FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure relates to robotic devices that clean surfaces, and more particularly, a controlled liquid releasing mechanism.

BACKGROUND

The mopping feature of mobile robotic floor cleaning devices is well known in the art. However, issues such as the leakage of mopping liquid when the robot is not in movement have remained. In prior art, the mopping liquid is free to flow without any control. Without a controlled liquid release mechanism, the mopping liquid is inefficiently consumed resulting in the accumulation of mopping liquid, thereby risking damage to the robotic device and causing unwanted leakage of the mopping liquid onto a working surface. In other art, the liquid is controllably dispensed onto the flooring surface through a nozzle or by releasing a valve by controller means. When the mopping feature is used via a controller the robotic device requires additional equipment to deliver the dispensing instruction to the nozzle thereby requiring additional maintenance and increasing cost. A mechanism is required for providing the controlled release of mopping liquid that is more efficient than those presently used.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of some embodiments of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some embodiments of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented below.

Some embodiments provide a mop module of a robot, including: a liquid reservoir for storing liquid; and an electronically-controlled liquid release mechanism; wherein: the electronically-controlled liquid release mechanism releases liquid from the liquid reservoir for mopping a work surface; operation and a schedule of operation of the electronically-controlled liquid release mechanism in at least one area is controlled by a processor of the robot within which the mop module is installed or based on input provided to an application of a communication device paired with the robot; a liquid flow rate depends on at least an amount of power delivered to the electronically-controlled liquid release mechanism; and the liquid flow rate for the at least one area is determined by the processor of the robot within which the mop module is installed or an input provided to the application of the communication device paired with the robot.

Some embodiments provide a robot including the mop module described immediately above.

