Navigation method of mower, mower and memory

Abstract

The invention provides a navigation method of a mower, the mower and a memory. The navigation method of the mower comprises the following steps: planning a plurality of sections of parallel paths in a working area to fill the whole working area; all the parallel paths are analyzed and judged, and normal paths located in the working area and abnormal paths penetrating through the working area at least twice are screened out; removing a part of paths outside the working area in the abnormal paths; and connecting the other part of paths reserved in the normal path and the abnormal path, and sorting the walking sequence to generate a cutting path with the minimum stroke of the mower in the working area. Compared with the prior art, the method has the advantages that the optimal cutting path can be planned on the basis of forming a complete path, and unnecessary driving among the paths is reduced, so that the cutting task can be completed more quickly, and the working efficiency of the mower is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a navigation method of a lawn mower, the lawn mower and a memory. Background Art

[0002] A lawn mower is a garden tool used to mow lawns, vegetation, etc., and usually includes a self-propelled component, a cutter component, and a power source, which may be a gasoline engine, a battery pack, and the like. Battery-driven lawn mowers are widely popular among users because of their low noise and zero pollution. Existing smart lawn mowers are able to mow the lawn by themselves along a preset planned path. However, lawns are usually not very flat, and in the presence of convex areas, path planning simply to minimize the length of the path to be traversed is trivial. As the shape of the area to be mowed becomes more complex, the complexity of the cutting path planning task also surges, making it very difficult to minimize the length of the cutting path in some areas.

[0003] In addition, in various applications, the shortest path is not necessarily the optimal path. For example, when a lawn mower is mowing a large area for several consecutive days, it is necessary to treat some areas first and then other areas. Another example is to minimize the risk of the lawn mower repeatedly running over the grass in order to avoid repeatedly crossing the mowing area.

[0004] In view of this, it is indeed necessary to propose improvements to the cutting path planning method of the existing lawn mower to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a navigation method for a lawn mower, which can plan an optimal cutting path to reduce unnecessary repeated grass crushing and improve the working efficiency of the lawn mower.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a navigation method for a lawn mower, comprising:

[0007] Plan multiple parallel paths within the work area to fill the entire work area;

[0008] Analyze and judge all parallel paths, and select normal paths within the working area and abnormal paths that cross the working area at least twice;

[0009] Removing the part of the abnormal path that is outside the working area;

[0010] The normal path and another part of the path retained in the abnormal path are connected, and the travel order is sorted to generate a cutting path with the minimum travel of the mower in the working area.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, the parallel paths have equal spacing.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, the spacing between two adjacent parallel paths is less than or equal to the cutting width of the lawn mower.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, analyzing and judging all parallel paths further includes: judging whether each parallel path crosses the working area at least twice, if so, it is an abnormal path; if not, it is a normal path.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, the step of removing the partial path located outside the working area in the abnormal path includes:

[0015] dividing the abnormal path into a first path located outside the working area and a second path and / or a third path located inside the working area;

[0016] Remove the first path.

[0017] As a further improvement of the present invention, the step of dividing the abnormal path into the first path, the second path and the third path includes:

[0018] On the current abnormal path, all intersection points where the abnormal path intersects with the boundary line of the working area are screened out;

[0019] Determine whether a path between two adjacent intersections is within the working area, if so, determine that the path between the two intersections is the second path, if not, determine that the path between the two intersections is the first path;

[0020] Determine whether the path between the next set of two adjacent intersections is within the working area, if so, determine that the path between the two intersections is the third path, if not, determine that the path between the two intersections is the first path;

[0021] This process is repeated in this way until all paths between two adjacent intersection points on the current abnormal path are determined.

[0022] As a further improvement of the present invention, the step of generating a cutting path with the shortest travel in the working area is specifically: connecting the normal path, the second path and the third path, and sorting the walking order of the three to generate a cutting path with the shortest travel of the lawn mower in the working area.

[0023] As a further improvement of the present invention, the step of sorting the walking order of the normal path, the second path and the third path includes:

[0024] Arrange and combine the walking order of the normal path, the second path and the third path to form different combined paths;

[0025] Compare and select the path that minimizes the mower's travel within the work area.

[0026] As a further improvement of the present invention, the lawn mower can travel between the normal path and the second path; or, the lawn mower can travel between the normal path and the third path.

