Solar-powered rechargeable lawn mowing robot and its return method

Abstract

The present application provides a solar-powered, rechargeable lawn mower robot and a return method therefor. The lawn mower robot is adapted to perform at least one work task within a work area. A user presets a solar charging station based on the lighting conditions within the work area. No charging base station is provided at the solar charging station. Before the lawn mower robot performs its work task, a controller stores the first GPS coordinates of the solar charging station. The return method includes the following steps: when the lawn mower robot needs to return to the solar charging station, the controller compensates the first GPS coordinates of the solar charging station to obtain a second GPS coordinate, or compensates the first real-time GPS coordinates of the lawn mower robot to obtain a second real-time GPS coordinate, and then controls the lawn mower robot to return. This method ensures that a solar charging area with ample sunlight is provided for the lawn mower robot and helps improve the lawn mower robot's return accuracy.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of garden robots, in particular to a solar-powered charging lawn mowing robot and a return method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Traditional lawn mower robots usually return to a charging base station to recharge after completing their work tasks. However, the charging base station is usually set up within the work area, resulting in the lawn in the area not being effectively mowed. If the charging base station is set up outside the work area, it will bring safety issues.

[0003] On the other hand, lawns have many unobstructed areas with abundant sunlight. How to combine solar energy with lawn mowing robots to improve their working efficiency has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Based on this, the present invention aims to provide an improved solar-powered rechargeable lawn mowing robot and a regression method thereof, so as to solve at least one of the above problems.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a method for returning a lawn mower to a location of a solar-powered robot. The lawn mower comprises a battery, a solar panel for charging the battery, a cutting assembly, running wheels, a first drive assembly for controlling rotation of the running wheels, a second drive assembly for controlling rotation of the cutting assembly, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the first drive assembly, the second drive assembly, and the solar panel, and to store, obtain, and calculate GPS coordinates of the lawn mower. The lawn mower is adapted to perform at least one work task in a work area.

[0006] The user presets a solar charging position according to the lighting conditions of the working area, wherein no charging base station is provided at the solar charging position, and before the mowing robot performs the working task, the controller stores the first GPS coordinates of the solar charging position;

[0007] The method comprises:

[0008] Acquiring at least one operating parameter of the lawn mower robot when performing a current working task; and determining whether the lawn mower robot needs to return to the solar charging position based on the at least one operating parameter;

[0009] If the judgment result is yes, the controller compensates the first GPS coordinate of the preset solar charging position to obtain a second GPS coordinate, and controls the lawn mower robot to move toward the second GPS coordinate, so that the lawn mower robot returns to the solar charging position and receives sunlight for charging through the solar components arranged thereon; or, if the judgment result is yes, the controller compensates the first real-time GPS coordinate of the lawn mower robot to obtain a second real-time GPS coordinate, and controls the lawn mower robot to move toward the first GPS coordinate of the solar charging position according to the second real-time GPS coordinate, so that the lawn mower robot returns to the solar charging position and receives sunlight for charging through the solar components arranged thereon.

[0010] The above method, when the mowing robot is performing its work task, determines whether it needs to return to the preset solar charging position by obtaining relevant working parameters. If it needs to return, the control device returns and uses the received sunlight to charge. This has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0011] 1. It can make full use of natural energy to ensure the energy supply of the lawn mower robot, and there is no need to set up a physical charging base station in the working area, so as to avoid the surface of the area where the charging base station is located from being effectively treated, which is conducive to improving the coverage rate of the working area;

[0012] 2. The solar charging position in the working area can be pre-set to ensure that the lawn mower robot is provided with a solar charging area with abundant sunlight;

[0013] 3. The above method can correct the coordinate drift of the lawn mower robot during the regression process through a compensation algorithm, so that the lawn mower robot can accurately go to a specific area for solar charging, which is beneficial to improving the regression accuracy of the solar-charged lawn mower robot and ensuring the working efficiency of the lawn mower robot.

[0014] In one embodiment, controlling the lawn mower robot to move toward the second GPS coordinate to return to the solar charging position includes: obtaining the second GPS coordinate of the solar charging position; obtaining the first real-time GPS coordinate of the lawn mower robot; calculating the distance between the first real-time GPS coordinate of the lawn mower robot and the second GPS coordinate; and determining whether the distance is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold. If the determination result is yes, controlling the lawn mower robot to stop moving and then receiving sunlight through the solar module for charging.

