Autonomous Lawnmower Shading Plate Weed Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous lawn-mowing devices lack an efficient method for controlling weeds, requiring manual intervention and chemical herbicides, which are undesirable for many gardeners.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous weed control system integrated into autonomous lawn-mowing devices, utilizing a camera sensor for weed detection, a shading plate to block sunlight, and a control circuit to navigate the device and deploy the shading plate precisely at detected weed locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical weeding tools (drilling or hoeing) are used to remove weeds, then weed control effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and energy consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the essential function of weed removal from complex mechanical tools. Instead of using drilling or hoeing mechanisms, the system extracts the core requirement (preventing weed growth) and implements it through a simple shading plate that blocks sunlight, eliminating the need for complex mechanical extraction tools.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical weeding system (drilling or hoeing tools) with a passive optical system (shading plate). The mechanical action of removing weeds is substituted by a static structure that prevents weed growth through light blocking, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining weed control effectiveness.
2Reliability
If mechanical weeding tools (drilling or hoeing) are used to remove weeds, then weed control effectiveness is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies preliminary action by preventing weed growth before it occurs. Instead of using energy-intensive mechanical tools to remove established weeds, the shading plate is placed in advance to block sunlight and prevent weed germination and growth, thereby eliminating the need for subsequent energy-consuming mechanical removal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the energy-consuming mechanical weeding system with a passive optical system. The shading plate requires no energy input to function, as it passively blocks sunlight to prevent weed growth, whereas mechanical drilling or hoeing tools would require significant energy for operation.
3Reliability
If chemical herbicides are applied to control weeds, then weed control effectiveness is improved, but environmental harm increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention converts the harmful effect of sunlight (which promotes weed growth) into a beneficial tool for weed control. By strategically blocking sunlight using the shading plate, the system transforms light from a factor that aids weed growth into the mechanism that suppresses it, thereby achieving effective weed control without chemical herbicides and their environmental harm.
4Measurement precision
If manual weed detection and removal is performed, then weed control precision is improved, but labor requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous lawnmower is enhanced with multi-functionality by integrating weed detection and shading plate deployment capabilities. The existing autonomous navigation and mowing system is extended to also detect weeds using the camera and autonomously place shading plates, thereby eliminating the need for manual weed detection and removal while maintaining high precision through the camera-based detection system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively suppresses weeds by depriving them of sunlight, eliminating the need for chemical herbicides and manual labor, while also being energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.
Implementation Method 1
The control circuit is configured to control the release mechanism to release the shading plate onto a location of the detected target plant
Data Source
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AI summary
A weed control system comprises an autonomous work device, and the autonomous work device comprises driving means configured to move the autonomous work device, sensor means configured acquire a sensor signal from the environment of the autonomous device, and a control circuit configured to control the driving means to navigate the autonomous work device in the environment. The weed control system comprises at least one disposable shading plate arranged on a release mechanism of the autonomous work device. The control circuit is configured to detect plants in the environment based on the acquired sensor signal, to determine whether a detected plant is a target plant, and in case a detected plant is a target plant, to control the release mechanism to release the shading plate onto the location of the detected target plant.