Ride-on mower

Abstract

A ride-on mower, comprising: a seating assembly; a main unit; a cutting assembly; a traveling wheel assembly; a traveling electric motor; an operating assembly, which is operable by a user to control the ride-on mower; a sensor assembly, which is configured to acquire positioning information of the ride-on mower; and a control module, which is electrically connected to the traveling electric motor, the operating assembly and the sensor assembly. The ride-on mower has a manual mode and an autonomous mode. The control module is configured to send a control instruction in the manual mode on the basis of a signal from the operating assembly to control the traveling electric motor; send a control instruction in the autonomous mode on the basis of the positioning information from the sensor assembly to control the traveling electric motor; and prompt, on the basis of the quality of the positioning information, a user to switch between the autonomous mode and the manual mode.

Description

Riding lawn mower

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411100059.8, filed on August 9, 2024, to the Chinese Patent Office, the content of the above application being hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into the present application. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of outdoor power equipment, for example, to a riding lawn mower. BACKGROUND

[0003] Thanks to the development of related technologies and the improvement of public environmental protection concepts, outdoor power equipment such as riding lawn mowers is increasingly widely used. For example, a riding lawn mower can walk and perform mowing operations in a given working area. The range of the working area can be limited by virtual or physical boundary lines, and the riding lawn mower and other equipment should not drive outside the boundary lines, in addition, when walking and mowing, various types of dynamic and static obstacles need to be avoided, and special terrains such as cliffs and steep slopes need to be paid attention to. In short, different sites have their own specific environments, and the factors related to the walking and mowing of the riding lawn mower are extremely complex.

[0004] This part provides background information related to the present application, which may not be prior art. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application is part or all of the solution or at least alleviates the above problems. To this end, the present application provides a riding lawn mower.

[0006] A riding lawn mower, comprising: a human-carrying position configured to carry a user; a main machine supporting the human-carrying position; a cutting assembly comprising a mowing element, the cutting assembly being mounted to the main machine; a walking wheel assembly configured to drive the riding lawn mower to walk; a walking motor configured to drive the walking wheel assembly; an operation assembly operable by the user to control the riding lawn mower; a sensor assembly configured to obtain positioning information of the riding lawn mower; a control module electrically connected with the walking motor, the operation assembly, and the sensor assembly; wherein the riding lawn mower has a manual mode and an autonomous mode, the control module is configured to issue a control instruction to control the walking motor according to a signal from the operation assembly in the manual mode, and issue a control instruction to control the walking motor according to the positioning information from the sensor assembly in the autonomous mode; and the control module is configured to prompt the user to switch between the autonomous mode and the manual mode based on the quality of the positioning information.

[0007] In some embodiments, the riding lawn mower further comprises a memory configured to store a map of a working area of the riding lawn mower, the map carrying the quality of the positioning information.

[0008] In some embodiments, the map is a raster map composed of a plurality of rasters, and a raster precision of the raster map is determined based on a capacity of the memory and / or a running speed of the control module.

[0009] In some embodiments, the quality of the positioning information is positively correlated with a positioning precision at a current location of the riding mower.

[0010] In some embodiments, the sensor assembly comprises one or more of an RTK assembly, a visual sensor, and a radar sensor.

[0011] In some embodiments, the positioning precision comprises an RTK positioning precision.

[0012] In some embodiments, the quality of the positioning information is an automation score of each raster in the raster map, and the control module is configured to determine the automation score of each raster based on a plurality of items in the positioning mode identification bit of the RTK positioning, a positioning standard deviation, and a precision attenuation factor.

[0013] In some embodiments, the quality of the positioning information is an automation score of each raster in the raster map, and the control module is configured to, in a case where the automation score of the raster corresponding to the current positioning information exceeds a preset threshold and the riding mower is in the manual mode, prompt the user to switch to the autonomous mode; and / or in a case where the automation score of the raster corresponding to the current positioning information is lower than the preset threshold and the riding mower is in the autonomous mode, prompt the user to switch to the manual mode.

[0014] In some embodiments, the quality of the positioning information is an automation score of each raster in the raster map, and the control module is configured to connect and mark the rasters with the automation score exceeding the preset threshold as an automatic mowing area, and / or connect and mark the rasters with the automation score not exceeding the preset threshold as a manual mowing area; and based on a type of the area to which the current positioning information belongs, prompt the user to switch between the autonomous mode and the manual mode.

[0015] A riding mower comprises a passenger seat configured to carry a user, a main body supporting the passenger seat, a cutting assembly comprising a cutting element, the cutting assembly being mounted to the main body, a traveling wheel assembly configured to drive the riding mower to travel, a traveling motor configured to drive the traveling wheel assembly, an operation assembly operable by the user to control the riding mower, a sensor assembly configured to obtain positioning information of the riding mower, a memory configured to store a map of a working area of the riding mower, and a control module electrically connected with the traveling motor, the operation assembly, and the sensor assembly, wherein the riding mower has a manual mode and an autonomous mode, the control module is configured to: in the manual mode, issue a control instruction according to a signal from the operation assembly to control the traveling motor; and in the autonomous mode, issue a control instruction according to the positioning information from the sensor assembly to control the traveling motor, the map is a grid map, each grid of the grid map has an automation score, the control module is configured to: connect and mark grids with automation scores exceeding a preset threshold as an automatic mowing area; and allow the riding mower to enter the autonomous mode in the automatic mowing area.

[0016] In some embodiments, the riding mower further comprises an autonomous working button, when the autonomous working button is activated and the riding mower is located in the automatic mowing area, the control module controls the riding mower to enter the autonomous mode.

