Charging station and its automatic working system

Abstract

The utility model relates to a charging station, including the seat body and install at the seat body's blowing assembly, blowing assembly includes motor and the fan that links with motor, motor drives fan rotation to form blowing airflow, charging station still includes at least partial setting in the air duct subassembly of seat body, air duct subassembly includes air intake and the air outlet that communicates with air intake, blowing airflow enters seat body from air intake and leaves seat body from air outlet, the air outlet is open to the environmental detection device of self -moving device, and the air volume of air outlet is not less than 1.25CFM. The utility model discloses charging station when with self -moving device is in the charging butt -joint state, can drive fan rotation through motor to produce high -speed blowing airflow, and the blowing airflow is guided through the air duct and the air outlet to further accelerate blowing to the environmental detection device of self -moving device, to realize the cleaning to environmental detection device, and the cleaning effect is good.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of intelligent tool technology, and in particular to a charging station and its automatic working system capable of cleaning the environmental detection device of an automatic mobile device. [Background Technology]

[0002] With the development of science and technology, self-moving devices are widely used in people's daily work and life. In order to cope with complex working environments, existing self-moving devices are equipped with environmental detection devices to detect the surrounding environment. Environmental detection devices can be radar sensors such as lidar and ultrasonic radar, as well as visual sensors such as laser scanners and cameras. During the operation of the self-moving device, if the environmental detection device detects obstacles or abnormal conditions such as cliffs or steep slopes, the self-moving device will implement adaptive processing strategies based on the signals transmitted by the environmental detection device.

[0003] In the daily operation of self-moving equipment, environmental detection devices that are at least partially exposed to the external environment will become contaminated with pollutants such as dust and dirt, which will reduce the detection accuracy, thereby affecting the working efficiency of self-moving equipment and posing certain safety hazards.

[0004] Therefore, it is indeed necessary to provide an improved charging station and its automated operating system to overcome the shortcomings of the existing technology. [Utility Model Content]

[0005] In view of the shortcomings of the existing technology, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a charging station and its automatic working system that can clean environmental monitoring devices.

[0006] The present invention solves the existing technical problems by adopting the following technical solution: a charging station for charging a self-moving device, the self-moving device including an environmental detection device for detecting the working environment, the charging station including: a base; a blower assembly installed on the base, the blower assembly including a motor and a fan connected to the motor, the motor driving the fan to rotate to form a blowing airflow; the charging station further including an air duct assembly at least partially disposed in the base, the air duct assembly including an air inlet and an air outlet fluidly communicating with the air inlet, the blowing airflow entering the base from the air inlet and leaving the base from the air outlet, the air outlet being open toward the environmental detection device, and the airflow of the air outlet being not less than 1.25 CFM.

[0007] Furthermore, the air outlet's blowing direction defines an acute angle with the horizontal plane, and the acute angle ranges from 20 degrees to 60 degrees.

[0008] Furthermore, in the front-to-back direction of the charging station, the distance between the air outlet and the environmental detection device ranges from 10mm to 50mm.

[0009] Furthermore, the inner diameter of the air outlet ranges from 5mm to 30mm.

[0010] Furthermore, the base includes a top seat and a support for the top seat, the top seat being at least partially located above the self-moving device, and the blower assembly and the air duct assembly are both mounted on the top seat.

[0011] Furthermore, the air duct assembly also includes an air pipe that is in fluid communication with the air inlet and the air outlet respectively. The air pipe includes a blowing section through which the blowing airflow passes, and the air outlet is disposed in the blowing section.

[0012] Furthermore, in the direction of airflow, the cross-sectional area of ​​at least a portion of the blowing section gradually decreases.

[0013] Furthermore, the air duct also includes an air guide section connected to or integrally formed with the blower section, the blower airflow flows sequentially through the air guide section and the blower section, and the motor and the fan are both installed in the air guide section.

[0014] Furthermore, the minimum cross-sectional area of ​​the air guide is not less than the maximum cross-sectional area of ​​the air blowing section.

