Autonomous floor cleaner with brushroll positioning

Abstract

An autonomous floor cleaner includes a tank adapted to hold liquid and/or debris, a brushroll to agitate a surface to be cleaned, and a position setting mechanism for the brushroll. The position setting mechanism can include a height setting feature on the tank to set the height of the brushroll within a brush chamber.

1 . An autonomous floor cleaner, comprising:
 an autonomously moveable housing comprising a brush chamber;   an autonomous drive system;   a tank adapted to hold at least one of liquid and debris;   a brushroll mounted within the brush chamber;   a brushroll drive system comprising a brushroll motor operably coupled with the brushroll; and   a brushroll height setting feature coupled with the tank and configured to engage the brushroll to set the height of the brushroll within the brush chamber.   
     
     
         2 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the tank is removably mounted on the housing, and wherein installation of the tank on the housing physically engages the brushroll height setting feature with the brushroll to set the height of the brushroll within the brush chamber. 
     
     
         3 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 1 , comprising a moveable lower brushroll mount adapted to support the brushroll. 
     
     
         4 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 3 , wherein the moveable lower brushroll mount comprises a spring-biased, telescoping support disposed on the housing. 
     
     
         5 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 3 , wherein the brushroll height setting feature comprises an upper brushroll mount extending downward from a bottom wall of the tank into the brush chamber to physically engage the brushroll, overcoming a spring bias of the lower brushroll mount to vertically position the brushroll at a predetermined height relative to a surface to be cleaned. 
     
     
         6 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 1 , comprising at least one cleaning system chosen from:
 a vacuum collection system comprising a suction nozzle inlet and a suction source comprising a vacuum motor, wherein the tank is in fluid communication with the suction nozzle inlet;   a fluid delivery system comprising a fluid supply tank and a fluid distributor positioned to dispense cleaning fluid onto the brushroll; and   a fluid recovery system comprising a suction nozzle inlet and a suction source comprising a vacuum motor, wherein the tank is in fluid communication with the suction nozzle inlet.   
     
     
         7 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein a wall of the tank defines a top wall of the brush chamber. 
     
     
         8 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 7 , comprising an inlet opening in the housing, wherein the brushroll is rotatably mounted in the inlet opening to contact a surface to be cleaned below the housing. 
     
     
         9 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the brushroll is a first brushroll;   the autonomous floor cleaner is configured to receive a second brushroll; and   the first brushroll and the second brushroll are adapted to be interchangeably mounted within the brush chamber.   
     
     
         10 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the tank is a first tank;   the autonomous floor cleaner is configured to receive a second tank; and   the first tank and the second tank are adapted to be interchangeably mounted within a tank receiver disposed on the autonomously moveable housing.   
     
     
         11 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the brushroll is a bristle brushroll;   the autonomous floor cleaner is configured to receive a microfiber brushroll; and   the bristle brushroll and the microfiber brushroll are adapted to be interchangeably mounted within the brush chamber.   
     
     
         12 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the tank is a dry tank adapted to hold dry debris and the brushroll height setting feature comprises a first brushroll height setting feature configured to engage the bristle brushroll to set the height of the bristle brushroll to a first predetermined height within the brush chamber;   the autonomous floor cleaner comprises a wet tank adapted to hold liquid and debris, the wet tank comprising a second brushroll height setting feature configured to engage the microfiber brushroll to set the height of the microfiber brushroll to a second predetermined height within the brush chamber; and   the dry tank and the wet tank are adapted to be interchangeably mounted within a tank receiver disposed on the autonomously moveable housing.   
     
     
         13 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the brushroll is a first brushroll;   the autonomous floor cleaner comprises a second brushroll mounted within the brush chamber contemporaneously with the first brushroll; and   the brushroll height setting feature is configured to engage the first brushroll and to not engage the second brushroll.   
     
     
         14 . An autonomous floor cleaner, comprising:
 an autonomously moveable housing comprising a brush chamber;   an autonomous drive system;   a tank adapted to hold at least one of liquid and debris;   dual-rotating brushrolls mounted within the brush chamber, the dual-rotating brushrolls comprising a first brushroll and a second brushroll;   a brushroll drive system comprising a brushroll motor operably coupled with the dual-rotating brushrolls; and   a brushroll height setting mechanism configured to set the first brushroll at a first height setting in a first cleaning mode and to set the first brushroll at a second, different height setting in a second cleaning mode.   
     
     
         15 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 14 , wherein the first cleaning mode is a dry cleaning mode and the second cleaning mode is a wet cleaning mode. 
     
     
         16 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 14 , wherein the first cleaning mode is a carpet cleaning mode and the second cleaning mode is a hard floor cleaning mode. 
     
     
         17 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 14 , wherein the brushroll height setting mechanism comprises at least one brushroll height setting feature coupled with the tank. 
     
     
         18 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 17 , comprising a spring-biased lower brushroll mount adapted to support the first brushroll, wherein the brushroll height setting feature comprises an upper brushroll mount extending downward from a bottom wall of the tank into the brush chamber to physically engage the first brushroll, overcoming a spring bias of the lower brushroll mount to vertically position the first brushroll at a predetermined height relative to a surface to be cleaned. 
     
     
         19 . An autonomous floor cleaner, comprising:
 an autonomously moveable housing comprising a brush chamber having a top opening and a lower brushroll mount;   an autonomous drive system;   a brushroll removably mounted within the brush chamber and supported by the lower brushroll mount;   a brushroll drive system comprising a brushroll motor operably coupled with the brushroll; and   a tank adapted to hold at least one of liquid and debris, the tank having a wall closing the top opening of the brush chamber and an upper brushroll mount projecting downwardly from the wall;   wherein the tank is removably mounted on the housing, and wherein installation of the tank on the housing physically engages the upper brushroll mount with the brushroll to adjust the vertical position of the brushroll within the brush chamber.   
     
     
         20 . The autonomous floor cleaner of  claim 19 , wherein the brushroll comprises a non-rotatable portion and the lower brushroll mount comprises a spring-biased, telescoping support disposed within the brush chamber that engages the non-rotatable portion.