[0015] In one embodiment, controlling the lawn mower robot to move toward the first GPS coordinate to return to the solar charging position includes: obtaining the first GPS coordinate of the solar charging position; obtaining the first real-time GPS coordinate of the lawn mower robot, and compensating the first real-time GPS coordinate to obtain a second real-time GPS coordinate; calculating the distance between the second real-time GPS coordinate and the first GPS coordinate; and determining whether the distance is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold. If the determination result is yes, controlling the lawn mower robot to stop moving and then receive sunlight through the solar module for charging.

[0016] In one embodiment, controlling the lawn mower robot to stop moving and then charging the battery by receiving sunlight through the solar panel specifically includes: the controller turning off the first drive component and turning on the solar panel after the walking wheel stops, so that the solar panel receives sunlight to charge the battery.

[0017] In one embodiment, before the lawn mowing robot performs a work task, the method further includes: obtaining and storing the initial coordinates of at least one compensation position in the working area; wherein, when the working area is provided with a plurality of compensation positions, the distance between two adjacent compensation positions is greater than or equal to 3m; accordingly, compensating the first GPS coordinate of the solar charging position or compensating the first real-time GPS coordinate of the lawn mowing robot includes: obtaining the third real-time GPS coordinate of one of the compensation positions; comparing the third real-time GPS coordinate of the compensation position with its initial coordinate to obtain compensation data.

[0018] In one embodiment, obtaining the third real-time GPS coordinates of one of the compensated positions and comparing the third real-time GPS coordinates of the compensated position with its initial coordinates to obtain compensation data includes: determining whether at least one third real-time GPS coordinate of the compensated position has been stored within a predetermined time period before the current moment; wherein the predetermined time period is less than or equal to 30 minutes; if the determination result is yes, selecting the stored third real-time GPS coordinates of one of the compensated positions and comparing it with the initial coordinates of the compensated position to obtain compensation data.

[0019] In one embodiment, at least one of the compensation positions is located at the boundary of the working area, and the obtaining of the third real-time GPS coordinates of one of the compensation positions and comparing the third real-time GPS coordinates of the compensation position with its initial coordinates to obtain compensation data also includes: if the judgment result is no, controlling the lawn mowing robot to move along the boundary of the working area until the lawn mowing robot passes the compensation position located at the boundary, obtaining the third real-time GPS coordinates of the compensation position and comparing it with the initial coordinates of the compensation position to obtain compensation data.

[0020] In one embodiment, each compensation position is provided with a marker, which is used to be detected by the lawn mowing robot so that the lawn mowing robot generates sensing data, and the sensing data is used to indicate that the lawn mowing robot passes through the compensation position where the marker is located; the marker includes a coil or a magnet.

[0021] In one embodiment, the working parameters include at least one of the coverage rate of the working area, the driving progress of the planned path, the remaining power, the driving power, and the workload; the controller is provided with a threshold value related to the working parameter; accordingly, judging whether the lawn mower robot needs to return to the solar charging position based on the at least one working parameter at least includes: comparing the working parameter with the threshold value of the working parameter and judging whether the lawn mower robot needs to return to the solar charging position; accordingly, the controller controls the lawn mower robot to return to the solar charging position, and also includes: the controller controls the second drive component to turn off, and controls the lawn mower robot to drive to the solar charging position after the cutting component stops.

[0022] In a second aspect, the present application provides a solar-powered robotic lawn mower adapted to perform at least one work task in a work area, comprising a battery, a solar panel for charging the battery, a cutting assembly, running wheels, a first drive assembly for controlling rotation of the running wheels, a second drive assembly for controlling rotation of the cutting assembly, and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to control the first drive assembly, the second drive assembly, and the solar panel, and to store, obtain, and calculate GPS coordinates of the robotic lawn mower.

[0023] The controller is further configured to execute a control process, which includes the steps of any of the methods described above.

[0024] The above-mentioned lawn mower robot has a solar panel and can use natural solar energy for charging to ensure work efficiency; at the same time, the lawn mower robot can also correct the coordinate drift of the lawn mower robot during the regression process through a compensation algorithm, so that the lawn mower robot can accurately go to a specific area for solar charging, which is beneficial to improving the regression accuracy of the solar-chargeable lawn mower robot and ensuring the work efficiency of the lawn mower robot; and the omission of the charging base station in the working area is also beneficial to improving the coverage rate of the working area, thereby ensuring the surface treatment quality of the working area. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the implementation methods of this specification or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the implementation methods or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some implementation methods recorded in this specification. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of a lawn mowing robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the steps of the regression method of the lawn mowing robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the return path of the lawn mowing robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a regression method for a lawn mowing robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of another regression method for a lawn mowing robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 6 This is a flow chart of the steps for obtaining compensation data for a lawn mowing robot according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] To make the above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more readily apparent, specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description sets forth numerous specific details to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention can be implemented in many other ways than those described herein, and those skilled in the art may make similar modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0033] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like to indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0034] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present invention, "plurality" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0035] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be an intermediate element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intermediate element. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation methods.