[0027] As a further improvement of the present invention, the step of generating a cutting path with a minimum stroke in the working area specifically includes:

[0028] combining the normal path with the second path to form a composite path;

[0029] The lawn mower first moves along the composite path and then moves along the third path.

[0030] As a further improvement of the present invention, the step of generating a cutting path with a minimum stroke in the working area specifically includes:

[0031] combining the normal path with the third path to form a composite path;

[0032] The mower first moves along the composite path and then moves along the second path.

[0033] As a further improvement of the present invention, the step of generating a cutting path with the shortest stroke in the working area is specifically as follows:

[0034] Merge the normal paths and the retained abnormal paths according to the principle that they are adjacent and not separated by the boundary line of the working area to form multiple areas;

[0035] Sort multiple areas and connect them using transition paths to form a complete cutting path, and select the one with the shortest transition path as the best path.

[0036] Another object of the present invention is to provide a lawn mower which can plan an optimal cutting path to reduce unnecessary repeated grass crushing and improve the working efficiency of the lawn mower.

[0037] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a lawn mower, comprising:

[0038] A path filling unit is used to plan and fill multiple parallel paths in the working area;

[0039] A path screening unit, used for analyzing and judging all parallel paths, so as to screen out normal paths located within the working area and abnormal paths that cross the working area at least twice;

[0040] A path processing unit, used for removing a portion of the abnormal path located outside the working area;

[0041] The path generation unit is used to connect the normal path with another part of the path retained in the abnormal path, and sort the walking sequence to generate a cutting path with the minimum travel of the lawn mower in the working area.

[0042] The present invention also aims to provide a memory capable of implementing the aforementioned method to plan an optimal cutting path, reduce unnecessary repeated grass crushing, and improve the working efficiency of the lawn mower.

[0043] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a memory in the form of a non-temporary medium, wherein the memory stores computer program code, and the computer program code can implement the above method.

[0044] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that the navigation method of the lawn mower of the present invention can plan the optimal cutting path on the basis of forming a complete path, reduce unnecessary driving between paths, thereby reducing unnecessary repeated crushing of the grass, so as to complete the cutting task faster and improve the working efficiency of the lawn mower. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] Figure 1 It is a simplified structural diagram of the lawn mower of the present invention.

[0046] Figure 2 Detailed description of the invention The figure is a flow chart of the navigation method of the lawn mower of the present invention.

[0047] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 The specific process.

[0048] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 The working area corresponding to step S1 in .

[0049] Figure 5 yes Figure 2 The working area corresponding to step S2 in .

[0050] Figure 6 yes Figure 2 The working area corresponding to steps S3 and S4 in . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. 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 ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0052] Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in the present invention shall have the usual meanings understood by persons with ordinary skills in the field to which the present invention belongs. The words "first", "second" and similar words used in the present invention do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Words such as "include" or "comprise" and the like mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word include the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Words such as "connect" or "connected" and the like are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect.

[0053] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the present invention provides a lawn mower 20 and a navigation method for planning a cutting path of the lawn mower 20. The lawn mower 20 is an existing intelligent lawn mower that can autonomously complete lawn mowing without manual control and operation by the user, thereby greatly reducing the workload of the user and thus being widely favored by users. The specific structure of the intelligent lawn mower is not limited.

[0054] The lawn mower 20 includes a body 21 and running wheels 22 disposed on both sides of the rear end of the body 21. The running wheels 22 can support the body 21 on one hand, and can drive the body 21 to walk on the other hand, so as to realize the self-propelled lawn mower 20. Since the specific structure of the lawn mower 20 is not limited, it will not be described in detail here.

[0055] The lawn mower 20 is provided with a GPS positioning module, so that the lawn mower 20 can locate itself through the cooperation of the GPS positioning module and the satellite, thereby obtaining position information. Then, the lawn mower 20 can automatically mow in a preset cutting area under the guidance of the navigation module.

[0056] In order to further improve the positioning accuracy, the lawn mower 20 may also perform real-time positioning through an RTK positioning module, thereby improving the positioning accuracy through a carrier phase dynamic real-time differential method.

