Electrode protection device, charging station for automatic walking equipment, and mowing system

Abstract

An electrode protection device, a charging station for an automatic walking device, and a mowing system. The electrode protection device of the present invention is arranged on the outer periphery of the charging electrode and can be pushed by the automatic walking device to output a trigger signal through the trigger unit, and the main power supply circuit of the charging station is turned on or off through the trigger signal. Thus, when not charging, the present invention can protect the charging electrode from pollution and damage, and avoid accidental touch, improving the safety of the charging station and the service life of the electrode; when docking for charging, the present invention can also use the docking impact force of the machine to push the electrode protection device to retract through the movement of the automatic walking device, so that the charging electrode is exposed to dock with the charging connector on the automatic walking device for charging and turn on the main power supply circuit, without the need for manual operation. On the charging station provided by the present invention, the charging electrode is not charged when not charging, and automatically switches to be charged when receiving the signal from the trigger unit, improving the safety of the mowing system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of automatic walking devices, and more particularly to an electrode protection device, a charging station for an automatic walking device, and a mowing system. Background Art

[0002] Automatic walking devices such as intelligent mowing robots have been widely popularized. They can replace traditional lawn mowers and reduce the labor cost required for lawn maintenance. Automatic walking devices can operate automatically, effectively liberating manpower and bringing convenience to users.

[0003] Automatic walking devices usually use a battery pack to provide power for the device. After working for a period of time, when the battery pack runs out of power, it needs to return to the charging station for charging. The charging station is usually set on the boundary wire of the working area of the automatic walking device. When the automatic walking device detects the battery pack and receives the instruction to return for charging, its control unit will control the automatic walking device to run along the boundary wire and return to the charging station for docking and charging.

[0004] On existing charging stations, the charging electrodes are always charged. This not only causes the charging station to always consume electrical energy, but also poses a safety hazard.

[0005] To solve the above problems, a separate input module is provided in the prior art, which can input a control signal to the controller of the charging station, and then the controller of the charging station powers on or off the electronic switch on the main power supply line in the charging station. However, the above method requires an additional input module and additional electronic devices and control circuits. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides an electrode protection device, a charging station for an automatic walking device, and a mowing system. The present invention realizes the switching of the working state of the main power supply circuit of the charging station by the automatic walking device pushing the electrode protection device to trigger a trigger signal. The present invention specifically adopts the following technical solutions.

[0007] First, to achieve the above object, an electrode protection device is proposed. The electrode protection device is movably installed on the outer periphery of the charging electrode of the charging station of the automatic walking device, and can be pushed by the automatic walking device to make the front end of the charging electrode located outside the electrode protection device, and trigger the trigger unit to output a trigger signal;

[0008] The trigger signal is used to switch the circuit state of the main power supply circuit in the charging station.

[0009] Optionally, for any of the above electrode protection devices, one electrode protection device is respectively provided corresponding to each electrode of the charging station, and the electrode protection devices are independently movable from each other.

[0010] Optionally, for any of the electrode protection devices described above, each of the electrode protection devices can be pushed by an automatic walking device to independently trigger the trigger unit.

[0011] Optionally, for any of the electrode protection devices described above, each of the trigger units is connected in series in the output circuit of the charging signal.

[0012] Optionally, for any of the electrode protection devices described above, the electrode protection device is a retractable structure provided on the outer periphery of the electrode.

[0013] Optionally, for any of the electrode protection devices described above, the retractable structure includes a protection cylinder body;

[0014] When not pushed by the automatic walking device, the front end of the protection cylinder body protrudes from the housing of the charging station and is provided outside the charging electrode.

[0015] When pushed by the automatic walking device, the front end of the charging electrode is located outside the protection cylinder body, and the front end of the charging electrode is docked with the charging connector on the automatic walking device for charging.

[0016] Optionally, for any of the electrode protection devices described above, the retractable structure further includes: a position restoring device installed inside the protection cylinder body for driving the protection cylinder body to restore from the rear end of the charging electrode to outside the housing of the charging station.

[0017] Optionally, for any of the electrode protection devices described above, the position restoring device is an elastic member.

[0018] Optionally, for any of the electrode protection devices described above, the trigger unit includes a mechanical switch or a sensing device provided between the retractable structure and the housing of the charging station.

