EP3241477A1

EP3241477A1 - Self-moving ground treatment device

Info

Publication number: EP3241477A1
Application number: EP15875253.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Shoumu Wang
Original assignee: Ecovacs Robotics Suzhou Co Ltd
Current assignee: Ecovacs Robotics Suzhou Co Ltd
Priority date: 2014-12-31
Filing date: 2015-12-30
Publication date: 2017-11-08
Also published as: EP3241477A4; US20170367552A1; CN105796015A; WO2016107577A1

Abstract

A self-moving floor treatment device (A) comprises a machine body base (100) and a water tank (200). A cleaning cloth (210) is attached onto the bottom of the water tank (200), and the water tank (200) is connected to the bottom surface of the machine body base (100) in a manner of floating up and down. By mounting the water tank (200) on the machine body base (100) in a floating manner to leave a certain gap therebetween, the water tank (200) and the cleaning cloth (210) can float up and down within a certain range of space. Because the force that actually acts on the floor is just the gravity of the water tank (200) and the cleaning cloth (210) themselves and does not comprise the gravity of the machine, compared with a common product, the friction force between the cleaning cloth (210) and the floor is reduced, the phenomenon that the machine slips on the floor with water can be effectively avoided, the floor cleaning efficiency is improved and the obstacle crossing ability of the machine with the water tank (200) is improved.

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a self-moving floor treatment device, which belongs to the technical field of the manufacture of small household electric appliances.

Background art

Currently, the automatic floor-wiping structure of the intelligent vacuum cleaner on the market is configured by directly fixing a cleaning cloth at the bottom of the machine, or attaching the cleaning cloth on a bottom surface of a water tank and then fixing the water tank at the bottom of the machine so as to clean the floor with water. However, when the water tank is used together with the cleaning cloth, since the cleaning cloth is completely wetted (the water inside the water tank gradually penetrates into the cleaning cloth), the friction coefficient between the cleaning cloth and the floor may increase, and the weight of a part of the machine body is applied to the cleaning cloth, resulting in an excessive friction resistance between the machine and the floor, such that the machine may slip on a watery floor and thus cannot perform effective cleaning, thereby seriously affecting the work efficiency of the intelligent vacuum cleaner. Further, when the intelligent vacuum cleaner climbs up, one end of the water tank, which is away from the drive wheel, may easily bear against the floor, making the robot unable to walk.

Summary of the Invention

To overcome the deficiencies in the prior art, present invention aims to provide a self-moving floor treatment device, in which a water tank is mounted on a machine body base in a floating manner so as to leave a certain gap therebetween, and the water tank and the cleaning cloth may float up and down within a certain range of space, so that the friction force between the cleaning cloth and the floor is reduced; the machine is effectively prevented from slipping on the watery floor; the floor cleaning efficiency is improved; and the obstacle crossing ability of the machine with the water tank is improved.
The technical objective of the present invention is realized through the following technical solutions:
A self-moving floor treatment device comprises a machine body base and a water tank, a bottom of the water tank is attached with a cleaning cloth, and the water tank is connected to a bottom surface of the machine body base in a manner of floating up and down.
Specifically, a floating gap between a top surface of the water tank and the bottom surface of the machine body base has a size of 0.5-10 mm.
In working condition, the cleaning cloth is pressed against the floor by the gravity of the water tank and the cleaning cloth themselves.
More specifically, the machine body base or the water tank is provided with a guide pillar, and the water tank or the machine body base is provided with a guide hole correspondingly, which is fitted around the guide pillar and moves up and down along the guide pillar. The contact surfaces of the guide pillar and the guide hole are respectively provided with a rib and a groove so as to facilitate positioning.
Further, an elastic member is provided between the machine body base and the water tank, and the two ends of the elastic member are positioned on the machine body base and the water tank, respectively. The elastic member is a leaf spring or a spring.
In order to reduce the number of times of cleaning and replacing the cleaning cloth, the outside of the cleaning cloth is further covered with a disposable cleaning cloth; and the disposable cleaning cloth covers the peripheral surface of the water tank and the edges thereof are turned over to the inner side of the water tank so as to be fixed.
In conclusion, the present invention provides a self-moving floor treatment device, wherein, after attaching the cleaning cloth to the bottom surface of the water tank, the water tank is mounted on the machine body base in a floating manner so as to leave a certain gap therebetween. The water tank and the cleaning cloth may float up and down within a certain range of space. As to the cleaning cloth, the force actually acted on the floor is the gravity of the water tank and the cleaning cloth themselves and does not comprise the gravity of the machine. Therefore, compared with a common product, the friction force between the cleaning cloth and the floor is reduced; the machine is effectively prevented from slipping on the watery floor; the floor cleaning efficiency is improved; and the obstacle crossing ability of the machine with the water tank is improved.
The technical solutions of the present invention now will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

Description of attached drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram of the overall structure of the self-moving floor treatment device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the self-moving floor treatment device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the self-moving floor treatment device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

