Mower and control system for mower

Abstract

A mower and a control system for a mower. The mower comprises: a frame (10); a blade assembly (30); a traveling assembly (20); at least one driving module (60), which comprises an electric driving axle and an electric driving motor (62) and is configured to drive the blade assembly (30) and / or the traveling assembly (20); a power supply device (200), which comprises at least one energy storage device and is configured to supply power to the at least one driving module (60); a bus network (80), which is configured to transmit signals between a plurality of components of the mower; and a plurality of control modules (70), each control module (70) comprising a processor and a memory and configured to programmably control various functions of the mower, wherein the bus network (80) is constructed using at least two different communication protocols, at least one of which is an Ethernet protocol, and the driving module (60) and each control module (70) transmit signals through the bus network (80) under the rules of the corresponding communication protocol.

Description

Lawn mower and control system for lawn mower

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410455140.1 filed on April 15, 2024 with the Chinese Patent Office, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of electric power tools, for example to a lawn mower and a control system for the lawn mower. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the increase of private and public green areas, the market of outdoor power equipment (OPE) is developing rapidly. Outdoor power equipment (OPE) is equipment that is mainly used outdoors, and is mainly used for lawn, garden, courtyard maintenance, etc. It belongs to a kind of power tool, and currently uses electric energy as the power source of the equipment. The most common outdoor power equipment can be represented by lawn mowers, which mainly include cordless lawn mowers. They include hand-push lawn mowers, riding lawn mowers, standing lawn mowers and other manned lawn mowers, as well as intelligent lawn mowers such as self-moving lawn mowers / lawn mower robots.

[0004] Thanks to the development of related technologies, the requirements for the functions and performance of lawn mowers and other outdoor power equipment are also increasing. In order to optimize the performance and provide multiple functions, the number of functional modules and components involved in the above-mentioned equipment is increasing, and the traditional point-to-point communication method in the equipment cannot meet the needs.

[0005] This part provides background information related to the present application, which may not be prior art. SUMMARY

[0006] One object of the present application is to solve or at least alleviate part or all of the above problems. To this end, the present application provides a lawn mower and a control system for the lawn mower.

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present application adopts the following technical solution:

[0008] A mower comprising: a frame; a blade assembly operatively attached to the frame and configured to perform a cutting function; a travel assembly supporting the frame and configured to drive the mower to travel; at least one drive module comprising an electric drive axle and an electric drive motor and configured to drive the blade assembly and / or drive the travel assembly; a power supply device comprising at least one energy storage device and configured to supply power to the at least one drive module; a bus network configured to transmit signals between a plurality of components of the mower; a plurality of control modules, each control module comprising a processor and a memory and configured to programmably control a function of the mower; wherein the bus network is constructed using at least two different communication protocols and at least one of the protocols belongs to the Ethernet protocol, and the drive module and each control module transmit signals through the bus network under the rules of the corresponding communication protocol.

[0009] In some embodiments, the communication protocols used by the bus network further comprise a CAN protocol.

[0010] In some embodiments, the communication protocols used by the bus network further comprise a FlexRay protocol.

[0011] In some embodiments, the bus network comprises a gateway module configured to perform protocol conversion for at least the drive module or control module using different communication protocols in the bus network.

[0012] In some embodiments, the bus network comprises a plurality of subnets, and the control modules belonging to the same subnet transmit signals under the rules of the same communication protocol.

[0013] In some embodiments, the control modules belonging to each subnet are divided based on the positions of the control modules in the mower.

[0014] In some embodiments, the control modules belonging to each subnet are divided based on the functions performed by the control modules in the mower.

[0015] In some embodiments, the data transmission rates of signals in different subnets are different.

[0016] In some embodiments, the bus network comprises a plurality of subnets, and the control modules in at least two subnets transmit signals under the rules of different communication protocols.

[0017] In some embodiments, the bus network comprises a plurality of subnets, and each subnet comprises a respective subnet gateway module, and the communication protocols followed by the subnet gateway modules when transmitting signals are different from at least one of the communication protocols followed by the control modules in a subnet when transmitting signals.

[0018] In some embodiments, the bus network is constructed using a combination of wired communication protocols and wireless communication protocols.

[0019] A mower comprising: a frame; a blade assembly operatively attached to the frame and configured to perform a cutting function; a travel assembly supporting the frame and configured to drive the mower to travel; at least one drive module comprising an electric drive axle and an electric drive motor and configured to drive the blade assembly and / or drive the travel assembly; a power supply device comprising at least one energy storage device and configured to supply power to the at least one drive module; a bus network configured to transmit signals between a plurality of components of the mower; a plurality of control modules, each control module comprising a processor and a memory and configured to programmably control a function of the mower; wherein one or more of the control modules is powered by and transmits signals through the bus network, and the bus network has a maximum power for powering and transmitting signals for the plurality of control modules that is greater than or equal to 60W.

[0020] In some embodiments, the bus network is constructed using at least an Ethernet protocol, and the bus network uses twisted pair wires that comply with a PoE standard on a physical layer.

[0021] In some embodiments, the plurality of control modules comprises a vision positioning module configured to be powered by the bus network to supply power to a camera assembly in the vision positioning module.

[0022] In some embodiments, the plurality of control modules comprises a battery control module, a charging control module, and a PD control module configured to be powered by the bus network to supply power to a processor in the battery control module, the charging control module, and the PD control module.

[0023] In some embodiments, at least one control module that is powered by the bus network is free of an electrical connection with the power supply device.

[0024] A mower comprising: a frame; a blade assembly operatively attached to the frame and configured to perform a cutting function; a travel assembly supporting the frame and configured to drive the mower to travel; at least one drive module comprising an electric drive axle and an electric drive motor and configured to drive the blade assembly and / or drive the travel assembly; a power supply device comprising at least one energy storage device and configured to supply power to the at least one drive module; a bus network configured to transmit signals between a plurality of components of the mower; a plurality of control modules, each control module comprising a processor and a memory and configured to programmably control a function of the mower, the plurality of control modules transmitting signals through the bus network; wherein the bus network comprises a maintenance interface configured to be accessed by a diagnostic device or a flashing device; when the diagnostic device or the flashing device accesses the bus network through the maintenance interface, one or more of the plurality of control modules interacts with the diagnostic device or the flashing device through the bus network to diagnose a fault or upgrade software of the control module.

[0025] In some embodiments, the mower has a normal mode, a diagnostic mode, and a programming mode; the mower is switched from the normal mode to the diagnostic mode after the diagnostic device accesses the bus network through the maintenance interface, and / or the mower is switched from the normal mode to the programming mode after the programming device accesses the bus network through the maintenance interface.

[0026] In some embodiments, the diagnostic device or the programming device and the at least one drive module and the plurality of control modules use a master-slave question-and-answer mechanism to perform fault diagnosis or software upgrade through the bus network, the diagnostic device or the programming device is the master, and the at least one drive module and the plurality of control modules are the slaves.

[0027] In some embodiments, the programming device performs software upgrade for a single control module through the bus network or controls a plurality of control modules to perform batch upgrade through the bus network after the mower enters the programming mode.

[0028] In some embodiments, the diagnostic device sequentially sends fault diagnosis requests to the plurality of control modules through the bus network after the mower enters the diagnostic mode, receives fault information returned by the control modules and performs fault analysis.