[0017] In some embodiments, the control module prohibits the riding mower from entering the autonomous mode when the riding mower is located in a non-automatic mowing area.

[0018] In some embodiments, the operation assembly comprises one or more of a steering wheel, an acceleration pedal, a brake pedal, and an operation lever, and in response to any one of the steering wheel, the acceleration pedal, the brake pedal, and the operation lever being operated, the control module controls the riding mower to switch to the manual mode.

[0019] In some embodiments, when the riding mower reaches a new working area, the riding mower travels in the working area in the manual mode to obtain automation scores of grids in the working area, and based on the automation scores, an automatic mowing area is connected and marked and stored with the grid map; when the riding mower reaches the working area again, the riding mower controls switching between the autonomous mode and the manual mode based on the automatic mowing area in the stored grid map.

[0020] In some embodiments, when the riding mower reaches the working area again, the stored grid map is updated based on new automation scores of grids in the working area obtained in the current working.

[0021] In some embodiments, when the riding mower reaches a new working area, the riding mower travels in the working area in the manual mode to obtain boundary information and / or forbidden area information of the working area and store the information with the grid map.

[0022] A method for dividing manual area and automatic area in a riding mower map, comprising: performing grid division on a map of a working area, and obtaining an automation score of each grid; connecting and marking grids with automation scores exceeding a preset threshold as automatic areas; and / or connecting and marking grids with automation scores lower than the preset threshold as manual areas.

[0023] In some embodiments, obtaining the automation score of each grid comprises calculating the automation score of the grid based on one or more of RTK positioning accuracy, radar positioning accuracy, and image positioning accuracy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a riding mower as an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a riding mower as another embodiment of the present application;

[0026] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an RTK assembly in the riding mower shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0027] FIG. 4 is an electrical control schematic diagram of the riding mower as an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a working site of the riding mower as an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a working area to be mowed in the working site of the riding mower shown in FIG. 5;

[0030] FIG. 7 is a grid map of the working area of the riding mower shown in FIG. 6;

[0031] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of dividing manual mowing area and automatic mowing area in the grid map shown in FIG. 7;

[0032] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method for dividing manual area and automatic area as an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] Before any embodiments of the present 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.

[0034] In this application, the terms "include", "comprise" or "have" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that processes, methods, articles, or apparatuses that include a list of elements are not limited to those elements, but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, articles, or apparatuses. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a" does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element.

[0035] In this application, the term "and / or", is a description of an associated object, which means that there can be three kinds of relations. For example, A and / or B, can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this application generally indicates that the front and rear associated objects are in a "and / or" relationship.

[0036] In this application, the terms "connection", "combination", "coupling", "mounting" can be direct connection, combination, coupling or mounting, or indirect connection, combination, coupling or mounting. Among them, direct connection refers to the connection of two parts or components without the need for an intermediate part, and indirect connection refers to the connection of two parts or components with at least one intermediate part. In addition, "connection" and "coupling" are not limited to physical or mechanical connection or coupling, and can include electrical connection or coupling.

[0037] In this application, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that relative terms used in connection with quantities or conditions (such as "about", "approximately", "substantially" and the like) include the values described and have the meaning indicated by the context. For example, the relative terms at least include the degree of error related to the measurement of a specific value, the tolerance caused by manufacturing, assembly, use, etc. related to a specific value. Such terms should also be considered to disclose the range defined by the absolute values of the two endpoints. The relative term can refer to a certain percentage (such as 1%, 5%, 10% or more) of the indicated value. The numerical value without the relative term should also be disclosed as a specific value with a tolerance. In addition, "substantially" when expressing the relative angular positional relationship (for example, substantially parallel, substantially perpendicular), can refer to a certain degree (for example, 1 degree, 5 degrees, 10 degrees or more) added or subtracted from the indicated angle.

[0038] In this application, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the functions performed by the components can be performed by one component, multiple components, one part, or multiple parts. Similarly, the functions performed by the parts can also be performed by one part, one component, or multiple parts in combination.

[0039] In the present application, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "back" and the like are described in the orientation and positional relationship shown in the drawings, and should not be understood as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application. In addition, it is also necessary to understand in the context that when referring to an element connected to another element "on" or "under", it can not only be directly connected to another element "on" or "under", but also indirectly connected to another element "on" or "under" through an intermediate element. It should also be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "back" and the like not only represent the positive direction, but also can be understood as the side direction. For example, the lower side can include the directly below, left below, right below, front below and back below, etc.

[0040] In the present application, the terms "controller", "processor", "central processing unit", "CPU", "MCU" can be interchangeable. When using the unit "controller", "processor", "central processing unit", "CPU" or "MCU" to perform a specific function, unless otherwise stated, these functions can be performed by a single unit or multiple units.

[0041] In the present application, the terms "device", "module" or "unit" can be realized by hardware or software to achieve a specific function.

[0042] 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.).

[0043] The technical solutions proposed in the present application are further described below in conjunction with specific embodiments and drawings.

[0044] Affected by factors such as technical development, concept improvement, policy support, etc., outdoor power equipment such as riding mowers is increasingly widely used. In addition to traditional home scenarios, some outdoor power equipment is currently applied in commercial scenarios. Users can rent riding mowers and other equipment from equipment rental companies and use the rented equipment to perform related work in their own sites. These commercial equipment may need to work in different sites, and there is a high probability that they will return to the site where they have worked before to work again.

[0045] In order to meet the increasing demand of users for product use experience and use effect, the improvement of equipment automation and intelligence is a relatively mainstream development trend. As recorded in the foregoing, riding mowers and other equipment walk in the site and mow the grass. In an ideal scenario, it should be able to walk in the site and complete the mowing work without manual guidance, and the walking path of the riding mower in the process should not have safety risks, and the mowing effect should be accurate and beautiful.

