Mopping extension for a robotic vacuum

Abstract

A method for cleaning a workspace, including: autonomously moving, with a mechanism of a robot, a cloth of a mopping assembly of the robot upwards and downwards relative to a work surface of the work space. The cloth is disengaged from the work surface when the cloth is moved upwards relative to the work surface such that the cloth is not in contact with the work surface. The cloth is engaged with the work surface when the cloth is moved downwards relative to the work surface such that the cloth is in contact with the work surface. The mechanism moves the cloth of the mopping assembly upwards and downwards relative to the work surface based on input provided by at least one sensor of the robot.

1 . A cleaning robotic device, comprising:
 a chassis;   a set of wheels coupled to the chassis;   at least one sensor;   a processor;   at least a cloth for mopping;   a mechanism to move the at least the cloth upwards and downwards relative to a floor surface of an environment;   one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media storing instructions that when executed by the processor of the cleaning robotic device effectuate operations, comprising:
 capturing, with the at least one sensor of the cleaning robotic device, data from the environment; 
 autonomously actuating the movement of the cloth to engage with the floor surface of the environment and disengage from the floor surface of the environment based on the captured sensor data, wherein:
 the cloth is disengaged from the floor surface when the cloth is moved upwards relative to the floor surface such that the cloth is not in contact with the floor surface; 
 the cloth is engaged with the floor surface when the cloth is moved downwards relative to the floor surface such that the cloth is in contact with the floor surface; 
 
   wherein the cleaning robotic device further comprises:
 a liquid container for storing cleaning fluid; 
 at least one nozzle for dispersing cleaning fluid; and 
 the mechanism to move the at least cloth upwards and downwards comprises at least one electric motor. 
   
     
     
         2 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 1 , wherein engaging and disengaging the cloth facilitates simultaneously mopping and vacuuming the floor surface within a cleaning session. 
     
     
         3 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 2 , wherein simultaneously mopping and vacuuming in a cleaning session reduces a total amount of time required to complete vacuuming and mopping. 
     
     
         4 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 2 , wherein simultaneously mopping and vacuuming in a cleaning session eliminates or reduces a need for two separate devices for mopping and vacuuming respectively. 
     
     
         5 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 4 , wherein eliminating or reducing the need for two separate devices reduces consumer costs. 
     
     
         6 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 1 , wherein a predetermined amount of cleaning fluid is dispersed in intervals. 
     
     
         7 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 1 , wherein the cleaning robotic device further comprises at least one ultrasonic component. 
     
     
         8 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one electric motor moving the at least cloth upwards and downwards is a servo motor. 
     
     
         9 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
 vibrating or oscillating to increase cleaning performance.   
     
     
         10 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 9 , wherein the vibration or oscillation is actuated by a motor. 
     
     
         11 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 1 , wherein the cloth is attached to a bottom side of the cleaning robotic device. 
     
     
         12 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
 moving the cloth in a plane parallel to the floor surface of the environment.   
     
     
         13 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 1 , wherein the cloth is positioned on a rear portion of the cleaning robotic device. 
     
     
         14 . The cleaning robotic device of  claim 13 , wherein the cleaning robotic device further comprises a vacuuming component and the vacuuming component is positioned in front of the cloth. 
     
     
         15 . One or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media storing instructions that when executed by a processor of a cleaning robotic device effectuate operations, comprising:
 capturing, with at least one sensor of the cleaning robotic device, data from an environment;   autonomously engaging, with the processor of the cleaning robotic device, a cloth with a first portion of a floor surface of the environment such that the cloth is in contact with the first portion of the floor surface; and   autonomously disengaging, with the processor of the cleaning robotic device, the cloth from a second portion of the floor surface such that the cloth is not in contact with the second portion of the floor surface, wherein the cloth is autonomously disengaged from the second portion of the floor surfaces based on captured data received from the at least one sensor of the cleaning robotic device; and   wherein the cleaning robotic device comprises:
 a liquid container for storing cleaning fluid; and 
 at least one nozzle for dispersing the cleaning fluid. 
   
     
     
         16 . The media of  claim 15 , wherein disengaging the cloth from the second portion of the floor surface comprises:
 moving the cloth upwards relative to the floor surface, wherein the upward movement is actuated with a motor.   
     
     
         17 . The media of  claim 16 , wherein engaging the cloth with the first portion of floor surfaces comprises:
 moving the cloth downwards relative to the floor surfaces wherein the downward movement is actuated with the motor.   
     
     
         18 . The media of  claim 17 , wherein engaging the cloth with the first portion of floor surfaces further comprises:
 moving the cloth further in a plane parallel to the floor surface.   
     