[0029] A control system for a mower, comprising: a high-speed bus network configured to transmit signals or commands between a plurality of components of the mower; a drive module comprising an electric drive bridge and an electric drive motor, and configured to drive a traveling assembly of the mower to control a speed and a direction of the mower; at least one control module comprising a processor and a memory, and configured to programmably control various functions of the mower; wherein the at least one control module is configured to obtain output signals from one or more components of the mower through the high-speed bus network, or to issue drive commands corresponding to a target speed and a target direction of the mower through the high-speed bus network, the highest data transmission rate of the high-speed bus network is greater than or equal to 100 Mps, and the drive module is configured to obtain and process the drive commands through the high-speed bus network to generate corresponding drive signals, which in turn drive the electric drive motor to operate at the target speed and the target direction.

[0030] In some embodiments, the mower comprises a riding mower, a standing mower, and a mower robot.

[0031] In some embodiments, the mower is a manned mower, and the input signals of the one or more components comprise a steering wheel signal and an accelerator pedal signal.

[0032] In some embodiments, the mower is a manned mower, and the input signals of the one or more components comprise a first lever sensor signal and a second lever sensor signal.

[0033] In some embodiments, the mower is a self-moving mower, and the input signals of the one or more components comprise a visual sensor signal.

[0034] In some embodiments, the lawn mower is a self-moving lawn mower, and the input signal of the one or more components comprises a GNSS signal.

[0035] In some embodiments, the high-speed bus network is a high-speed real-time bus network, and the high-speed real-time bus network is built using one or more of an EtherCAT protocol and a TSN protocol.

[0036] In some embodiments, the high-speed bus network is a high-speed non-real-time bus network, and the high-speed non-real-time bus network is built using an EtherNet protocol.

[0037] In some embodiments, in the case of a bus occupation conflict, the plurality of control modules occupy the high-speed bus network and issue driving commands based on a priority competition principle.

[0038] In some embodiments, in the case of a bus occupation conflict, the plurality of control modules occupy the high-speed bus network and issue driving commands based on a TDMA principle.

[0039] The present application has the advantage that by designing the protocol mixing, rate adjustment, synchronous feeding, and diagnosis / flash access of the bus network, the efficiency and quality of data transmission between multiple modules in the lawn mower are improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0040] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a riding lawn mower according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a standing lawn mower according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a self-moving lawn mower according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a bus network according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a bus network according to an embodiment of the present application in the lawn mower shown in FIGS. 1-3;

[0045] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a bus network according to another embodiment of the present application in the lawn mower shown in FIGS. 1-3;

[0046] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a bus network according to yet another embodiment of the present application in the lawn mower shown in FIGS. 1-3;

[0047] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a bus network according to still another embodiment of the present application in the lawn mower shown in FIGS. 1-3;

[0048] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of data interaction between modules according to an embodiment of the present application in the bus network shown in FIGS. 5-8;

[0049] Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of inter-module data interaction as another embodiment in the bus network shown in Figs. 5-8;

[0050] Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of inter-module data interaction as yet another embodiment in the bus network shown in Figs. 5-8;

[0051] Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of the bus network and power lines as still another embodiment in the mower shown in Figs. 1-3.

[0052] Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of the bus network and power lines as still another embodiment in the mower shown in Figs. 1-3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] Before any embodiments of the application are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the application is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the above-described accompanying drawings.

[0054] In this application, the terms "including", "containing", "having" or any other similar words are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or apparatus including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or other elements inherent in such a process, method, article or apparatus. Without more limitations, the element defined by the statement "including a" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or apparatus including the element.

[0055] In this application, the term "and / or" is a description of the association relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this application generally represents a "and / or" relationship between the front and rear associated objects.

[0056] In this application, the terms "connect," "couple," "coupled," "mount," and "mounting" can be direct or indirect, and can include mechanical, electrical, and / or magnetic connections or couplings. In addition, "connect" and "coupled" are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings, and can include electrical connections or couplings.

[0057] In this application, the term "about" is used to indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for the device, the method being employed to determine the value, or the variation that exists in the materials used. "About" as used herein can include a degree of error regarding a value of up to 10%, typically 1%, 5%, or 10%. When reference is made to the amount of an ingredient used in the specification and examples, it will be understood that the amount is estimated and can deviate a small amount from the estimated amount. When the terms "substantially" or "essentially" are used, they mean that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations, within margins that are reasonably acceptable, are included. Thus, "substantially" and "essentially" can vary to some degree.

[0058] In this application, the term "function" can be performed by a component, a plurality of components, a part, or a plurality of parts. Similarly, a function performed by a part can be performed by one part, one component, or a combination of parts.

[0059] In this application, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "front," "back," and the like, are terms of reference and are only used to facilitate discussion of the application and are not intended to limit the application. In addition, it should be understood that when an element is referred to as being connected to or on another element, it can be directly connected to or on another element, or indirectly connected to or on another element via intervening elements. It should also be understood that the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "front," "back," and the like, can refer to a relative position and can also refer to a side position. For example, "lower" can include "directly below," "left below," "right below," "front below," and "back below."

[0060] In the present application, the terms "controller", "processor", "central processing unit", "CPU", "MCU" are interchangeable. In using the unit "controller", "processor", "central processing unit", "CPU", or "MCU" to perform a specific function, unless otherwise specified, these functions can be performed by a single above-mentioned unit or multiple above-mentioned units.

[0061] In the present application, the terms "device", "module" or "unit" in order to achieve a specific function, it can be realized by hardware or software form.

[0062] In the present application, the terms "calculate", "judge", "control", "determine", "identify" and the like refer to the operation and process of a computer system or similar electronic computing device (e.g., controller, processor, etc.).

[0063] The technical solutions proposed in the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

[0064] The present application and the following mainly describe the improvement scheme of the bus around the lawn mower, and first of all, the lawn mower as the technical subject is described. The lawn mower in the present application at least includes a riding lawn mower 100a, a standing lawn mower 100b and a self-moving lawn mower 100c, and in some cases, it can also include a hand-push lawn mower, etc., wherein the riding lawn mower 100a and the standing lawn mower 100b can be collectively referred to as a manned lawn mower. In a broad sense, the lawn mower can also include all functional machines capable of trimming the lawn to be flat, and does not exclude the application of related technical solutions to other types of lawn mowers without conflict.

[0065] The structures commonly shared by the above-mentioned different types of lawn mowers generally include a vehicle frame 10, a walking assembly 20, a blade assembly 30 and a power supply device 200. Among them, the vehicle frame 10, i.e. the chassis and housing of the lawn mower, etc. It is the main component of the machine body, and the following described components can be in connection or contact with the vehicle frame 10 to obtain the support, fixation, protection and limiting of the vehicle frame 10, etc.