[0046] However, the above-mentioned assumption is very difficult to achieve at the current technical level. The present application proposes a compromise riding mower walking mowing scheme, which combines manual mowing and automatic mowing, and reasonably grasps where and when manual mowing or automatic mowing can be performed, so that the riding mower proposed in the present application can achieve the best in terms of work efficiency, work effect, work accuracy, etc. under a comprehensive perspective.

[0047] Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a riding mower 100 as an embodiment in the present application is shown. The riding mower 100 includes a main machine 110, a rider position 120, and an operation assembly 130. The main machine 110 constitutes the appearance body of the riding mower 100, including components such as a frame. The main machine 110 can be contacted or connected by other components to provide support, protection, or positioning to other components. The rider position 120 can carry a user and can be used for the user to sit or stand. In some embodiments, the rider position 120 can be a seat. In some embodiments, the rider position 120 can also be a standing platform. The operation assembly 130 can be operated by the user to control the riding mower 100. For example, it can include various types of operation members related to walking, various types of operation members related to mowing, and various types of operation members related to other multi-function. In some embodiments, the operation assembly 130 can include buttons and other switches to enable or stop various functions. The above-mentioned rider position 120 and operation assembly 130 can be supported or connected by the main machine 110. For example, the seat can be installed on a certain plane of the frame, and the left and right operation levers can be connected to the frame on both sides of the seat. In some embodiments, the operation assembly 130 of the riding mower 100 can include one or more of a steering wheel, an acceleration pedal, a brake pedal, and an operation lever. They are driving-related operation members in the riding mower 100. For example, the user operates the steering wheel to adjust the direction and steps on the acceleration or brake pedal to achieve acceleration or deceleration. Alternatively, pushing the left or right operation lever alone can also adjust the direction, and pushing the left and right operation levers at the same time can straighten the line, and the walking speed can be determined by the depth of the operation lever.

[0048] In addition to the host 110, the manned position 120, and the operation assembly 130, the above-mentioned riding mower 100 further includes a cutting assembly 140, a walking wheel assembly 151, and a walking motor 152. The cutting assembly 140 is the actual component assembly that performs the mowing operation, including cutting elements such as blades, which can be driven to rotate at high speed in a plane to cut vegetation during cutting operation. In some embodiments, the cutting elements are mounted to the chassis of the host 110, and a mowing space can be formed below the chassis to accommodate the cutting elements. In some embodiments, the cutting elements are detachably connected to the host 110 and have multiple different types, and the user can replace the appropriate cutting elements according to the specific vegetation conditions of the field. In some embodiments, the cutting assembly 140 can include a working motor that can drive the above-mentioned cutting elements to work. The walking wheel assembly 151 can drive the entire vehicle to walk and can include multiple walking wheels, which are usually symmetrically arranged on both sides of the host 110. The walking motor 152 can drive the walking wheel assembly 151 to walk. In some embodiments, the above-mentioned cutting assembly 140 is also driven by the walking motor 152 to work. For example, the riding mower 100 can mow while walking, and the isolation of the walking and mowing functions can be achieved by a clutch or the like under the condition of driving by the same motor.

[0049] In addition, the above-mentioned riding mower 100 further includes a sensor assembly 160 and a control module 170. The sensor assembly 160 can involve various types of sensors, including but not limited to one or more of RTK components, radar sensors, vision sensors, and motion sensors. The above-mentioned sensor assembly 160 can locate the current position point of the riding mower 100 and provide corresponding positioning information. For example, the positioning information can include the position point positioning itself and the related information involved in the process of solving the position point. The control module 170 is the core control unit in the riding mower 100, which can include controllers 171 such as MCUs, MPUs, etc., and can also include related peripheral circuits. The control module 170 is electrically connected with the walking motor 152, the operation assembly 130, and the sensor assembly 160 described above. Of course, it is not excluded that the control module 170 can also be communicatively connected with part of the operation assembly 130 or the sensor assembly 160.

[0050] The riding lawn mower 100 can also include a power supply device 200. The power supply device 200 includes an energy storage device that can power all or part of the components of the lawn mower including the sensor assembly 160, the control module 170, the travel motor, etc. described above, and can be detachable from the main machine 110. In some embodiments, the power supply device 200 includes one or more battery packs. In some embodiments, at least part of the one or more battery packs can be detachable from the main machine 110. In some embodiments, the battery pack detachable from the main machine 110 can be used to power other electric tools. In the case of multiple battery packs, the rated capacity and / or nominal voltage of the battery packs can be the same or different.

[0051] In this application, the riding lawn mower 100 has a manual mode and an autonomous mode. In the manual mode, the riding lawn mower 100 is driven by the user to walk and mow in the field.

[0052] For example, the user can sit or stand on the equipment seating position 120 and use the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, brake pedal or operating lever to operate in the field. In some embodiments, the control module 170 mainly issues control instructions to control the travel motor 152 based on signals from the operating assembly 130 when the riding lawn mower 100 is in the manual mode. For example, the control module 170 can issue corresponding control instructions after receiving operating signals from the operating assembly 130. The control instructions can be steering instructions in response to the steering wheel or operating lever being operated, acceleration or deceleration instructions in response to the accelerator pedal, brake pedal or operating lever being operated, start or stop instructions in response to the on-off key being operated. These control instructions can control the operation of the travel motor 152 and in turn affect the travel of the lawn mower. For example, the duty cycle or stator current of the drive signal can be changed to adjust the motor speed and in turn adjust the travel speed of the equipment, or the differential speed of the two side motors can be controlled to control the turning and turning angle of the equipment. In addition, the control instructions issued by the controller 171 can also be mowing instructions or mowing stop instructions in response to the mowing function key being operated, as well as other function instructions. Of course, even in the manual mode, the control module 170 can receive positioning information and other environmental data from the sensor assembly 160 to provide relevant reference for the user driving the riding lawn mower 100 or to monitor the safety of the equipment, etc.

