Granted Patent B2

US 12,605,021 · App. 17/986,562 · Granted Apr 21, 2026

Inventors: Aaron Gill (Needham, MA); David Harting (Mansfield, MA); Hamish Thompson (Needham, MA); Christopher Meyer-Rassow (London, GB); Catriona C.A. Sutter (Brookline, MA); Isaku D. Kamada (Brighton, MA); Kai Xu (Suzhou, CN); Devin Feng (Suzhou, CN); Jason B. Thorne (Dover, MA); Rahat Kahn (Needham, MA); Margaret Mathieu (East Greenwich, RI)

Assignee: SharkNinja Operating LLC

A47L9/0054A47L9/0063A47L9/102A47L9/1409A47L9/1436A47L9/1463A47L9/1683A47L9/2805A47L11/4025A47L2201/024A47L2201/04

Abstract

Claims (29)

1 . A docking station for a robotic cleaner comprising:

a base, the base including:

a support having a floor facing surface, the floor facing surface having one or more grated regions, each grated region having a plurality of grate cavities configured to receive a portion of a carpet disposed on a floor to increase a stability of the docking station on the carpet; and

a suction housing extending from the support;

a docking station suction inlet defined in the suction housing, the docking station suction inlet being configured to fluidly couple to the robotic cleaner; and

a station dust cup removably coupled to the base, the station dust cup fluidly coupled to the docking station suction inlet.

2 . The docking station of claim 1 , wherein at least one grated region extends along at least a portion of a periphery of the floor facing surface of the support.

3 . The docking station of claim 1 , wherein the one or more grated regions extend in a forward portion of the support and a base plate extends within a rearward portion of the support.

4 . The docking station of claim 3 , wherein the suction housing extends from the rearward portion of the support.

5 . The docking station of claim 3 further comprising a plurality of grated regions and a portion of the base plate extends within the forward portion between the plurality grated regions.

6 . The docking station of claim 3 further comprising one or more feet coupled to the floor facing surface.

7 . The docking station of claim 6 , wherein the one or more feet include a first plurality of feet disposed within the forward portion and a second plurality of feet disposed within the rearward portion.

8 . The docking station of claim 7 , wherein the second plurality of feet have a height that is greater than that of the first plurality of feet.

9 . The docking station of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of at least one of the one or more grated regions defines a honeycomb structure.

10 . A robotic vacuum cleaning system comprising:

a docking station having a base, a docking station suction inlet, and a station dust cup removably coupled to the base, the station dust cup fluidly coupled to the docking station suction inlet, the base including:

a support having a floor facing surface, the floor facing surface having one or more grated regions, each grated region having a plurality of grate cavities configured to receive a portion of a carpet disposed on a floor to increase a stability of the docking station on the carpet; and

a suction housing extending from the support; and

a robotic vacuum cleaner having a robotic vacuum cleaner dust cup, the robotic vacuum cleaner dust cup having an outlet port configured to fluidly couple with the docking station suction inlet.

11 . The robotic vacuum cleaning system of claim 10 , wherein at least one grated region extends along at least a portion of a periphery of the floor facing surface of the support.

12 . The robotic vacuum cleaning system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more grated regions extend in a forward portion of the support and a base plate extends within a rearward portion of the support.

13 . The robotic vacuum cleaning system of claim 12 , wherein the suction housing extends from the rearward portion of the support.

14 . The robotic vacuum cleaning system of claim 12 further comprising a plurality of grated regions and a portion of the base plate extends within the forward portion between the plurality grated regions.

15 . The robotic vacuum cleaning system of claim 12 further comprising one or more feet coupled to the floor facing surface.

16 . The robotic vacuum cleaning system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more feet include a first plurality of feet disposed within the forward portion and a second plurality of feet disposed within the rearward portion.

17 . The robotic vacuum cleaning system of claim 16 , wherein the second plurality of feet have a height that is greater than that of the first plurality of feet.

18 . The robotic vacuum cleaning system of claim 10 , wherein at least a portion of at least one of the one or more grated regions defines a honeycomb structure.

19 . The robotic vacuum cleaning system of claim 10 , wherein the docking station includes a boot configured to engage at least a portion of the robotic vacuum cleaner.

20 . The robotic vacuum cleaning system of claim 10 , wherein the robotic vacuum cleaner is configured to detect a proximity of the docking station based on detection of a magnetic field extending from the support.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (7)

References Cited (400)