[0066] The walking assembly 20 supports the above-mentioned vehicle frame 10 and drives the whole machine to walk. The walking assembly 20 at least includes a walking component 21 and a walking motor. The walking component 21 is a component that actually drives the mower to walk. For example, the walking component 21 can include a walking wheel, a walking track, etc. The walking motor provides power for the walking of the mower. The walking motor is operated to drive the walking component 21 to work. In some embodiments, the walking motor can be a hub motor or a wheel motor. The blade assembly 30 is operatively attached to the above-mentioned vehicle frame 10 and performs the cutting function of the mower. The blade assembly 30 at least includes a cutting component 31 and a working motor. The cutting component 31 is a blade or other component that actually performs cutting when the mower works. The cutting component 31 is generally replaceable and provided with multiple different sizes. The working motor provides power for the cutting of the mower. The working motor is operated to drive the cutting component 31 to work.

[0067] The power supply device 200 includes at least one energy storage device capable of supplying power to one or more modules of the mower. The power supply device 200 can be arranged on the vehicle frame 10 and can be detached from the vehicle frame 10. In some embodiments, the power supply device 200 includes one or more battery packs, at least part of which is detachably mounted to the mower. In some embodiments, at least part of the one or more battery packs has a nominal voltage different from that of the other battery packs. In some embodiments, at least part of the one or more battery packs supplies power to modules different from those supplied by the other battery packs. In some embodiments, at least part of the one or more battery packs can supply power to other power tools after being detached from the mower. For example, the power tools supplied after being detached can be handheld power tools.

[0068] Referring to FIG. 1, a riding mower 100a is shown as an embodiment of the present application. The riding mower 100a further includes a seat 50a and an operating assembly 40 in addition to the vehicle frame 10, the walking assembly 20, the blade assembly 30, and the power supply device 200. The seat 50a is mounted on the vehicle frame 10 and allows a user to ride. Referring to FIG. 2, a standing mower 100b is shown as an embodiment of the present application. The standing mower 100b further includes a standing platform 50b and an operating assembly 40 in addition to the vehicle frame 10, the walking assembly 20, the blade assembly 30, and the power supply device 200. The standing platform 50b is mounted on the vehicle frame 10 and allows a user to stand. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the operating assembly 40 of the manned mower can include a steering wheel, an operating lever, a pedal, etc. They independently or cooperatively realize the functions of starting, shifting, steering, braking, etc. of the manned mower. The operating assembly 40 is generally electromechanical. Referring to FIG. 3, a self-moving mower 100c is shown as an embodiment of the present application. The self-moving mower 100c is a self-driven intelligent device. After analyzing the walking path in the current working area, the self-moving mower 100c will automatically travel, avoid obstacles, and mow grass according to the path.

[0069] It can be understood that the technical solutions to be described hereinafter can also be analogously applied to other types of outdoor power equipment. In some embodiments, the related solutions can be adaptively applied to equipment similar to the lawn mower described hereinbefore, which implements another function while implementing the walking function, including snow blower, washer, agricultural harvester, etc. In some embodiments, the related solutions can also be adaptively applied to other vehicle equipment that only performs outdoor walking, including utility task vehicle (UTV) / farmer vehicle, all terrain vehicle (ATV) / beach vehicle, golf vehicle, etc.

[0070] In the present application, in addition to the components described hereinbefore, the lawn mower further comprises at least one driving module 60, at least one control module 70 and a bus network 80 in order to meet the development needs of multiple functions and efficient and stable data transmission. In the present application, the above-mentioned modules of the lawn mower and the bus network 80 constitute a distributed control system. Each control module 70 can comprise a respective processor and a memory. The processor can be a microcontroller unit (MCU), an advanced RISC machine (ARM), etc., which is configured to programmably control the implementation of the respective corresponding functions. The memory can store programs to be executed and related data. For example, one control module 70 in the lawn mower can be an Internet of Things (IoT) control module, which can further comprise other units for accessing the Internet or for communicating with external devices in addition to the processor. The data of other modules can be uploaded to user devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers or databases, etc. after being transmitted to the IoT module.

[0071] In some embodiments, the control module 70 in the lawn mower can further comprise one or more of the following modules:

[0072] The walking control module 71 can at least control the operation of the walking assembly 20, including performing the tasks of starting and stopping, speed adjustment, steering, etc. of the walking member 21, and can at least interact with one or more of the visual sensor, the motion sensor, the screen control module 74, the driving module 60, etc. in data.

[0073] The cutter control module 72 can at least control the operation of the blade assembly 30, including performing the tasks of starting and stopping, speed adjustment, etc. of the cutting member 31, and can at least interact with one or more of the screen control module 74, the driving module 60, etc. in data.

[0074] The switch control module 73 can be operated by the user to send a start / stop command to the whole machine or part of the control module 70, and can interact with each module to send data.

[0075] The screen control module 74 has a display screen and components such as buttons that can be operated by the user, for example, the display screen can be a touch screen, and can be operated by the user to send a command to control the task execution of the walking control module 71 and the cutter control module 72, and can interact with one or more of the walking control module 71, the cutter control module 72, the battery control module 75, the auxiliary driving control module 78, and the accessory control module 79.

[0076] The battery control module 75 can monitor the state of the power supply device 200 during power supply to the above-mentioned modules, and perform power protection tasks such as over-temperature and over-current, and can also publish relevant state or warning information to the screen control module 74 and the like.

[0077] The fast charging (Power Delivery, USB-PD) control module 76 has an interface that can be accessed by user devices such as mobile phones and tablets, and can monitor the state of the power supply device 200 during power supply to the above-mentioned user devices and control data transmission between the user devices and other modules.

[0078] The charging control module 77 is used to monitor and control the charging process of the power supply device 200.

[0079] The auxiliary driving control module 78 is used to assist the user in driving the manned mower, and to realize unmanned driving and other intelligent driving functions.

[0080] The accessory control module 79 is used to power and control accessories such as laser radars, camera assemblies, RTK mobile stations, and the like outside the mower body.

[0081] Among them, the number of modules such as the walking control module 71 and the cutter control module 72 in the mower can be one or more, for example, the mower can be provided with a walking control module 71a and a walking control module 71b for controlling the left and right walking members 21 respectively, and cutter control modules 72a to 72c can also be provided. In addition, the type of control module 70 in the mower is not limited to the above type.

[0082] The drive module 60 can at least include an electric drive axle and an electric drive motor 62, the electric drive axle adjusts the current transmitted to the electric drive motor 62 based on the input control signal to control the operation of the electric drive motor 62. The electric drive motor 62 described herein can be the walking motor and / or the working motor described above, and accordingly, the drive module 60 can drive and control the operation of the walking assembly 20 and / or the blade assembly 30 described above. The modules described in the present application are generally implemented in combination of software and hardware, where the software program provides the logic and the hardware performs the corresponding functions. In some embodiments, the drive module 60 described above can be an integrated module of the walking control module 71 or multiple walking control modules 71, can be an integrated module of the cutter control module 72 or multiple cutter control modules 72, or can be a module combining the walking control module 71 and the cutter control module 72. In the description of some embodiments described later, the walking control module 71 and / or the cutter control module 72 can be distinguished from other control modules. It can be understood that the division of sub-assemblies and modules is not absolute.

[0083] The bus network 80 realizes the transmission of signals, data, and commands between the modules described above. The bus network 80 has a pre-defined data forwarding rule and a matching physical structure. Each module is connected to the bus network 80 as a node in the bus network 80 and follows the rules defined by the bus network 80 to form the bus network 80 in a wired or wireless manner. In an embodiment of the present application, the bus network 80 in the mower is constructed using at least two different communication protocols, and at least one of them belongs to the Ethernet protocol. The drive module 60 and each control module 70 will transmit signals and the like through the bus network 80 based on their positions in the topology of the bus network 80 and under the rules of the corresponding communication protocol, so as to take advantage of different communication protocols to meet the design requirements of the mower and control costs.

