DIY self-emptying Neato, any ideas?

[OntheWay]

Since no self-emptying Neato on horizon, anyone think over a mechanism to self empty neatos with little or no modification on unit? I have some ideas but wondering your thoughts..

[sageman]

hmmm

either from the brush where a seal is pressed agenst the whole of the intake

a nozzle that comes down from the top into the bin from the top (best option i think)

[OntheWay]

Thanks for the reply, your best option is my best also, after thinking several days.. A spring-loaded cover on top of dust bin, with a spring weak enough to open with nozzle's vacuuming, strong enough to stay closed, other times.

Whats the clearence over dust bin before hitting laser rays?

[sageman]

i reckon spring loaded from the bottom inside the bin so it presses agenst the top of the bin a good seal would then be achived due to the pressure

it will have the hinge toward the front of the neato and will open when nozzle is put through hole

the hoover nozzle the only way i can see working is with a rack and pinion desighn

when neato docks a irled gateway will be broken the gateway will be cutoff by the back of the robot and will be attached directly to the base

anyway the gateway will be glosed and a circuit bourd will count to one minite to reestablish gateway (a pet may be in the way) it will also emit a quit (ish) beep to try to get pet away if after a minite the gateway is still closed it will asumes the robot is in position lowers the nozzle turns on vacume for say 30 secs and then nozzle goes up

i just thort a auto centering device for the nozzle will also have to be desighned as by robot at list is never where it was before i went to bed

cant spellcheck dinners redy

[JEfromCanada]

I ask my wife to empty it for me

[OntheWay]

i reckon spring loaded from the bottom inside the bin so it presses agenst the top of the bin a good seal would then be achived due to the pressure

it will have the hinge toward the front of the neato and will open when nozzle is put through hole

the hoover nozzle the only way i can see working is with a rack and pinion desighn

when neato docks a irled gateway will be broken the gateway will be cutoff by the back of the robot and will be attached directly to the base

anyway the gateway will be glosed and a circuit bourd will count to one minite to reestablish gateway (a pet may be in the way) it will also emit a quit (ish) beep to try to get pet away if after a minite the gateway is still closed it will asumes the robot is in position lowers the nozzle turns on vacume for say 30 secs and then nozzle goes up

i just thort a auto centering device for the nozzle will also have to be desighned as by robot at list is never where it was before i went to bed

cant spellcheck dinners redy

Putting stuff inside of bin may pose a problem, like hanging of dust and hair to these parts, resulting partially open cover.. inside of bin must be as smooth as possible.

I was thinking on a single servo controlled arm which carries the nozzle and a larger head part to fully cover the new dustbin lid. The arm stays on top of charge base, parallel to wall, comes down when docking detected. Since neato not docking in perfect angle (90 degrees) all times, head of nozzle must cover the lid in all cases.

I think an arduino board may cut it. A servo controller, a relay controller to trigger larger vacuum, and ir led detector as you mentioned. It may also handle detection of certain patterns (like a couple of white circles, sth not available on pets), so we can be sure it is Neato, and it is staying there for ie, 10 second at least.

[OntheWay]

Since my neato is here, I am planning to work further on my self-empty project, but for this, I need a spare dust bin. I check Neato website but seems they sell to US and Canada only and in EU site, no dust bin at all.

Do you know how can I buy a dust bin internationally??

[piokrza]

Through re-shipper??

[Saubermann]

Where are you from?

[OntheWay]

Where are you from?

I am living in Turkey.

[regnep]

Talk to vik7767. He has some on his site.

[vic7767]

Do you know how can I buy a dust bin internationally??

Check here: http://www.vic7767.com/neato-xv-11-mods ... any-parts/

[Boomerang]

Since no self-emptying Neato on horizon, anyone think over a mechanism to self empty neatos with little or no modification on unit? I have some ideas but wondering your thoughts..

I don't mind emptying the dust bin. I'd really like to see the Neato or other robot totally sealed so that there won't be the continuous maintenance. Dust entering and causing almost all problems. The robotic maker here in the US that achieves this is on the way to adding your mod to an already excellent product. If there was such a robot, I'd buy it today.