[0015] The present invention can also solve the existing technical problems by adopting the following technical solutions: an automatic working system, comprising: a self-moving device; and a charging station as described in any of the above, wherein the charging station charges the self-moving device.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages: The charging station includes a base and a blower assembly installed on the base. The blower assembly includes a motor and a fan connected to the motor. The motor drives the fan to rotate to generate a blowing airflow. The charging station also includes an air duct assembly at least partially disposed in the base. The air duct assembly includes an air inlet and an air outlet fluidly connected to the air inlet. The blowing airflow enters the base from the air inlet and leaves the base from the air outlet. The air outlet is open towards the environmental detection device of the mobile device. The airflow of the air outlet is not less than 1.25 CFM. Thus, when the charging station is in a charging docking state with the mobile device, it can generate a high-speed blowing airflow by driving the fan to rotate through the motor. This blowing airflow is further accelerated and blown towards the environmental detection device of the mobile device through the air duct and the air outlet, thereby achieving cleaning of the environmental detection device with good cleaning effect. [Attached Image Description]

[0017] The specific embodiments of this utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the automatic working system in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the automated working system shown.

[0020] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A magnified view of part A in the automated working system shown;

[0021] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 The diagram shows the structure of the air duct assembly of the charging station in the automated operating system.

[0022] Meaning of the reference numerals in the diagram:

[0023] Charging station with 100 seats

[0024] Stand 11 Top 12

[0025] Base plate 2, Support plate 21

[0026] Guide rail 22 Anti-slip structure 23

[0027] Blower assembly 4 Motor 41

[0028] Fan 42, Air duct assembly 5

[0029] Air inlet 51 Air outlet 52

[0030] Duct 53 Air Guide Section 531

[0031] Air inlet 5311 Air outlet 5312

[0032] Blowering section 532 First end 5321

[0033] Second end 5322 Transition section 533

[0034] 200 self-moving equipment and 300 environmental monitoring devices

[0035] Translucent film 301

Detailed Implementation Methods

[0036] The technical solution of this utility model will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this utility model. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this utility model without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this utility model. In the description of this specification, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0037] The terminology used in this invention is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. For example, terms such as "upper," "lower," "front," and "rear" that indicate orientation or positional relationship are based solely on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings and are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description. They do not indicate or imply that the device / component referred to must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0038] Furthermore, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of this utility model described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0039] Please see Figures 1 to 4 The diagram shows an automatic working system according to one embodiment of the present invention, including a self-moving device 200 and a charging station 100 for charging the self-moving device 200. In this embodiment, the self-moving device 200 is a smart lawnmower for outdoor garden cleaning. However, it should be noted that in other embodiments, the self-moving device 200 may also be an indoor cleaning robot or other robots capable of automatic movement; these will not be elaborated upon here.

[0040] The self-moving device 200 includes an environmental detection device 300 for detecting the working environment. This environmental detection device 300 includes a vision sensor (not shown) and / or a radar sensor (not shown). The vision sensor includes an image acquisition section and an image processing section. The image acquisition section is used to acquire current images of the location of the self-moving device 200 and can be various image acquisition devices such as cameras or camcorders. The image processing section is used to analyze and process the current images, such as using an artificial intelligence model to identify the environment surrounding the self-moving device 200. The image processing section can be a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

[0041] In this embodiment, the radar sensor is configured as a lidar, including a laser transmitter, a laser receiver, and an algorithm chip. During the movement of the self-moving device 200, the laser transmitter and laser receiver work together to detect the environment. Correspondingly, the algorithm chip simultaneously identifies and calculates the data transmitted by the laser transmitter and receiver.

[0042] It should be noted that other structures of the self-moving device 200 are not related to the content of this utility model and will not be described in detail here.

[0043] The charging station 100 includes a base 1, a charging device (not shown) mounted on the base 1, and a base plate 2 connected to the base 1. The base plate 2 is placed on the working surface to support the self-moving device 200. For ease of understanding, in this utility model, the horizontal working surface that the self-moving device 200 travels through when performing cutting operations is used as a reference, the plane parallel to the horizontal working surface is used as the horizontal plane, the direction in which the self-moving device 200 enters and exits the charging station 100 is used as the front-back direction, and the direction coplanar with and perpendicular to the front-back direction is used as the left-right direction.