First embodiment

Fig. 1 is a diagram of the overall structure of the self-moving floor treatment device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the self-moving floor treatment device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the self-moving floor treatment device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figs. 1-3, the present invention provides a self-moving floor treatment device A comprising a machine body base 100 and a water tank 200. The bottom of the water tank 200 is attached with a cleaning cloth 210, and the water tank 200 is connected to the bottom surface of the machine body base 100 in a manner of floating up and down. In order to guarantee that the water tank 200 is able to float to a certain extent relative to the machine body base 100 and such floating does not obstruct the self-moving floor treatment device from walking, the size of the floating gap should meet a certain requirement, which generally may be 0.5-10 mm. Different physical structures may be used to enable the water tank 200 to float up and down relative to the machine body base 100. For example, the machine body base or the water tank is provided with a guide pillar, and the water tank or the machine body base is provided with a guide hole correspondingly, which is fitted around the guide pillar and moves up and down along the guide pillar. As shown in Fig. 3, in the present embodiment, such physical structure is configured by a guide pillar 201 provided on the water tank 200 and a guide hole 111 (as shown in Fig. 1) correspondingly provided on the machine body base 100. For the purpose of effective positioning, the contact surfaces of the guide pillar and the guide hole may further be respectively provided with a rib 202 and a groove (not shown) for positioning. Further, in order to reduce the number of times of cleaning and replacing the cleaning cloth 210, the outside of the cleaning cloth 210 is also covered with a disposable cleaning cloth 220. Specifically, the structure is configured by making the disposable cleaning cloth 220 cover the peripheral surface of the water tank 200, and turning over the edges of the disposable cleaning cloth 220 to the inner side of the water tank 200 so as to be fixed. In order to be able to achieve effective positioning and easy replacement, the edges of the disposable cleaning cloth 220 can be used together with a rubber band or an elastic band, and such effect can also be achieved by a nylon velcro provided on the edges the disposable cleaning cloth and back of the water tank correspondingly.
As shown in Figs. 1-3, in the present embodiment, since the water tank 200 is mounted on the machine body base 100 in a floating manner so as to leave a certain gap therebetween, during the operation of the self-moving floor treatment device A, the water tank 200 and the cleaning cloth 210 may float within a certain range of space under the gravity of the water tank 200 and the cleaning cloth 210 themselves. That is, they may float in a direction vertical to the floor. At this point, the cleaning cloth 200 is in contact with the floor, and the force actually acted on the floor is just the gravity of the water tank and the cleaning cloth themselves and does not comprise the gravity of the machine body of the self-moving floor treatment device. Thus, compared with a common product, the friction force between the cleaning cloth and the floor is reduced; the machine is effectively prevented from slipping on the watery floor; and the floor cleaning efficiency is improved. In addition, when the self-moving floor treatment device climbs up, since the water tank may float relative to the machine body base, one end of the water tank is less likely to bear against the machine body base and to be stuck, which significantly enhances the climbing ability of the self-moving floor treatment device.

Second embodiment

The present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that an elastic member is further provided between the water tank 200 and the machine body base 100. The two ends of the elastic member are positioned on the machine body base 100 and the water tank 200, respectively, and under the elastic support by the elastic member, a floating gap is left between the bottom surface of the machine body base and the outer top surface of the water tank. The elastic member may be a leaf spring or a spring based on needs. Obviously, persons skilled in the art may also select other proper structure according to the actual needs of a specific structure. For example, the elastic member is fitted around the guide pillar so as to achieve the elastic connection between the machine body base and the water tank.
Similar to the principal of the first embodiment, the elastic member adopted in the present embodiment enables that, during the movement of the self-moving floor treatment device A, the force actually acted on the floor is the gravity of the water tank and the cleaning cloth themselves, and the pressure between the cleaning cloth and the floor may be further slightly adjusted by the elastic force of the elastic member. Therefore, with the use of the self-moving floor treatment device, the friction force between the cleaning cloth and the floor may be maintained in an optimal range, which effectively prevents the slipping phenomenon from occurring and improves the floor cleaning efficiency.
The other contents of the present embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, the description of which will be omitted here.
In conclusion, the present invention provides a self-moving floor treatment device, wherein, after attaching the cleaning cloth to the bottom surface of the water tank, the water tank is mounted on the machine body base in a floating manner so as to leave a certain gap therebetween. The water tank and the cleaning cloth may float up and down within a certain range of space. As to the cleaning cloth, the force actually acted on the floor is just the gravity of the water tank and the cleaning cloth themselves and does not comprise the gravity of the machine. Compared with a common product, the friction force between the cleaning cloth and the floor is reduced; the machine is effectively prevented from slipping on the watery floor; the floor cleaning efficiency is improved; and the obstacle crossing ability of the machine with the water tank is improved.

Claims

A self-moving floor treatment device comprising a machine body base (100) and a water tank (200), a bottom of the water tank being attached with a cleaning cloth (210), wherein the water tank (200) is connected to a bottom surface of the machine body base (100) in a manner of floating up and down.
A self-moving floor treatment device of claim 1, wherein a floating gap between a top surface of the water tank (200) and the bottom surface of the machine body base (100) has a size of 0.5-10 mm.
A self-moving floor treatment device of claim 1 or 2, wherein, in working condition, the cleaning cloth (210) is pressed against the floor by the gravity of the water tank (200) and the cleaning cloth (210) themselves.
A self-moving floor treatment device of claim 2, wherein, the machine body base (100) or the water tank (200) is provided with a guide pillar (201), and the water tank or the machine body base is provided with a guide hole (111) correspondingly, which is fitted around the guide pillar and moves up and down along the guide pillar.
A self-moving floor treatment device of claim 4, wherein, the contact surfaces of the guide pillar (201) and the guide hole (111) are respectively provided with a rib (202) and a groove for positioning.
A self-moving floor treatment device of claim 1 or 2, wherein, an elastic member is provided between the machine body base (100) and the water tank (200), and the two ends of the elastic member are positioned on the machine body base and the water tank, respectively.
A self-moving floor treatment device of claim 6, wherein, the elastic member is a leaf spring or a spring.
A self-moving floor treatment device of claim 1 or 2, wherein, the outside of the cleaning cloth (210) is further covered with a disposable cleaning cloth (220); and the disposable cleaning cloth (220) covers the peripheral surface of the water tank (200) and the edges thereof are turned over to the inner side of the water tank so as to be fixed.