Mower Boundary Direction Selection for Lower-Angle Lawn Following

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing mower technologies face challenges in efficiently selecting a movement direction along a lawn boundary, leading to poor mapping quality due to high equipment and labor costs associated with burial cable installation and limited control over direction after reaching the boundary.

Innovation Solution

A method and system for a mower that identifies the boundary and determines the optimal movement direction by comparing distances between left and right movement components and the boundary, allowing the mower to move in the direction with the least angle deviation from its orientation, thereby improving movement efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If satellite navigation and positioning are adopted to lower costs, then equipment cost and labor cost are reduced, but mapping quality deteriorates due to poor direction control

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovecostVSAvoidmapping quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors the mower's position relative to the boundary using satellite navigation, calculates the distance and angle in real-time, and provides feedback control by adjusting the movement direction based on the angle between the head orientation and boundary, thereby maintaining mapping quality without burial cables

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical burial cable system with an electronic control system based on satellite navigation and angle calculation algorithms, substituting physical boundary markers with digital positioning and computational geometry methods

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Ease of operation

If the mower moves according to a preset solution after reaching the boundary, then operation is simplified, but mapping quality deteriorates due to inability to control movement direction

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoperation simplicityVSAvoidmapping quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system transitions from static preset movement paths to dynamic direction adjustment by continuously calculating the angle between the mower head orientation and the boundary, enabling real-time adaptation of movement direction while maintaining operational simplicity through automated control

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Measurement precision

If the mower turns frequently to follow the boundary, then boundary following precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to increased turning time

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveboundary following precisionVSAvoidmowing efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary calculation of the optimal movement direction by computing the angle between the head orientation and boundary before execution, allowing the mower to plan its path in advance and reduce frequent turning operations while maintaining boundary following precision

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4427570A1Method for selecting direction, mower, electronic equipment, and storage medium
Publication Date: 2024.09.11 WILLAND (BEIJING) TECH CO LTD
  • EP4427570A1 patent drawingFigure 1A~1B
  • EP4427570A1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2B
  • EP4427570A1 patent drawingFigure 2C~3

AI summary

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a method for selecting a direction, a mower, an electronic equipment and a storage medium. With the method, a boundary of a target region is identified via a mower. If a distance between the mower and the boundary is determined to be within a first preset range according to the boundary as identified, the mower is controlled to move along the boundary in a movement direction. The movement direction is either a leftward direction along the boundary or a rightward direction along the boundary, which direction has a less angle with respect to an orientation of a head of the mower. With a solution provided in the embodiments, the angle between the leftward direction along the boundary and a current orientation of the head of the mower, as well as the angle between the rightward direction along the boundary and the current orientation of the head of the mower, may be computed. The direction corresponding to the less one of the two angles may be determined as the movement direction in which the mower is to move along the boundary of the target region, thereby decreasing the turning angle by which the mower turns, improving efficiency of movement.