[0053] In the autonomous mode, the riding mower 100 can walk and mow in the field without the user driving. Illustratively, the control module 170 can call the sensor assembly 160 to obtain the current positioning information of the device, and based on the positioning information, the control module 170 can determine the next action of walking, obstacle avoidance, returning, mowing, etc. For example, the riding mower 100 can walk in an arch shape and avoid obstacles, etc. The user can sit or stand on the riding position 120 of the riding mower 100, but does not need to use the operation assembly 130, or the user can not be located on the riding position 120 temporarily. Of course, even in the autonomous mode, the control module 170 can receive signals from the operation assembly 130 and issue corresponding control instructions. Here, it can refer to the mode switching in the following, and also include the execution of other functions related to manual.

[0054] It can be understood that in the manual mode, the riding mower 100 is dominated by the user, and the effect of walking and mowing is good, meets the user's expectation, and can flexibly deal with the complex road conditions in the field, and has high safety, but requires human effort, poor efficiency, and high cost. In the autonomous mode, the riding mower 100 is dominated by the device, and the effect of walking and mowing is good or bad, and whether there is a risk of out-of-bound is affected by the field. Although it saves time and effort, it cannot completely guarantee the mowing results and walking safety.

[0055] In an alternative embodiment, the control module 170 is configured to prompt the user to switch between the autonomous mode and the manual mode based on the quality of the positioning information. As described above, the positioning information is provided by the sensor assembly 160 of the riding mower 100 in real time. By evaluating the quality of the positioning information, the user can be prompted to switch from the manual mode to the efficient autonomous mode when the quality of the positioning information provided by the current sensor assembly 160 is high, or to switch from the autonomous mode to the safe manual mode when the quality of the current positioning information is low.

[0056] In some embodiments, the quality of the positioning information described above can be pre-evaluated by the riding mower 100. The quality of the positioning information of the current location of the device can be utilized to determine whether the user needs to be prompted to switch modes when the device is moving. As the mower moves, the positioning information is provided in real time by the sensor assembly 160, but the device can pre-divide the current work area into grids and evaluate the quality of the positioning information in each grid. The quality of the positioning information during subsequent movement is the quality of the positioning information of the grid to which the positioning information belongs. Alternatively, the device can also pre-evaluate the quality of the positioning information of multiple landmark points in the current work area, and the quality of the positioning information during subsequent movement is the quality of the positioning information of the landmark point closest to the positioning information. The arrangement of multiple landmark points in the work area can be regular or irregular, for example, it can be adaptively adjusted in density. In other embodiments, the quality of the positioning information can also be evaluated in real time, for example, the quality of the positioning information of the current location of the device can be evaluated in the manner that the mower pre-evaluates the quality of the positioning information. However, in this case, the space that can be pre-planned by the mower in terms of movement control is relatively reduced, and the amount of computation that needs to be performed by the control module 170 is also relatively increased.

[0057] It can be understood that in the present embodiment, the higher the quality of the positioning information, the higher the feasibility of performing automatic mowing near the location. For example, the higher the quality of the positioning information, the more accurate the positioning and path control of the device near the location, and the lower the risk of out-of-bound.

[0058] First, the characterization method and acquisition means of the quality of the positioning information are described. As described above, with reference to FIGS. 4-8, in some embodiments, the riding mower 100 further includes a storage 172. The storage 172 can store a map of the work area to be worked by the riding mower 100. The map can carry the quality of the positioning information in the work area, so that the riding mower 100 can read the quality of the positioning information corresponding to the positioning information stored locally based on the positioning information. In some embodiments, the map and the quality of the positioning information can also be stored in a non-local manner, for example, the riding mower 100 can also be configured with a related communication assembly, which can access a remote server or other device to obtain the above data.

[0059] In some embodiments, the quality of the positioning information can be characterized using a numerical value. For example, the quality of the positioning information can be characterized using an automated score. In some embodiments, the quality of the positioning information is characterized in units of grid, and the quality of the positioning information can be stored in the map with the riding lawn mower 100 in the memory 172. Therefore, the riding lawn mower 100 can evaluate the quality of the positioning information for each grid in the grid map of the working area, and after obtaining the automated score of the positioning information of each grid, the grid map carrying the automated score of the positioning information of each grid can be stored in the memory 172. Of course, the grid map of the working area can include information such as the terrain and obstacles in the working area in addition to the automated score of the positioning information of each grid.

[0060] In some embodiments, the control module 170 has a preset threshold, and in the case that the automated score corresponding to the current positioning information exceeds the preset threshold, it is determined that the riding lawn mower 100 can be in an autonomous mode and perform automatic mowing, and the user can be prompted to switch or remain in the autonomous mode. In the case that the automated score corresponding to the current positioning information is lower than the preset threshold, it is determined that the riding lawn mower 100 should be in a manual mode and perform manual mowing, and the user can be prompted to switch or remain in the manual mode.

