EP3512396B1 - Cleaning equipment for a brush roll of a suction robot and a process therefore - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates generally to a device for cleaning a rotating brush mounted on a suction robot or autonomous robot for cleaning floors.

Devices for cleaning a rotating brush, such as that disclosed in the document are known in the prior art. WO2014094869 (A1 ), with a cleaning finger which moves along the rotating brush to remove any waste (hair, animal hair, threads, etc.) that is tangled in it. In return, this system has the particular drawback of requiring user intervention, and the cleaning sequence requires a certain time. In addition, the system is complex with the cleaning finger which must move along the rotating brush.

The document KR 101 412 580 B1 discloses a device for cleaning a rotating brush of a floor suction robot according to the preamble of claim 1. WO 2013/060365 A1 and EP2253258 disclose other cleaning devices for rotary brushes of vacuum cleaners.

An aim of the present invention is to respond to the drawbacks of the documents of the prior art mentioned above and in particular, first of all, to provide a device for cleaning a rotary brush of a vacuum suction robot for floors, which is efficient, not very complex and which does not require human intervention to be used.

For this, a first aspect of the invention relates to a device for cleaning a rotary brush of a floor vacuuming robot, comprising a movable body arranged to come into contact with at least one outer surface of the rotary brush in order to removing tangled waste on the rotating brush, characterized in that the movable body comprises at least one cutting edge, arranged on the periphery of the movable body, and in that the movable body is movable in rotation about an axis, so that said at least one cutting edge rolls on said at least one outer surface of the rotating brush when the latter is in contact with the movable body and rotating to be cleaned. The device according to the present invention is not very complex, since the movable body simply rolls on the rotating brush to remove the hair or animal hair or even threads which are tangled around the rotating brush. The cutting edge can then cut, or cut, or deteriorate the waste when it passes between the cutting edge and the external surface, so that they are detached by themselves from the rotating brush. As the rotating brush is coupled to a motor of the suction robot, there is no need to motorize the mobile body, it is the rotating brush which itself drives the mobile body, which avoids any intervention by the operator. 'user. The automatically cut waste can then be vacuumed by the vacuum robot.

Advantageously, the movable body has a circular cross section, and said at least one cutting edge is arranged in a direction perpendicular to a radius of the circular section. In other words, said at least one cutting edge is transverse or substantially transverse to the axis of rotation of the movable body.

Advantageously, the movable body comprises at least one groove adjacent to said at least one cutting edge. Such a groove makes it possible to accommodate the scraping bristles of the rotating brush which would be entrained between the external surface and the mobile body. The scraping hairs are therefore not cut by the cutting edge.

Advantageously, said at least one cutting edge forms a thread. Such a net is advantageous, because during the rotation of the movable body, the point of contact between the cutting edge and the rotating brush (and its outer surface) moves along the axis to process the entire length of the brush. the rotating brush.

Advantageously, the thread has a pitch of 2.5 ± 0.5 mm, and / or a depth of 1.55 ± 0.2 mm.

Advantageously, the movable body has an elongated cylindrical shape.

Advantageously, the mobile body has a length at least equal to a length of the rotating brush, its axis of rotation is parallel to an axis of rotation of the rotating brush when the latter is in contact with the mobile body, and said at least one cutting edge is arranged all along the movable body.

Advantageously, the movable body is arranged to be driven freely in rotation by the rotary brush when the latter is in rotation and in contact with the movable body in order to be cleaned. The system advantageously uses the motor of the rotating brush.

If the cutting edge does not form a thread or a helix, it is possible to envisage a succession of circular cutting edges arranged one after the other along the movable body.

Advantageously, the cleaning device comprises a charging station of the suction robot, and the mobile body is integrated in the charging station. Such an implementation is advantageous, because cleaning can be done once the robot has docked at its charging station. There is no additional sub-assembly, the cleaning can be carried out independently after a suction session, without any particular operation for the user.

Advantageously, the weight of the robot can be used to apply a contact force between the rotating brush and the moving body. In particular, the docking of the suction robot on the charging station can cause partial lifting of the suction robot via the mobile body.

• un dispositif de nettoyage selon le premier aspect de l'invention,
• un robot d'aspiration des sols comprenant une brosse rotative,

la brosse rotative comprenant le long de son axe de rotation au moins une protubérance formant au moins une surface externe agencée pour entrer en contact avec le corps mobile.A second aspect of the invention relates to a soil suction device comprising:

• a cleaning device according to the first aspect of the invention,
• a floor vacuum robot comprising a rotating brush,

the rotating brush comprising along its axis of rotation at least one protuberance forming at least one outer surface arranged to come into contact with the movable body.

