WO2021012525A1

WO2021012525A1 - Method for controlling automatic locomotion device to return to station, and automatic locomotion device

Info

Publication number: WO2021012525A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/118311
Authority: WO
Inventors: 多尔夫·达维德; 泰斯托林·费德里科; 康蒂·伊曼纽尔
Original assignee: 苏州宝时得电动工具有限公司
Priority date: 2019-07-24
Filing date: 2019-11-14
Publication date: 2021-01-28
Also published as: CN114365055A; CN114365055B; WO2021013173A1

Abstract

A method for controlling an automatic locomotion device to return to a station, and an automatic locomotion device. The method comprises: obtaining the length of a boundary of a working area of an automatic locomotion device; setting a preset energy level threshold of a power supply module according to the length of the boundary; and detecting an energy level of the power supply module, and when the energy level of the power supply module is less than or equal to the preset energy level threshold, controlling the automatic locomotion device to return to a station along the boundary. The method implements flexibly setting an energy level threshold of an automatic locomotion device according to the length of a boundary of a working area, and solves the technical problem in conventional technology that a smart lawn mower stops due to the occurrence of an anomaly in a way returning to a charging station.

Description

Control method for automatic traveling equipment returning to stop and automatic traveling equipment

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application whose application date is July 24, 2019 and the application number is 201910672876.3, the entire content of which is incorporated into this application by reference.

Technical field

The invention relates to the field of gardening technology, in particular to a method for controlling the return of an automatic walking device to a docking station and the automatic walking device.

Background technique

The intelligent lawn mower has automatic walking function, and can complete the work of mowing the lawn autonomously, without direct human control and operation, and greatly reduces manual operation. It is a tool suitable for lawn mowing and maintenance in home courtyards, public green spaces and other places.

Generally, smart lawn mowers are equipped with batteries to detect the remaining energy of the batteries. When the remaining energy is less than or equal to the preset energy value, the lawn mower is controlled to return to the charging station for charging.

However, in the traditional technology, on the way back to the charging station, the intelligent lawn mower is prone to technical problems of abnormal shutdown.

Summary of the invention

Based on this, it is necessary to provide a method for controlling the return of the autonomous vehicle to the docking station and the autonomous vehicle for the technical problem of the abnormal shutdown of the intelligent lawn mower on the way back to the charging station in the traditional technology.

A control method for returning a self-propelled equipment to a docking station, the self-propelled equipment moves and works within a working area defined by a boundary line, the self-propelled equipment includes a power supply module that provides energy, and the control method includes:

Obtain the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic walking equipment;

Setting a preset energy level threshold of the power module according to the length of the boundary line;

The energy level of the power module is detected, and when the energy level of the power module is less than or equal to the preset energy level threshold, the automatic walking equipment is controlled to return to the stop along the boundary line.

In one of the embodiments, the energy level of the power module is represented by the voltage or/and the discharge current of the power module.

In one of the embodiments, the preset energy level threshold is positively correlated with the length of the border line. When the length of the border line increases, the preset energy level threshold increases accordingly, and/or when the length of the border line decreases, The preset energy level threshold decreases accordingly. In one of the embodiments, the acquiring the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle includes acquiring the length of the outer boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle, and setting the preset energy level threshold of the power module according to the length of the outer boundary line.

In one of the embodiments, the acquiring the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle includes receiving parameters input by the user, and determining the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle according to the parameters input by the user.

In one of the embodiments, the receiving the parameters input by the user includes receiving parameter information sent by the user through the control panel of the autonomous walking device and/or the remote terminal.

In one of the embodiments, the acquiring the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle includes controlling the autonomous vehicle to move one circle along the boundary of the working area, and calculating the walking distance of the autonomous vehicle;

The length of the boundary line of the working area is determined according to the walking distance of the automatic traveling equipment.

In one of the embodiments, the controlling the automatic traveling equipment to move one circle along the boundary line of the working area includes: controlling the automatic traveling equipment to start moving from the stop station, and when the automatic traveling equipment returns to the When stopping at the station, it is judged that the automatic traveling equipment moves in a circle along the boundary line of the working area.