[0061] In some embodiments, the grid size of the grid map used by the riding mower 100 can be determined by the running speed of the control module 170 and / or the capacity of the memory 172 of the riding mower 100. It can be understood that the faster the running speed of the controller 171, the stronger the computing power, and the larger the storage capacity of the memory 172, the smaller the grid size of the grid map used by the riding mower, that is, the higher the accuracy of the grid map. This affects the selection of the grid size when the same riding mower creates a grid map, and also affects the problem of transferring the grid map between different riding mowers in some commercial scenarios. In some embodiments, in the case where the accuracy of the original grid map needs to be reduced, the grid size of the new grid map currently used is expanded, and the positioning information automation score of the new grid can be the average of the positioning information automation scores of the multiple original grids covered by the new grid. In the case where the accuracy of the original grid map needs to be improved, the grid size of the new grid map currently used is reduced, and the positioning information automation score of the new grid can be the positioning information automation score of the original grid where the new grid is located. Thus, after a riding mower 100 performs positioning information quality evaluation on a working area, the grid map built by the riding mower 100 can be reused and combined with the performance requirements of other riding mowers 100 when they reach the working area, especially suitable for the commercial scenarios described above. For example, there is a cluster of riding mowers 100, and one or more riding mowers 100 in the cluster serve the same working area in turn. The grid map built by the first riding mower that reaches the working area can be reused among multiple devices, and the grid accuracy can be adjusted to adapt to the performance of each machine.

[0062] The quality evaluation of the positioning information is described below. As described above, the key point of the influence of the positioning information on the feasibility of the automatic mowing of the riding mower 100 is the accuracy of the positioning information. In some embodiments, the quality of the positioning information is positively correlated with the accuracy of the positioning information, and the device will mainly evaluate the quality of the positioning information based on the accuracy of the positioning information. It should be noted that the riding mower 100 is affected by different levels of factors such as building obstruction and magnetic field interference when moving to different positions, and different positioning means involve or focus on different types of influencing factors.

[0063] In some embodiments, the riding lawn mower 100 can employ RTK positioning technology, and the sensor assembly 160 includes an RTK assembly. When the RTK positioning technology is employed, the riding lawn mower 100 cooperates with a base station and a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) system such as Beidou, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, etc. to determine the current location of the riding lawn mower 100. Illustratively, the RTK assembly can include a first communication module such as a satellite receiving antenna to interact with the GNSS, a second communication module such as a radio station to interact with the base station, and a resolving unit to resolve the location of the device. The RTK assembly will correct the positioning information of the riding lawn mower 100 by the GNSS using the positioning deviation of the base station with known location, and the specific technical principle can be referred to relevant materials, which will not be described here.

[0064] With the foregoing, as shown in FIG. 8, in some embodiments, the quality evaluation of the positioning information in the current work area by the riding lawn mower 100 can be based on the RTK positioning accuracy, that is, the positioning information is the RTK positioning result, and the quality of the positioning information is positively correlated with the RTK positioning accuracy of the RTK positioning result. For example, the riding lawn mower 100 performs navigation and mowing decisions using a grid map of the work area, and the RTK positioning accuracy in each grid in the grid map can be represented by the RTK positioning accuracy at a position point in the grid or the calculated value of the RTK positioning accuracy at multiple position points. For example, the quality of the positioning information in the grid can be determined by the RTK positioning accuracy at the grid vertex or the grid center. Wherein, the high and low of the RTK positioning accuracy at different position points in the work area can be related to the building obstruction at the point, the terrain influence, the electromagnetic interference, and the distance between the point and the base station, etc.

[0065] In some embodiments, the quality of the positioning information in the work area is represented by the automated score of the positioning information. In the case of evaluating the quality of the positioning information based on the RTK positioning accuracy, the above-mentioned automated score of the positioning information can be calculated using one or more of the following parameters related to the RTK positioning accuracy, which can be obtained together when the RTK assembly provides the RTK positioning result:

[0066] (1) Positioning mode identification bit, which can represent the type of solution obtained when solving the coordinates of differential positioning, including fixed solution, floating point solution, single point solution, etc., and their solving accuracy is from high to low. The positioning mode identification bit can be used to screen and / or preliminarily score the RTK positioning result. In some embodiments, the riding lawn mower 100 only obtains the automated score of the RTK positioning result belonging to the fixed solution.

[0067] (2) positioning standard deviation (Std), which can reflect the error level of the solution obtained when solving the coordinates by differential positioning, and is negatively correlated with the quality of positioning information. The smaller the Std is, the higher the RTK positioning accuracy is. For example, for a coordinate solution, the Std can be the radius of the circle with the coordinate solution as the center, in which the riding lawn mower 100 can actually be located. In some embodiments, the Std can include one or more of horizontal position accuracy, height accuracy, three-dimensional positioning accuracy, and clock error accuracy.

[0068] (3) precision dilution (Dilution of Precision, DoP), which is related to the distribution of each satellite in the GNSS in the current field of view of the riding lawn mower 100, and can reflect the amplification effect of the geometry composed of the device and the GNSS on the positioning error. It can be a scale factor, which is negatively correlated with the quality of positioning information. The smaller the value is, the more robust the geometry is, and the smaller the DoP is, the higher the RTK positioning accuracy is. In some embodiments, the precision dilution factor includes one or more of geometric precision dilution factor GDoP, horizontal precision dilution factor HDoP, and vertical precision dilution factor VDoP, and time precision dilution factor TDoP.

[0069] In some embodiments, the automated score of the positioning information can be obtained by weighted sum of the above-mentioned multiple parameters, and the weights of the parameters can be different. It can be understood that the above-mentioned parameters are representative RTK positioning accuracy related parameters, but the RTK positioning accuracy related parameters that can be used to calculate the automated score of the positioning information in the present application are not limited thereto. For example, the parameters can also involve coordinate system conversion accuracy, and the weights of the parameters can all be adaptively adjusted.