[0036] With the rapid development of science and technology, the application of intelligent control technology in people's lives has become more and more extensive. As a smart product derived from intelligent control technology, lawn mowing robots can bring convenience and speed to people's lives. Therefore, lawn mowing robots are frequently used in people's lives.

[0037] Currently, some robotic lawn mowers are equipped with solar panels to convert natural sunlight into electricity for use. However, some of these robotic lawn mowers still require a charging station, which is not conducive to improving the coverage of robotic lawn mowers. Some have proposed charging-on-the-go functionality, but no such products have been seen on the market, and the specific effectiveness of this implementation is still unknown. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a robotic lawn mower that can implement solar charging technology in its work area without requiring a charging station.

[0038] The present application provides a lawn mower robot, which has a battery and a solar panel for charging the battery, so that it can be charged by receiving natural solar energy to ensure work efficiency; at the same time, the lawn mower robot can also correct the coordinate drift of the lawn mower robot during the regression process through a compensation algorithm, so that the lawn mower robot can accurately go to a specific area for solar charging, which is beneficial to improving the regression accuracy of the solar-chargeable lawn mower robot and ensuring the work efficiency of the lawn mower robot; and the omission of the charging base station in the working area is also beneficial to improving the coverage rate of the working area, thereby ensuring the processing quality of the surface of the working area.

[0039] In some embodiments of the present application, the lawn mower robot can collect the positioning information of the lawn mower robot (including longitude and latitude information, speed, time, etc.) through the GPS module, and transmit it to the controller for analysis and processing to generate instructions that can control the rotation of the cutting component and the walking wheel, thereby enabling the lawn mower robot to move and / or work in the working area, and turn on the solar component to receive sunlight for charging when moving to the solar charging position.

[0040] In some embodiments of the present application, the solar charging station for the robot mower to charge can be pre-set by the user based on the lighting conditions of the work area. For example, an unobstructed or substantially unobstructed area with abundant sunlight can be selected as the solar charging station. Optionally, multiple solar charging stations can be provided to prevent the robot mower from repeatedly returning to the same solar charging station and causing wear and tear on the lawn at that location. It should be noted that no charging base station is located at the solar charging station.

[0041] The lawn mowing robot provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0042] In one embodiment, if Figure 1 As shown, the lawn mower robot 1 includes a body 10, and a cutting assembly 20, a walking wheel 30, a GPS module 40, a solar assembly 50 and a battery 60 connected to the solar assembly 50, respectively connected to the body 10. The GPS module 40 is at least configured to obtain position data of the lawn mower robot 1.

[0043] Exemplarily, the body 10 may include a shell and a chassis of the lawn mower robot 1, which may be mainly used to install a cutting assembly 20, a walking wheel 30, a GPS module 40, a solar assembly 50, a battery 60, and interactive components (such as buttons, keys, touch panels, etc.).

[0044] For example, the robot mower 1 can control the rotation of the running wheels 30 via a first drive assembly. Specifically, the running wheels 30 can rotate under the drive instructions of the first drive assembly, thereby driving the robot mower 1 to move. For example, the running wheels 30 can generally be mounted on the bottom of the robot mower 1 and can include universal wheels, drive wheels, etc.

[0045] For example, the lawn mower robot 1 can control the rotation of the cutting assembly 20 via a second drive assembly. Specifically, the cutting assembly 20 can rotate under the drive of the second drive assembly according to the cutting instruction, thereby achieving mowing or chopping grass. For example, the cutting assembly 20 can be installed at the bottom of the lawn mower robot 1.

[0046] For example, in addition to the GPS module 40 , the lawn mower robot 1 may also be provided with an electromagnetic induction sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, a visual sensor, etc., to sense environmental information in the working area.

[0047] Illustratively, the solar assembly 50 may include a solar panel, a solar film, and a switch element / circuit for controlling the robot mower 1 to enter or exit a charging mode. Illustratively, the robot mower 1 is also provided with a battery 60 to store the electrical energy converted by the solar assembly 50 and to power various components of the robot mower 1.