[0084] In some embodiments, the communication protocol used to construct the bus network 80 of the mower can also include a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus. In some other embodiments, the communication protocol can also include a FlexRay bus. In some other embodiments, the communication protocol can also include an EtherCAT bus. In some other embodiments, the communication protocol can also include a Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) bus. In some other embodiments, the communication protocol can also include a Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) bus.

[0085] In some embodiments, the bus network 80 can be in any of a bus topology, a star topology, a tree topology, a mesh topology, a ring topology; the bus network 80 can also be in a hybrid topology, which is a mixture of one or more of a bus topology, a star topology, a tree topology, a mesh topology, a ring topology.

[0086] In this embodiment, the mower can further include a gateway module 81 deployed in the bus network 80, which is configured to at least perform protocol conversion for modules using different communication protocols. In some embodiments, the gateway module 81 includes a master gateway module 81 and a slave gateway module 81. In some embodiments, the gateway module 81 can be integrated with any control module 70 as one module, for example, it can be integrated in a control module 70 with faster computing speed and / or larger storage capacity. In some embodiments, the gateway module 81 includes a router and / or a switch. In some embodiments, the gateway module 81 also has a data filtering function, which can be adapted to filter out part of the data forwarding request according to the current working mode of the mower.

[0087] The bus network 80 in the above embodiments will be described below in combination with specific topologies and rules. In some embodiments, the bus network 80 can include multiple subnets, i.e., multiple domains, wherein one or more modules are connected to form a subnet, and multiple subnets are connected to form the bus network 80. The topology of the multiple modules constituting the subnet can be star-shaped, tree-shaped, bus-shaped, or mesh-shaped or hybrid-shaped, and the topology of the multiple subnets constituting the bus network 80 is also adaptable. In some embodiments, the subnets constituting the bus network 80 can be further hierarchically divided, wherein the bus network 80 includes one or more first-level subnets, and each first-level subnet can further include one or more second-level subnets, and so on. In this embodiment, the bus network 80 as a whole is tree-shaped. In some embodiments, the control modules 70 under different subnets can be completely different or partially overlapped, i.e., one control module 70 can belong to two subnets, so as to form a ring topology in the bus network 80 to improve system reliability. Referring to FIG. 4, gateway 1 and modules 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 form a subnet 1 (domain 1) bus in a bus topology; gateway 2 and modules 2-1, 2-1-1, 2-1-2, 2-1-2a, and module 1-3 form a subnet 2 (domain 2) bus in a hybrid topology, which is mainly tree-shaped and also contains a ring topology; gateway 3 and modules 3-1, 3-2, and module 2-1-2a form a subnet 3 (domain 3) bus in a star topology. Subnets 1 to 3 and gateway 0 can be regarded as a gateway bus in a hybrid topology, which is mainly star-shaped and also contains a ring topology.

[0088] In some embodiments, the communication protocols implemented in the same subnet are the same, the communication protocols implemented in different subnets can be the same or different, and the communication protocols implemented between subnets can be the same as or different from the communication protocols implemented in any subnet. In some embodiments, the communication protocols implemented in at least two subnets are different, i.e., two subnets use different communication protocols to build subnet buses. In other embodiments, at least the communication protocols implemented between subnets are different from the communication protocols implemented in the subnets, i.e., the communication protocols used when building a subnet bus within a subnet are different from the communication protocols used when connecting the subnet to other subnets and / or gateways.

[0089] For example, as shown in FIG. 4, subnets 1 to 3 can implement different communication protocols to build buses within the subnets, gateway 1 can convert data sent by at least one module in subnet 1 to any module in subnet 2 to a format required by the communication protocols implemented between gateways 0 to 3, and then send the data to gateway 2, gateway 2 can convert the data received from gateway 1 to a format required by the communication protocols implemented in subnet 2, and then send the data to the destination module. Gateway 1 can also convert data sent by at least one module in subnet 1 to any module in subnet 3 to a format required by the communication protocols implemented between gateways 0 to 3, and then send the data to gateway 0, gateway 0 can send the data received from gateway 1 to gateway 3, and gateway 3 can convert the data received from gateway 0 to a format required by the communication protocols implemented in subnet 3, and then send the data to the destination module. It can be understood that the above data interaction process is carried out around the bus network 80 shown in FIG. 4, and the topology of the bus network 80 and the interaction process of each module will be adjusted adaptively according to the actual arrangement of modules in the mower. For example, gateway 0 shown in the bus network 80 of the mower in FIG. 4 can not be provided, gateway 2 can be integrated into module 2-1, and data transmission between subnet 1 and subnet 3 is carried out from the source module to the destination module through gateway 1, module 2-1, and gateway 3.

[0090] In some embodiments, the one or more control modules 70 under each subnet are divided based on the physical location of the control module 70 in the mower, so that the relevant circuit lines of the bus network 80 are more feasible. Specifically, the above-mentioned bus network 80 of the mower can include a front field and a rear field, one or more control modules 70 located on the front side in the longitudinal direction of the mower are divided into the front field, and one or more control modules 70 located on the rear side are divided into the rear field; further, the bus network 80 can also include a front field, a middle field and a rear field, or a left front field, a right front field, a left rear field and a right rear field. Referring to FIG. 5, in some embodiments, one or more of the cutter control module 72, the auxiliary driving control module 78, the IoT control module 710, the battery control module 75 and the charging control module 77 of the mower constitute a front field in the bus network 80, and the front field bus 82a can be in a bus topology; one or more of the walking control module 71, the accessory control module 79, the screen control module 74, the switch control module 73 and the PD control module 76 constitute a rear field in the bus network 80, and the rear field bus 82b can also be in a bus topology. In other embodiments, the front field of the mower further includes a front gateway 81a, and the rear field further includes a rear gateway 81b, and the data transmission between the front and rear fields is realized through the gateway bus 82c between the front and rear gateways.

[0091] In some embodiments, the one or more control modules 70 under each subnet are divided based on the function tasks assumed by the control module 70 in the mower, so that the relevant control logic of the bus network 80 is more coherent and accurate. Specifically, the above-mentioned bus network 80 of the mower can include a power domain, an electrical energy domain and an intelligent driving domain, wherein the power domain realizes the functions of walking and mowing, the electrical energy domain controls the supply of electrical energy of the whole machine, and the intelligent driving domain provides intelligent driving services. Referring to FIG. 6, in some embodiments, one or more of the cutter control module 72, the walking control module 71, the accessory control module 79, the screen control module 74 and the switch control module 73 of the mower constitute a power domain in the bus network 80, and the power domain bus 82a can be in a bus topology. In some embodiments, one or more of the battery control module 75, the charging control module 77 and the PD control module 76 of the mower constitute an electrical energy domain in the bus network 80, and the electrical energy domain bus 82c can be in a bus topology. In some embodiments, the auxiliary driving control module 78 and the IoT control module 710 of the mower constitute an intelligent driving domain in the bus network 80, and the intelligent driving domain bus 82b can be in a bus topology. In other embodiments, the power domain includes a power gateway 81a, the intelligent driving domain includes an intelligent driving gateway 81b, and the electrical energy domain includes an electrical energy gateway 81c, and the data transmission between the power domain, the electrical energy domain and the intelligent driving domain is realized through the gateway bus 82d between the domain gateways, and the gateway bus 82d can be in a bus topology.