[0070] In some embodiments, the riding lawn mower 100 can also use other positioning technologies in addition to RTK positioning. For example, radar or image positioning technology, and the sensor assembly 160 can include radar sensors, visual sensors, etc. The quality of the positioning information described in the foregoing, that is, the automated score of the positioning information, is also positively correlated with the positioning accuracy of the above-mentioned radar positioning and / or the positioning accuracy of the image positioning. In some embodiments, the radar positioning accuracy related parameters that can be used for automated score calculation include echo signal-to-noise ratio, atmospheric dielectric constant, etc. In some embodiments, the image positioning accuracy related parameters that can be used for automated score calculation include resolution, etc. In some embodiments, the positioning accuracy related parameters that can be used for automated score calculation also include relative pose error, absolute trajectory error, etc.

[0071] Optionally, the automation score of the positioning information in each grid of the grid map used by the riding mower 100 can be calculated based on the RTK positioning accuracy as the main and other positioning accuracies as the auxiliary. Thus, the advantages of the RTK positioning accuracy can be amplified and the defects of different positioning technologies that can be inaccurate in different scenarios can be compensated for, to obtain a more valuable positioning information quality score in the entire area. For example, in the parameter weighted summation, the total proportion of the RTK positioning accuracy related parameters on the normalized basis of each type of parameter in the automation score is adjustable. For example, it can be changed according to the adaptability of the working site to different positioning technologies. In some embodiments, the total proportion is 40% to 80%. As for the proportion of each of the plurality of RTK positioning accuracy related parameters, it can be further divided, and the proportion of the RTK positioning accuracy and other positioning accuracy parameters when more than two types of positioning technologies are combined can also be further divided.

[0072] In some embodiments, the automation score of the positioning information can also be based on more than just the positioning accuracy calculation. For example, the environmental complexity or danger level in a grid or a small area of multiple grids centered on a grid can also be evaluated and added to the calculation of the grid automation score. Among them, the above environmental complexity, danger level can be determined based on the number, type and specific road conditions of obstacles near the grid.

[0073] As mentioned above, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 8, in an alternative embodiment, the control module 170 is configured to divide the grid map of the working area based on the automation score of each grid in the grid map. The grids with automation scores exceeding a preset threshold are connected and marked as automatic mowing areas, and / or the grids with automation scores not exceeding the preset threshold are connected and marked as manual mowing areas. For example, a plurality of grids with the same score and adjacent to each other should be connected as the same area. In some embodiments, the grid map of the working area can not be divided into an automatic mowing area and a manual mowing area, and the number of automatic mowing areas or manual mowing areas included in the grid map can also be multiple. In some embodiments, after marking the automatic mowing area or the manual mowing area, the remaining grids can be directly connected and marked as another type of area.

[0074] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 8, the control module 170 is configured to prompt the user to switch between the autonomous mode and the manual mode based on the division of the automatic mowing area and the manual mowing area described above. Similar to the foregoing embodiments, the riding lawn mower 100 can invoke and provide the user with a prompt for mode switching based on the map of the current working area. The difference is that in the present embodiment, the grid map has been divided into two types of areas, and the data transmission and control judgment can be more efficient and convenient. Based on the current position point of the riding lawn mower 100, that is, based on the current positioning information of the riding lawn mower 100, with the type of the area to which the position point / positioning information belongs, the control module 170 can determine whether the user needs to be prompted to switch the mode currently and which mode the user should be prompted to switch to. Illustratively, the riding lawn mower 100 is currently located in the automatic mowing area while in the manual mode, which can prompt the switch to the autonomous mode, and / or the riding lawn mower 100 is currently located in the manual mowing area while in the autonomous mode, which can prompt the switch to the manual mode.

[0075] In some embodiments, the riding lawn mower 100 has an autonomous working button. The riding lawn mower 100 can be in the manual mode by default, and in response to the activation of the autonomous working button described above, the riding lawn mower 100 can switch to the autonomous mode and perform automatic mowing. Of course, the components for the user to operate to perform switching between the manual mode and the autonomous mode are not limited to the button described above. For example, a lever, voice control, IoT, etc. can also be used to perform mode switching.

[0076] In some embodiments, the control module 170 is configured to control the switching of the riding lawn mower 100 between the autonomous mode and the manual mode based on the division of the automatic mowing area and the manual mowing area described above. For example, the riding lawn mower 100 can be allowed to enter the autonomous mode to perform automatic mowing in the automatic mowing area, and / or the riding lawn mower 100 can be restricted from entering the autonomous mode to perform automatic mowing in the manual mowing area. In some embodiments, in response to the autonomous working button or the like being activated to expect the riding lawn mower 100 to be in the autonomous mode, the control module 170 can control the riding lawn mower 100 to enter the autonomous mode and perform automatic mowing after confirming that the riding lawn mower 100 is currently located in the automatic mowing area. If the autonomous working button is activated but the control module 170 confirms that the riding lawn mower 100 is currently located in the manual mowing area, the device can not be allowed to perform automatic mowing at this time. In some embodiments, even without the autonomous working button, the control module 170 can control the riding lawn mower 100 to enter the autonomous mode and perform automatic mowing in response to identifying that the current positioning information of the riding lawn mower 100 is located in the automatic mowing area. And / or, in response to identifying that the current positioning information of the riding lawn mower 100 is located in the manual mowing area, the control module 170 can control the riding lawn mower 100 to enter the manual mode and perform manual mowing. That is, the riding lawn mower 100 automatically performs mode switching after crossing the boundary between the automatic mowing area and the manual mowing area.

