ES2888173A1 - Robot surface cleaner with disinfection system (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Surface cleaning robot with a disinfection system, which is an autonomous cleaning robot that includes a battery, servo motors that drive drive wheels with which the robot moves, gear wheels that can drive or not drive rollers which deposit the waste in a drawer or bin; an ozone gas generator with an electrical power source, a water recirculation system driven by a pump; the recirculation of the water allows the ozone gas to be sucked in by the action of a Venturi and to be stored and ozonized in a tank; a sensor that measures the concentration of ozone gas, a laser sensor for navigation of the robot and another passive infrared sensor that detects heat, all in connection with an electronic control module comprising wireless communication means; an electrovalve to open or close the water recirculation conduit and that will allow the ozonated water to pass to some nebulizer nozzles, which will eject the ozonated and nebulized water into a peripheral internal conduit; and that by the air current exerted by the turbine, the ozonated water will be expelled in micro drops through some upper directional grids. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Surface cleaning robot with disinfection system

Object of the invention

The invention consists of a cleaning robot with autonomous movement, which has a built-in system to generate ozone gas and disinfect all the spaces it passes through as it passes.

The field of application of the invention is included within the sector of the manufacture and commercialization of hygienic and disinfectant devices, and specifically falls within autonomous cleaning robots, including a disinfection system based on ozonized and nebulized water that allows also eliminate agents potentially harmful to health.

Background of the invention

In the current market, different types of autonomous cleaning robots are known. Compared to the conventional cleaning of the floors of a house or other space carried out manually with means such as brushes, brooms or mops, or with devices such as vacuum cleaners, robots solve the problem of cleaning said surface autonomously.

As is known, the manufacturers of this type of robots are concerned with maximizing the efficiency of the cleaning head, increasing the volume of the waste tank, minimizing the overall size of the robotic robot or the development of guidance methods that provide improvements in the performance or cleaning power, and preventing debris from the surface to be cleaned from interrupting or degrading the performance of the robot, or from breaking any of its mechanisms.

On the other hand, the problem of having to disinfect various surfaces from viruses, germs or any other element potentially harmful to health is known. Currently, to disinfect these surfaces, you have to resort to manual methods such as mops, mops or special textile elements to which disinfectant products are applied. This solves the problem of disinfecting these surfaces, but it has the drawbacks previously indicated.

Taking these aspects into account, in the current market it is not known that there is a robot with autonomous movement that incorporates a system to generate ozone gas with the peculiarity that ozone can be diffused dissolved in the air or on surfaces in micro drops of water and disinfect homes or businesses, thus solving, on the one hand, the problem of manual cleaning and, on the other hand, solving the fact that this disinfection can be carried out by an autonomous means. In addition, the advantage of the present invention over other known robots is that it not only cleans, but also disinfects particles in the air when ozone is dissolved in this medium and on surfaces where pathogens are dissolved inside a liquid, since ozone is dissolved inside the water molecule, contact with pathogens is direct in the same medium and that with known robots it is not possible to eliminate, it does not need the presence of specialized personnel to disinfect with ozone, since This gas dissolved in the air in high concentrations is dangerous for human or animal health and has the advantage of being nebulized in water droplets, its concentration in the air is much lower and its effectiveness is greater. Therefore, the robot object of the present invention has the capacity to disinfect all environments with ozone gas dissolved in water in high concentration without the presence of personnel who apply said gas.

Going into the possible problems derived from a public health problem, it is known that viruses or pathogens can cause many spaces of shops, industry or homes to want to regularly disinfect themselves from any possibility of contagion. Continuing with the previous argument, no system is known that has been able to clean and disinfect these environments autonomously without the physical presence of personnel and safely. There are only robots that emit ozone into the environment, but do not clean its surface.

In addition, the present invention provides economic savings in contracting authorized companies for ozonized water disinfection that currently exist, since on the one hand it allows cleaning and on the other it allows disinfection.

Description of the invention

The present invention refers to a robot with autonomous movement, which incorporates a system to generate ozone gas and disinfect all the spaces where it passes as it passes.