[0019] Optionally, for any of the electrode protection devices described above, the sensing device includes a Hall element and a magnetic device respectively provided on the retractable structure and the housing of the charging station; or, the sensing device is one or a combination of a photoelectric sensor, a distance sensor, and a displacement sensor provided on the retractable structure or the housing of the charging station.

[0020] Optionally, for any of the electrode protection devices described above, when each of the trigger units is triggered, the trigger signal switches the main power supply circuit in the charging station to the charging state;

[0021] When any one of the trigger units is de-triggered, the main power supply circuit in the charging station is switched to the non-charging state;

[0022] When in the charging state, the main power supply circuit has a charging voltage; when not in the charging state, the main power supply circuit has a non-charging voltage;

[0023] Wherein, the charging voltage is greater than the non-charging voltage, and the non-charging voltage is an open-circuit voltage or a ground voltage or a standby voltage.

[0024] Optionally, for any of the electrode protection devices described above, when the automatic walking device pushes the telescopic structure to contract into the charging station housing, the charging electrode is at least partially exposed outside the telescopic structure, and the trigger unit is triggered by the telescopic structure;

[0025] When the automatic walking device cancels the push on the telescopic structure, the telescopic structure returns to the outside of the charging station housing, the charging electrode is located inside the telescopic structure, and the trigger unit cancels the trigger.

[0026] Meanwhile, the present invention also provides a charging station for an automatic walking device, which includes any of the electrode protection devices described above.

[0027] Another mowing system of the present invention includes an automatic walking device and a charging station matching the automatic walking device, wherein any of the electrode protection devices described above is provided on the charging station.

[0028] Beneficial effects

[0029] The electrode protection device of the present invention is arranged on the outer periphery of the charging electrode and can be pushed by the automatic walking device to output a trigger signal through the trigger unit, and the main power supply circuit of the charging station is turned on or off through the trigger signal. Thus, when not charging, the present invention can protect the charging electrode from pollution, damage, and avoid accidental touch, improving the safety of the charging station and the service life of the electrode; when docking for charging, the present invention can also use the docking impact force of the machine to push the electrode protection device to retract through the movement of the automatic walking device, so that the charging electrode is exposed to dock with the charging connector on the automatic walking device for charging and turn on the main power supply circuit, without the need for manual operation. On the charging station provided by the present invention, the charging electrode is not charged when not charging and automatically switches to be charged when receiving the signal of the trigger unit, improving the safety of the mowing system.

[0030] The present invention respectively provides two mutually independent electrode protection devices for the two charging electrodes of the charging station, and two trigger units are respectively provided for the two electrode protection devices, and the two trigger units are connected in series on the main power supply circuit. The present invention can only turn on the main power supply circuit to supply power to the charging electrode when both of the two trigger units are in the closed state at the same time. Therefore, the present invention can effectively improve the safety of the charging process.

[0031] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the following description, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention. Description of the Drawings

[0032] The drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention, and constitute a part of the description, and together with the embodiments of the present invention, are used to explain the present invention, and do not constitute a limitation to the present invention. In the drawings:

[0033] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a circuit module of a main power supply circuit in a charging station of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the docking and charging process of an automatic walking device and a charging station of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 3 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a charging station in the present invention;

[0036] Figure 4 is Figure 3 a cross-sectional view of the charging station in;

[0037] Figure 5 is Figure 3 a cross-sectional view of the charging station in the docking and charging state.

[0038] In the figures, 1 - boundary line, 2 - charging station, 3 - in-station induction signal, 4 - charging electrode, 5 - automatic walking device, 6 - charging connector, 7 - switch unit, 8 - electrode protection device, 9 - elastic member. Detailed Embodiments

[0039] To make the objectives and technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the described embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0040] Those skilled in the art of the present technology can understand that, unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical terms and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as the general understanding of those of ordinary skill in the art in the field to which the present invention belongs. It should also be understood that terms such as those defined in a general dictionary should be understood to have a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the prior art, and will not be interpreted with an idealized or overly formal meaning unless defined as such here.

[0041] In the present invention, the meanings of "inside" and "outside" refer to the directions relative to the charging station itself. The direction from its housing to the internal switching unit is inside, and vice versa. This is not a specific limitation on the device mechanism of the present invention.

[0042] In the present invention, the meaning of "connection" can be a direct connection between components or an indirect connection between components through other components.

