Methods and apparatuses associated with surface cleaning are described. Examples can include detecting at a processing resource of a robot and via a temperature sensor of the robot, a temperature of a surface on which the robot is located. Examples can include the processing resource shutting down the robot in response to the temperature being at or above a particular threshold temperature, and the processing resource instructing the robot to clean the surface following a particular cleaning path using a vacuum, a scrubber, or both in response to the temperature being below a particular threshold temperature.

A suction device and a suction force adjustment method thereof are provided. An optical detection unit is disposed on a suction path of a suction pipe to detect an object flowing through the suction pipe. Physical features of the object are determined according to a sensing result of the optical detection unit. A suction force of a suction unit is regulated based on the physical features of the object.

A dirtiness level determining method applied to an electronic device comprising an image sensor. The method comprises: (a) capturing a first image at a first time point according to first type of light; (b) capturing a second image at a second time point after the first time point according to the first type of light; (c) calculating a first fixed pattern according to a first difference between the first image and the second image; and (d) calculating a first dirtiness level of the image sensor according to the first fixed pattern; (e) generating a first notifying message if the first dirtiness level is higher than a dirtiness threshold.

A brushroll for a surface cleaning apparatus includes a brush dowel defining a central rotational axis which extends longitudinally through the brush dowel. The brush dowel includes bristle supports, sweeper supports, and a shroud surface extending between the bristle supports and the sweeper supports. A plurality of bristles protrude from the bristle supports.

Provided is a cleaner having improved cleaning efficiency. The cleaner includes a main body having a intake provided to suction an object to be cleaned and a suction device having a brush chamber that communicates with the intake and a brush accommodated in the brush chamber, wherein the brush includes a brush body rotatably coupled to the brush chamber, a blade protruding in a radial direction of the brush body, and prevention members formed to be inclined from a central portion of the brush body to opposite side ends of the brush body to prevent foreign substance introduced into the brush chamber from being wound around the blade.

Provided is a robot cleaner using an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm and/or a machine learning algorithm in a 5G environment connected for Internet of Things (IoT). The robot cleaner includes one or more sensors, a driving wheel, a suction blower, and a controller, and the controller defines a cleaning target area, identifies a user's location and a type of the user's behavior, collects life pattern information of the user including the user's location, the type of the user's behavior, and timestamps each associated therewith during the time period of one day or more, determines a cleaning schedule of the robot cleaner based on the collected life pattern information, and controls the driving wheel and the suction blower so as to perform cleaning in accordance with the determined cleaning schedule.

A cleaner is disclosed, which comprises a main body including an suction inlet through which air containing dust enters, a dust separator provided to separate dust from the air while the air entering from the suction inlet is moving, a first dust collector configured to collect the dust separated by the dust separator, a cyclone portion configured to rotate the air to separate the dust from the air, and a second dust collector collecting the dust separated by the cyclone portion. The dust separator is provided with a plurality of plate shaped members arranged at a predetermined angle with respect to a moving direction of the air, and arranged to be spaced apart from one another to move the air.

A robotic vacuum cleaner equipped with a holonomic drive that can drive in a given direction, e.g., north (assigned orientation), and move in a different direction, while maintaining its assigned orientation or that of any desired portion of the robot, such as an intake, or any other portion of the robot that is needed for a particular maneuver. The robotic vacuum cleaner includes a removable, chargeable battery system including a battery pack having batteries and a battery management system extending across all the batteries of the battery pack. A housing, including a top cover, surrounds the battery pack and the battery management system (BMS). The top cover extends over the BMS and includes a circuit board therein. A connector is at least partially connected to the BMS and extends through the housing. The connector is configured to transmit signals between the battery management system and the robotic vacuum cleaner.

An auto clean machine comprising: a chassis; an internal light source, located inside the chassis, for emitting internal light; an external light source, located outside the chassis, for emitting external light; an optical sensor, configured to sense optical data generated according to the external light or according to the internal light; and a control circuit, configured to analyze optical information of the optical data. If the internal light source is activated, the external light source is de-activated and the control circuit determines variation of the optical information is larger than a variation threshold, the control circuit changes the internal light source to be non-activated and the external light source to be activated.

A robot cleaner includes a main body, and a wheel unit including a wheel configured to movably support the main body. The wheel unit is installed in a suspension unit and configured to be movable upward or downward. The suspension unit is configured to absorb impact when the wheel unit moves upward or downward, and is installed in a lifting unit coupled to the main body. The suspension unit is configured to be raised or lowered relative to the lifting unit. The lifting unit includes a lifting drive motor including a rotatable shaft disposed in parallel with a direction in which the suspension unit is configured to be raised or lowered, and a transmission unit configured to transmit a rotation force of the lifting drive motor to the suspension unit.