[0092] In some embodiments, the bus network 80 uses CAN bus in the subnets and uses Ethernet bus between the gateways. In other embodiments, the bus network 80 uses FlexRay bus in the subnets and uses Ethernet bus between the gateways. In yet other embodiments, the bus network 80 uses CAN bus in some subnets, uses Ethernet bus in some subnets, and uses Ethernet bus between the gateways.

[0093] In some embodiments, the bus network 80 is constructed based on a wireless communication protocol and a wired communication protocol. For example, the communication between the modules within the same domain can be wired communication, and the communication between the gateways outside the domain can be wireless communication.

[0094] In some embodiments, the data transmission rate is different in different subnets. In light of the foregoing, in some embodiments, the data transmission rate in the power domain is greater than the data transmission rate in the intelligent driving domain, so as to ensure efficient implementation of the core functions of the mower. In some embodiments, the data transmission rate in some subnets of the bus network 80 is greater than or equal to 100 Mbps, and the data transmission rate in other subnets is greater than or equal to 20 Mbps and less than or equal to 100 Mbps.

[0095] In some embodiments, the bus network 80 between some control modules 70 is a real-time bus, and the bus network 80 between some control modules 70 is a non-real-time bus. In some embodiments, the same control module 70 has the ability to communicate in at least two different bus protocols, which can be switched according to the target module to be communicated with and / or the function task to be performed.

[0096] In another embodiment of the present application, the bus network 80 in the mower is a high-speed bus network 80, and each control module 70 and the drive module 60 can at least communicate with each other through the high-speed bus network 80 at a data transmission rate greater than or equal to 100 Mbps to realize real-time control of the speed and direction of the mower during movement. Specifically, at least one control module 70 is configured to obtain an output signal from one or more components of the mower or issue a drive command related to the target speed and target direction of the mower through the high-speed bus network 80; and the drive module 60 is configured to obtain and process the drive command through the high-speed bus network 80, and then drive the electric drive motor to operate at the target speed and target direction. In this embodiment, at least the walking and / or mowing functions of the mower can be realized through the high-speed bus network 80 with a data transmission rate greater than or equal to 100 Mbps.

[0097] It can be understood that, in some embodiments, the control module 70 can receive output signals from the operating components or sensors through the high-speed bus network 80 to analyze and issue driving commands indicating the target rotating speed and the target direction, i.e., the components can participate in communication as a node in the bus network 80. In other embodiments, the control module 70 can also receive output signals of other control modules 70 through the high-speed bus network 80 to obtain information about the target rotating speed and the target direction, i.e., the components belong to a node participating in communication. For example, multiple operating components or multiple sensors can be integrated into a new control module 70, and the processor in the control module 70 can output signals to other control modules 70.

[0098] The above interaction process will be described below in combination with different types of mowers. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the mower is a manned mower, and the operating components 40 include a steering wheel and an accelerator pedal, which can output signals to the control module 70 through the high-speed bus network 80 in real time in response to user operation. The control module 70 can analyze the target speed and the target direction of the current user intention by receiving the output signals from the steering wheel and the accelerator pedal through the high-speed bus network 80, for example, the angle of the steering wheel rotation can indicate the target direction, the angle of the accelerator pedal being stepped on can indicate the target speed, etc., and the control module 70 can then issue driving commands corresponding to the target speed and the target direction to the driving module 60 through the high-speed bus network 80 in real time. The driving module 60 will control the motor to rotate at the expected rotating speed and in the expected direction in real time after receiving the driving commands through the high-speed bus network 80.

[0099] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the mower is a manned mower, and the operating components 40 include a first operating lever and a second operating lever, and a first lever sensor and a second lever sensor corresponding to detecting the moving states of the two levers, wherein the first lever sensor outputs different signals to the control module 70 through the high-speed bus network 80 in real time in response to each action of the user operating the first operating lever, and the second lever sensor outputs different signals to the control module 70 through the high-speed bus network 80 in real time in response to each action of the user operating the second operating lever. For example, the moving states of the first and second operating levers can be used for the traveling control of the left and right traveling members 21 respectively, i.e., the mower turns left when the first operating lever is pushed, the mower turns right when the second operating lever is pushed, and the mower travels straight when the first and second operating levers are pushed simultaneously, and the straight traveling speed is positively correlated with the pushing depth of the two levers. The control module 70 can analyze the target speed and the target direction of the current user intention by receiving the output signals from the first and second lever sensors through the high-speed bus network 80, and then issue driving commands through the high-speed bus network 80 in real time to make the driving module 60 receiving the driving commands control the motor to rotate at the expected rotating speed and in the expected direction in real time.

[0100] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, the above-mentioned lawn mower is a self-moving lawn mower 100c, which is provided with visual sensors such as a camera assembly, an infrared scanning assembly, etc. The visual sensors can output signals such as images collected in real time to the control module 70 through the above-mentioned high-speed bus network 80 in real time periodically or in response to specific events. After receiving the above-mentioned signals through the high-speed bus network 80, the control module 70 processes and analyzes the signals and issues driving commands in real time. After receiving the above-mentioned driving commands through the high-speed bus network 80 in real time, the driving module 60 drives the motor to operate in the expected manner.

[0101] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned lawn mower is a self-moving lawn mower 100c, which is provided with a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning unit. The GNSS positioning unit can output GNSS signals obtained by using a global navigation satellite system, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, to the control module 70 through the above-mentioned high-speed bus network 80 in real time. The signals can indicate the coordinates of the lawn mower. After receiving the above-mentioned signals through the high-speed bus network 80, the control module 70 processes and analyzes the signals and issues driving commands in real time. After receiving the above-mentioned driving commands through the high-speed bus network 80 in real time, the driving module 60 drives the motor to operate in the expected manner.

[0102] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned driving module 60 further includes a processor in addition to the electric drive axle and the electric drive motor. The driving module 60 receives driving commands carrying target speed and target direction through the above-mentioned high-speed bus network 80 by the processor and processes the driving commands, and then outputs control signals corresponding to the rotational speed and direction obtained by processing the commands to the electric drive axle. The electric drive axle drives the electric drive motor to operate in the expected manner under the control of the control signals. In some embodiments, the above-mentioned driving module 60 controls the operation of the electric drive motor of the walking assembly 20. In other embodiments, the above-mentioned driving module 60 controls the operation of the electric drive motor of the working assembly.

[0103] In some embodiments, the high-speed bus network 80 with a data transmission rate greater than or equal to 100 Mbps is a real-time bus network 80, which can be constructed using one or more of the FlexRay protocol, the TSN protocol, and the like. Referring to FIG. 5, the high-speed real-time bus network 80 is constructed using the FlexRay protocol; referring to FIG. 7, the high-speed real-time bus network 80 is constructed using the EtherCAT protocol. In other embodiments, the high-speed bus network 80 with a data transmission rate greater than or equal to 100 Mbps is a non-real-time bus network 80, which can be constructed using the EtherNet protocol, as shown in FIG. 8.

