US-12616346-B2 - Robotic cleaner

Abstract

A robotic cleaner may include one or more driven wheels, at least one environmental sensor, and a mop module. The mop module may include a tank having a tank inlet and a tank outlet, a pad coupled at a bottom side of the tank, the pad configured to contact a surface to be cleaned and to receive liquid from the tank outlet, and a latch configured to transition between a latched position, a release position, and a refill position. When in the latched position and in the release position, at least a portion of the latch may extend over the tank inlet and, when in the refill position, the latch may be displaced from the tank inlet, exposing the tank inlet.

Inventors

• Jun Feng DING
• Evan P. JASPER
• Yi hui ZHANG
• Hamish THOMPSON
• Max DAVIDOWITZ
• Simon HUGHES
• Jianjun Ge
• Jian Xiang

Assignees

• SHARKNINJA OPERATING LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20220817

Claims (19)

1. 1 . A robotic cleaner comprising: one or more driven wheels; at least one environmental sensor; and a mop module, the mop module including: a tank having a tank inlet and a tank outlet; a pad coupled at a bottom side of the tank, the pad configured to contact a surface to be cleaned and to receive liquid from the tank outlet; and a latch configured to removably couple the mop module to the robotic cleaner and to selectively cover the tank inlet, the latch configured to transition between a latched position, a release position, and a refill position, when in the latched position and in the release position, at least a portion of the latch extends over the tank inlet; when in the refill position, the latch is displaced from the tank inlet, exposing the tank inlet; when in the latched position, separation of the mop module from the robotic cleaner is prevented; and when in the release position, the mop module is separable from the robotic cleaner.
2. 2 . The robotic cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the latch is pivotally coupled to the tank.
3. 3 . The robotic cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the latch includes a plug, the plug being configured to be received within the tank inlet when the latch is in the latched position and the release position and removed from the tank inlet when the latch is in the refill position.
4. 4 . The robotic cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the latch includes a lever body, a plug carrier, and a plug coupled to the plug carrier.
5. 5 . The robotic cleaner of claim 4 , wherein the lever body is pivotally coupled to the tank such that, when the latch transitions between the latched position, the release position, and the refill position, the lever body rotates about a rotation axis.
6. 6 . The robotic cleaner of claim 5 , wherein the plug carrier is coupled to the lever body such that the plug carrier rotates about the rotation axis with the lever body when the latch is transitioned to the refill position and such that the lever body rotates independently of the plug carrier when the latch transitions between the latched position and the release position.
7. 7 . The robotic cleaner of claim 4 , wherein the tank includes a tank retainer and the plug carrier includes a latch retainer, the tank retainer and the latch retainer configured to form a reversible snap fit connection when the latch is in the latched position and the release position.
8. 8 . The robotic cleaner of claim 7 , wherein the latch further includes a spring disposed between the lever body and the plug carrier.
9. 9 . The robotic cleaner of claim 8 , wherein the spring is a compression spring that is configured such that there is insubstantial movement between the lever body and the plug carrier when the reversible snap fit connection is formed.
10. 10 . The robotic cleaner of claim 9 , wherein the compression spring is configured to be compressed by a compression distance in a range of 1 millimeter (mm) to 4 mm.
11. 11 . A mop module comprising: a tank having a tank inlet and a tank outlet; a pad coupled at a bottom side of the tank, the pad configured to contact a surface to be cleaned and to receive liquid from the tank outlet; and a latch configured to transition between a latched position, a release position, and a refill position, the latch including a lever body, a plug carrier, and a plug coupled to the plug carrier, when in the latched position and in the release position, at least a portion of the latch extends over the tank inlet; and when in the refill position, the latch is displaced from the tank inlet, exposing the tank inlet.
12. 12 . The mop module of claim 11 , wherein the latch is pivotally coupled to the tank.
13. 13 . The mop module of claim 11 , wherein the plug is configured to be received within the tank inlet when the latch is in the latched position and the release position and removed from the tank inlet when the latch is in the refill position.
14. 14 . The mop module of claim 11 , wherein the lever body is pivotally coupled to the tank such that, when the latch transitions between the latched position, the release position, and the refill position, the lever body rotates about a rotation axis.
15. 15 . The mop module of claim 14 , wherein the plug carrier is coupled to the lever body such that the plug carrier rotates about the rotation axis with the lever body when the latch is transitioned to the refill position and such that the lever body rotates independently of the plug carrier when the latch transitions between the latched position and the release position.