[0048] Furthermore, the mowing robot 1 also includes a controller 70, which can be coupled to the cutting component 20, the running wheel 30, the GPS module 40, the solar component 50, and the battery 60. For example, it can be electrically connected / communicationally connected, and some of it can be mechanically connected. In addition, the controller 70 can be directly connected to these components, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be connected through internal components, etc. In addition, the controller 70 can include a processor, and the processor can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), off-the-shelf programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0049] Before the mowing robot 1 performs a task, the controller 70 can store the first GPS coordinates of the solar charging position. Figure 3 As shown, before starting the lawn mower robot 1 to perform a work task, the user can first select an unobstructed and sunny area in the home yard as the solar charging position A1, and then place the lawn mower robot 1 stationary at the solar charging position A1 for a period of time, and control the lawn mower robot 1 to read the longitude and latitude coordinates of the location as the first GPS coordinates of the solar charging position.

[0050] Further, such as Figure 2 As shown, the controller 70 may be configured to execute a control program. When executing the control program, the controller 70 may implement the following steps:

[0051] S100: Obtain at least one working parameter of the lawn mowing robot 1 when performing a current working task.

[0052] For example, the operating parameters may include at least one of coverage of the working area, progress of the planned path, remaining battery power, driving power, and workload. The coverage rate represents the ratio of the area processed by the robot mower 1 to the total processable area of the working area.

[0053] Exemplarily, the controller may be provided with thresholds related to the working parameters. For example, when the working parameter is coverage, the corresponding threshold may be the coverage threshold; when the working parameter is the driving progress of the planned path, the corresponding threshold may be the remaining progress threshold of the planned path; when the working parameter is the remaining power, the corresponding threshold may be the remaining power threshold, and so on.

[0054] S200: Determine whether the lawn mower robot 1 needs to return to a preset solar charging position based on at least one working parameter.

[0055] For example, the operating parameter may be compared with a threshold value of the operating parameter to determine whether the robotic lawn mower 1 needs to return to the solar charging station.

[0056] Optionally, in the random working mode, the controller 70 can determine whether the lawn mower robot 1 has completed the current working task based on the coverage rate of the working area. If it is judged to be so, it is controlled to return to the solar charging position for charging; in the path planning working mode, it can determine whether the current working task is completed based on the coverage rate of the working area and the driving progress of the planned path. If it is judged to be so, it is controlled to return to the solar charging position for charging.

[0057] Optionally, whether the lawn mower robot 1 needs to return to charging can be determined based on whether the remaining power of the lawn mower robot 1 is less than or equal to a preset power threshold. If the judgment is yes, it is controlled to return to the solar charging position for charging.

[0058] Optionally, it is possible to determine whether the lawn mower robot 1 has an abnormal operation or encounters an abnormal environment based on whether the driving power and / or workload of the lawn mower robot 1 is greater than or equal to a preset value. If so, it can also be controlled to return to the solar charging position for charging, or simultaneously issue an alarm to remind the user.

[0059] Optionally, after determining that it is necessary to return to the solar charging position, the controller 70 can control the second drive component to turn off, and control the lawn mower robot 1 to drive to the solar charging position after the cutting component stops. This is conducive to improving the safety of the lawn mower robot 1 during the process.

[0060] Optionally, the lawn mower robot 1 may obtain the above operating parameters every 50ms, 100ms, 500ms, 1s, or 2s, so as to monitor in real time whether the lawn mower robot 1 needs to return to the solar charging position.

[0061] S300. If the judgment result is yes, the controller 70 compensates the first GPS coordinate of the preset solar charging position to obtain the second GPS coordinate, and controls the lawn mower robot 1 to move toward the second GPS coordinate, so that the lawn mower robot 1 returns to the solar charging position A1 and receives sunlight for charging through the solar components arranged thereon; or, if the judgment result is yes, the controller 70 compensates the first real-time GPS coordinate of the lawn mower robot 1 to obtain the second real-time GPS coordinate, and controls the lawn mower robot 1 to move toward the first GPS coordinate of the solar charging position A1 according to the second real-time GPS coordinate, so that the lawn mower robot 1 returns to the solar charging position A1 and receives sunlight for charging through the solar components arranged thereon.

[0062] For example, Figure 3 As shown, when the robotic lawn mower 1 needs to return to solar charging station A1, it can be controlled to do so. Alternatively, the robotic lawn mower 1 can be controlled to return directly to solar charging station A1, or it can be controlled to first proceed to another location B1 / B2 / B3 that facilitates its return, and then return to solar charging station A1 from that location. Optionally, there can be multiple solar charging stations, such as solar charging station A2, solar charging station A3, and so on, to avoid the robotic lawn mower returning to the same solar charging station each time and causing damage to the lawn at that location.

