IP Library › Granted Patent US 12690739
Granted Patent B2
US 12690739 · App. 17/947,384 · Granted Jul 28, 2026

Water ingestion behaviors of mobile cleaning robot

Inventors: Paul Bourget (Acton, MA); Jack Wells (Cambridge, MA); Olga Taran (Sudbury, MA); Matthew Clements (Pasadena, CA); Chris Bailey (Upton, MA); Varun Malhotra (Cambridge, MA); Landon Unninayar (Waltham, MA); Bingqian Xie (Arlington, MA)
Assignee: iRobot Corporation
A47L11/4011A47L11/30A47L11/4061A47L11/4088A47L2201/04A47L2201/06
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12690739
App. No.
17/947,384
Granted
Jul 28, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method of operating a mobile cleaning robot can include navigating the mobile cleaning robot within an environment. A vacuum system of the mobile cleaning robot can be operated to ingest debris from the environment Whether a dispense condition is satisfied can be determined. Fluid can be dispensed from the mobile cleaning robot when the dispense condition is satisfied.

Claims (68)

1 . A method of operating a mobile cleaning robot, the method comprising:

navigating the mobile cleaning robot within an environment;

operating a vacuum system of the mobile cleaning robot, the vacuum system operable to ingest debris from the environment;

determining whether a dispense condition is satisfied;

determining whether a mopping pad tray is moving with respect to a body of the mobile cleaning robot between a stored position and a cleaning position;

wherein the mopping pad tray is located above the body of the mobile cleaning robot in the stored position, and is located below the body of the mobile cleaning robot in the cleaning position

determining that the dispense condition is not satisfied when the mopping pad tray is moving; and

dispensing fluid from the mobile cleaning robot when the dispense condition is satisfied.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a dirt detection signal; and

determining whether the dispense condition is satisfied based on the dirt detection signal.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

increasing a vacuum blower speed based on the dirt detection signal.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether the mobile cleaning robot is performing an avoidance routine; and

determining whether the avoidance routine includes the mobile cleaning robot moving backwards or turning.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the dispense condition is not satisfied when the avoidance routine includes the mobile cleaning robot moving backwards or turning.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether the mobile cleaning robot is turning, wherein the dispense condition is not satisfied when the mobile cleaning robot is turning.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether the mobile cleaning robot is moving backwards, wherein the dispense condition is not satisfied when the mobile cleaning robot is moving backwards.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether the mobile cleaning robot is performing a docking routine, wherein the dispense condition is not satisfied when the mobile cleaning robot is performing the docking routine.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether the mobile cleaning robot is performing a rideup, wherein the dispense condition is not satisfied when the mobile cleaning robot is performing the rideup.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether a bump sensor has been activated within a time increment, wherein the dispense condition is not satisfied when the bump sensor has been activated within the time increment.

11 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium including instructions, for operating a mobile cleaning robot, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:

navigate the mobile cleaning robot within an environment;

operate a vacuum system of the mobile cleaning robot, the vacuum system operable to ingest debris from the environment;

determine whether a dispense condition is satisfied;

determine whether a mopping pad tray is moving with respect to a body of the mobile cleaning robot between a stored position and a cleaning position;

wherein the mopping pad tray is located above the body of the mobile cleaning robot in the stored position, and is located below the body of the mobile cleaning robot in the cleaning position

determine that the dispense condition is not satisfied when the mopping pad tray is moving with respect to the body of the mobile cleaning robot; and

inhibit or interrupt dispensing of fluid from the mobile cleaning robot when the dispense condition is not satisfied.

12 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:

receive a dirt detection signal; and

determine whether the dispense condition is satisfied based on the dirt detection signal.

13 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 12 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:

increase a vacuum blower speed based on the dirt detection signal.

14 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:

determine whether the mobile cleaning robot is performing an avoidance routine.

15 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:

determine whether the avoidance routine includes the mobile cleaning robot moving backwards or turning; and

determine that the dispense condition is not satisfied when the avoidance routine includes the mobile cleaning robot moving backwards or turning.

16 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:

determine whether the mobile cleaning robot is moving backwards or turning; and

determine that the dispense condition is not satisfied when the mobile cleaning robot is moving backwards or turning.

17 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:

determine whether a bump sensor has been activated within a time increment; and

determine that the dispense condition is not satisfied when the bump sensor has been activated within the time increment.

18 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:

determine whether the mobile cleaning robot is performing a rideup, wherein the dispense condition is not satisfied when the mobile cleaning robot is performing the rideup.

19 . A method of operating a mobile cleaning robot, the method comprising:

navigating the mobile cleaning robot within an environment;

operating a vacuum system of the mobile cleaning robot, the vacuum system operable to ingest debris from the environment;

determining whether a dispense condition is satisfied;

determining whether a mopping pad tray is moving with respect to a body of the mobile cleaning robot between a stored position of the mopping pad tray and a cleaning position of the mopping pad tray;

wherein the mopping pad tray is located above the body of the mobile cleaning robot in the stored position, and is located below the body of the mobile cleaning robot in the cleaning position

determining that the dispense condition is not satisfied when the mopping pad tray is moving; and

dispensing fluid from the mobile cleaning robot when the dispense condition is satisfied.

20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

receiving a dirt detection signal;

determining whether the dispense condition is satisfied based on the dirt detection signal;

increasing a vacuum blower speed based on the dirt detection signal;

determining whether the mobile cleaning robot is performing an avoidance routine;

determining whether the avoidance routine includes the mobile cleaning robot moving backwards or turning, wherein the dispense condition is not satisfied when the avoidance routine includes the mobile cleaning robot moving backwards or turning; and

determining whether the mobile cleaning robot is turning, wherein the dispense condition is not satisfied when the mobile cleaning robot is turning.