[0043] In the present invention, the meanings of "front" and "back" refer to the directions during the docking charging process of the automatic walking device. The direction in which the charging station first contacts the automatic walking device is the front, and vice versa. This is not a specific limitation on the device mechanism of the present invention.

[0044] The present invention designs an electrode protection device for the charging electrodes on the charging station of an automatic walking device. It is movably installed on the outer periphery of the charging electrodes on the charging station of the automatic walking device, and can be pushed by the automatic walking device to expose the front end of the charging electrode outside the electrode protection device, and trigger the trigger unit to output a trigger signal; the trigger signal is used to switch the circuit state of the main power supply circuit in the charging station. This structure can make the charging electrodes on the charging station exposed by the electrode protection device being pushed by the housing of the self-walking device, so that the exposed charging electrodes can be docked with the charging connector 6 on the automatic walking device, realizing the charging of the energy storage unit such as the internal battery pack of the automatic walking device.

[0045] Considering that the battery pack on the automatic walking device usually has two or even more charging connectors 6, positive and negative, therefore, the present invention can further respectively set an electrode protection device corresponding to each electrode on the charging station, and the electrode protection devices are independently movable from each other. In this way, by setting the structures of the electrode protection devices to be independent of each other and having no associated transmission between the electrode protection devices, it is ensured that the moving states of the electrode protection devices do not affect each other. Thus, the present invention can further respectively set independent trigger units for each of the electrode protection devices, so that each electrode protection device can independently trigger the trigger unit through its own movement after being pushed by the automatic walking device, and output the corresponding trigger signal. In this way, by connecting the trigger units in series in the output circuit of the charging signal, or by connecting the trigger signals of the trigger units to an AND gate circuit, it can be ensured that the main power supply circuit in the charging station can only be connected when all the electrode protection devices are triggered. Thus, it can avoid mis-triggering caused by sundries or other situations accidentally touching the electrode protection device, and avoid the risk of electric shock caused by mis-triggering.

[0046] Specifically, the electrode protection device provided by the present invention can be set as a retractable structure installed on the outer periphery of the electrode. It can be realized by a protection cylinder main body, a position restoration device installed at the rear side of the protection cylinder main body, and a trigger unit composed of elements such as a mechanical switch and a sensing device arranged between the retractable structure and the charging station housing.

[0047] When not pushed by the automatic walking device, the protection cylinder main body is driven by the potential energy of a position restoration device such as an elastic member, and keeps its front end protruding from the housing of the charging station, arranged outside the charging electrode to protect the charging electrode.

[0048] When pushed by the automatic walking device, the protection cylinder main body can move backward and at least partially retract into the charging station along with the movement of the automatic walking device, so that the front end of the charging electrode is located outside the protection cylinder main body, enabling the front end of the charging electrode to be docked with the charging connector 6 on the automatic walking device for charging.

[0049] At this time, the present invention can further, through the structural design of a series circuit or the logical design of an AND gate circuit, make it such that when pushed by the automatic walking device, the electrode protection device switches the main power supply circuit in the charging station to the charging state only when each of the trigger units is triggered; and when any one of the trigger units is revoked from being triggered, the main power supply circuit in the charging station is switched to the non-charging state.

[0050] To protect the user from the risk of electric shock and save the energy consumption of the charging station at the same time, the present invention can be set such that in the charging state, the main power supply circuit has a charging voltage; and in the non-charging state, the main power supply circuit has a non-charging voltage. Thus, by setting the charging voltage to be greater than the non-charging voltage, and setting the non-charging voltage as an open-circuit voltage or a ground voltage or a standby voltage, the harm caused by accidental touch electric shock can be reduced accordingly, and the standby energy consumption of the charging station system in the non-charging state can be reduced.

[0051] Embodiment 1

[0052] As Figure 1-2 shown, the charging station 2 includes an energy providing unit, a switch unit 7, a control unit, and a charging electrode 4. The charging station 2 can also be provided with a boundary line signal generating device for emitting a current signal into the boundary line. In addition, an in-station induction signal generating device can be further provided on or near the charging station, which can specifically be selected as an in-station induction coil or an electric wire for generating an in-station induction signal 3.

[0053] The energy providing unit provides a charging voltage for the charging electrode. A trigger unit formed by a mechanical switch or a sensing device is arranged on the main power supply circuit and is connected to the control unit.