[0063] However, due to the influence of satellite movement, after a long period of time, the coordinate data collected by the GPS module may drift, resulting in inaccurate previously collected coordinate data. Figure 3 As shown, taking the solar charging position A1 and the compensation position B2 as an example, at the first moment, the first initial position data of the solar charging position A1 is (0, 0), and the second initial position data of the compensation position B2 is (-3, -2). However, as time changes, the position corresponding to the (0, 0) coordinate data at the second moment may deviate from the position of the solar charging position A1.

[0064] Therefore, in order to correct such positioning drift, the first GPS coordinate of the solar charging position can be compensated by a compensation algorithm to obtain a second GPS coordinate, and the lawn mower robot 1 can be controlled to move toward the second GPS coordinate, so that the lawn mower robot 1 returns to the solar charging position and receives sunlight for charging through the solar components arranged thereon; or, the first real-time GPS coordinate of the lawn mower robot 1 can be compensated by a compensation algorithm to obtain a second real-time GPS coordinate, and the lawn mower robot 1 can be controlled to move toward the first GPS coordinate of the solar charging position according to the second real-time GPS coordinate, so that the lawn mower robot returns to the solar charging position and receives sunlight for charging through the solar components arranged thereon.

[0065] In some embodiments, as Figure 4 As shown, in step S300, controlling the lawn mower robot 1 to drive to the second GPS coordinate to return to the solar charging position A1 may include:

[0066] S310, obtaining the second GPS coordinates of the solar charging position A1;

[0067] S320, obtaining a first real-time GPS coordinate of the lawn mowing robot 1;

[0068] S330, calculating the distance between the first real-time GPS coordinate and the second GPS coordinate of the lawn mowing robot 1;

[0069] S340: Determine whether the distance is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold. If yes, control the lawn mower robot 1 to stop moving and receive sunlight through the solar module 50 for charging.

[0070] For example, Figure 3 As shown, by obtaining the second GPS coordinates of the solar charging position A1 and combining them with the first real-time GPS coordinates of the position of the lawn mower robot 1 itself, the distance between the lawn mower robot 1 and the solar charging position A1 can be measured in real time. When the distance is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold, it can be considered that the lawn mower robot 1 has reached the solar charging position A1, thereby controlling the lawn mower robot 1 to stop moving and enter the charging mode to receive sunlight through the solar module 50 for charging.

[0071] Optionally, the distance threshold may be less than or equal to 2 m, for example, may be one of 2 m, 1.5 m, 1 m, 0.5 m, and 0.1 m.

[0072] In some embodiments, as Figure 5 As shown, in step S300, controlling the lawn mower robot 1 to drive to the first GPS coordinate to return to the solar charging position A1 may include:

[0073] S310', obtaining the first GPS coordinates of the solar charging position A1;

[0074] S320′, obtaining a first real-time GPS coordinate of the lawn mowing robot 1, and compensating the first real-time GPS coordinate to obtain a second real-time GPS coordinate;

[0075] S330', calculating the distance between the second real-time GPS coordinate and the first GPS coordinate;

[0076] S340 ′: determine whether the distance is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold. If yes, control the lawn mower robot 1 to stop moving and receive sunlight through the solar module 50 for charging.

[0077] For example, Figure 3 As shown, by obtaining the first GPS coordinates of the solar charging position A1 and combining them with the first real-time GPS coordinates of the position of the lawn mower robot 1 itself, the first real-time GPS coordinates can be compensated to obtain the second real-time GPS coordinates, and then the second real-time GPS coordinates can be used to measure the distance between the lawn mower robot 1 and the solar charging position A1 in real time. When the distance is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold, it can be considered that the lawn mower robot 1 has reached the solar charging position A1, thereby controlling the lawn mower robot 1 to stop moving and enter the charging mode to receive sunlight through the solar module 50 for charging.

[0078] Optionally, the distance threshold may be less than or equal to 2 m, for example, may be one of 2 m, 1.5 m, 1 m, 0.5 m, and 0.1 m.

[0079] In some embodiments, controlling the robot mower 1 to stop moving and then charging the robot mower 1 via sunlight received by the solar panel 50 in steps S340 and S340' specifically includes the following steps: the controller 70 turns off the first drive assembly and, after the running wheels 30 stop, turns on the solar panel 50, allowing the solar panel 50 to receive sunlight and charge the battery. This helps ensure the safety of the robot mower 1 during the charging process.

