Robotic Mower Launch Point System Boundary Segmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Robotic lawn mowers often leave uncut grass in areas difficult to reach due to their path bouncing around within the boundary wire, leading to incomplete coverage.
Innovation Solution
A robotic mower launch point system that includes a vehicle control unit commanding the mower to travel along an outer boundary wire to multiple launch points in a sequence dependent on operator-specified frequency, with a user interface for entering location and frequency, and a clean-up pass before launches, ensuring complete coverage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the robotic mower bounces around within the boundary wire using random path navigation, then the mower can operate autonomously without complex guidance infrastructure, but the coverage becomes incomplete with uncut grass remaining in difficult-to-reach areas
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing a complete boundary wire perimeter and pre-determining optimal launch points along the boundary before actual mowing operations begin. This preliminary boundary definition and launch point selection ensures that subsequent random bouncing operations within the boundary will achieve complete coverage, resolving the contradiction between autonomous operation and coverage completeness.
2Device complexity
If the robotic mower uses a simple boundary wire system without launch points, then the device complexity is reduced, but the productivity and coverage efficiency decrease due to frequent revisits to the charging station
Solution Approach 1:
The boundary wire system is segmented into multiple functional zones with designated launch points distributed along the perimeter. Instead of a single centralized charging station as the only launch point, the boundary is divided into sections, each with its own launch point. This segmentation allows the mower to operate from multiple locations, reducing travel time to charging and significantly improving productivity while maintaining simple boundary wire infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
Launch points serve as intermediary structures between the boundary wire and the charging station. These intermediaries allow the mower to temporarily dock and recharge at multiple locations along the boundary without requiring a full charging station at each location. The launch points mediate between the simple boundary wire system and the need for efficient recharging, enabling extended operational cycles and improved productivity.
3Use of energy by moving object
If the robotic mower returns to the charging station frequently to recharge, then the battery capacity can be reduced, but the time spent traveling and the overall productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The charging infrastructure is segmented from a single centralized station into multiple distributed launch points along the boundary. This segmentation allows the mower to recharge at nearby launch points rather than traveling long distances to a single charging station. The result is reduced travel time and improved productivity, while the battery capacity can be optimized for the shorter operational cycles between launches.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-positioning multiple launch points with charging capabilities along the boundary perimeter before mowing operations begin. This preliminary distribution of charging infrastructure ensures that the mower is always near a charging point, minimizing travel time and allowing for smaller, more efficient battery capacities while maintaining high productivity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A robotic mower launch point system, comprising a robotic mower (100) having a traction drive system (110, 111), a vehicle control unit (101) and a user interface (107); the vehicle control unit (101) commanding the robotic mower traction drive system (110, 111) to travel along a boundary wire (103) to a plurality of different launch point locations in a sequence.