     
         19 . The media of  claim 18 , wherein at least a portion of the cleaning robotic device that the cloth attaches to is removable. 
     
     
         20 . The media of  claim 17 , wherein the at least the portion of the cleaning robotic device that the cloth attaches to is moved back and forth in relation to the environment in the plane parallel to the floor surfaces. 
     
     
         21 . The media of  claim 20 , wherein the at least the portion of the cleaning robotic device that the cloth attaches to is moved back and forth in relation to the cleaning robotic device. 
     
     
         22 . The media of  claim 21 , wherein the back and forth movement of the cloth is concentrated within an area. 
     
     
         23 . The media of  claim 17 , wherein the motor actuating the upward and downward movement of the cloth is a servo motor. 
     
     
         24 . The media of  claim 15 , wherein a determined quantity of the cleaning fluid is dispersed from the liquid container of the robotic device. 
     
     
         25 . The media of  claim 24 , wherein the cleaning fluid is dispersed at intervals at a constant rate. 
     
     
         26 . The media of  claim 17 , wherein engaging the cloth with the first portion of floor surfaces further comprises springly pushing the cloth downward. 
     
     
         27 . An apparatus, comprising:
 an autonomous cleaning robot, comprising:
 a chassis; 
 a set of wheels; 
 a vacuuming module; and 
 at least a mopping component for mopping floor surfaces of an environment, wherein:
 at least a part of the at least mopping component is actuated to move upwards and downwards relative to a floor surface, wherein: 
 the at least a part of the at least mopping component is positioned in a rear portion of the autonomous cleaning robot; 
 the at least a part of the at least mopping component is positioned in a downward position while the autonomous cleaning robot covers a first portion of the floor surface; 
 the at least part of the at least mopping component is positioned in an upward position while the autonomous cleaning robot covers a second portion of the floor surface; and 
 the at least part of the at least mopping component is actuated to move from the downward position to the upward position based on data captured by at least one sensor of the autonomous cleaning robot; 
 
 wherein the autonomous cleaning robot further comprises:
 a liquid container for storing a cleaning fluid; and 
 at least one nozzle for delivering the cleaning fluid. 
 
   
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the at least part of the at least mopping component, with at least one motor of the autonomous cleaning robot, vibrates, oscillates, or moves back and forth. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the at least part of the at least mopping component is detachable from the autonomous cleaning robot. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein:
 a determined quantity of the cleaning fluid is dispersed while the autonomous cleaning robot covers a first portion of the floor surface.   
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the apparatus further comprises at least a mechanism to vaporize a fluid. 
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , wherein the apparatus further comprises at least a mechanism to deliver the vaporized fluid to the floor surface. 
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the apparatus further comprises at least a mechanism to push the at least mopping component downwards during engagement. 
     
     
         34 . An autonomous cleaning robot, comprising:
 a chassis;   a set of wheels;   one or more obstacle detection sensors;   a mopping component, comprising a mopping cloth for mopping floor surfaces of an environment;   a liquid container for storing cleaning fluids;   a processor;   one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media storing instructions that when executed by the processor of the autonomous cleaning robot effectuate operations, comprising:
 cleaning, with the mopping cloth of the mopping component attached to the autonomous cleaning robot, the floor surfaces; and 
 dispersing, with one or more nozzles, cleaning fluids to dampen the mopping cloth; 
 wherein:
 the mopping cloth is positioned on a rear portion of the autonomous cleaning robot; 
 the mopping cloth is oriented towards the floor surface and is attached to a bottom side in relation to the liquid container; 
 at least a portion of the mopping component is removable; and 
 the at least the portion of the mopping component is detached from the autonomous cleaning robot by a user releasing a latch. 
 
   
     
     
         35 . The autonomous cleaning robot of  claim 34 , wherein the autonomous cleaning robot comprises mopping and vacuuming functionalities for mopping and vacuuming the floor surface within a cleaning session. 
     
     
         36 . The autonomous cleaning robot of  claim 35 , wherein mopping and vacuuming by the autonomous cleaning robot within the cleaning session reduces an amount of time required to complete the cleaning session by reducing or eliminating a need for a separate mopping or vacuuming cleaning session. 
     
     
         37 . The autonomous cleaning robot of  claim 35 , wherein the mopping and vacuuming functionalities of the autonomous cleaning robot reduce or eliminate a need for an additional autonomous cleaning robot reducing consumer costs. 
     
     
         38 . The autonomous cleaning robot of  claim 34 , wherein the autonomous cleaning robot further comprises electrodes electrically coupled to one or more components of the mopping component to provide electricity from a main battery of the autonomous cleaning robot for dispersing cleaning fluids from the liquid container. 
     