[0057] The RTK positioning module includes a base station receiver and a mobile receiver. The base station receiver is used to receive GPS signals sent by satellites and transmit the received GPS signals and the coordinate information of the base station to the mobile receiver. The mobile receiver is arranged on the lawn mower 20 and is used to receive GPS signals sent by satellites. The mobile receiver performs data processing based on the GPS signals received by itself and the GPS signals and position information sent by the base station receiver, thereby providing centimeter-level positioning data.

[0058] When in use, first use the mobile receiver to drive around the edge of the cutting area, and generate the boundary line map information of the cutting area, and store it in the lawn mower 20. Furthermore, the mobile receiver can also be used to drive around the obstacles in the cutting area, and record the boundary curves of each obstacle, and store it in the map information of the lawn mower 20. The obstacles can be pools, flower beds, bushes, etc. Then, the lawn mower 20 generates a work area map based on the boundary line map and the obstacle boundary curve. Finally, the lawn mower 20 plans the self-propelled path according to the work area map, and works according to the planned self-propelled path, thereby completing the autonomous mowing task. It should be noted that the outside of the working area referred to in the present invention includes obstacles within the boundary line or non-cutting areas within other boundary lines.

[0059] The above is a description of the positioning principle of the lawn mower 20 and the formation of the working area, but the invention should not be limited thereto.

[0060] The lawn mower 20 also includes: a path filling unit, a path screening unit, a path processing unit and a path generating unit, wherein the path filling unit is used to plan and fill multiple parallel paths in the working area so that the entire working area is filled; the path screening unit is used to analyze and judge all parallel paths to screen out normal paths within the working area and abnormal paths that pass through the working area at least twice; the path processing unit is used to remove a portion of the abnormal path that is outside the working area; the path generating unit is used to connect the normal path and another portion of the path retained in the abnormal path, and sort the walking order to generate a cutting path with the minimum travel of the lawn mower in the working area.

[0061] It should be noted that the navigation method of the lawn mower of the present invention needs to be automatically completed with the help of the memory in the lawn mower 20 .

[0062] like Figures 2 to 6 As shown, the navigation method of the lawn mower 20 mainly includes the following steps:

[0063] S1, planning multiple parallel paths 11 in the working area 10 to fill the entire working area 10;

[0064] S2, analyzing and judging all parallel paths 11, screening out normal paths 12 located in the working area and abnormal paths 13 that cross the working area 10 at least twice;

[0065] S3, removing the part of the abnormal path 13 located outside the working area 10;

[0066] S4, connecting the normal path 12 and the other part of the path retained in the abnormal path 13, and sorting the travel order, calculating and selecting a shortest transition path among various sortings to generate a cutting path with the shortest travel of the lawn mower 20 in the working area 10.

[0067] For ease of description and understanding, the navigation method is arranged in a specific step sequence in the specification and drawings of the present invention, but it does not mean that the navigation method of the present invention can only be performed according to the current step sequence of S1 to S4. Those skilled in the art can rearrange the step sequence of S1 to S4 according to actual conditions. Therefore, the present invention does not limit the step sequence of S1 to S4.

[0068] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, step S1 specifically includes: using a plurality of parallel paths 11 with equal spacing to cover the working area 10. It should be noted that: 1. The spacing between two adjacent parallel paths 11 is less than or equal to the cutting width of the mower 20, so as to avoid missing cutting; 2. Step S1 is completed on the memory, and is specifically automatically generated by inputting some parameters, and the specific steps are not described and limited here.

[0069] like Figure 3 and Figure 5 As shown, in step S2, analyzing and judging all parallel paths 11 further includes: judging whether each parallel path 11 crosses the working area 10 at least twice, if so, it is an abnormal path 13; if not, it is a normal path 12. The application principle of step S2 is: under normal circumstances, the parallel path 11 only has two intersections with the boundary line of the working area 10, and the parallel path 11 that meets this requirement is defined as a normal path 12; and when the parallel path 11 has 4 or more intersections with the boundary line of the working area 10, it means that the parallel path 11 crosses the boundary line of the working area 10 at least twice and passes through the area outside the working area 10, and this kind of parallel path 11 is defined as an abnormal path 13.

[0070] The purpose of screening out the abnormal path 13 is to prevent the lawn mower 20 from mistakenly entering a non-working area and performing ineffective work.

[0071] like Figure 3 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, step S3 specifically includes:

[0072] S31, dividing the abnormal path 13 into a first path 131 located outside the working area 10 and a second path 132 and / or a third path 133 located inside the working area 10;

[0073] S32 , removing the first path 131 .