In one of the embodiments, the controlling the automatic traveling equipment to move one circle along the boundary line of the working area includes: controlling the automatic traveling equipment to move along the boundary line of the working area, and detecting whether the automatic traveling equipment receives Preset signal: After receiving the preset signal, the self-propelled equipment determines the current position as the starting point. When the self-propelled equipment receives the preset signal next time, it is determined that the self-propelled equipment has moved along the boundary line of the working area.

In one of the embodiments, the calculating the walking distance of the autonomous walking device includes:

During the process of the automatic traveling equipment moving along the boundary line of the working area, recording the number of turns of the driving motor of the automatic traveling equipment;

According to the number of revolutions of the driving motor and the diameter of the driving wheel of the autonomous vehicle, the walking distance of the autonomous vehicle is calculated.

In one of the embodiments, the determining the length of the boundary line of the working area where the autonomous vehicle is located includes:

The automatic traveling equipment moves along the boundary line of the working area multiple times, and the walking distance of the automatic traveling equipment multiple times is calculated;

The average value of the walking distance of multiple movements is determined as the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic traveling equipment.

In one of the embodiments, the determining the average value of the walking distance of multiple movements as the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic walking equipment includes:

Counting the number of times the automatic traveling equipment moves along the boundary line of the working area;

When the number of movements is less than or equal to the preset threshold, the average value of the walking distance of the multiple movements is determined as the length of the boundary line of the working area.

In one of the embodiments, the control method further includes:

When the number of times of movement exceeds a preset threshold, calculating an average value of the walking distance moved within the preset threshold times;

Determining the walking distance of the current movement of the automatic walking equipment;

The acquiring the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic walking equipment includes:

The average value of the walking distance of the preset threshold value movement and the walking distance of the current movement are averaged, and the average value is determined as the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic walking device.

In one of the embodiments, the determining the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle includes:

Controlling the automatic traveling equipment to move one circle along the boundary line of the working area, and obtaining the moving speed and moving time of the automatic traveling equipment;

According to the moving speed and the moving time, the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle is determined.

An automatic walking device, including: a housing, a mobile module, a task execution module and a controller;

The mobile module and the task execution module are installed in the housing;

The controller is electrically connected with the mobile module and the task execution module, and the controller includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and running on the processor, and the computer program is processed The device executes the steps in the method described in any of the above embodiments.

The above-mentioned method for controlling the return of automatic traveling equipment to a docking station and the automatic traveling equipment, by accurately obtaining the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic traveling equipment; setting a preset energy level threshold of the power module according to the length of the boundary line; detecting the energy level of the power module , When the energy level of the power module is less than or equal to the preset energy level threshold, control the automatic traveling equipment to return to the stop along the boundary line. It realizes the flexible setting of the energy level threshold of the automatic walking equipment according to the length of the boundary line of the working area, and solves the technical problem of abnormal shutdown of the smart lawn mower on the way back to the charging station in the traditional technology.

Description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a control method for returning an autonomous walking device to a docking station in an embodiment;

Fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method for controlling the return of an automatic traveling device to a docking station in an embodiment;

Fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method for controlling the return of an automatic walking device to a docking station in an embodiment;

Fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling the return of an automatic traveling device to a docking station in an embodiment;

Figure 5 is a schematic flow chart of a method for controlling the return of an autonomous walking device to a docking station in an embodiment;

Fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling the return of an automatic traveling device to a docking station in an embodiment;

Fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a method for controlling the return of an autonomous walking device to a docking station in an embodiment.

Detailed ways

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following further describes this application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are only used to explain the application, and not used to limit the application.

In one embodiment, the autonomous vehicle moves and works within the working area defined by the boundary line, and the autonomous vehicle includes a power supply module that provides energy. Please refer to Figure 1. This application provides a method for controlling the return of an autonomous walking device to a docking station, which includes the following steps:

S110. Acquire the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic walking equipment.

Among them, the self-propelled device may be a smart lawn mower, a smart snowplow, a smart sweeper, a smart scrubber, a robot cleaner, and other similar smart devices with a self-propelled function. The boundary line refers to the boundary line used to divide the working area and the non-working area of the self-propelled equipment. The area defined by the boundary line is the working area of the autonomous vehicle. The length of the boundary line is the length around the edge of the working area where the autonomous vehicle is located. Specifically, when the autonomous device is working along the boundary of the working area, the length of the boundary of the working area can be determined in a variety of ways, for example, manually measuring the length of the boundary of the working area where the autonomous device is located, or The working area is mapped, and the drawn map is used to obtain the boundary line length of the working area, or the automatic walking device works along the boundary line of the working area to obtain the boundary line length of the working area.