Said robot incorporates two sensors, one measures the concentration of ozone in the water tank with a Redox controller and another sensor of the amount of ozone gas that the robot has emitted into the environment, as well as the amount of residual ozone where it has traveled.

The robot also incorporates a laser sensor that calculates the volume of the spaces to be sterilized and therefore calculates the amount of ozone to be generated, and another passive infrared sensor that detects movement by heat and is capable of notify us if there are people or animals in the place where it is going to disinfect, being able to emit alarms or sounds of danger and stopping the generation of ozone if necessary.

The robot of the present invention can have an electronic management module, which allows, through a mobile application, to inform users of the amount of ozone it generates and, most importantly, of the residual ozone in space and of the This form will authorize entry if the ozone concentration is acceptable. This is not possible to obtain with any other known robot in the sector, and allows, after disinfection, a person to enter the disinfected area with all the guarantees for their health.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the robot with autonomous movement comprises some servomotors, one of which, in addition to giving rotation and movement to one of the wheels of the robot, has a toothed wheel driven on its axis that enables the rotation of other toothed wheels. , to give movement to the cleaning rollers of the robot. Said rollers can be actuated by the movement of another interposed toothed wheel, which may be actuated if necessary by a solenoid valve and a spring. Therefore, to provide a solution to the problems of autonomous movement, the robot comprises servo motors connected to each of its two drive wheels, and the movement of this robot is guided by a laser sensor, which measures the rooms and places the robot on a three-dimensional plane.

Additionally, the robot comprises an ozone gas generator or lamp with its transformer, a fan or turbine to displace the ozonized and nebulized water or perform the function of sucking up the waste and an air outlet duct for the correct operation of the system. An internal water recirculation circuit caused by a pressure pump, a Venturi for ozone suction, a water tank, an electrovalve that allows the ozonated water to be diverted and several nebulizer nozzle devices, which allow the correct emission of the ozone. Disinfectant ozonated water.

In addition, as described above, the robot comprises sensors that periodically indicate the concentration of ozone supplied in the water and the residual ozone that has remained after carrying out the disinfection in the air.

The robot includes a power supply or battery that gives it the necessary energy for the time necessary to carry out the disinfection.

In addition, the robot also incorporates as a novelty a compartment with two internal and independent cavities that in turn act as an activated carbon filter to eliminate residual ozone before being discarded outside and a dehumidifier with silica gel for the entrance of the air to the ozone lamp.

Another characteristic of the present invention is that the robot uses an air channel that runs through the entire periphery of the robot and that is caused by the same turbine that performs the suction functions, which allows the ozonized and nebulized water to be distributed under pressure. along the entire contour and upwards through directional openings, without the need to install a vertical turret that would prevent the robot from moving under objects or furniture, as its normal function would be, by not dispensing with that element.

In an embodiment of the present invention, one of the servomotors that gives movement to the scroll wheel has a toothed wheel on the same axis. Next, and parallel to said toothed wheel, there is another toothed wheel with a spring under tension and which, by activating a solenoid valve, will be able to move the toothed wheel laterally to activate or not other toothed gears which, in turn, serve drive to cleaning rollers. In this way, the robot, in addition to disinfecting with ozonated water, will be able to sweep, vacuum or clean the surfaces it passes through and deposit the waste in a drawer or deposit, which is removable.

Our robot, in another embodiment of the present invention, can also disperse the ozonized water by means of several directional nebulizer nozzles connected in series around the periphery of the robot.

It should be noted that, throughout the description and claims, the term "comprise" and its variants are not intended to exclude other technical characteristics or additional elements.

Brief description of the drawings

To complete the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of it, where the following has been represented for illustrative and non-limiting purposes:

In Figure 1, you can see an embodiment of the surface cleaning and sterilizing robot with ozonized water object of the present invention, where a perspective view of the assembly of the external casing of the robot with a sensor that measures the concentration of residual ozone in the air (6), a laser sensor (7) that provides the robot with the necessary navigation for its movement and a third passive infrared sensor (17), which allows movement to be detected by heat and is capable of warning us if there is people or animals in the place where you are going to disinfect; openings or slots for the exit of the nebulized water with ozone (16), a cover of the internal water tank (20) and the also internal compartments (19) to dry the air and (18) to destroy the residual gaseous ozone, in a double compartment filter.

