The present invention relates to a robot cleaner. The robot cleaner comprises: a cleaner body equipped with a driving wheel; and a cleaning nozzle mounted inside a downwardly open opening portion in a lower portion of the cleaner body so as to be able to ascend and descend. The cleaning nozzle can be supported by a plurality of ascending/descending guides and a plurality of auxiliary ascending/descending guides so that the cleaning nozzle can ascend and descend relative to the cleaner body according to changes in the height of a cleaning surface on which the cleaner body travels. Accordingly, the cleaning to nozzle rises upon being pressed by a compressible floor such as a carpet, thus solving the problem of the cleaning nozzle catching on the cleaning surface. Therefore, travel performance can be improved, and the load on a brush driving part can be reduced.

Provided is a robot cleaner including a main body including a suction portion disposed thereon, main wheels for moving the main body, and a side brush assembly disposed on the main body and rotating with a rotation shaft perpendicular to a rotation shaft of the main wheels, the side brush assembly includes a housing for forming an exterior of the side brush assembly, a first force transmitter disposed in the housing and rotating by receiving a driving force, a belt connected to the first force transmitter, a second force transmitter connected to the first force transmitter by the belt to receive a rotational force of the first force transmitter, and a side brush coupled to the second force transmitter.

A robot cleaner comprising: a cleaner body including a controller, the cleaner body having a dust container accommodation part formed therein; a wheel unit mounted in the cleaner body, the wheel unit of which driving is controlled by the controller; and a dust container detachably coupled to the dust container accommodation part, wherein a first opening and a second opening are disposed at the same height in an inner wall of the dust container accommodation part, wherein the dust container includes: an entrance and an exit, disposed side by side along the circumference of the dust container, the entrance and the exit, respectively communicating with the first opening and the second opening when the dust container is accommodated in the dust container accommodation part; and a flow separating part extending downwardly inclined along the inner circumference of the dust container.

A side brush for a robotic cleaner. The side brush is rotatable about a rotation axis in a rotational direction and has a brush body and numerous linear bristles including a first bristle having a base end at the brush body and an opposite distal end. An imaginary line extends perpendicularly to the rotation axis. The first bristle extends in a bristle direction outwardly from the brush body. Seen in a top view, the bristle direction extends at a first angle to the imaginary line with the distal end pointing rearwardly in relation to the rotational direction. Seen in a side view, the bristle direction extends at a second acute angle to the rotation axis pointing away from the brush body. A robotic cleaner having such a side brush is also disclosed herein.

A method of operating a mobile robot includes generating a segmentation map defining respective regions of a surface based on occupancy data that is collected by a mobile robot responsive to navigation of the surface, identifying sub-regions of at least one of the respective regions as non-clutter and clutter areas, and computing a coverage pattern based on identification of the sub-regions. The coverage pattern indicates a sequence for navigation of the non-clutter and clutter areas, and is provided to the mobile robot. Responsive to the coverage pattern, the mobile robot sequentially navigates the non-clutter and clutter areas of the at least one of the respective regions of the surface in the sequence indicated by the coverage pattern. Related methods, computing devices, and computer program products are also discussed.

A cleaning accessory for a vacuum cleaner comprises a housing. A rotatable cleaning brush is rotatably mounted to the housing. The rotatable cleaning brush has at least one flexible cleaning element projecting outwards from a side of the housing. The at least one flexible cleaning element is configured to rotate and engage with a surface to be cleaned. A rotatable cleaning bar rotatably is mounted within the housing and the rotatable cleaning brush is rotatably coupled to the rotatable cleaning bar. At least a portion of the rotatable cleaning brush is seated within the rotatable cleaning bar or a drive mechanism coupled to the rotatable cleaning bar.

A surface cleaning head includes dual rotating agitators (e.g., a leading roller and a brush roll) and a removable cover for covering a top of the agitators and allowing access to the agitators from a top of the surface cleaning head. The dual agitators may be used to facilitate capturing of debris in the air flow into a suction conduit on the underside of the surface cleaning head. The brush roll may be located in a brush roll chamber and at least partially in an opening to the suction conduit. The leading roller may be positioned adjacent to and in advance of the suction conduit opening such that the leading roller engages debris and moves the debris toward the brush roll and the opening. The leading roller may be removable from the housing and held in place by the removable cover. The cover may be coupled using isolated latching mechanisms.

Methods and apparatuses for providing multiple modes of cleaning on a smart robotic cleaner are disclosed. A cleaning mode of rolling brush sweeping and a cleaning mode of vacuuming are provided on the smart robotic cleaner. When different cleaning devices are replaced on the body of the smart robotic cleaner, an electronic control unit in the body may control the smart robotic cleaner to switch between the cleaning modes automatically. A mounting position may be provided in the smart robotic cleaner. A rolling brush assembly and a suction inlet assembly may be detachably mounted on the mounting position, and the rolling brush assembly and the suction inlet assembly may be replaced with each other at the mounting position.

A robotic cleaning device and a method for operating the robotic cleaning device to detect a structure of a surface over which the robotic cleaning device moves. The method includes illuminating the surface with structured vertical light, capturing an image of the surface, detecting at least one luminous section in the captured image, and determining, from an appearance of the at least one luminous section, the structure of the surface.

A cleaning apparatus comprising a housing, at least one agitator configured to be rotatably coupled to the housing, a combing unit comprising a plurality of spaced teeth configured to contact the agitator for preventing build up and removing debris, and a switch configured to cause the combing unit to move between an active mode in which the plurality of spaced teeth are configured to contact the agitator for preventing build up and removing debris, and an inactive mode in which the plurality of spaced teeth are configured to not contact the agitator. The switch may be configured to cause the combing unit to rotate about a pivot axis between the active mode and the inactive mode. The switch may be configured to convert linear motion of the switch into the rotational motion of the combing unit about the pivot axis.