Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Hwi Chan Jang

Dong Won Kim

Jun Hwa Lee

Jun Pyo Hong

Jae Man Joo

Woo Ram Chung

Jae Young Jung

Kyung Hwan Yoo

Hyun Soo Jung

Jeong Gon Song

Seung Il Han

Jang Youn Ko

Sam Jong Jeung

Sang Sik Yoon

Byoung In Lee

Won Min Lee

Du Hwan Hyun

Sahng Jin Lee

Sang Hwa Choi

Kang Nam Kim

Kyung-Hwan Yoo

A robot cleaner enables a wet cleaning, has a replaceable cleaning unit, and ensures a sufficient friction force for doing a wet cleaning of a floor. The robot cleaner includes a frame including a wheel for driving, a replaceable cleaning unit formed at a lower part of the frame to clean a bottom surface and disposed in front of the wheel, a tank disposed at an upper part of the wheel and configured to supply fluid to the cleaning unit, a pump configured to pump the fluid contained in the tank such that the fluid contained in the tank is supplied to the cleaning unit, a hose configured to extend to the pump and the upper part of the cleaning unit and through which the fluid pumped by the pump flows, and a bumper formed on a side of the frame.

Robot cleaner

The robot cleaner includes a main body configured to remove dust from a floor while traveling on the floor, the main body having a lateral rim defining the external appearance of a lateral surface of the robot cleaner, and at least one side brush assembly mounted to the main body to clean the corner of the floor. The side brush assembly includes a side arm pivotably coupled to the main body, the side arm moving between a first position where the side arm is inserted into the main body and a second position where the side arm protrudes outward from the lateral rim of the main body, a brush unit provided at the side arm to sweep the floor, and a rim cover coupled to the side arm to form a part of the lateral rim of the main body when the side arm is inserted into the main body.

A robot cleaner system is described including a docking station to form a docking area within a predetermined angle range of a front side thereof, to form docking guide areas which do not overlap each other on the left and right sides of the docking area, and to transmit a docking guide signal such that the docking guide areas are distinguished as a first docking guide area and a second docking guide area according to an arrival distance of the docking guide signal. The robot cleaner system also includes a robot cleaner to move to the docking area along a boundary between the first docking guide area and the second docking guide area when the docking guide signal is sensed and to move along the docking area so as to perform docking when reaching the docking area.

Robot cleaner, docking station, robot cleaner system including robot cleaner and docking station, and method of controlling robot cleaner

Disclosed herein are a robot cleaner having an improved travel pattern and a control method thereof. The robot cleaner performs cleaning using zigzag travel as a basic cleaning traveling manner, and then performs cleaning using random travel as a finishing cleaning traveling manner so as to clean areas skipped during the zigzag travel. The robot cleaner performs the zigzag travel while maintaining a designated interval with a travel route proceeding to a wall regardless of a direction proceeding to the wall, and employs an improved zigzag travel method to maintain a zigzag travel pattern, if the robot cleaner senses an obstacle during the zigzag travel.

Robot cleaner and control method thereof

A robot cleaner provided with a shutter to open or close an inlet of a dust box when the dust box is separated from a body of the robot cleaner. Another robot cleaner, which docks with an automatic exhaust station, is also disclosed, together with the automatic exhaust station. The latter robot cleaner includes a shutter to be automatically opened by air discharged from the automatic exhaust station in a docked state of the robot cleaner to exhaust dust from the dust box, in order to allow even heavy dust to be easily exhausted.

Robot cleaner, automatic exhaust station and robot cleaner system having the same

A dust inflow sensing unit and a robot cleaner having the same. The dust inflow sensing unit includes a light emitting element to emit a beam having a transmission region, a light receiving element having a reception region overlapping the transmission region of the light emitting element, and a guide member to restrict the reception region of the light receiving element to a designated range until the reception region reaches the light emitting element.

Dust inflow sensing unit and robot cleaner having the same

Provided is an autonomous cleaning device that is capable of embodying various travelling motions, improving an obstacle avoidance capability, and stably travelling, the autonomous cleaning device including: a case in which an accommodation part and a hole are formed; and a wheel assembly accommodated in the accommodation part, wherein the wheel assembly includes: one wheel, of which part is exposed to an outside through the hole; a first motor that drives and travels the wheel; and a second motor that rotates the wheel so as to change a travelling direction.