[0044] The base 1 includes a top seat 12 and a support seat 11 supporting the top seat 12. The top seat 12 is connected to or integrally formed with the support seat 11. The support seat 11 is connected to the base plate 2, and the top seat 12 is located above the base plate 2. Specifically, the support seat 11 extends substantially vertically to support the top seat 12. The charging device is installed on the support seat 11 and docks with the self-moving device 200. The top seat 12 extends substantially horizontally and is located at the uppermost end of the support seat 11. Thus, when the self-moving device 200 is located on the base plate 2, the top seat 12 is at least partially located above the self-moving device 200 and covers a portion of the self-moving device 200.

[0045] The base plate 2 includes a support plate 21, a guide rail 22 disposed on the support plate 21, and an anti-slip structure 23. Specifically, the support plate 21 is placed on the working surface and fixed to the working surface by ground nails (not shown). The support plate 21 can support the self-moving device 200. The support plate 21 is constructed with a thicker middle area and thinner sides to enhance the structural strength of the support plate 21. The anti-slip structure 23 is set at the front end of the support plate 21. When the self-moving device 200 enters the charging station 100, the anti-slip structure 23 can prevent the self-moving device 200 from slipping on the support plate 21 and accidentally detaching from the support plate 21 or deviating from the original walking path, thereby improving the recharge docking efficiency of the self-moving device 200. The guide rail 22 is set behind the anti-slip structure 23 and extends to the seat 1 connected to the end of the base plate 2. The guide rail 22 can be optionally set as one or two symmetrically arranged according to the number of front wheels of the self-moving device 200. When the self-moving device 200 walks past the anti-slip structure 23, its front wheels will contact the guide rail 22 and continue to move forward along the guide rail 22. In this way, the self-moving device 200 can accurately continue to complete the recharge docking along the original walking path.

[0046] Please refer to the following for details. Figure 3 The charging station 100 also includes a blower assembly 4 installed on the base 1 and an air duct assembly 5 at least partially disposed within the base 1. The blower assembly 4 includes a motor 41 and a fan 42 connected to the motor 41. The motor 41 drives the fan 42 to rotate to generate airflow. Both the motor 41 and the fan 42 are disposed within the air duct assembly 5. The air duct assembly 5 includes an air inlet 51 and an air outlet 52 in fluid communication with the air inlet 51. The airflow enters the base 1 from the air inlet 51 and exits the base 1 from the air outlet 52. The air outlet 52 is open toward the environmental detection device 300 of the mobile device 200, and the air volume of the air outlet 52 is not less than 1.25 CFM.

[0047] Specifically, when the mobile device 200 is connected to the charging station 100 for charging, the motor 41 of the charging station 100 rotates and drives the fan 42 to rotate, creating a negative pressure inside the seat 1. The airflow enters the seat 1 through the air inlet 51 and exits the seat 1 through the air outlet 52. The airflow direction of the air outlet 52 forms an acute angle with the horizontal plane, ranging from 20 degrees to 60 degrees. Thus, on the one hand, by adjusting the opening direction of the air outlet 52 to form an acute angle with the horizontal plane ranging from 20 degrees to 60 degrees, the airflow is directed directly towards and blows downwards onto the environmental detection device 300 of the mobile device 200, resulting in good cleaning effect. On the other hand, the airflow volume of the air outlet 52 is not less than 1.25 CFM, resulting in a large airflow volume and high wind speed, which can blow away pollutants adhering to the environmental detection device 300, reducing the frequency of manual cleaning by the user and improving the user experience.

[0048] In the front-to-back direction of the charging station 100, the distance between the air outlet 52 and the environmental detection device 300 ranges from 10mm to 50mm, and the inner diameter of the air outlet 52 ranges from 5mm to 30mm. Thus, on the one hand, while the distance between the air outlet 52 and the environmental detection device 300 is small, it still maintains a certain distance, ensuring the blowing effect while preventing the airflow from being directly bounced back into the air outlet 52 after being blown towards the environmental detection device 300, thereby affecting the airflow speed; on the other hand, the diameter of the air outlet 52, within the aforementioned 5mm-30mm range, allows the airflow exiting the air outlet 52 to simultaneously achieve high wind speed and high airflow, thereby comprehensively improving the air volume of the air outlet 52.