[0080] In some embodiments, before the mowing robot 1 performs a work task, the method further includes:

[0081] The initial coordinates of at least one compensation position in the working area are obtained and stored; wherein, when the working area is provided with a plurality of compensation positions, the distance between two adjacent compensation positions is greater than or equal to 3m.

[0082] For example, before starting the lawn mower robot 1 to perform a work task, the user can not only select an unobstructed and sunny area in the home yard as the solar charging position A1, but also select at least one wide and obstacle-free area as a compensation position to determine the compensation data for compensating for positioning drift; after selecting the compensation position, the lawn mower robot 1 can be placed stationary at the solar charging position A1 and each compensation position for a period of time in turn, and the lawn mower robot 1 can be controlled to read the longitude and latitude coordinates of the corresponding position and store them as the initial coordinate data of the corresponding position.

[0083] Accordingly, obtaining the compensation data in step S310 or step S320′ may include:

[0084] The third real-time GPS coordinates of one of the compensated positions are obtained and stored; the third real-time GPS coordinates of the compensated position are compared with its initial coordinates to obtain compensation data.

[0085] For example, see Figure 3Taking solar charging station A1 and compensation station B2 as an example, at a first moment, the first GPS coordinate of solar charging station A1 is (0, 0), and the initial coordinate of compensation station B2 is (-3, -2). However, over time, the position corresponding to the coordinate data (0, 0) at the second moment may deviate from the position of solar charging station A1. Therefore, to correct this positioning drift, the position data of compensation station B2 can be obtained again at the second moment to obtain and store the third real-time GPS coordinates of compensation station B2, for example (1, 3). The positioning drift can then be calculated by subtracting the third real-time GPS coordinates from the initial coordinates (-3, -2) of compensation station B2. This positioning drift can then be used to compensate for the first GPS coordinate (0, 0) of solar charging station A1, resulting in the second GPS coordinates of solar charging station A1 being (4, 5). The first real-time GPS coordinates of the lawn mower robot 1 can then be obtained using the GPS module. Combined with the second GPS coordinates of solar charging station A1, the lawn mower robot 1 can be controlled to return to solar charging station A1.

[0086] Alternatively, after the positioning drift is obtained by subtraction, the first real-time GPS coordinates of the lawn mower robot 1 can be obtained. For example, the first real-time GPS coordinates at the current moment are (5, 6). The first real-time GPS coordinates are then compensated using the positioning drift to obtain the second real-time GPS coordinates. For example, the second real-time GPS coordinates at the current moment are (1, 1). Then, the lawn mower robot 1 can be controlled to move toward the first GPS coordinates (0, 0) according to the second real-time GPS coordinates, and can eventually return to the solar charging position A1.

[0087] Optionally, the work area AR may be provided with multiple compensation positions to increase the probability that the robot mower 1 encounters a compensation position while performing its work tasks. Optionally, the distance between two adjacent compensation positions is greater than or equal to 3 meters. For example, the distance between two adjacent compensation positions can be 3 meters, 4 meters, 5 meters, 6 meters, 7 meters, etc. However, it should be noted that no compensation position may exceed the boundary of the work area AR to ensure the safe operation of the robot mower 1.

[0088] Through the above method, the GPS module can be used to achieve the return charging of the lawn mower robot 1, and the return accuracy of the lawn mower robot 1 can also be guaranteed. Compared with the lawn mower robot that uses differential GPS (DGPS) or real-time kinematic (RTK) technology for precise positioning, the present application can significantly reduce the preparation cost of the lawn mower robot 1.

[0089] In some embodiments, as Figure 6 As shown, step S310 or step S320′ may include:

[0090] SA, determining whether a third real-time GPS coordinate of at least one compensated position has been stored within a predetermined time period before the current moment; wherein the predetermined time period is less than or equal to 30 minutes;

[0091] SB. If the judgment result is yes, the third real-time GPS coordinates of one of the stored compensation positions are selected and compared with the initial coordinates of the compensation position to obtain compensation data.

[0092] For example, when performing a work task, if the mowing robot 1 passes through a compensation position, the position data of the compensation position will be recorded. Therefore, when the mowing robot 1 completes the current work task at the second moment, it can first determine whether it has stored position data of at least one compensation position within a predetermined time period before the second moment. If so, it means that the mowing robot 1 has passed through the preset compensation position during this time period, and the coordinate data of one of the stored compensation positions can be selected to obtain the required compensation data through the aforementioned positioning drift calculation method. Optionally, the time period determined by the predetermined time period can indicate that the position data obtained during this time period can be considered to have a small positioning drift due to the short interval time and can be basically ignored. Optionally, the predetermined time period can be less than or equal to 30 minutes, for example, it can be one of 30 minutes, 20 minutes, 10 minutes, and 5 minutes.

