust box cover, wherein the dust box cover matches the dust box body and is configured to cover a top of the accommodation space.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The dust box according to claim 19, wherein the dust box cover is pivotally connected to the sidewall of the dust box body.