[0049] The environmental detection device 300 includes a light-transmitting sheet 301 through which external light passes. The aforementioned visual sensor or radar sensor (not shown) is located behind the light-transmitting sheet 301. When the light-transmitting sheet 301 is contaminated with dust, dirt, or other pollutants, the detection accuracy of the aforementioned visual sensor or radar sensor will decrease. Therefore, in this embodiment, a blowing airflow will blow towards the light-transmitting sheet 301 to blow off the dust, dirt, and other pollutants contaminated on the light-transmitting sheet 301.

[0050] When the light-transmitting sheet 301 is spherical, the angle between the air outlet 52 and the central axis y of the environmental monitoring device 300 is between 20 and 60 degrees. This allows the airflow to blow down onto the front surface of the light-transmitting sheet 301 over a wide area. This ensures that the front of the spherical light-transmitting sheet 301 is effectively cleaned, while also cleaning the top of the sheet, resulting in a good cleaning effect. Furthermore, dust, dirt, and other pollutants adhering to the light-transmitting sheet 301 are blown away by the airflow and dispersed, preventing them from accumulating at the rear of the sphere and affecting the normal operation of the environmental monitoring device 300.

[0051] In addition, when the light-transmitting sheet 301 is constructed as a plane, the angle between the air outlet's blowing direction and the plane where the light-transmitting sheet is located is between 20 degrees and 75 degrees. In this way, the airflow can blow downwards towards the light-transmitting sheet 301 for cleaning, thereby directly blowing the dust, dirt and other pollutants onto both sides of the plane where the light-transmitting sheet 301 is located, so as to ensure that the actual working area of ​​the light-transmitting sheet is always in a clean state.

[0052] The air duct assembly 5 also includes an air duct 53 that is fluidly connected to the air inlet 51 and the air outlet 52 respectively. The air duct 53 can guide and accelerate the airflow to prevent the airflow from scattering after entering the body 1 from the air inlet 51, thereby making the airflow more concentrated, increasing the air volume of the air outlet 52, and reducing noise while ensuring the cleaning effect.

[0053] The air duct 53 includes an air guide section 531 and a blowing section 532 connected to or integrally formed with the air guide section 531. The blowing airflow flows sequentially through the air guide section 531 and the blowing section 532. The motor 41 and the fan 42 are both installed in the air guide section 531, and the air outlet 52 is located in the blowing section 532.

[0054] Specifically, both the motor 41 and the fan 42 are installed inside the air guide section 531. In this way, on the one hand, the motor 41 and the fan 42 are both supported and fixed by the air guide section 531, eliminating the need for additional support structures in the charging station 100 to install the motor 41 and the fan 42, thus simplifying the structural design of the charging station 100. Furthermore, the blower assembly 4 and the air duct assembly 5 can be assembled into the charging station 100 as separate modules, simplifying the assembly of the charging station 100. On the other hand, the fact that both the motor 41 and the fan 42 are installed inside the air guide section 531 allows the airflow to enter the air guide section 531 and then flow over the surface of the motor 41 to dissipate heat, extending the service life of the motor 41.

[0055] The air guide section 531 includes an air inlet end 5311 and an air outlet end 5312 arranged opposite to each other. The blowing airflow flows into the air guide section 531 from the air inlet end 5311 and flows out of the air guide section 531 from the air outlet end 5312. Compared with the air outlet end 5312, the installation position of the motor 41 is close to the air inlet end 5311. Thus, in this embodiment, the installation position of the power source that forms the blowing airflow, that is, the installation position of the motor 41 and the fan 42, is set close to the air inlet 51, so that after the blowing airflow flows into the body 1 from the air inlet 51, it will quickly flow into the air guide section 531 from the air inlet end 5311, reducing the dispersion of the blowing airflow in the body 1, thereby making the blowing airflow more concentrated and increasing the air volume of the blowing airflow blown to the environmental detection device 300 from the air outlet 52.