[0074] Preferably, in step S31, the step of dividing the abnormal path 13 into the first path 131, the second path 132 and the third path 133 includes:

[0075] On the current abnormal path 13, all intersection points where the abnormal path 13 intersects with the boundary line of the working area 10 are screened out;

[0076] Determine whether the path between two adjacent intersections is located in the working area 10, if yes, determine the path between the two intersections to be the second path 132, if no, determine the path between the two intersections to be the first path 131;

[0077] Determine whether the path between the next set of two adjacent intersections is located in the working area 10, if so, determine that the path between the two intersections is the third path 133, if not, determine that the path between the two intersections is the first path 131;

[0078] And so on, until all paths between two adjacent intersections on the current abnormal path 13 are determined. Of course, in some embodiments, there may be multiple first paths 131, multiple second paths 132, and multiple third paths 133, which will not be described in detail here.

[0079] In other words, step S3 is mainly used to split the abnormal path 13 into multiple paths (i.e., multiple parts), and delete the path located outside the working area 10, retaining only the path located inside the working area 10, to prepare for the cutting path of the working area 10.

[0080] Figures 4 to 6 Only the first path 131, the second path 132 and the third path 133 are shown. In actual situations, the paths inside the working area 10 may be more complicated, but the main idea is to split the abnormal paths 13 that pass through the working area 10 at least twice and delete the paths outside the working area 10.

[0081] Combination Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the lawn mower 20 can travel normally between the normal path 12 and the second path 132, and can also travel normally between the normal path 12 and the third path 133, but should avoid traveling between the second path 132 and the third path 133. Therefore, step S4 can be specifically as follows: connecting the normal path 12, the second path 132 and the third path 133, and sorting the travel order of the three to generate a cutting path with the shortest travel of the lawn mower 20 in the working area 10.

[0082] In step S4, the step of sorting the walking order of the normal path 12, the second path 132 and the third path 133 includes:

[0083] Arrange and combine the walking order of the normal path 12, the second path 132 and the third path 133 to form different combined paths;

[0084] Compare and select the path with the shortest travel distance of the lawn mower 20 in the working area 10, specifically:

[0085] Compare the distances of two combined paths and select the one with the smaller distance as the preliminary combined path;

[0086] Compare the prepared combined path with the next combined path. If the current prepared combined path has a smaller stroke, the current prepared combined path is compared with the next combined path. If the current prepared combined path has a larger stroke, redefine the combined path of this round as the prepared combined path.

[0087] The prepared combined path formed in the previous round is compared with the next combined path until the combined path with the shortest stroke is selected, which is the cutting path with the shortest stroke of the lawn mower 20 in the working area 10 .

[0088] Of course, there are many ways to select the combined path with the shortest stroke, such as: grouping all different combined paths in pairs and comparing them, selecting the combined path with the shortest stroke; then, comparing all the selected combined paths with the shortest stroke again, until the combined path with the shortest stroke is selected. Here, there is no restriction on the selection method of the minimum combined path.

[0089] For example, the area where the normal path 12 is located is defined as area A, the area where the second path 132 is located is defined as area B, and the area where the third path 133 is located is defined as area C. Then the cutting path of the lawn mower 20 in the working area 10 can be BAC or CAB, which are the two optimal paths with the shortest travel distance.

[0090] As another embodiment of the present invention, area A and area B or area A and area C may be combined to form a composite path; then, when the lawn mower 20 is cutting, it only needs to walk along the composite path first, and after the composite path is completely walked, it can go to the remaining area C or area B. Such a design can avoid unnecessary travel between areas A, B and C.

[0091] At this time, step S4 specifically includes:

[0092] S41, combining the normal path 12 and the second path 132 to form a composite path;

[0093] S42 , the lawn mower 20 first moves along the synthetic path, and then moves along the third path 133 .

[0094] Alternatively, step S4 specifically includes:

[0095] S41, combining the normal path 12 and the third path 133 to form a composite path;

[0096] S42 , the lawn mower 20 first moves along the synthetic path, and then moves along the second path 132 .

