US 12,137,797 B2
Cleaning roller for cleaning robots
Matthew Blouin, Townsend, MA (US); Pierre Paul Richard Souloumiac, Somerville, MA (US); and Pu Zhou, Bedford, MA (US)
Assigned to iRobot Corporation, Bedford, MA (US)
Filed by iRobot Corporation, Bedford, MA (US)
Filed on Feb. 7, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/665,973.
Application 17/665,973 is a continuation of application No. 16/827,430, filed on Mar. 23, 2020, granted, now 11,241,082, issued on Feb. 8, 2022.
Application 16/827,430 is a continuation of application No. 15/659,345, filed on Jul. 25, 2017, granted, now 10,595,624, issued on Mar. 24, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0151372 A1, May 19, 2022
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A46B 13/00 (2006.01); A47L 9/00 (2006.01); A47L 9/04 (2006.01); A47L 11/40 (2006.01); B25J 9/00 (2006.01); B25J 11/00 (2006.01)
CPC A46B 13/003 (2013.01) [A47L 9/009 (2013.01); A47L 9/0411 (2013.01); A47L 9/0477 (2013.01); A47L 9/0488 (2013.01); A47L 11/4041 (2013.01); A47L 11/4044 (2013.01); B25J 9/0003 (2013.01); B25J 11/0085 (2013.01); A47L 2201/00 (2013.01); A47L 2201/04 (2013.01)] 26 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A cleaning roller mountable to a cleaning robot, the cleaning roller comprising:
a core extending along an axis of rotation of the cleaning roller; and
a sheath surrounding the core, the sheath comprising an outer surface that tapers toward a center of the cleaning roller and comprising:
first and second unsupported portions that are radially unsupported by the core, and
a supported portion that is positioned between the first unsupported portion and the second unsupported portion, the supported portion of the sheath being radially supported by the core;
wherein a central portion of the core comprises a locking member to radially support the supported portion of the sheath, the locking member extending longitudinally along the central portion of the core.