Robotic Lawn Mower Self-Cleaning via External Cleaning Station
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robotic lawn mowers require manual cleaning to remove grass, soil, plant parts, and dirt from their operative parts, which can lead to inferior performance or damage.
Innovation Solution
A robotic lawn mower with a control unit that generates cleaning request signals and drive signals to guide the mower to an external cleaning station, allowing for automatic cleaning of the underside and operative parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If manual cleaning is used to remove debris from operative parts, then cleaning can be performed, but it requires user intervention and time
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic lawn mower autonomously navigates to the cleaning station and positions itself for cleaning without human intervention. The system automatically initiates the cleaning process when needed, allowing the device to service itself and eliminating the need for manual cleaning operations by the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning station is pre-positioned in the work area and equipped with cleaning brushes and water supply infrastructure before the lawn mower operates. The system is prepared in advance to provide cleaning services, so when the mower returns to the station, the cleaning function is immediately available without requiring additional setup or user action.
2Productivity
If the lawn mower operates in demanding outdoor environments, then it can perform cutting functions, but debris accumulates on operative parts causing performance degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit monitors the operational status of the lawn mower and determines when cleaning is required based on accumulated debris or operational conditions. This feedback mechanism triggers autonomous navigation to the cleaning station, ensuring the mower maintains optimal performance by cleaning at appropriate intervals without user intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The lawn mower periodically returns to the cleaning station during or between cutting operations to have debris removed from its operative parts. This periodic cleaning cycle maintains cutting performance and reliability by preventing debris accumulation that would otherwise degrade operation over time.
3Ease of operation
If the lawn mower is equipped with cleaning capabilities, then automatic cleaning is achieved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning function is integrated into the existing navigation and control systems of the robotic lawn mower. The same control unit that manages cutting operations also controls navigation to the cleaning station and initiates cleaning sequences, merging multiple functions into a unified control architecture rather than adding separate independent systems.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a robotic lawn mower (100) having a body (140), at least two drive wheels (130a, 130b), a grass cutting mechanism (160), at least two electric motor arrangements (150, 165) and a control unit (110) adapted to control the operation of the robotic lawn mower (100). The said drive wheels (130a, 130b) are drivably connected to a first electric motor arrangement (150) and the cutting mechanism (160) is drivably connected to a second electric motor arrangement (165). The control unit (110) is configured to generate a cleaning request signal and generate a drive signal for actuating said drive wheels (130a, 130b) so as to guide said lawn mower (100) to an external cleaning station (230). Also, the control unit (110) is further configured to generate a movement signal for actuating said drive wheels (130a, 130b) to cause a relative movement of said lawn mower (100) in relation to said cleaning station (230) while allowing cleaning of at least a part of the underside of said lawn mower (100).