S120: Set a preset energy level threshold of the power module according to the length of the boundary line;

S130: Detect the energy level of the power supply module, and when the energy level of the power supply module is less than or equal to the preset energy level threshold, control the automatic traveling equipment to return to the stop along the boundary line.

Wherein, the corresponding relationship between the length of the boundary line and the preset energy level threshold is stored in advance in the storage unit unit of the autonomous walking device. The corresponding relationship between the length of the boundary line and the preset energy level threshold can be stored in the storage unit of the autonomous walking device in the form of a list of preset energy level thresholds. The preset energy level threshold list is pre-stored with the length of the boundary line and the preset energy level threshold. Corresponding data. The preset energy level threshold refers to the voltage or discharge current that ensures that the autonomous walking equipment can return to the docking station or the charging station when it is working in the working area. In general, the preset energy level threshold is set according to actual conditions, and is related to the battery capacity of the power module installed on the autonomous vehicle. Specifically, since the corresponding relationship between the length of the boundary line and the preset energy level threshold reflects the corresponding data between the length of the boundary line and the preset energy level threshold, the length of the boundary line of the working area where the autonomous vehicle is located can be determined according to the working area The length of the boundary line sets the preset energy level threshold required by the autonomous walking equipment, for example, the preset energy level threshold is set as the return voltage of the automated walking equipment. Taking the smart lawn mower as an example, the value range of the return voltage can be 16.9V to 17.6V.

In the traditional technology, the preset energy level threshold of the self-propelled equipment is fixed, but the working area of the self-propelled equipment is different, and the self-propelled equipment needs to travel different distances when returning to the docking station. The working area has different requirements for the preset energy level threshold. The fixed preset energy level threshold in the traditional technology cannot meet the regression voltage required by most working conditions. Especially for some large working areas, or the boundary lines of the working areas are relatively tortuous, if the preset energy level threshold of the automatic driving equipment cannot be set reasonably, abnormal shutdowns are likely to occur during the return of the automatic driving equipment. In this embodiment, the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous walking equipment is obtained; a preset energy level threshold of the power module is set according to the length of the boundary line; the energy level of the power module is detected, and when the energy level of the power module is less than or When it is equal to the preset energy level threshold, control the automatic traveling equipment to return to the stop along the boundary line. It realizes the flexible setting of the preset energy level threshold of the self-propelled device according to the length of the boundary line of the working area, and solves the problem that the preset energy level threshold of the power module cannot be flexibly set in the traditional technology. The technical problem of abnormal shutdown occurred on the way.

In one embodiment, the energy level of the power module is represented by the voltage or/and discharge current of the power module. Specifically, when the autonomous vehicle moves within the working area defined by the boundary line, the energy level of the power supply module is detected in real time. Generally, the energy level of the power supply module can be determined by detecting the voltage and/or discharge current of the power supply module. The voltage and/or discharge current of the module are compared with the preset energy level threshold. When the voltage and/or discharge current of the power module is less than or equal to the preset energy level threshold, it is determined that the autonomous vehicle should return to the docking station for energy supplement. Specifically, taking a smart lawn mower as an example, the docking station includes a charging station, and the smart lawn mower returns to the charging station along the boundary line to supplement energy.