[0093] It should be noted that the third real-time GPS coordinate represents the GPS coordinate read when the lawn mower robot 1 passes the compensation position. Since the positioning drift that occurs within the predetermined time period is small, even if the third real-time GPS coordinate is not obtained when the lawn mower robot 1 needs to return to the solar charging position, as long as the third real-time GPS coordinate is stored within the predetermined time period, it can still be used to calculate the compensation data.

[0094] Optionally, each compensation position is provided with a marker detectable by the robot mower 1, so that when the robot mower 1 passes through the compensation position, the marker is detected and corresponding sensing data is generated. Optionally, the marker can be a coil or a magnet, so that the GPS module 40 can also include an electromagnetic induction sensor to sense the coil or magnet at the compensation position.

[0095] Optionally, step SB may further include: if the judgment result is yes, selecting a third real-time GPS coordinate of the compensation position stored within the shortest time before the current moment and comparing it with the initial coordinate of the compensation position to obtain compensation data. This helps reduce the drift error of the third real-time GPS coordinate, further improving the accuracy of the compensation data, and thus further ensuring the accuracy of the return of the lawn mower robot 1.

[0096] Optionally, if the judgment result is yes, the current position data of the mowing robot 1 can also be obtained, and combined with the position data of the compensation position stored in the time period to determine which compensation position the mowing robot 1 is currently closest to, thereby retrieving the position data of the closest compensation position as the required comparison position data.

[0097] In some embodiments, at least one compensation position is located at a boundary of the working area, and step S310 or step S320′ may further include:

[0098] SC. If the judgment result is no, the lawn mower robot 1 is controlled to move along the boundary of the working area until the lawn mower robot 1 passes the compensation position at the boundary, and the third real-time GPS coordinates of the compensation position are obtained and compared with the initial coordinates of the compensation position to obtain compensation data.

[0099] For example, if the mowing robot 1 has not stored any position data of the compensation position in the previous corresponding period, it means that the mowing robot 1 has not passed any compensation position in the previous corresponding period. At this time, it is necessary to find a compensation position before calculating the compensation data. Figure 3 In the example shown, the controller 70 can control the robotic lawn mower 1 to first move along the edge to find compensation position B3 at the boundary of the work area. Once the robotic lawn mower 1 finds compensation position B3 at the boundary of the work area, it can obtain the coordinates of compensation position B3 and compare them with the initial coordinates of compensation position B3 to obtain compensation data.

[0100] Optionally, a plurality of compensation positions may be provided on the boundary of the working area to reduce the time taken by the mowing robot 1 to search for the compensation position along the edge, thereby improving the return efficiency of the mowing robot 1 .

[0101] In some embodiments, the working area AR is provided with a plurality of solar charging positions, so step S300 may further include: controlling the lawn mower robot 1 to return to the solar charging position closest to the lawn mower robot 1 .

[0102] For example, after correcting the current GPS coordinate data of the lawn mower robot 1 or the first GPS coordinate of each solar charging position A1, the distance between the lawn mower robot 1 and each solar charging position A1 can be calculated, so that the nearest solar charging position A1 can be selected as the charging position to be returned, which is conducive to further improving the return efficiency of the lawn mower robot 1.

[0103] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above steps does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0104] It should be understood that, during the implementation process, each of the above steps can be completed by means of an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the controller or instructions in the form of software. The method for requesting uplink transmission resources disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present disclosure can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the controller reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0105] An embodiment of the present application further provides an autonomous working system, comprising the lawn mowing robot 1 as described in any of the above embodiments, and a wire defining a boundary of a working area AR.

[0106] In the above-mentioned autonomous working system, no charging base station is set up at the solar charging position, thereby improving the coverage rate of the working area. At the same time, using natural solar energy for charging can ensure the working efficiency of the lawn mower robot. Moreover, the fixed-position charging method of the lawn mower robot is also conducive to reducing the difficulty of applying solar charging technology on the device and improving the availability of the solar lawn mower robot.

[0107] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed, the steps of the method described in any of the above embodiments are implemented.

[0108] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0109] It should be noted that the numbers representing quantities or properties used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the present application should be understood as being modified by the terms "roughly", "about", "approximately" or "substantially" in some cases. For example, unless otherwise stated, "roughly", "about", "approximately" or "substantially" can indicate a ±20% variation of the value described. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters used in the specification and claims are approximate values, which may change according to the required characteristics of individual embodiments. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should take into account the specified significant digits and adopt the general method of retaining digits. Although the numerical fields and parameters used to confirm the breadth of their range in some embodiments of the present application are approximate values, in specific embodiments, the settings of such numerical values are as accurate as possible within the feasible range.