Advantageously, said at least one external surface is of helical shape. The contact between the movable body and the rotating brush is increased during a revolution around the axis of rotation.

Advantageously, the rotary brush comprises along its axis two protuberances forming two external surfaces, and two rows of scratching bristles, each arranged between two external surfaces.

Advantageously, the suction robot comprises suction means. The sectioned waste is directly sucked by the robot itself.

Advantageously, the mobile body is integrated into a charging station of the suction robot.

• accoster le robot d'aspiration à la station de charge,
• mettre en rotation la brosse rotative du robot d'aspiration.

A third aspect of the invention relates to a method of cleaning a suction apparatus, comprising the steps of:

• dock the vacuum cleaner to the charging station,
• rotate the rotary brush of the suction robot.

Advantageously, the rotating brush is rotated for a predetermined time, greater than or equal to 5 s. Such a duration of rotation makes it possible to ensure that the entire surface of the rotating brush has been cleaned by the movable body.

• la figure 1 représente une vue en perspective d'une station de charge d'un robot d'aspiration, comprenant un dispositif de nettoyage d'une brosse rotative du robot d'aspiration, selon l'invention ;
• la figure 2 représente un schéma de fonctionnement du dispositif de nettoyage de la figure 1, en train de nettoyer une brosse rotative d'un robot d'aspiration ;
• la figure 3 représente une brosse rotative agencée pour être nettoyée par le dispositif de la figure 1 ;
• la figure 4 représente en détail la brosse rotative en cours de nettoyage.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly on reading the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention given by way of non-limiting example and illustrated by the appended drawings, in which:

• the figure 1 shows a perspective view of a charging station of a suction robot, comprising a device for cleaning a rotating brush of the suction robot, according to the invention;
• the figure 2 shows an operating diagram of the cleaning device of the figure 1 , cleaning a rotating brush of a vacuum robot;
• the figure 3 shows a rotating brush arranged to be cleaned by the device of the figure 1 ;
• the figure 4 shows in detail the rotating brush being cleaned.

The figure 1 shows a charging station 20 arranged to accommodate a vacuum robot 30 for floors, visible figure 2 , or cleaning robot, or even autonomous robot. Indeed, following a completely autonomous cleaning of the floors, the suction robot 30 needs to recharge its battery, and a coupling is provided between the charging station 20 and the suction robot 30 to perform this recharging.

Typically, as shown figure 2 , the suction robot 30 comprises a suction slot 31 and a rotating brush 40 as shown figure 3 , which comprises scraping bristles 42. During the suction session for floors, hair, bristles or threads get tangled in the rotating brush 40, and the invention proposes to include a movable body 10 in the station of charge 20 of the figure 1 .

As one can see figure 1 , the movable body 10 has an elongated shape, comprises on its outer surface at least one cutting edge 11 (here the edge of a thread), and it is mounted in a pivot connection on the charging station 20.

The movable body 10 comprises at least one visible cutting edge 11 figure 4 (here a helical thread), or a plurality of cutting edges which are arranged to come into contact with external surfaces 41 of the rotating brush to remove this tangled hair, bristles or threads. As shown in the figure 2 , this operation is performed when the suction robot 30 is docked to the charging station 20, the movable body 10 coming opposite the rotating brush 40 and in contact with the external surfaces 41 formed by protuberances of the rotating brush, which have the function of support heel for the cutting edge 11. This operation therefore does not require no manual operation and may not even be noticed by the user.

When the suction robot 30 is docked to the charging station 20, it is possible to set the rotating brush 40 in rotation, to drive the mobile body 10 in rotation. Indeed, the latter is mounted in a free pivot connection on the charging station 20, so that the setting in rotation of the rotating brush 40 is sufficient to set it in rotation. In addition, part of the weight of the vacuum robot 30 is applied to the movable body 10 via the rotating brush 40, so that the cutting edge 11 will effectively cut, sever or tear off the tangled waste. , during its rolling on the rotating brush 40.

Indeed, during the rotation shown figure 2 , the movable body 10 rotates freely around its axis of rotation, and the cutting edge 11 will roll and / or rub on the outer surfaces 41, so that the tangled waste will be cut and can be sucked directly by the robot d suction, which includes suction means for this purpose.

The figure 3 shows in detail a rotating brush 40, which comprises two outer surfaces 41 and two rows of scraping bristles 42, which are arranged helically along the rotating brush 40. This arrangement enables the movable body 10 to be effectively driven in rotation.