[0077] In some embodiments, when the riding lawn mower 100 is located in the automatic mowing area and in the autonomous mode, the control module 170 can control the riding lawn mower 100 to switch to the manual mode in response to the signals sent by the operation of the steering wheel, the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, the operating lever, or the like driving-related operation assembly 130 described above. Thus, the control module 170 can timely return the riding lawn mower 100 to the user in some emergency situations.

[0078] The technical solutions of positioning information quality evaluation and manual / automatic mowing area division of the riding mower 100 described above are supplemented below in combination with commercial scenarios. After a riding mower 100 has built a map for a working area, when the riding mower 100 arrives at the working area again, the riding mower 100 can call the established map and use the positioning information quality and / or area division in the map to perform mixed manual and automatic mowing work. The map can be stored locally or accessed remotely. Similarly, after any riding mower 100 in a cluster of riding mowers 100 has built a map for a working area, when other riding mowers 100 in the cluster of riding mowers 100 arrive at the working area again, the riding mowers 100 can call the established map and use the positioning information quality and / or area division in the map to perform mixed manual and automatic mowing work. The map can be accessed remotely or further stored locally, and the map calling process can involve grid scaling, as described above.

[0079] However, considering that the environment in a working area is not constant, the map created when the riding mower 100 first arrives at the working area can become invalid during future use, and the positioning information quality, area division, etc. in the original map need to be updated. In some embodiments, the positioning information automation score and the map area division can be manually triggered. For example, a user can manually trigger the riding mower 100 to rebuild a map containing a new automation score and / or area division when the user observes that the environment in the working area has changed significantly. Alternatively, the positioning information automation score and the map area division can also be triggered by the machine itself. For example, the riding mower 100 can determine the interval between the creation / update time of the currently used map and the current working time, and rebuild a new map if the interval is too long, or determine whether it is necessary to rebuild a new map based on the similarity of the current collected environment images. In some embodiments, the positioning information automation score and the map area division are updated synchronously. For example, when the same riding mower 100 or other riding mowers 100 in the cluster of riding mowers 100 arrive at a working area again, they can obtain the automation score of the positioning information in each grid during the current mowing work, and change the type of the area to which the grid belongs and adjust the boundary between the manual mowing area and the automatic mowing area if the high-low relationship between the grid automation score and the preset threshold changes. The positioning information automation score and the map area division are refreshed synchronously in real time. In other embodiments, the positioning information automation score and the map area division are updated asynchronously. For example, the positioning information automation score can be refreshed in real time as described above, and the map area division can be updated after each work or periodically updated.

[0080] In addition, some contents related to the creation of the (grid) map need to be supplemented. When the riding mower 100 first arrives at a strange working site, in order to build a map, it at least needs to determine the boundary of the working area to be mowed, which can be a solid or virtual boundary line. The boundary information is stored with the map to control the riding mower 100 not to go out of the boundary when using the map. In some embodiments, the riding mower 100 can be operated in manual mode and walk along the solid / virtual boundary line, and the sensor assembly 160 such as the RTK component will provide the boundary information during the walking process. The boundary information can be, for example, the positioning information of a plurality of boundary points on the boundary line. In some embodiments, the boundary information of the current working area of the riding mower 100 can be obtained from an external device in an IoT manner. For example, the user can use a mobile phone, tablet computer, notebook computer or other external device and select the working area or outline the boundary line of the working area in the application program running thereon, and the boundary information can be obtained through coordinate conversion and other means. In addition to the boundary information, the position information of obstacles, forbidden areas and other devices that should be avoided also needs to be marked when building a map. In some embodiments, the riding mower 100 can be operated in manual mode and walk around the forbidden area when it first arrives at a strange working site, so as to obtain the forbidden area information from the sensor assembly 160 during the walking process. Alternatively, the forbidden area information can also be obtained in an IoT manner. It should be noted that the above-mentioned forbidden area information should be the positioning information of a closed loop region, so as to prevent the riding mower 100 from entering the forbidden area from the gap. Similarly, the above-mentioned boundary information and / or forbidden area information can also be updated after the initial creation.

[0081] It can be understood that the technical solutions of the riding mower 100 proposed in the present application can also be applied to other outdoor power equipment without conflict. In some embodiments, the above-mentioned embodiments can also be applied to grass mowing robots, snow sweeping machines, all-terrain vehicles, etc.

[0082] Correspondingly, the present application also proposes a method for dividing the manual area and the automatic area in the map of the riding mower. The method can include the following steps:

[0083] S910, performing grid division on the map of the working area, and obtaining the automation score of each grid;

[0084] S920, connecting and marking the grids with the automation score exceeding the preset threshold as the automatic area, and / or connecting and marking the grids with the automation score lower than the preset threshold as the manual area.

[0085] In the above-mentioned method, the automation score of each grid in the map can be calculated based on the positioning accuracy in each grid, such as RTK positioning accuracy, radar positioning accuracy, image positioning accuracy, etc., and the weight of RTK positioning accuracy in the grid automation score is adjustable, and in some embodiments, the weight of RTK positioning accuracy is 40% to 80%. After the automatic area and the manual area are divided in S920, the method further includes S930, which controls the switching between automatic operation and manual operation of the device based on the divided automatic area and manual area. Other related embodiments can be referred to in the foregoing, and will not be described here.

[0086] The technical effects of the present application at least include reasonably grasping the timing and location of the mode switching between manual mowing and automatic mowing based on the quality of positioning information, effectively avoiding related risks such as out-of-bound and falling, and improving the safety of the riding mower while maximizing the advantages of time and labor saving of the riding mower in automatic mowing, and taking into account efficiency, performance and safety.

