Debris guard for a wheel assembly
AssigneeiRobot Corporation
InventorsNikolai Romanov, Michael Dooley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wheel assembly with a debris guard is disclosed, the debris guard being configured to prevent hair and thread from winding around an axle and interfering with the operation of the wheel. The debris guard, which is mounted between the wheel and the robot chassis, comprises a spool and a plurality of tines. The spool is positioned between the wheel and chassis to collect debris that would otherwise wind around the axle. In the preferred embodiment, the tines are arrayed in proximity to a gap between the debris guard and the hub in order to inhibit debris from migrating to the axle exposed between the guard and wheel. The debris guard is intended for a wide variety of wheeled devices.
Claims14
A wheel assembly for a mobile apparatus with a chassis component, the wheel assembly comprises:
- at least one wheel comprising a tread and a hub, wherein the hub is recessed with respect to the tread;
- an axle connecting the hub to the chassis component, the axle having a longitudinal axis;
- and
- a debris guard interposed between the wheel and the chassis component, wherein the debris guard comprises a spool and a plurality of tines.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.