Figures 2 and 3 show the lower part and internal constitution of the robot object of the present invention, where this robot comprises a lamp or ozone gas generator (1); two servomotors (2a and 2b) to move the robot assembly; a battery (3) to provide electricity to the system; driving wheels (4a and 4b) driven by the servomotors, and a third free driving wheel (not shown); a gear (11a) driven to the main axis of the servomotor (2b), a solenoid valve (10) for driving the movement of a secondary gear (11b) located on an axis parallel to the axis of the servomotor (2b); a spring (14) that holds the gear (11b) in tension; at least two surface cleaning rollers (8a and 8b) and tertiary toothed wheels (11c and 11d) which drive or not, the movement of the cleaning rollers and which are in contact with the secondary toothed wheel (11b) ; an energy transformer or electrical power supply (9) that feeds the ozone gas generator (1), this electrical power source being independent of the battery that feeds the servomotors; a drawer or tank (12) where the rollers deposit the waste and impurities and where this tank (12) can be removable.

Figures 4, 5 and 6 show the upper part and internal constitution of the robot object of the present invention, where this robot comprises a water tank (21), a pump (26) to recirculate the water through a closed circuit and sealing (28a and 28b), a Venturi effect device (27) to dilute the ozone in the water, as well as a solenoid valve (5) to close or open the water recirculation circuit or that of the nebulizer nozzles (25a and 25b), we will also find a turbine (24) and an air duct (22) through which the ozonized and nebulized water will flow until it is expelled to the outside.

Also in Figures 7, 8 and 9 we find a double compartment filter (13) where we can see a conduit (29b) that transports the air to the ozone lamp (1) and another conduit (29a) to evacuate the residual ozone gas that It comes from the water tank.

Therefore, taking into account these figures, it can be indicated that the present invention consists of an autonomous cleaning robot with driving wheels (4a, 4b) and a free driving wheel (4c) that moves it, and a plurality of rollers ( 8a, 8b) housed inside a casing that cleans the surface of impurities, and which has the particularity of comprising:

an ozone gas generator (1), in connection with an electrical power source (9); generator that allows to disinfect the area of action of the robot and eliminate viruses, germs or any other germ potentially harmful to health,

a sensor that measures the concentration of ozone gas (6) and a robot navigation laser sensor (7) and a third passive infrared sensor (17) all in connection with an electronic control module comprising wireless communication means; elements that allow autonomous guidance of the robot, and that allow remote control of the concentration and situation of the ozone in the robot's area of action, and, therefore, avoids the risk of exposure of a user to this gas;

a double performance filter (13) comprising a compartment (19) inside which there are silica balls to remove moisture from the air and that through the duct (29b) will send the air to the ozone gas generator; another compartment (18) inside which is activated carbon where the residual ozone that was liberalized and accumulated from the tank (21) will be neutralized, through the conduit (29a), before discharging it into the environment,

some servomotors (2a, 2b) that drive the two drive wheels (4a, 4b), and the rollers (8a, 8b), which deposit the waste in a drawer or tank (12), these servomotors being in connection with a battery (3), and this battery being independent of the electrical power supply of the ozone gas generator; servomotors that allow having a mechanism independent of the ozone generation mechanism and that simultaneously allow the movement of both the wheels and the cleaning rollers through a set of toothed wheels (11a, 11b, 11c, 11d), which can be engaged or not by the solenoid valve (10) simplifying the internal structure of the robot and allowing both the disinfection system and the wheel and roller movement system to be housed within the casing,

a pump (26) and through the water recirculation conduit (28a and 28b), the ozone gas will be sucked and incorporated into the water by the effect of a Venturi (27) and from there to the tank (21); and once the water has been ozonated, the solenoid valve (30) will close the water recirculation circuit described above, causing the water pump to now only allow the passage of the already ozonated water to the nebulizer nozzles (25); The ozonated water will be nebulized inside the conduit (22), whose task will be to distribute the ozonated and nebulized water throughout the contour or periphery of the robot, until it is expelled to the outside, through the upper directional grilles (16), for the pressure exerted by the turbine (24).