[0054] The sensing device therein is used to sense whether the charging connector on the automatic walking device is docked with the charging electrode on the charging station.

[0055] One implementation of the sensing device is a distance sensor. For example, ultrasonic, laser, infrared ranging sensors, or a wireless module, which is used to detect the distance between the automatic walking device and the charging station. When the distance between the two is less than a set value, it is determined that the electrode and the connector start docking or the docking is completed.

[0056] Another implementation of the sensing device is as Figure 3-5 shown, including a mechanical switch and an electrode protection device 8. The electrode protection device 8 is telescopically sleeved outside the charging electrode 4 and is used to protect the electrode from being touched. At the rear end of the electrode protection device, a guiding structure is also arranged in the cavity formed in the charging station housing, and it is arranged along the direction of the electrode protection device. The electrode protection device is arranged between the guiding structure and the inner wall of the cavity, and the rear end of the electrode protection device is connected to the charging station housing through an elastic member. When the automatic walking device performs docking, the housing of the automatic walking device squeezes the electrode protection device 8 to move it inward into the charging station housing, so that the charging electrode on the charging station is exposed, realizing docking with the charging connector on the automatic walking device. At the same time, the movement of the electrode protection device will also trigger the trigger unit. At this time, after receiving the trigger signal from the trigger unit, the control unit of the charging station can control the switch unit to close and connect the main power supply circuit to provide a charging voltage for energy storage components such as the battery pack of the automatic walking device. When the automatic walking device finishes charging and exits the charging station, the squeezing effect on the electrode protection device 8 disappears, and the restoring force of the elastic member pushes the electrode protection device to extend and surround the outside of the front end of the charging electrode.

[0057] Furthermore, the electrode protection device can be set to include a first electrode protection element and a second electrode protection element corresponding to the number of charging electrodes. The two electrode protection elements can be respectively realized through the protection cylinder bodies arranged on the two electrodes of the charging station. The corresponding trigger unit can be set to have two. The first electrode protection element and the second electrode protection element are cooperatively arranged with the corresponding trigger units. When the automatic walking device docks, the device housing will simultaneously push the first electrode protection element and the second electrode protection element to move inward, so that the two electrodes are respectively exposed from the inside of the protection cylinder body and trigger the two trigger units at the same time. At this time, after receiving the signals from the two trigger units, the control unit of the charging station can control the switch unit to close and connect the main power supply circuit, thereby improving the safety of the charging process.

[0058] The trigger unit has multiple implementation methods: for example, the first method can be achieved by the cooperation of a Hall switch installed on the charging station and a magnet installed on the electrode protection device 8; the second method can be achieved by a mechanical switch, which can be installed on the housing of the charging station, and the mechanical switch is triggered when the electrode protection device moves, and the mechanical switch provides a trigger signal to the control unit; the third method can be achieved by an optical sensor, which is installed on the housing of the charging station and can detect changes in the optical signal on the moving path of the electrode protection device. Those skilled in the art should understand that other common technologies can also be used for the trigger unit.

[0059] The automatic walking device further includes a signal recognition unit for recognizing boundary line signals and in-station induction signals. The signal recognition unit can specifically be set as a magnetic sensor to detect electromagnetic signals output by the boundary line or the in-station induction signal generating device.

[0060] The charging process can be achieved through the following steps:

[0061] Step 1: After the automatic walking device receives the instruction to return to the charging station, its control unit controls the automatic walking device to run to the boundary line 1;

[0062] Step 2: The automatic walking device can walk along the boundary line in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Under the guidance of the boundary line signal, by identifying that the signal generating device emits a current signal into the boundary line, inducing the magnetic field of the boundary line signal, and returning to the charging station along the boundary line. In other embodiments, the automatic walking device can also determine the position of the charging station through satellite navigation, UWB, image recognition, etc., and drive it back to the charging station;

[0063] Step 3: When the automatic walking device is about to reach the charging station, its signal detection unit detects the in-station induction signal 3 and feeds the in-station induction signal back to the control unit of the automatic walking device. The control unit controls the automatic walking device to start executing the in-station mode. In this in-station mode, the automatic walking device decelerates and gradually drives its charging connector 6 to dock with the charging electrode of the charging station.