Autonomous cleaning device

A cleaning system includes a robot cleaner having an opening unit and a first dirt container funneled to the opening unit, and a maintenance station to which robot cleaner is docked to discharge dirt stored in the first dirt container. The maintenance station includes a first inlet hole configured to intake dirt from the first dirt container through the opening unit, a first outlet hole configured to blow air into the first dirt container, a circulating passage provided between the first inlet hole and the first outlet hole, a second dirt container disposed on the circulation passage to store dirt taken in from the robot cleaner, a draft apparatus having a draft fan and a fan motor to drive the draft fan to circulate air through the circulating passage, and a second outlet hole configured to discharge air inside the circulating passage of the maintenance station to an outside.

Cleaning system and maintenance station thereof

A robot cleaner to perform a cleaning process by changing a traveling pattern according to a cleaning start position and a method for controlling the same are disclosed. The robot cleaner recognizes a current position of the robot cleaner upon receiving the automatic cleaning command. If the automatic cleaning process starts from the charger, the robot cleaner performs the automatic cleaning process using a conventional cleaning method. Otherwise, if the automatic cleaning process starts from the outside of the charger, the robot cleaner changes a traveling pattern, performs the spot cleaning process and then selectively performs the automatic cleaning process.

Robot cleaner and method for controlling the same

A robot cleaning device includes a debris detecting unit. The robot cleaning device includes a body, a driving unit to enable the body to travel, a drum brush unit provided at the body, to sweep up debris, using a brush and a rotating drum, a debris box to store the debris swept up by the drum brush unit, a debris detecting unit to detect whether debris has been introduced into the debris box through the drum brush unit during a cleaning operation, and a controller to determine whether debris is introduced into the debris box and whether debris has been accumulated in the debris box in a predetermined amount, based on introduction or non-introduction of debris detected by the debris detecting unit.

Debris detecting unit and robot cleaning device having the same

A robot cleaner having an improved structure which executes a cleaning operation without stoppage of travelling of the robot cleaner due to obstacles present in a space to be cleaned, and a control method thereof. The control method of the robot cleaner which is provided with a main body, driving wheels driving the main body, and driving wheel assemblies, each of which includes each driving wheel, includes detecting displacement of each driving wheel with respect to a reference position by sensing a sensed body provided on each driving wheel assembly, judging whether or not the displacement is within a predetermined reference range, and changing a travelling path of the main body, upon judging that the displacement deviates from the reference range.

A method of controlling a mobile robot system is provided. The method includes at a mobile robot, transmitting a signal while traveling in a traveling region, at a beacon, receiving the signal transmitted from the mobile robot over 360 degrees and determining whether the mobile robot has approached the beacon, at the beacon, transmitting a response signal to the mobile robot if the mobile robot has approached the beacon, and at the mobile robot, performing avoidance navigation to prevent collision with the beacon when the mobile robot receives the response signal of the beacon.

Mobile robot system and method of controlling the same

An autonomous cleaner has an enhanced structure capable of conducting an efficient cleaning task according to the material quality or the condition of the floor surface of a cleaning space. The autonomous cleaner includes a body, a driving wheel to drive the body, a driving wheel assembly having the driving wheel, and a control unit. The control unit detects a displacement of the driving wheel corresponding to a reference position by sensing a sensor target, determines material quality or condition of a floor surface according to the displacement of the driving wheel, and controls the driving of the autonomous cleaner according to the determined material quality or the condition of the floor surface.

Autonomous cleaner and method of controlling the same

A driving wheel assembly and a robot cleaner having the same includes a main body and a driving wheel assembly including a driving wheel, a housing, a driving motor, a rotary member with rotation around a rotation shaft of the driving motor, where the rotary member includes a first unit and a second unit disposed at a position opposite to the driving wheel with respect to the rotation shaft of the driving motor, and a compression coil spring disposed between the housing and the second unit to apply pressure to the second unit, where a distance between a contact point where the compression coil spring and the second unit contact and the rotation shaft of the driving motor is shorter than a distance between a rotation shaft of the driving wheel and a rotation shaft of the driving motor.

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Suwon-si, South Korea

Hwi Chan Jang