In one embodiment, the preset energy level threshold is positively correlated with the length of the border line. When the length of the border line increases, the preset energy level threshold increases, and/or when the length of the border line decreases, the preset energy The level threshold decreases accordingly. Specifically, the self-propelled equipment includes a storage unit, and the storage unit includes the corresponding relationship between the preset energy level threshold and the length of the boundary line. Specifically, the longer the boundary line length, the longer the distance the self-propelled equipment needs to travel when returning to the charging station Therefore, it is necessary to set a larger preset energy level threshold. Conversely, the smaller the boundary line length, the shorter the distance that the autonomous vehicle must travel when returning to the charging station. Therefore, a smaller preset energy level value needs to be set. Specifically, there is an interval change between the length of the boundary line and the preset energy level threshold. When the length of the boundary line is within a certain interval, it corresponds to a preset energy level threshold, that is, when the length of the boundary line increases, the preset energy level threshold The energy level threshold does not necessarily have to be increased. Instead, when the length of the boundary line increases to a certain extent, the preset energy level threshold increases, but the preset energy level threshold and the length of the boundary line show a positive correlation as a whole, that is, the boundary line If the length is increased by a certain value, the preset energy level threshold will increase accordingly. Similarly, when the length of the boundary line decreases, the preset energy level threshold does not necessarily have to be reduced. Instead, when the length of the boundary line decreases to a certain extent, the preset energy level threshold It is assumed that the energy level decreases, but the preset energy level and the length of the border line show a positive correlation as a whole, that is, the border line length decreases by a certain value, and the preset energy level threshold decreases accordingly. By increasing the preset energy level following the increase in the length of the boundary line, the preset energy level is reduced following the decrease in the length of the boundary line, and the preset energy level can be set variable according to the length of the boundary line. Ensure that the energy level of the self-propelled equipment is sufficient to support its return to the charging station, and at the same time increase the continuous working time of a single charge.

In one embodiment, acquiring the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle includes acquiring the length of the outer boundary line of the working area of the autonomous device, and setting the preset energy level threshold of the power module according to the length of the outer boundary line. Specifically, the self-propelled equipment moves and works in a working area, which is defined by a boundary line. Specifically, the boundary line includes an outer boundary line and an inner boundary line. The outer boundary line is located on the periphery of the working area, which defines the area where the autonomous device can move and walks, and the inner boundary line is located inside the working area, and defines the area in the working area that the autonomous device does not need to process, and the autonomous device moves to the inner boundary In other embodiments, the inner boundary line also includes an internal guide line for guiding the autonomous vehicle to return to the docking station. When the energy level of the power module of the self-propelled equipment is less than or equal to the preset energy level threshold, the self-propelled equipment moves along the outer boundary line to return to the stop. The length of the boundary line of the working area may be the length of the outer boundary line of the working area. Specifically, due to the corresponding relationship between the length of the outer boundary line and the preset energy level threshold, after the boundary line length of the working area where the autonomous vehicle is located is obtained, the voltage or/and the voltage of the power module of the autonomous vehicle can be set according to the length of the outer boundary line of the working area Discharge current.

In one embodiment, obtaining the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous walking device includes receiving parameters input by the user, and determining the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous walking device according to the parameters input by the user.

Specifically, the length of the boundary line may be obtained by receiving a parameter input by the user, and the parameter input by the user may be the length of the boundary line directly, or the parameters of the boundary line, such as the shape and size of the boundary line. For example, if the parameters input by the user are circle and radius, the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic walking device is calculated according to the circle shape and radius input by the user. This application does not limit the parameters input by the user. For example, the parameter input by the user can also be the rectangle and the length and width of the rectangle.

In one embodiment, receiving the parameters input by the user includes receiving parameter information sent by the user through the control panel of the autonomous walking device and/or the remote terminal. Specifically, the autonomous walking device may be provided with a control panel, and the parameters input by the user are received through the control panel. Or the autonomous vehicle may be provided with a communication module and a remote terminal, and the remote terminal sends the parameter information to the communication module of the autonomous vehicle after the user inputs parameter information through the remote terminal.

In one embodiment, acquiring the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle includes controlling the autonomous device to move one circle along the boundary of the working area, and calculating the walking distance of the autonomous device; and determining the location based on the walking distance of the autonomous vehicle. The length of the boundary line of the working area.

Specifically, in order to determine the length of the boundary line, the autonomous vehicle is instructed to walk one circle clockwise or counterclockwise along the boundary line of the work area, and the walking distance that the autonomous vehicle travels on one circle of the boundary line is calculated. The walking distance of the automatic traveling equipment in a circle of the boundary line is the boundary coil of the working area where the automatic traveling equipment is located, and the traveling distance of the automatic traveling equipment is determined as the length of the boundary line of the working area where it is located.

Further, in order to save time and improve the working efficiency of the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle may be instructed to work along the boundary line of the working area. While working, walk a circle along the boundary line of the working area, and when the work is performed in the boundary line area, the measurement and calculation of the walking distance are also completed, and the walking distance of the automatic walking equipment is also determined as the working area. The length of the boundary line.