[0104] In the mower of the present application, the modules are more diverse, and the network topology and protocol are more complex. The data interaction process between the modules in the bus network 80 is described below. In some embodiments, there is a control module 70 as a master in the bus network 80 or part of the bus network 80, and other control modules 70 are slaves and communicate with the master in a master-slave mode. The control module 70 as the master initiates requests to other control modules 70 and receives feedback from them. For example, there can be one master and multiple slaves in a subnet. The master initiates requests, and the slaves respond to the requests of the master. When forwarding requests from other subnets, the subnet gateway also needs to wait for the master to finish using the bus before forwarding.

[0105] In some embodiments, there is one master and multiple slaves in the bus network 80 or part of the bus network 80, which together form a ring topology. The requests from the control module 70 as the master to the slaves will pass through each slave in turn along the ring topology. Each control module 70 as a slave can receive and process requests for itself when data passes through the module. For example, some fields in the original data frame can be added, deleted, or modified, and then the processed new data is transferred to the next slave. The data processed by each slave along the ring topology is finally returned to the master, thereby avoiding bus occupation conflicts and the like.

[0106] In some embodiments, each control module 70 in the bus network 80 or part of the bus network 80 can request the response of other control modules 70 as a host, i.e., without a host question and answer, and the control module 70 to be requested can wait for the bus to be idle before sending the request if the bus is busy. If multiple control modules 70 initiate requests at the same time when the bus is idle, multiple control modules 70 can compete based on priority, and the control module 70 with higher priority can occupy the bus, and the control module 70 with lower priority can wait. Referring to FIG. 10, assuming that the priority of the screen control module 74 is higher than that of the IoT control module 710, at time t0, the screen control module 74 and the IoT control module 710 simultaneously initiate a request to occupy the bus, and since the priority of the screen control module 74 is higher, the screen control module 74 can interact with the walking control module 71 through the bus at the subsequent T0 period. At another time tx after the end of the T0 period, the bus is idle, and the IoT control module 710 can successfully occupy the bus and interact with the auxiliary driving control module 78. Referring to FIG. 11, the above interaction process can also be performed in the bus network 80 of the hybrid protocol architecture, and the gateway module 81 performs protocol conversion for cross-subnet data transmission and can wait for the intra-domain bus to be idle when forwarding data, or also follow the priority competition principle.

[0107] In some embodiments, each control module 70 in the bus network 80 or part of the bus network 80 performs a masterless question and answer, and the multiple control modules 70 share a synchronous clock and occupy the bus based on the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) principle. Each control module 70 only occupies the bus and interacts with other control modules 70 in the time period belonging to itself, thereby avoiding the situation that multiple control modules 70 compete for the bus. For example, multiple control modules 70 in a subnet perform intra-domain clock synchronization, and one communication period T can be divided into multiple time periods equal to the number of control modules 70 in the subnet, i.e., T includes a time period T1 corresponding to the control module 70, a time period T2 corresponding to the control module 70, and so on. Each control module 70 has the right to occupy the bus of the subnet in one time period in each communication period. In some embodiments, one communication period T can also be divided into a static segment and a dynamic segment. In the static segment, multiple sub-time periods are divided according to the number of control modules 70 for each control module 70 to transmit data in time, and in the static segment, multiple control modules 70 can compete for data transmission.

[0108] In some embodiments, each of the control modules 70 performs decentralized arbitration, i.e., each determines whether the control module 70 has the right to occupy the bus at the current time. Specifically, the control module 70 can determine whether the value of the priority field in the data frame is consistent with the value actually transmitted on the bus, and if so, the control module 70 can determine that the bus is currently occupied by the control module 70. In other embodiments, the mower can also be provided with a bus control module 70 to centrally arbitrate the bus occupation requests of each control module 70. For example, the subnet gateway can serve as the bus control module 70 to inquire or approve the bus occupation of each control module 70 in the subnet based on the priority order.

[0109] In some embodiments, the bus network 80 or part of the bus network 80 can include a dual-channel bus, and the control module 70 can be provided with a dual transceiver to perform data interaction with other modules in a redundant manner using a pair of twisted wires. In some embodiments, the bus network 80 or part of the bus network 80 uses twisted wires to transmit differential signals to enhance data stability.

[0110] In another embodiment of the application, one or more of the control modules 70 in the mower not only transmit signals through the bus network 80 but also receive power through the bus network 80, i.e., the data transmission and power supply of the control modules 70 are carried on the same link at the physical layer, and the bus network 80 transmits signals and feeds power to the one or more control modules 70 with a maximum power greater than or equal to 60W.

[0111] In some embodiments, the bus network 80 is at least constructed using the Ethernet protocol, and the bus network 80 or part of the bus network 80 uses twisted wires that meet the Power over Ethernet (PoE) standard at the physical layer. In some embodiments, the bus network 80 uses a pair of twisted wires to transmit differential signals carrying data information and provide a power supply voltage. In some embodiments, one or more of the light display unit, audio unit, Bluetooth unit, GNSS positioning unit, and NFC unit use the PoE bus.

[0112] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 12, the mower further comprises a power line 210 connected between the control module 70 and the power supply device 200 to transmit the power provided by the power supply device 200 to the control module 70. In some embodiments, part of the control modules 70 are connected to both the bus network 80 and the power line 210, i.e., the control modules 70 are connected to other modules through the bus 82 and connected to the power supply device 200 through the power line 210, the bus is only used for data transmission of the control modules 70, and the power line 210 is only used for power supply of the control modules 70. The other control modules 70 are not connected to the power supply device 200, and the control modules 70 connected to the power line 210 transmit signals to them and provide power for them at the same time. In other embodiments, the processors of part of the control modules 70 are not connected to the power supply device 200, and are only powered by the signals transmitted by other control modules 70 through the bus network 80, but other components in the control modules 70 can be connected to the power supply device 200 to perform corresponding work tasks when the processors are activated to output control signals.

[0113] In some embodiments, the control module 70 further comprises a visual positioning module 711 configured to be powered by the bus network 80 to supply power to the visual sensors such as camera components, infrared scanning components, etc. in the visual positioning module 711. Specifically, the visual sensors in the visual positioning module 711 can receive control signals from the walking control module 71 through the bus network 80, be powered at the same time, and collect and feedback images around the mower in response to the control signals.

[0114] In some embodiments, the battery control module 75, the charging control module 77, and the PD control module 76 are configured to be powered by the bus network 80 to supply power to the processors in the control module 70. Specifically, the processor in the battery control module 75 can be powered by the bus network 80 while receiving control signals from each control module 70, and adjust the battery discharge state in response to the control signals.

[0115] In still another embodiment of the present application, the bus network 80 in the mower further comprises a maintenance interface, which is a hardware interface configured to allow a diagnostic device or a flashing device to access the bus network 80, when the diagnostic device or the flashing device accesses the bus network 80 through the maintenance interface, one or more of the control modules 70 interact with the diagnostic device or the flashing device through the bus network 80 and the maintenance interface to implement fault diagnosis or software upgrade of the control modules 70. Specifically, the mower can have a normal mode, a programming mode and a diagnostic mode, in the normal mode, the mower performs traveling and mowing operations, in the programming mode, the mower performs software upgrade of the modules, in the diagnostic mode, the mower performs fault positioning and diagnosis of the modules, and the switching among the three modes can be implemented based on whether there is an access device in the maintenance interface and the specific type of the access device.