The figure 4 shows in detail the rotating brush in interaction with the movable body 10, during cleaning. The movable body 10 is in contact with one of the outer surfaces 41, through its cutting edge 11 which is a thread, which is why we see the eccentric hatching on the movable body 10.

As the movable body 10 and the rotating brush 40 rotate, the point of contact of the cutting edge 11 with the outer surface 41 will travel along the latter, moving along the axial direction, so that all portions of the external surfaces 41 will undergo contact / friction / scraping of the cutting edge 11. For this, it is necessary maintain the rotation long enough, 5 s or 10 s for example if the rotating brush rotates at 6000 rpm, and the width of the external surfaces 41 represents 10% to 20% of the periphery of the rotating brush 40 seen according to the cut of the figure 4 .

In the same way as the cutting edge 11, a groove bottom edge 12 runs along the movable body 10, due to its helical shape.

In order not to damage the scraping bristles 42, the depth of the groove of the movable body 10 is sufficient to allow the scraping bristles 42 to pass between the movable body 10 and the rotating brush 40, without compromising the contact between these two components. Indeed, as shown by the left scratching hair of the figure 4 , the end thereof is between the bottom edge of the groove 12 and the external surface 41. For example, a groove depth of 1.55 mm ± 0.2 mm can be provided. As for the thread, the latter may have a pitch of 2.5 mm ± 0.5 mm.

Ideally, the cutting edge should be sharp, and it is conceivable to fabricate the movable body of steel, in order to provide good hardness and strength.

It will be understood that various modifications and / or improvements obvious to those skilled in the art can be made to the various embodiments of the invention described in the present description without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

Claims (15)

1. Device for cleaning a rotary brush (40) of a robotic floor vacuum cleaner (30), comprising a movable body (10), movable in rotation about an axis, and arranged to come into contact with at least one outer surface (41) of the rotary brush (40) in order to remove waste entangled with the rotary brush (40), characterised in that the movable body (10) comprises at least one cutting edge (11), arranged at the periphery of the movable body (10), such that said at least one cutting edge (11) runs over said at least one outer surface (41) of the rotary brush (40) when the latter is in contact with the movable body (10) and rotating in order to be cleaned.
2. Cleaning device according to the preceding claim, wherein the movable body (10) has a circular transversal cross-section, and wherein said at least one cutting edge (11) is arranged along a direction perpendicular to a radius of circular cross-section.
3. Cleaning device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the movable body (10) comprises at least one groove adjacent to said at least one cutting edge (11).
4. Cleaning device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one cutting edge (11) forms a net.
5. Cleaning device according to the preceding claim, wherein the net has a step of 2.5 ± 0.5mm, and/or a depth of 1.55 ± 0.2mm.
6. Cleaning device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the movable body (10) has an elongated cylindrical shape.
7. Cleaning device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the movable body (10) has a length at least equal to the length of the rotary brush (40), wherein its axis of rotation is parallel to an axis of rotation of the rotary brush (40) when the latter is in contact with the movable body (10), and wherein said at least one cutting edge (11) is arranged all along the movable body (10).
8. Cleaning device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the movable body (10) is arranged to be rotated freely by the rotary brush (40), when the latter is in rotation and in contact with the movable body (10) to be cleaned.
9. Cleaning device according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a station for charging (20) the robotic vacuum cleaner (30), and wherein the movable body (10) is integrated in the charging station (20).
10. Floor vacuum cleaner device, comprising:

    - a cleaning device according to one of the preceding claims,

    - a robotic floor vacuum cleaner (30) comprising a rotary brush (40),

    the rotary brush (40) comprising along its axis of rotation at least one projection forming at least one outer surface (41) arranged to come into contact with the movable body (10).
11. Floor vacuum cleaner device according to the preceding claim, wherein said at least one outer surface (41) is of helical shape.
12. Floor vacuum cleaner device according to one of claims 10 to 11, wherein the rotary brush (40) comprises along its axis, two projections forming two outer surfaces (41), and two rows of scraping bristles (42), each arranged between two outer surfaces (41).
13. Floor vacuum cleaner device according to one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the movable body (10) is integrated in a station for charging (20) the robotic vacuum cleaner (30).
14. Method for cleaning a vacuum cleaner device (30) according to the preceding claim, comprising steps consisting of:

    - docking the robotic vacuum cleaner (30) in the charging station (20),

    - rotating the rotary brush (40) of the robotic vacuum cleaner (30).
15. Cleaning method according to the preceding claim, wherein the rotary brush (40) is rotated for a predetermined time, greater than or equal to 5s.

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