[0064] Step 4: When the docking is completed or during the docking process, the housing of the automatic walking device pushes the electrode protection device to move inward into the charging station. Thus, the charging electrode of the charging station is exposed. During this docking process, while the electrode protection device is moving, it triggers the trigger unit, and the trigger unit outputs a control signal to the control unit of the charging station. The control unit controls the electronic or mechanical switch to close, connecting the main power supply circuit, so that the charging electrode obtains the charging voltage. During the charging process, the braking device on the automatic walking device can provide braking to keep the automatic walking device in the charging position, so that the electrode protection device is always in a state of being pushed and compressed inward.

[0065] Embodiment 2

[0066] Other contents of this embodiment are the same as those of Embodiment 1. The difference of this embodiment lies in that when the automatic walking device or the charging station is in a non-charging state, the main power supply circuit of the charging station system can still remain in the on state, but at this time, the voltage supplied to the charging electrodes on the charging station is a non-charging voltage. This non-charging voltage can be set to be less than the normal charging voltage. After the control unit of the charging station receives the trigger signal from the trigger unit, it can control the main power supply circuit to increase the voltage of the charging electrodes to the charging voltage for docking charging.

[0067] Thus, through the design of the electrode protection device, the present invention can:

[0068] 1. When the automatic walking device docks with the charging station for charging, the automatic walking device pushes the electrode protection device to trigger the trigger unit, and the trigger unit sends out a trigger signal to turn on the main power supply circuit.

[0069] 2. Two independent electrode protection devices are respectively set for the two electrodes on the charging station, and the two electrode protection devices can respectively correspond to two independent trigger units, so as to further avoid the mis-triggering of the trigger unit in a series circuit mode and further ensure the safety of the charging process.

[0070] The above is only the implementation mode of the present invention, and its description is relatively specific and detailed, but it should not be understood as a limitation to the scope of the patent of the present invention. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present invention, several deformations and improvements can still be made, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electrode protection device, characterized in that, The electrode protection device is movably installed on the outer periphery of the charging electrode of the charging station of the automatic walking device. It can be pushed by the automatic walking device to expose the front end of the charging electrode outside the electrode protection device and trigger the trigger unit to output a trigger signal; The trigger signal is used to switch the circuit state of the main power supply circuit in the charging station; The charging electrode in the exposed state can be docked with the charging connector on the automatic walking device to charge the energy storage unit inside the automatic walking device; When not pushed by the automatic walking device, the electrode protection device is driven by the potential energy of the position restoring device to keep its front end protruding from the housing of the charging station and outside the charging electrode to protect the charging electrode; Among them, the trigger unit is: a Hall switch provided on the charging station and a magnet provided on the electrode protection device, or realized by a mechanical switch provided on the housing of the charging station; When the docking is completed or during the docking process, the housing of the automatic walking device pushes the electrode protection device to move inside the charging station, and the charging electrode of the charging station is exposed; during this docking process, the electrode protection device triggers the trigger unit while moving, and the trigger unit outputs a control signal to the control unit of the charging station. The control unit controls the electronic or mechanical switch to close and connect the main power supply circuit so that the charging electrode obtains a charging voltage.

2. The electrode protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, An electrode protection device is respectively provided corresponding to each electrode of the charging station, and the electrode protection devices move independently of each other.

3. The electrode protection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, Each of the electrode protection devices can be pushed by the automatic walking device to independently trigger the trigger unit.

4. The electrode protection device according to claim 3, characterized in that, Each of the trigger units is connected in series in the output circuit of the charging signal.

5. The electrode protection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, When each of the trigger units is triggered, the trigger signal switches the main power supply circuit in the charging station to the charging state; when any one of the trigger units is de-triggered, the main power supply circuit in the charging station is switched to the non-charging state; in the charging state, the main power supply circuit has a charging voltage; In the non-charging state, the main power supply circuit has a non-charging voltage; among them, the charging voltage is greater than the non-charging voltage, and the non-charging voltage is an open circuit voltage or a ground voltage or a standby voltage.

6. A charging station for an automatic walking device, characterized in that, Including the electrode protection device according to any one of claims 1-5.

7. A mowing system, comprising an automatic walking device and a charging station matched with the automatic walking device, characterized in that, The charging station is provided with the electrode protection device according to any one of claims 1-5.

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