[0116] In some embodiments, a master-slave question-and-answer mechanism is implemented in the diagnostic or flashing process, the diagnostic device or the flashing device is the master, and the other modules in the bus network 80 are the slaves, after the diagnostic device or the flashing device accesses the bus network 80 through the maintenance interface, the working mode of the mower is switched from the normal mode to the diagnostic mode or the programming mode, the diagnostic device or the flashing device as the master sends a request to the control modules 70 through the bus network 80, and the control modules 70 as the slaves receive and process the request and then reply feedback to the master.

[0117] In some embodiments, after the diagnostic device accesses the bus network 80 through the maintenance interface, the mower is switched from the normal mode to the diagnostic mode, and the diagnostic device as the master in the bus network 80 can initiate a query to each control module 70 to be diagnosed in turn, and each control module 70 as the slave in the bus network 80 feeds back fault information of the control module 70 to the diagnostic device after receiving the query, wherein the diagnostic information can at least carry a fault code currently cached by the control module 70, and can further include a fault level, a data snapshot and the like currently cached by the control module 70.

[0118] In some embodiments, after the diagnostic device accesses the bus network 80 through the maintenance interface, it first interacts with each control module 70 to be diagnosed through the bus network 80 to confirm the device model and the like, and after verifying that the diagnostic device and the control modules 70 are matched in model, the diagnostic device and the control modules 70 enter the diagnostic mode. In some embodiments, the diagnostic device further performs fault reproduction through a question-and-answer with the control modules 70 that can have faults. In some embodiments, the diagnostic device further performs fault positioning and analysis after receiving fault information through the bus network 80.

[0119] In some embodiments, after the programming device accesses the bus network 80 through the maintenance interface, the lawnmower is switched from the normal mode to the programming mode, and the programming device as the master of the bus network 80 can download and transmit data to one or more control modules 70 to be upgraded, and each control module 70 as the slave of the bus network 80 responds to the request of the master to complete the software upgrade of the control module 70 to realize the optimization of the old software. In some embodiments, the programming device can upgrade a single control module 70, or upgrade one by one, or upgrade a plurality of control modules 70 in batches.

[0120] In some embodiments, after the programming device accesses the bus network 80 through the maintenance interface, the programming device first interacts with one or more control modules 70 to be upgraded through the bus network 80 to confirm the online state and existing version number of each control module 70, and after verifying that it meets the requirements of this upgrade, the programming device controls the lawnmower to enter the programming mode, the data transmission between each control module 70 is suspended, and only the software programming data is valid until the programming device controls the lawnmower to exit the programming mode, and each control module 70 executes the new version of software after triggering the reset and resumes normal work.

[0121] In some embodiments, after the lawnmower enters the programming mode, the programming device periodically sends a mode maintenance request and receives a response from each control module 70, otherwise the lawnmower will automatically exit the programming mode. In some embodiments, the command issuing between the programming device and each control module 70 follows the message sequence in the diagnostic mode, that is, the same field can be used to represent the command type in the data frame in different modes, and the correspondence between the field value and the type is unchanged, as shown in Table 1.

[0122] Table 1

[0123] It can be understood that the above-described embodiments can be adaptively combined to form new technical solutions without conflict with each other, for example, the bus network of the lawnmower can simultaneously adopt a hybrid protocol and a synchronous power feeding solution, and these technical solutions should also be within the protection scope of the present application.

[0124] The basic principles, main features and advantages of the present application are shown and described above. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above-described embodiments do not limit the present application in any form, and any technical solution obtained by equivalent replacement or equivalent transformation falls within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A mower comprising: a frame; a blade assembly operatively attached to the frame and configured to perform a cutting function; a travel assembly supporting the frame and configured to drive the mower to travel; at least one drive module comprising an electric drive axle and an electric drive motor and configured to drive the blade assembly and / or the travel assembly; a power supply device comprising at least one energy storage device and configured to supply power to the at least one drive module; a bus network configured to transmit signals between components of the mower; a plurality of control modules, each of the control modules comprising a processor and a memory and configured to programmably control functions of the mower; wherein the bus network is constructed using at least two different communication protocols and at least one of the communication protocols belongs to an Ethernet protocol, and the drive module and each of the control modules transmit signals through the bus network under rules of the corresponding communication protocol.

2. The lawnmower of claim 1, wherein, The communication protocol used by the bus network further comprises a CAN protocol.

3. The lawnmower of claim 1, wherein, The communication protocol used by the bus network further comprises a FlexRay protocol.

4. The lawnmower of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The bus network comprises a gateway module configured to perform protocol conversion for at least the drive module or the control module using different communication protocols in the bus network.

5. The lawnmower of claim 4, wherein, The bus network comprises a plurality of sub-networks, and the control modules belonging to a same sub-network transmit signals under rules of a same communication protocol.

6. The lawnmower of claim 5, wherein, The control modules belonging to each of the sub-networks are divided based on positions of the control modules in the mower.

7. The lawnmower of claim 5, wherein, The control modules belonging to each of the sub-networks are divided based on functions of the control modules in the mower.

8. The lawnmower of any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein, Data transmission rates of signals in different sub-networks are different.

9. The lawnmower of claim 4, wherein, The bus network comprises a plurality of sub-networks, and the control modules in at least two sub-networks transmit signals under rules of different communication protocols.

10. The lawnmower of claim 4, wherein, The bus network comprises a plurality of sub-networks, and each of the sub-networks comprises a respective sub-network gateway module, and communication protocols followed by the sub-network gateway modules when transmitting signals are different from at least one of the communication protocols followed by the control modules in a sub-network when transmitting signals.

11. The lawnmower of claim 1, wherein, The bus network is constructed by combining a wired communication protocol and a wireless communication protocol.

12. The lawnmower of claim 1, wherein, The mower comprises a riding mower, a stand-on mower, and a robotic mower.

13. The lawn mower of claim 1, wherein, The bus network comprises a maintenance interface configured to be accessed by a diagnostic device or a flashing device, and when the diagnostic device or the flashing device accesses the bus network through the maintenance interface, one or more of the control modules interact with the diagnostic device or the flashing device through the bus network to perform fault diagnosis or software upgrading on the control modules.

14. The lawnmower of claim 13, wherein, The diagnostic device or the flashing device and the at least one drive module and the plurality of control modules perform fault diagnosis or software upgrading through the bus network in a master-slave question-and-answer mechanism, the diagnostic device or the flashing device is a master, and the at least one drive module and the plurality of control modules are slaves.

15. The lawn mower of claim 1, wherein, One or more of the control modules transmit signals and receive power over the bus network, and the bus network transmits signals and delivers power to the plurality of control modules at a maximum power greater than or equal to 60 W.