In Figures 1, 2 and 3 the robot assembly can be seen from its lower part, highlighting that the rollers (8a and 8b) allow the cleaning of the surface, and where it can be seen that the robot has two drive wheels (4a and 4b) driven by the servomotors, and a third free drive wheel (4c) that allows the movement and stability of the assembly. In this sense, the guidance of the movement of this robot is provided by a laser sensor, which cubes the rooms and places the robot in a three-dimensional plane, and through the wireless communication means of the electronic management module, it is possible, to Through a mobile application, inform users of the amount of ozone generated and residual ozone in space, so that a user can be notified if the concentration of ozone is acceptable and can be entered without risk for your health.

In Figure 10, it can be seen in detail (sectional view), how the water mist caused by the nozzle (25a) is carried out inside the conduit (22) and thus allows the robot's action area to be disinfected and viruses to be eliminated. germs or any other substance potentially harmful to health, allowing both the disinfection system and the wheel and roller movement system to be housed inside the casing.

In Figure 11 you can see in perspective, the location of the misting nozzle (25b) in the lower part of the robot to moisten and disinfect the floor with ozonated and misted water.

Also, our robot in another embodiment of the present invention, can disperse the ozonated water by means of several directional nebulizer nozzles connected in series around the periphery of the robot, as can be seen in figures 12 and 13 without the need for the turbine and duct.

Claims (1)

1. SURFACE CLEANING ROBOT WITH DISINFECTION SYSTEM, which is an autonomous cleaning robot that moves with drive wheels (4a, 4b) and a free drive wheel (4c), and comprises a plurality of rollers (8a, 8b) housed inside a casing that cleans the surface of residues and impurities, which is characterized by comprising: an ozone gas generator (1), in connection with an electrical power source (9); comprising a water pump (26) and a water recirculation conduit (28a and 28b), a Venturi (27) to suck the ozone gas and dilute it in the water and a tank (21) where to store the ozonated water and a solenoid valve (30) to open or close the water recirculation circuit; some nebulizer nozzles (25); that the ozonized and nebulized water will be ejected into a conduit (22), and that due to the air current exerted by the turbine (24), the ozonated water will be expelled through upper directional grilles (16); a sensor that measures the concentration of ozone gas (6), a robot navigation laser sensor (7) and a third passive infrared sensor (17), all in connection with an electronic control module comprising wireless communication means; Y some servomotors (2a, 2b) that drive the two drive wheels (4a, 4b) and drive the rollers (8a, 8b), rollers that deposit the waste in a drawer or tank (12), these servomotors being in connection with a battery (3), and this battery being independent of the electrical power supply of the ozone gas generator. 2. ROBOT CLEANER OF SURFACES WITH DISINFECTION SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that one of the servomotors (2b), drives a primary toothed wheel (11a), which in turn drives a secondary wheel (11b) which is in contact with a solenoid valve (10) and which drives tertiary toothed wheels (11c, 11d) that move the rollers (8a, 8b). 3. SURFACES CLEANING ROBOT WITH DISINFECTION SYSTEM, according to claim 2, characterized in that it has a spring (14) that keeps the secondary toothed wheel (11b) in tension. 4. SURFACES CLEANING ROBOT WITH DISINFECTION SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized by a double performance filter (13) comprising a compartment (19) inside which are silica balls to remove moisture from the air; and another compartment (18) inside which there is activated carbon where the residual ozone will be neutralized. 5. SURFACES CLEANING ROBOT WITH DISINFECTION SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized by having several directional spray nozzles (25) connected in series around the periphery of the robot.