[0056] Furthermore, in the direction of airflow, the fan 42 is located upstream of the motor 41. Thus, by placing the fan 42, which is driven by the motor 41 to generate airflow, upstream of the motor 41, the installation position of the fan 42 is closer to the air inlet 51 than the motor 41. This further concentrates and guides the airflow flowing into the base 1 from the air inlet 51 into the air guide section 531, reducing the dispersion of the airflow within the base 1.

[0057] The extension direction of the air guide section 531 is parallel to the axis of the motor 41. Specifically, the air guide section 531 is constructed as a cylindrical tube extending in the longitudinal direction. The motor 41 is mounted on the inner wall of the air guide section 531, and the fan 42 is constructed as an axial flow fan. In this embodiment, by setting the extension direction of the air guide section 531 to be parallel to the axis of the motor 41, the flow direction of the airflow generated by the rotation of the fan 42 is parallel to the extension direction of the air guide section 531. In this way, the airflow can flow evenly along the inner wall of the air guide section 531 without scattering, thereby increasing the flow speed of the airflow and reducing noise.

[0058] In the direction of airflow, the blowing section 532 includes a first end 5321 and a second end 5322 disposed opposite to each other. The first end 5321 is in fluid communication with the air outlet 5312 of the air guide section 531. In this embodiment, the first end 5321 and the air outlet 5312 of the air guide section 531 are integrally formed, and the air outlet 52 is disposed at the second end 5322. Thus, the airflow used to clean the environmental detection device 300 is guided by the air guide section 531 and the blowing section 532 connected to each other before blowing towards the environmental detection device 300. The airflow is concentrated and does not scatter, with a large air volume and high wind speed, resulting in a good cleaning effect.

[0059] It should be noted that the integral molding of the air guide 531 and the air blower 532 is only one optional embodiment of this utility model. In other embodiments, the air guide 531 and the air blower 532 can be two independent parts connected to each other, or the air guide 531 and the air blower 532 can be connected to the base 1 respectively, as long as the air guide 531 and the air blower 532 are in fluid communication.

[0060] In an optional embodiment of this utility model, the second end 5322 of the blowing part 532 is disposed outside the base 1, so that the air outlet 52 is closer to the environmental detection device 300 of the self-moving device 200, thereby reducing the dispersion of the blowing airflow after leaving the air outlet 52, further concentrating the blowing airflow towards the environmental detection device 300, and improving the cleaning effect.

[0061] In the direction of airflow, the cross-sectional area of ​​at least a portion of the blowing section 532 gradually decreases. Specifically, the cross-sectional area of ​​at least a portion of the duct between the first end 5321 and the second end 5322 of the blowing section 532 gradually decreases, so that the cross-sectional area of ​​the first end 5321 is at least larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the second end 5322. As a result, during the flow of the airflow from the first end 5321 to the second end 5322 of the blowing section 532, the airflow is further concentrated and compressed to increase the wind speed, thereby further increasing the air volume of the airflow blown out from the air outlet 52 and improving the cleaning effect.

[0062] The minimum cross-sectional area of ​​the air guide section 531 is not less than the maximum cross-sectional area of ​​the air blowing section 532. Specifically, after the air blowing air enters the base 1 from the air inlet 51, it flows through the air guide section 531 and the air blowing section 532 in succession, and is blown towards the environmental monitoring device 300 from the air outlet 52 to achieve cleaning of the environmental monitoring device 300. The air blowing air first flows through the air guide section 531 with a larger cross-sectional area to ensure the airflow to the air blowing section 532, and then passes through the air blowing section 532 with a smaller cross-sectional area to compress and accelerate the air blowing air, thereby comprehensively improving the air volume of the air blowing towards the environmental monitoring device 300.