16. A control system for a lawn mower, comprising: a bus network configured to transmit signals or commands between a plurality of components of the lawn mower; at least one drive module comprising an electric drive bridge and an electric drive motor and configured to drive a blade assembly and / or a travel assembly of the lawn mower; a plurality of control modules each comprising a processor and a memory and configured to programmably control functions of the lawn mower; a power supply device comprising at least one energy storage device and configured to supply power to the at least one drive module; wherein the bus network is constructed using at least two different communication protocols and at least one of which belongs to the Ethernet protocol, and the drive module and each of the control modules transmit signals over the bus network under the rules of the corresponding communication protocol.

17. The control system of claim 16, wherein, At least one control module is configured to obtain an output signal from one or more components of the lawn mower over the bus network, or issue a drive command corresponding to a target speed and a target direction of the lawn mower over the bus network, the bus network has a maximum data transmission rate greater than or equal to 100 Mbps, and the drive module is configured to obtain and process the drive command over the bus network to generate a corresponding drive signal, which in turn drives the electric drive motor to operate at the target speed and the target direction.

18. The control system of claim 17, wherein, The bus network is a high-speed real-time bus network constructed using one or more of the EtherCAT protocol and the TSN protocol.

19. The control system of claim 17, wherein, In the presence of bus occupation conflicts, a plurality of the control modules occupy the bus network and issue the drive command based on a priority competition principle, and / or a plurality of the control modules occupy the bus network and issue the drive command based on a TDMA principle.

20. An outdoor power equipment, comprising: a frame; a travel assembly supporting the frame and configured to drive the outdoor power equipment to travel; at least one drive module comprising an electric drive bridge and an electric drive motor and configured to drive the travel assembly; a power supply device comprising at least one energy storage device and configured to supply power to the at least one drive module; a bus network configured to transmit signals between a plurality of components of the outdoor power equipment; a plurality of control modules each comprising a processor and a memory and configured to programmably control functions of the outdoor power equipment; wherein the bus network is constructed using at least two different communication protocols and at least one of which belongs to the Ethernet protocol, and the drive module and each of the control modules transmit signals over the bus network under the rules of the corresponding communication protocol.

21. A lawn mower, comprising: a frame; a blade assembly operatively attached to the frame and configured to perform a cutting function; a travel assembly supporting the frame and configured to drive the lawn mower to travel; at least one drive module comprising an electric drive axle and an electric drive motor, and configured to drive the blade assembly and / or drive the traveling assembly; a power supply device comprising at least one energy storage device, and configured to supply power to the at least one drive module; a bus network configured to transmit signals between multiple components of the mower; a plurality of control modules, each of which comprises a processor and a memory, and is configured to programmably control functions of the mower, the plurality of control modules transmitting signals through the bus network; wherein the bus network comprises a maintenance interface configured to be accessed by a diagnostic device or a flashing device, and when the diagnostic device or the flashing device accesses the bus network through the maintenance interface, one or more of the plurality of control modules interacts with the diagnostic device or the flashing device through the bus network to perform fault diagnosis or software upgrade on the control modules.

22. The lawnmower of claim 21 wherein, The mower has a normal mode, a diagnostic mode, and a programming mode; the mower switches from the normal mode to the diagnostic mode after the diagnostic device accesses the bus network through the maintenance interface, and / or the mower switches from the normal mode to the programming mode after the flashing device accesses the bus network through the maintenance interface.

23. The lawnmower of claim 22, wherein, The diagnostic device or the flashing device and the at least one drive module and the plurality of control modules use a master-slave question-and-answer mechanism to perform fault diagnosis or software upgrade through the bus network, the diagnostic device or the flashing device being the master, and the at least one drive module and the plurality of control modules being the slave.

24. The lawnmower of claim 23, wherein, The flashing device performs software upgrade on a single control module through the bus network after the mower enters the programming mode, or controls multiple control modules to perform batch upgrade through the bus network.

25. The lawn mower of claim 23, wherein, The diagnostic device sequentially sends fault diagnosis requests to multiple control modules through the bus network after the mower enters the diagnostic mode, receives fault information returned by the control modules and performs fault analysis.

26. A control system for a mower, comprising: a high-speed bus network configured to transmit signals or commands between multiple components of the mower; a drive module comprising an electric drive axle and an electric drive motor, and configured to drive a traveling assembly of the mower to control a speed and a direction of the mower; at least one control module comprising a processor and a memory, and configured to programmably control functions of the mower; wherein the at least one control module is configured to obtain an output signal from one or more components of the mower through the high-speed bus network, or issue a drive command corresponding to a target speed and a target direction of the mower through the high-speed bus network, the high-speed bus network having a highest data transmission rate greater than or equal to 100Mps, and the drive module is configured to obtain and process the drive command through the high-speed bus network to generate a corresponding drive signal, and then drive the electric drive motor to operate at the target speed and the target direction.

27. The control system of claim 26, wherein, The mower includes a riding mower, a standing mower, and a mower robot.

28. The control system of claim 26, wherein, The mower is a manned mower, and the input signals of the one or more components include steering wheel signals and accelerator pedal signals.

29. The control system of claim 26, wherein, The mower is a manned mower, and the input signals of the one or more components include first lever sensor signals and second lever sensor signals.

30. The control system of claim 26, wherein, The mower is a self-moving mower, and the input signals of the one or more components include visual sensor signals.

31. The control system of claim 26, wherein, The mower is a self-moving mower, and the input signals of the one or more components include GNSS signals.

32. The control system of any one of claims 26-31, wherein, The high-speed bus network is a high-speed real-time bus network, which is constructed using one or more of the EtherCAT protocol and the TSN protocol.

33. The control system of any one of claims 26-31, wherein, The high-speed bus network is a high-speed non-real-time bus network, which is constructed using the EtherNet protocol.

34. The control system of claim 32, wherein, In the presence of bus occupation conflicts, multiple control modules occupy the high-speed bus network and issue drive commands based on priority competition principles.

35. The control system of claim 32, wherein, In the presence of bus occupation conflicts, multiple control modules occupy the high-speed bus network and issue drive commands based on TDMA principles.

36. A mower, comprising: a frame; a blade assembly operatively attached to the frame and configured to perform a cutting function; a walking assembly supporting the frame and configured to drive the mower to travel; at least one drive module including an electric drive axle and an electric drive motor and configured to drive the blade assembly and / or drive the walking assembly; a power supply device including at least one energy storage device and configured to supply power to the at least one drive module; a bus network configured to transmit signals between multiple components of the mower; a plurality of control modules, each of the control modules including a processor and a memory and configured to programmably control functions of the mower; wherein one or more of the control modules transmits signals through the bus network and is powered, and the bus network has a maximum power for transmitting signals and feeding power to the plurality of control modules that is greater than or equal to 60 W.

37. The lawnmower of claim 36, wherein, The bus network is constructed using at least the Ethernet protocol, and the bus network uses twisted pair wires that meet the PoE standard on the physical layer.

38. The lawn mower of claim 36, wherein, The plurality of control modules includes a visual positioning module configured to be powered through the bus network to supply power to a camera assembly in the visual positioning module.

39. The lawn mower of claim 36, wherein, The plurality of control modules includes a battery control module, a charging control module, and a PD control module configured to be powered through the bus network to supply power to a processor in the battery control module, the charging control module, and the PD control module.

40. The lawn mower of claim 36, wherein, At least one of the control modules that is powered through the bus network has no electrical connection with the power supply device.

Images