Evacuation station

Abstract

A mobile robot includes a body configured to traverse a surface and to receive debris from the surface, and a debris bin within the body. The debris bin includes a chamber to hold the debris received by the mobile robot, an exhaust port through which the debris exits the debris bin; and a door unit over the exhaust port. The door unit includes a flap configured to move, in response to air pressure at the exhaust port, between a closed position to cover the exhaust port and an open position to open a path between the chamber and the exhaust port. The door unit, including the flap in the open position and in the closed position, is within an exterior surface of the mobile robot.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An evacuation station comprising:
 an intake port configured to engage with an external vacuum device;   a container configured to store debris from a debris bin of the external vacuum device;   one or more conduits extending from the intake port to the container,   wherein the one or more conduits comprise a conduit moveable from a first position to a second position in response to mechanical actuation, wherein, when the conduit is in the second position, a flow path is established from the debris bin of the external vacuum device, through the one or more conduits, and to the container; and   a control system configured to initiate operation of a vacuum motor to draw the debris from the debris bin of the external vacuum device through the flow path into the container.   
     
     
         2 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , wherein, when the conduit is in the second position, the conduit forms a substantially airtight seal along the flow path, and
 wherein, when the conduit is in the first position, the seal is broken.   
     
     
         3 . The evacuation station of  claim 2 , wherein, when in the first position, the conduit is receded from a position of the seal. 
     
     
         4 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , wherein the conduit is a first conduit, and the one or more conduits comprise a second conduit connected to the first conduit, the first conduit being movable relative to the second conduit. 
     
     
         5 . The evacuation station of  claim 4 , wherein the second conduit is configured to provide a portion of the flow path that extends vertically through the evacuation station. 
     
     
         6 . The evacuation station of  claim 4 , further comprising a flexible grommet connecting the second conduit to the first conduit. 
     
     
         7 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , comprising a lateral sidewall, wherein, when the conduit is in the second position, the conduit extends through the lateral sidewall. 
     
     
         8 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , further comprising a plunger movable relative to the conduit to move the conduit from the first position to the second position. 
     
     
         9 . The evacuation station of  claim 8 , wherein the plunger is movable downwardly toward a base of the evacuation station to move the conduit from the first position to the second position. 
     
     
         10 . The evacuation station of  claim 9 , wherein the conduit is movable horizontally from the first position to the second position in response to the plunger moving downwardly toward the base of the evacuation station. 
     
     
         11 . The evacuation station of  claim 10 , comprising a cam to transfer a downward movement of the plunger into a horizontal movement of the conduit. 
     
     
         12 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , comprising at least one of a lever, a cam, or a shuttle configured to transfer the mechanical actuation into movement of the conduit. 
     
     
         13 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , wherein the conduit comprises a moveable pipe. 
     
     
         14 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , wherein the container comprises a bag. 
     
     
         15 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , comprising a base configured to receive a mobile cleaning robot for docking at the evacuation station. 
     
     
         16 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , comprising the vacuum motor. 
     
     
         17 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , comprising a canister to receive a removable component forming a portion of the flow path, wherein the conduit comprises an interface end to engage with the removable component. 
     
     
         18 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to initiate the operation of the vacuum motor in response to a communication from the external vacuum device. 
     
     
         19 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , comprising electrical contacts configured to mate to corresponding electrical contacts on the external vacuum device. 
     
     
         20 . The evacuation station of  claim 1 , comprising an alignment feature configured to align the conduit with an interface end of the container.