Removing debris from cleaning robots

摘要

A cleaning robot system including a robot and a robot maintenance station. The robot includes a robot body, a drive system, a cleaning assembly, and a cleaning bin carried by the robot body and configured to receive debris agitated by the cleaning assembly. The robot maintenance station includes a station housing configured to receive the robot for maintenance. The station housing has an evacuation passageway exposed to a top portion of the received robot. The robot maintenance station also includes an air mover in pneumatic communication with the evacuation passageway and a collection bin carried by the station housing and in pneumatic communication with the evacuation passageway. The station housing and the robot body fluidly connect the evacuation passageway to the cleaning bin of the received robot. The air mover evacuates debris held in the robot cleaning bin to the collection bin through the evacuation passageway.

主权项

1. A robotic cleaner maintenance station, comprising:
a station housing and a platform configured to support a robotic cleaner during servicing, the station housing defining an evacuation passageway exposed to the robotic cleaner, for evacuating debris from the robotic cleaner during servicing; a collection bin removably attached to the station housing, the collection bin being in pneumatic communication with the evacuation passageway and configured to be disengaged from the station housing in a vertical direction relative to the station housing; a filter arranged to filter air passing from the collection bin to outside the maintenance station; and an air mover configured to draw air from the evacuation passageway and into the collection bin to evacuate a robotic cleaner supported on the platform, wherein the air mover comprises a bagless cyclonic vacuum configured to divert debris from an incoming flow using centripetal acceleration of the debris.