16. 16 . The mop module of claim 11 , wherein the tank includes a tank retainer and the plug carrier includes a latch retainer, the tank retainer and the latch retainer configured to form a reversible snap fit connection when the latch is in the latched position and the release position.
17. 17 . The mop module of claim 16 , wherein the latch further includes a spring disposed between the lever body and the plug carrier.
18. 18 . The mop module of claim 17 , wherein the spring is a compression spring that is configured such that there is insubstantial movement between the lever body and the plug carrier when the reversible snap fit connection is formed.
19. 19 . The mop module of claim 18 , wherein the compression spring is configured to be compressed by a compression distance in a range of 1 millimeter (mm) to 4 mm.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure is generally related to robotic cleaners and more specifically related to components that are removably coupled to a robotic cleaner. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Robotic cleaners are configured to autonomously clean a surface (e.g., a floor). An example robotic cleaner is configured to carry out one or more cleaning behaviors while traversing the surface. The cleaning behaviors may include one or more of a wet cleaning behavior and/or a dry cleaning behavior. For example, the robotic cleaner may include a mop module (for a wet cleaning behavior) and a suction motor and dust cup (for a dry cleaning behavior). In this example, the mop module may be removably coupled to the robotic cleaner (e.g., such that the robotic cleaner may carry out a dry cleaning only behavior and/or for refilling of the mopping module). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other features and advantages will be better understood by reading the following detailed description, taken together with the drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 shows a schematic example of a robotic cleaner, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 shows a schematic example of a mop module, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 shows a perspective rear view of a robotic cleaner, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional perspective view of the robotic cleaner of FIG. 3 taken along the line I-I having a latch in a latched position, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional perspective view of the robotic cleaner of FIG. 3 taken along the line I-I having the latch in a release position, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 shows a perspective rear-view of a mop module of the robotic cleaner of FIG. 3 having the latch in a refill position, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 shows a perspective side-view of the mop module of the robotic cleaner of FIG. 3 having the latch in the refill, position, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the latch of the robotic cleaner of FIG. 3, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 shows a partial exploded view of the robotic cleaner of FIG. 3, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of an example of the mop module of the robotic cleaner of FIG. 3 that includes a biased plunger in a retracted position, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 shows a cross-sectional view of the example of the mop module of FIG. 3, wherein the biased plunger is in an extended position, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure is generally related to a mop module for a robotic cleaner. The mop module includes a tank configured to hold a liquid (e.g., water), a pad configured to contact a surface to be cleaned (e.g., a floor), and a latch configured to removably couple the mop module to the robotic cleaner. The tank defines at least one liquid inlet and at least one liquid outlet. Liquid is introduced to the tank through the liquid inlet. Liquid flowing through the liquid outlet is received by the pad. The latch is coupled to the tank proximate to the liquid inlet such that the latch extends over the liquid inlet when the mop module is coupled to the robotic cleaner. FIG. 1 shows a schematic example of a robotic cleaner 100. As shown, the robotic cleaner 100 includes one or more driven wheels 102, a mop module 104, and one or more environmental sensors 106 (e.g., localization sensors, obstacle sensors, and/or any other sensor). The one or more driven wheels 102 are configured to urge the robotic cleaner 100 along a surface to be cleaned 108 (e.g., a floor). The mop module 104 includes a mop pad 110 configured to contact and slide along the surface to be cleaned 108 to collect debris. As further shown, the robotic cleaner may further include a suction motor 112 fluidly coupled to a dust cup 114 and an agitator chamber 116. An agitator 118 (e.g., a brush roll) may extend within the agitator chamber 116 and be configured to rotate along a rotation axis that extends substantially parallel to the surface to be cleaned 108. The mop module 104 may be configured such that the mop pad 110 is agitated (e.g., rotated and/or linearly oscillated) as the robotic cleaner 100 traverses the surface to be cleaned 108. For example, the robotic cleaner 100 and/or the mop module 104 may include an agitation motor 120 configured to agitate the mop pad 110. FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional side view of a mop module 200, which may be an example of the mop module 104 of FIG. 1. The mop module 200 includes a tank 202 configured to hold a liquid (e.g., water), a pad 204 coupled to the tank 202 (e.g., at a bottom side of the tank 202), and a latch 206 configu