Modular wall climbing robot with transition capability

A suction module for a mobile robot comprising:

• a support frame defining a vacuum chamber;
• and
• a vacuum unit supported on said support frame and communicating with said vacuum chamber, said vacuum unit including a rotating impeller and an exhaust cowling surrounding said impeller, wherein said impeller has an axis of rotation and is adapted to draw air from said vacuum chamber into said impeller in a direction generally parallel to said impeller axis of rotation, and is further adapted to discharge said drawn air from said impeller in a direction substantially perpendicular to said impeller axis of rotation, and wherein said exhaust cowling is adapted to redirect said discharged air from said impeller in a direction substantially parallel to said impeller axis of rotation, whereby a thrusting force is applied to said support frame in a direction opposite to the direction of said drawn air from said vacuum chamber,
• wherein said exhaust cowling comprises:
• a bowl shaped outer cowling having a bottom and a dome shaped wall extending upwardly from said bottom;
• and
• a bowl shaped inner cowling having a bottom and a dome shaped wall extending upwardly from said bottom, said inner cowling being seated in said outer cowling, whereby an annular chamber is formed between said upwardly extending walls of said inner and outer cowlings for redirecting said discharged air, and wherein said impeller is disposed between said bottoms of said inner and outer cowlings and is in communication with said annular chamber.

A suction module for a mobile robot comprising:

• a support frame defining a vacuum chamber;
• and
• a vacuum unit supported on said support frame and communicating with said vacuum chamber, said vacuum unit including a rotating impeller and an exhaust cowling surrounding said impeller, wherein said impeller has an axis of rotation and is adapted to draw air from said vacuum chamber into said impeller in a direction generally parallel to said impeller axis of rotation, and is further adapted to discharge said drawn air from said impeller in a direction substantially perpendicular to said impeller axis of rotation, and wherein said exhaust cowling is adapted to redirect said discharged air from said impeller in a direction substantially parallel to said impeller axis of rotation, whereby a thrusting force is applied to said support frame in a direction opposite to the direction of said drawn air from said vacuum chamber,
• wherein said support frame comprises:
• a support plate supporting said vacuum unit;
• and
• a flexible skirt extending downwardly from said support plate.

A suction module for a mobile robot comprising:

• a support frame defining a vacuum chamber;
• a vacuum unit supported on said support frame and communicating with said vacuum chamber, said vacuum unit including a rotating impeller and an exhaust cowling surrounding said impeller, wherein said impeller has an axis of rotation and is adapted to draw air from said vacuum chamber into said impeller in a direction generally parallel to said impeller axis of rotation, and is further adapted to discharge said drawn air from said impeller in a direction substantially perpendicular to said impeller axis of rotation, and wherein said exhaust cowling is adapted to redirect said discharged air from said impeller in a direction substantially parallel to said impeller axis of rotation, whereby a thrusting force is applied to said support frame in a direction opposite to the direction of said drawn air from said vacuum chamber;
• and
• a hinge element fixed to said support frame, said hinge element adapted to couple with a hinge element of a second suction module, whereby said suction modules can be angularly oriented with respect to each other.

A suction module for a mobile robot comprising:

• a support plate;
• a flexible skirt extending downwardly from said support plate, said flexible skirt and said support plate defining a vacuum chamber;
• a flexible joint connecting said support plate and said flexible skirt, said flexible joint permitting a relative displacement between said support plate and said flexible skirts, wherein said flexible skirt adapts its shape to enable the robot to maneuver over rough and uneven surfaces;
• and
• a vacuum unit supported on said support plate and communicating with said vacuum chamber, said vacuum unit including a rotating impeller adapted to rotate air within said vacuum chamber for drawing air out of said vacuum chamber.

A suction module for a mobile robot comprising:

• a support plate;
• a flexible skirt extending downwardly from said support plate, said flexible skirt and said support plate defining a vacuum chamber;
• a flexible joint connecting said support plate and said flexible skirt, said flexible joint permitting a relative displacement between said support plate and said flexible skirt;
• and
• a vacuum unit supported on said support plate and communicating with said vacuum chamber for drawing air out of said vacuum chamber, wherein said vacuum unit includes a rotating impeller and an exhaust cowling surrounding said impeller, wherein said impeller has an axis of rotation and is adapted to draw air from said vacuum chamber into said impeller in a direction generally parallel to said impeller axis of rotation, and is further adapted to discharge said drawn air from said impeller in a direction substantially perpendicular to said impeller axis of rotation, and wherein said exhaust cowling is adapted to redirect said discharged air from said impeller in a direction substantially parallel to said impeller axis of rotation, whereby a thrusting force is applied to said support frame in a direction opposite of the direction of said drawn air from said vacuum chamber,
• wherein said exhaust cowling comprises:
• a bowl shaped outer cowling having a bottom and a dome shaped wall extending upwardly from said bottom;
• and
• a bowl shaped inner cowling having a bottom and a dome shaped wall extending upwardly from said bottom, said inner cowling being seated in said outer cowling, whereby an annular chamber is formed between said upwardly extending walls of said inner and outer cowlings for redirecting said discharged air and wherein said impeller is disposed between said bottoms of said inner and outer cowlings and is in communication with said annular chamber.

A suction module for a mobile robot comprising:

• a support plate;
• a flexible skirt extending downwardly from said support plate, said flexible skirt and said support plate defining a vacuum chamber;
• a flexible joint connecting said support plate and said flexible skirt, said flexible joint permitting a relative displacement between said support plate and said flexible skirt;
• a vacuum unit supported on said support plate and communicating with said vacuum chamber for drawing air out of said vacuum chamber;
• and
• a hinge element fixed to said support frame, said hinge element adapted to couple with a hinge element of a second suction module, whereby said suction modules can be angularly oriented with respect to each other.