[0063] The duct 53 also includes a transition portion 533 disposed at the junction of the air guide portion 531 and the air blower portion 532. The transition portion 533 is constructed as a smooth curved surface. Specifically, the extension direction of the air guide portion 531 is not parallel to the extension direction of the air blower portion 532. The air guide portion 531 and the air blower portion 532 are connected or integrally formed with the transition portion 533. In this embodiment, the transition portion 533 is integrally formed with both the air guide portion 531 and the air blower portion 532. Of course, in other embodiments, the transition portion 533 may be connected between the air guide portion 531 and the air blower portion 532. The transition section 533 is constructed as a smooth curved surface, which in this embodiment is a smooth arc surface. During the process of the airflow flowing from the air guide section 531 to the air blower section 532, the flow direction of the airflow changes from horizontal to downward. The smooth arc surface of the transition section 533 guides the airflow to make it flow more smoothly, reduce the collision between the airflow and the inner wall of the air blower section 532, increase the wind speed and reduce noise.

[0064] In one embodiment of this utility model, both the blower assembly 4 and the air duct assembly 5 are disposed on the top base 12. This has two advantages: firstly, by installing the blower assembly 4 and the air duct assembly 5 on the top base 12, the length of the air duct through which the blowing airflow passes is shorter, thereby reducing the attenuation of the airflow velocity as it flows within the air duct and increasing the airflow volume leaving the base 1 from the outlet 52; secondly, since the top base 12 is located above the environmental detection device 300 of the self-moving device 200, installing the blower assembly 4 and the air duct assembly 5 on the top base 12 facilitates directing the air outlet 52 downwards towards the environmental detection device 300 of the self-moving device 200, simplifying the structural design of the charging station 100; simultaneously, since the stand 11 is used to accommodate the charging device of the charging station 100, installing the blower assembly 4 and the air duct assembly 5 on the top base 12 also eliminates the need for the installation and positioning of the blower assembly 4 and the air duct assembly 5 to occupy the space of the stand 11, making the structure of the charging station 100 compact.

[0065] This utility model is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that many other alternative solutions exist for the charging station and its automated operating system without departing from the principles and scope of this utility model. The scope of protection of this utility model is determined by the claims.

Claims

1. A charging station for charging a self-moving device, the self-moving device including an environmental detection device for detecting the working environment, the charging station comprising: seat body; A blower assembly is mounted on the base. The blower assembly includes a motor and a fan connected to the motor. The motor drives the fan to rotate to form a blower airflow. The charging station is characterized in that: the charging station further includes at least a portion of a duct assembly disposed within the seat body, the duct assembly including an air inlet and an air outlet in fluid communication with the air inlet, the blowing airflow entering the seat body from the air inlet and leaving the seat body from the air outlet, the air outlet being open toward the environmental detection device, and the air volume of the air outlet being not less than 1.25 CFM.

2. The charging station of claim 1, wherein: The air outlet's blowing direction defines an acute angle with the horizontal plane, and the acute angle ranges from 20 degrees to 60 degrees.

3. The charging station of claim 1, wherein: In the front-to-back direction of the charging station, the distance between the air outlet and the environmental detection device ranges from 10mm to 50mm.

4. The charging station of claim 1, wherein: The inner diameter of the air outlet ranges from 5mm to 30mm.

5. The charging station of claim 1, wherein: The base includes a top seat and a support for the top seat. The top seat is at least partially located above the self-moving device. The blower assembly and the air duct assembly are both mounted on the top seat.

6. The charging station of claim 1, wherein: The air duct assembly further includes an air pipe that is in fluid communication with the air inlet and the air outlet respectively. The air pipe includes a blowing section through which the blowing airflow passes, and the air outlet is disposed on the blowing section.

7. The charging station of claim 6, wherein: In the direction of airflow, at least a portion of the cross-sectional area of ​​the blowing section gradually decreases.

8. The charging station of claim 6, wherein: The air duct also includes an air guide section connected to or integrally formed with the air blowing section. The airflow flows sequentially through the air guide section and the air blowing section. The motor and the fan are both installed inside the air guide section.

9. The charging station of claim 8, characterized in that: The minimum cross-sectional area of ​​the air guide is not less than the maximum cross-sectional area of ​​the air blowing section.

10. An automated working system, characterized in that: include: Self-moving device; The charging station according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the charging station charges the self-moving device.

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