[mdownie]

I'm working on this for my internship project at a home automation company this summer (awesome, right??). Smoothest I think if you have a central vacuum system in your house. I'm finding one of the more annoying challenges is Neato's erratic docking behavior. I'll let you guys know when I've got a working prototype .

If anybody is curious about the project, I'll be posting updates here:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/116755902540508385137/posts

[piokrza]

If I could add sth from myself, then I imagine the DIY concept like: the hole in the top of the dustbin + "robotic"-pneumatic arm with tube connected to the central vacuum system...that could be COOL!

[glnc222]

Put a rotating disk cover in the bin top, opening to a semicircle, with a socket for a prong in the drop down suction head. Make the head big to cover the whole bin top allowing room for the prong fitting inside. A corkscrew-like mechanical action can spin the prong under downward pressure; the disk can be spring loaded closed.
Standard full size vacuum for the heavy part, plugging into a relay on the accessory unit. A specialized vacuum attachment for emptying Neato's.
The real job is aligning with a Neato docking on the charger in varied positions. Servo motors required with an optical sensor for some reflective part of the bin top. Like docking a space shuttle -- the drogue part.

[addendum] There's a stationary car wash nearby with machinery moving on rails around the car instead of cars moving on a conveyor past fixed stations. It has tire-size side facing round brushes just for wheels, and can locate the hubs on cars of any size in any position, in a harsh environment. So it can't be too hard to find a Neato dust bin.

As to sealing, the semicircular door is spring pressed up on seals, and pressed down releasing by the suction plunger to rotate open. Easier said than done. Until you build something, you will never know what works. Always more expensive than it seems.

[OntheWay]

Spring-loaded disc cover supported with rubber seal rings seems the best solution for me. Locating the approx. position of cover certainly needs an optical detection. The problem part is programming the robotic arm. Dynamixel actuators seems like a good solution. Optical eyes should be able detect whether unit is docked or just passing by. Central vacuum is not a necessity. Any handheld vacuum can make it, since the arm will only carry the hose.

[glnc222]

aesthetic refinements of bin door disk:
raised section fitting opening so when closed, smooth top surface. Rubber washer/ O-ring seal on the door disk lowers with the disk, for minimum drop to clear the cover edge. Needs no rotation spring, just upwards lock into place. Notches/convolutions on disk sides against stop pins will align enough for a little clearance around the edges, maybe beveled to assist opening/closure.

If necessary, a thin support shaft down to bin bottom will not obstruct airflow.

Don't maneuver hoses of attached vacuums; use plastic pipe and a separate hose section for movement; plenty for shop vacs in hardware -- might not need any with pipe joints (big vacs tolerate leakages, even deliberate for suction adjustments). The vertical pipe might do double duty as the arm support.
Does the arm telescope or is it articulated? Traveling crane? Telescoping arm descending from ceiling...

Attach large vac for months between empties. Needs coupling adapters to fit all models.
Get Dyson to carry it as an accessory (fitting only their models...).

After posts below, this thread continued under new title at
http://www.robotreviews.com/chat/viewto ... 20&t=22476

[djos]

I was thinking about a similar design to the new Sumsung for Neato's but Neato pack's it's bin so tight (due to it's vacuum power) that even my VAX barrel vac sometimes cant pull the bin contents thru the neck of the Bin and I have to open the bin up to clean it.

The other issue is that my Neato's have never parked themselves straight so lining up with the brush would be hard - as a result I've always thought a lightly sprung door/cover built into the top of the bin with a hose like item fitted with a magnetic docking collar that drops down on top of the bin (large enuf diameter that the door/cover on the bin can pop up into the docking hose/collar) would prolly work the best imo.

[djos]

i reckon spring loaded from the bottom inside the bin so it presses agenst the top of the bin a good seal would then be achived due to the pressure

it will have the hinge toward the front of the neato and will open when nozzle is put through hole

The major issue with that idea is that the suction from the neato itself when running may cause the seal to be broken resulting in a loss of suction.

If the spring loaded door/cover is on top of the Bin the suction will actually maintain the seal due to the internal low pressure area inside the bin.