[0087] The above shows and describes the basic principles, main features and advantages of the present application. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above-mentioned 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 riding lawn mower, comprising: a human-riding position configured to carry a user; a main machine supporting the human-riding position; a cutting assembly comprising a cutting element, the cutting assembly being mounted to the main machine; a walking wheel assembly configured to drive the riding lawn mower to walk; a walking motor configured to drive the walking wheel assembly; an operation assembly operable by the user to control the riding lawn mower; a sensor assembly configured to acquire positioning information of the riding lawn mower; a control module electrically connected with the walking motor, the operation assembly, and the sensor assembly; wherein the riding lawn mower has a manual mode and an autonomous mode, the control module is configured to issue a control instruction according to a signal from the operation assembly to control the walking motor in the manual mode, and issue a control instruction according to the positioning information from the sensor assembly to control the walking motor in the autonomous mode, and the control module is configured to prompt the user to switch between the autonomous mode and the manual mode based on a quality of the positioning information.

2. The riding lawn mower according to claim 1, wherein, The riding lawn mower further comprises a memory configured to store a map of a working area of the riding lawn mower, the map carrying the quality of the positioning information.

3. The riding lawn mower of claim 2, wherein, The map is a grid map composed of a plurality of grids, and a grid precision of the grid map is determined based on a capacity of the memory and / or a running speed of the control module.

4. The riding lawn mower according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The quality of the positioning information is positively correlated with a positioning precision at a current position of the riding lawn mower.

5. The riding lawn mower of claim 4, wherein, The sensor assembly comprises one or more of an RTK assembly, a visual sensor, and a radar sensor.

6. The riding lawn mower of claim 4, wherein, The positioning precision comprises an RTK positioning precision.

7. The riding lawn mower according to claim 4, wherein, The quality of the positioning information is an automation score of each grid in the grid map.

8. The riding lawn mower of claim 7, wherein, The control module is configured to determine the automation score of each grid based on a plurality of items of an RTK positioning mode identification bit, a positioning standard deviation, and a precision attenuation factor.

9. The riding lawn mower of claim 7, wherein, The control module is configured to prompt the user to switch to the autonomous mode in a case that the automation score of a grid corresponding to the current positioning information exceeds a preset threshold and the riding lawn mower is in the manual mode, and / or prompt the user to switch to the manual mode in a case that the automation score of the grid corresponding to the current positioning information is lower than the preset threshold and the riding lawn mower is in the autonomous mode. The grids in the grid map whose automation scores exceed the preset threshold are connected and marked as an automatic mowing area, and / or the grids in the grid map whose automation scores do not exceed the preset threshold are connected and marked as a manual mowing area.

10. The riding lawn mower of claim 7, wherein, The control module is configured to prompt the user to switch between the autonomous mode and the manual mode based on a type of an area to which the current positioning information belongs.

11. The riding lawn mower of claim 10, wherein, The riding lawn mower further comprises an autonomous working button, and the control module controls the riding lawn mower to enter the autonomous mode when the autonomous working button is activated and the riding lawn mower is located in the automatic mowing area.

12. The riding lawn mower of claim 10, wherein, ​ 13. The riding lawn mower of claim 10, wherein, The control module prohibits the riding mower from entering the autonomous mode when the riding mower is located in a non-autonomous mowing area.

14. The riding lawn mower of claim 1, wherein, The operation assembly includes one or more of a steering wheel, an acceleration pedal, a brake pedal, and an operation lever, and the control module controls the riding mower to switch to the manual mode in response to any one of the steering wheel, the acceleration pedal, the brake pedal, and the operation lever being operated.

15. A riding mower, comprising: a user-carrying position configured to carry a user; a main body supporting the user-carrying position; a cutting assembly including a mowing element, the cutting assembly being mounted to the main body; a walking wheel assembly configured to drive the riding mower to walk; a walking motor configured to drive the walking wheel assembly; an operation assembly operable by the user to control the riding mower; a sensor assembly configured to acquire positioning information of the riding mower; a memory configured to store a map of a working area of the riding mower; a control module electrically connected with the walking motor, the operation assembly, and the sensor assembly; wherein the riding mower has a manual mode and an autonomous mode, the control module is configured to: in the manual mode, issue a control instruction according to a signal from the operation assembly to control the walking motor; and in the autonomous mode, issue a control instruction according to the positioning information from the sensor assembly to control the walking motor; the map is a grid map, each grid of the grid map has an automation score, and the control module is configured to: connect and mark grids with automation scores exceeding a preset threshold as an autonomous mowing area. and allow the riding mower to enter the autonomous mode in the autonomous mowing area.

16. The riding lawn mower of claim 15, wherein, Upon reaching a new working area, the riding mower walks in the working area in the manual mode to acquire automation scores of grids in the working area, and stores the autonomous mowing area based on the automation scores in the grid map.

17. The riding lawn mower of claim 16, wherein, Upon reaching the working area again, the riding mower controls switching between the autonomous mode and the manual mode based on the autonomous mowing area in the stored grid map.

18. The riding lawn mower of claim 16, wherein, Upon reaching the working area again, the riding mower updates the currently stored grid map based on new automation scores of grids in the working area acquired in the current working. Upon reaching a new working area, the riding mower walks in the working area in the manual mode to acquire boundary information and / or forbidden area information of the working area and stores the grid map.

19. A method for dividing a manual area and an autonomous area in a map of a riding mower, comprising: dividing a map of a working area into grids and acquiring automation scores of the grids; connecting and marking grids with automation scores exceeding a preset threshold as an autonomous area; and / or connecting and marking grids with automation scores lower than the preset threshold as a manual area.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The acquiring the automation score of each grid comprises calculating the automation score of each grid based on one or more of RTK positioning accuracy, radar positioning accuracy, and image positioning accuracy.

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