     
         39 . The autonomous cleaning robot of  claim 34 , wherein the autonomous cleaning robot further comprises a mechanism to push the at least portion of the mopping component downwards. 
     
     
         40 . The autonomous cleaning robot of  claim 34 , wherein the autonomous cleaning robot further comprises a mechanism to generate and disperse steam to the floor surface. 
     
     
         41 . A method for cleaning floor surfaces of an environment by a cleaning robotic device, comprising:
 capturing, with at least one sensor of the cleaning robotic device, data from the environment;   autonomously engaging, with a processor of the cleaning robotic device, at least a mopping cloth of the cleaning robotic device with a first portion of a floor surface of the environment such that the at least mopping cloth is in contact with the first portion of the floor surfaces; and   autonomously disengaging, with the processor of the cleaning robotic device, the at least mopping cloth from a second portion of the floor surface such that the at least mopping cloth is not in contact with the second portion of the floor surfaces, wherein the at least mopping cloth is autonomously disengaged from the second portion of the floor surfaces based on the captured data received from the at least one sensor of the cleaning robotic device; and   wherein the cleaning robotic device comprises:
 a liquid container for storing cleaning fluid; and 
 at least one nozzle for dispensing the cleaning fluid. 
   
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the mopping cloth is positioned in a rear portion of the cleaning robotic device. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein the cleaning robotic device comprises mopping and vacuuming functionalities for mopping and vacuuming the floor surface within a cleaning session. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 43 , wherein the mopping and vacuuming functionalities of the robot reduce or eliminate the need for an additional cleaning robotic device. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the cleaning robotic device further comprises at least one vapor generating component. 
     
     
         46 . A method for extending the cleaning functionality of a cleaning robot comprising:
 mounting on the rearward portion of an autonomous cleaning robot a cleaning component comprising at least a suctioning cleaning function, a mopping cleaning function, and at least a cloth wherein the autonomous cleaning robot comprises:
 a set of wheels coupled with the chassis; 
 one or more obstacle detection sensors; and 
 the mopping cleaning function, comprising:
 at least a frame for the mopping cloth to be attached to the frame, wherein a bottom surface of the mopping cloth is in contact with the floor surface; 
 a liquid container for storing cleaning fluid; and 
 one or more nozzles to disperse the cleaning fluid to the mopping cloth. 
 
   
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein:
 the one or more nozzles control the dispersal of the cleaning fluid; and   the cleaning fluid is dispersed continuously the one or more nozzles.   
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the autonomous cleaning robot further comprises mopping and vacuuming functionalities for mopping and vacuuming the floor surface within a cleaning session, wherein mopping and vacuuming functionalities of the autonomous cleaning robot reduce or eliminate the need for an additional autonomous cleaning robot for vacuuming or mopping reducing consumer costs. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein the autonomous cleaning robot further comprises a mechanism to generate and disperse deliver steam and vapor to the floor surface. 
     
     
         50 . A method for disengaging at least one mopping cloth of a cleaning robot from a portion of a floor surface of an environment in response to a sensor data, comprising:
 autonomously moving, with a processor of the cleaning robot, the cleaning robot on the floor surface while mopping and vacuuming the environment within a cleaning session, wherein the cleaning robot comprises:
 a liquid container for storing a cleaning fluid; 
 a chassis; 
 a drive system carried by the chassis configured to maneuver the cleaning robot over the floor surface; 
 right and left drive wheels; and 
 one or more sensors; 
 a means to deliver a cleaning fluid; 
   moving, with a mopping mechanism of the cleaning robot, the at least one mopping cloth of the cleaning robot relative to the floor surface, wherein:
 the cleaning robot further comprises at least one nozzle for dispersing the cleaning fluid; 
 the at least one mopping cloth is positioned on a rear portion of the robot; 
 the at least one mopping cloth of the cleaning robot is disengaged from a portion of the floor surface in response to data from at least one sensor of the cleaning robot such that the at least one mopping cloth is not in contact with the floor when disengaged. 
   
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the mopping mechanism comprises at least a motor for moving the at least one mopping cloth upwards to disengage from the first portion of the floor surface. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein:
 the at least one mopping cloth is engaged with a second portion of the work surface based on the input provided by the at least one sensor; and   the at least one mopping cloth is in contact with the floor surface when engaged with the second portion of the floor surface.   
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 52 , wherein the mopping cloth is pushed downwards during engagement. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 53 , wherein:
 the cleaning robot comprises a vacuum motor;   at least a portion of a vacuuming module is positioned on a front portion of the cleaning robot; and   a determined quantity of the cleaning fluid is dispersed from the liquid container.