[0097] In summary, step S4 specifically includes: merging the normal path 12 and the retained abnormal path according to the principle of being adjacent and not separated by the boundary line of the working area 10 to form multiple areas; then, sorting the multiple areas and connecting each area with a transition path to form a complete cutting path, and selecting the one with the shortest transition path as the best path. At this point, the cutting path with the shortest travel of the lawn mower 20 in the working area 10 is planned.

[0098] The present invention further provides a memory, which exists in the lawn mower 20 in the form of a non-temporary medium. The memory stores computer program codes, which can implement a cutting path planning method of the lawn mower 20.

[0099] To sum up, the navigation method of the lawn mower of the present invention can plan the optimal cutting path based on forming a complete path, reduce unnecessary driving between paths, thereby reducing unnecessary repeated crushing of the grass, so as to complete the cutting task faster and improve the working efficiency of the lawn mower 20.

[0100] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solution of the present invention may be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A navigation method for a lawn mower, characterized in that: include: Plan multiple parallel paths within the work area to fill the entire work area; Analyze and judge all parallel paths, and select normal paths within the working area and abnormal paths that cross the working area at least twice; Removing the part of the abnormal path that is outside the working area; The normal path and another part of the path retained in the abnormal path are connected, and the travel order is sorted to generate a cutting path with the minimum travel of the mower in the working area.

2. The navigation method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The parallel paths are equally spaced.

3. The navigation method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The distance between two adjacent parallel paths is less than or equal to the cutting width of the lawn mower.

4. The navigation method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Analyzing and judging all parallel paths further includes: judging whether each parallel path crosses the working area at least twice, if so, it is an abnormal path; if not, it is a normal path.

5. The navigation method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The steps of removing the partial path located outside the working area in the abnormal path include: dividing the abnormal path into a first path located outside the working area and a second path and / or a third path located inside the working area; Remove the first path.

6. The navigation method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The step of dividing the abnormal path into a first path, a second path and a third path comprises: On the current abnormal path, all intersection points where the abnormal path intersects with the boundary line of the working area are screened out; Determine whether a path between two adjacent intersections is within the working area, if so, determine that the path between the two intersections is the second path, if not, determine that the path between the two intersections is the first path; Determine whether the path between the next set of two adjacent intersections is within the working area, if so, determine that the path between the two intersections is the third path, if not, determine that the path between the two intersections is the first path; This process is repeated in this way until all paths between two adjacent intersection points on the current abnormal path are determined.

7. The navigation method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The step of generating a cutting path with the shortest travel in the working area is specifically: connecting the normal path, the second path and the third path, and sorting the travel order of the three to generate a cutting path with the shortest travel of the lawn mower in the working area.

8. The navigation method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The step of sorting the walking order of the normal path, the second path and the third path includes: Arrange and combine the walking order of the normal path, the second path and the third path to form different combined paths; Compare and select the path that minimizes the mower's travel within the work area.

9. The navigation method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The lawn mower is capable of traveling between the normal path and the second path; Alternatively, the lawn mower is capable of traveling between the normal path and the third path.

10. The navigation method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The steps to generate a cutting path with the shortest travel in the work area are as follows: combining the normal path with the second path to form a composite path; The lawn mower first moves along the composite path and then moves along the third path.

11. The navigation method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The steps to generate a cutting path with the shortest travel in the work area are as follows: Combining the normal path with the third path to form a composite path; The mower first moves along the composite path and then moves along the second path.

12. The navigation method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The steps to generate a cutting path with the shortest travel in the work area are as follows: Merge the normal paths and the retained abnormal paths according to the principle that they are adjacent and not separated by the boundary line of the working area to form multiple areas; Sort multiple areas and connect them using transition paths to form a complete cutting path, and select the one with the shortest transition path as the best path.

13. A lawn mower, characterized in that: include: A path filling unit is used to plan and fill multiple parallel paths in the working area; A path screening unit, used for analyzing and judging all parallel paths, so as to screen out normal paths located within the working area and abnormal paths that cross the working area at least twice; A path processing unit, used for removing a portion of the abnormal path located outside the working area; The path generation unit is used to connect the normal path with another part of the path retained in the abnormal path, and sort the walking sequence to generate a cutting path with the minimum travel of the lawn mower in the working area.

14. A memory in the form of a non-temporary medium, characterized in that: The memory stores computer program code, and the computer program code is capable of implementing the method of claim 1.

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