[0110] The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0111] The above-described embodiments merely illustrate several implementations of the present invention, and while their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent. It should be noted that a person skilled in the art would be able to make numerous variations and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present invention, all of which fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the patent for this invention shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for returning a solar-powered robot lawn mower to a desired location, the robot comprising a battery, a solar module for charging the battery, a cutting module, running wheels, a first drive module for controlling rotation of the running wheels, a second drive module for controlling rotation of the cutting module, and a controller for controlling the opening and closing of the first drive module, the second drive module, and the solar module, and for storing, acquiring, and calculating GPS coordinates of the robot lawn mower. The robot lawn mower is adapted to perform at least one work task in a work area, and is characterized in that: The user presets multiple solar charging positions in the work area according to the lighting conditions of the work area. No charging base station is set at the solar charging position, only GPS coordinates. Before the lawn mower robot performs a work task, the controller stores the first GPS coordinate of the solar charging position; The method comprises: Before the mowing robot performs a work task, the initial coordinates of at least one compensation position in the work area are obtained and stored; wherein at least one compensation position is on a boundary of the work area, at least two compensation positions are not on the boundary, and at least three compensation positions are not in a straight line; Acquiring at least one operating parameter of the lawn mower robot when performing a current working task; and determining whether the lawn mower robot needs to return to a solar charging position based on the at least one operating parameter; If the answer is yes, the controller compensates the first GPS coordinate of the solar charging position to obtain a second GPS coordinate, and controls the lawn mower robot to move toward the second GPS coordinate, so that the lawn mower robot returns to the solar charging position and receives sunlight for charging through the solar module arranged thereon; Compensating the first GPS coordinate of the solar charging location includes: Determining whether at least one third real-time GPS coordinate of the compensated position has been stored within a period of less than or equal to 30 minutes before the current moment; If the answer is yes, then selecting the third real-time GPS coordinate of one of the stored compensation positions and comparing it with the initial coordinate of the compensation position to obtain compensation data; If the answer is no, the mowing robot moves along the boundary of the working area until it passes the compensation position located at the boundary, obtains the third real-time GPS coordinates of the compensation position and compares them with the initial coordinates of the compensation position to obtain compensation data; The method further includes: obtaining a second GPS coordinate of each solar charging position; obtaining a first real-time GPS coordinate of the lawn mower robot; controlling the lawn mower robot to travel to the nearest solar charging position for charging; calculating the distance between the first real-time GPS coordinate of the lawn mower robot and the second GPS coordinate of the nearest solar charging position; and determining whether the distance is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold. If so, turning off the first drive component and, after the travel wheels stop, receiving sunlight at the position through the solar component for on-site charging, wherein the GPS coordinate of the on-site charging position is different from the second GPS coordinate of the solar charging position.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that When the working area is provided with a plurality of compensation positions, the distance between two adjacent compensation positions is greater than or equal to 3m.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Each compensation position is provided with a marker, which is used to be detected by the mowing robot so that the mowing robot generates sensing data, and the sensing data is used to indicate that the mowing robot passes through the compensation position where the marker is located; the marker includes a coil or a magnet.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The operating parameters include at least one of the coverage rate of the working area, the driving progress of the planned path, the remaining power, the driving power, and the workload; the controller is provided with a threshold value related to the operating parameter; Accordingly, the determining whether the lawn mower robot needs to return to the solar charging position based on the at least one operating parameter at least includes: comparing the operating parameter with a threshold value of the operating parameter and determining whether the lawn mower robot needs to return to the solar charging position; Accordingly, the controller controls the lawn mower robot to return to the solar charging position, further comprising: The controller controls the second driving component to be turned off, and controls the lawn mowing robot to move toward the solar charging position after the second driving component is turned off or the cutting component stops.

5. A solar-powered robotic lawn mower, adapted to perform at least one work task within a work area, comprising a battery, a solar module for charging the battery, a cutting module, running wheels, a first drive module for controlling rotation of the running wheels, a second drive module for controlling rotation of the cutting module, and a controller, the controller being configured to control the first drive module, the second drive module, and the solar module, and to store, retrieve, and calculate GPS coordinates of the robotic lawn mower; It is characterized by: The controller is further configured to execute a control process, wherein the control process includes the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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