In this embodiment, the walking distance of the autonomous vehicle is calculated when the autonomous vehicle moves along the boundary of the working area for one week, and the walking distance of the autonomous vehicle is determined as the length of the boundary of the working area. It is realized that the calculation of the length of the boundary line is completed while the boundary line is moving, and there is no additional workload when determining the length of the boundary line.

In one embodiment, controlling the automatic traveling equipment to move one circle along the boundary line of the working area includes: controlling the automatic traveling equipment to start moving with a stop as a starting point, and when the automatic traveling equipment returns to the stop along the boundary line, it is determined to be automatic The walking equipment moves in a circle along the boundary of the work area.

Among them, the docking station may be the equipment where the autonomous walking equipment is in a non-working state, the docking station may also provide electrical energy for the battery of the autonomous walking equipment, and the docking station may also be called a charging station. The boundary line in this embodiment may be a wire that forms a loop after being energized, and the boundary line is used to divide the working area of the self-propelled device. The stop is electrically connected to the boundary line. The docking station can be used to provide current to the boundary line, thereby generating a constant magnetic field around the boundary line, and the constant magnetic field is the boundary signal. During the walking process of the self-propelled device, the magnetic field strength and direction of the constant magnetic field can be identified, so as to determine the working area according to the constant magnetic field. Specifically, taking the docking station as a starting point, the autonomous driving device is controlled to start moving, and when the autonomous driving device returns to the docking station along the boundary line, it is determined that the autonomous walking device moves in a circle along the boundary line of the working area.

Further, the automatic traveling equipment may be provided with an edge working mode, which means that the automatic traveling equipment works along the boundary line of the working area. When the self-propelled equipment is in the edge working mode, that is, the self-propelled equipment works along the boundary line of the working area. Since the docking station is set on the boundary line, and the docking station is used to provide current for the boundary line, it can start moving with the docking station as the starting point and the stopping station as the end point, that is, the automatic traveling equipment returns to the docking station, and it is working along the edge The automatic traveling device of the mode walks along the boundary line in a circle. It should be noted that the stop station as the starting point and the end point in this embodiment can be in the form of a charging station or other forms. For example, when the automatic traveling device receives a special signal for the first time, it is determined that the automatic traveling device is located at the starting point. After the device walks around the boundary line, it is determined that the automatic traveling device returns to the starting point when it receives the special signal again.

In this embodiment, by instructing the autonomous device to work along the boundary line of the working area, starting from the docking station and returning to the docking station, the autonomous traveling device completes a circle movement of the boundary line of the working area, and places the autonomous vehicle on the boundary The walking distance of one circle of the line is determined as the length of the boundary line of the working area.

In one embodiment, controlling the automatic traveling equipment to move along the boundary line of the work area includes: controlling the automatic traveling equipment to move along the boundary line of the work area, detecting whether the automatic traveling equipment receives a preset signal, and the automatic traveling equipment After receiving the preset signal, the current position is determined as the starting point. When the autonomous vehicle next receives the preset signal, it is determined that the autonomous vehicle has moved along the boundary line of the working area.

Among them, the preset signal includes but is not limited to: magnetic signal (magnetic strip, permanent magnet, magnetic ring, etc.), wireless beacon (RF industrial D, acousto-magnetic, RF beacon, etc.), optical signal (laser, infrared, visual icon, Two-dimensional code, etc.), electrical signals (short circuit signals, special frequency signals, special coded signals), sound signals (voice signals, ultrasonic signals). Specifically, when the autonomous vehicle is working along the boundary of the working area, it is detected whether the autonomous vehicle receives the preset signal. After the automatic traveling equipment detects the preset signal, it determines the current position as the starting point and continues to work along the boundary line. When the automatic traveling equipment receives the preset signal next time, it is determined that the automatic traveling equipment is along when the preset signal is detected again. Walk the boundary line in a circle.

In one embodiment, referring to Fig. 2, the calculation of the walking distance of the autonomous walking device includes the following steps:

S210. Record the number of turns of the motor of the automatic traveling equipment during the process of working along the boundary line of the working area of the automatic traveling equipment;

S220: Calculate the traveling distance of the automatic traveling equipment according to the number of turns of the motor and the wheel diameter of the automatic traveling equipment.

Specifically, the self-propelled equipment is provided with a motor, and the motor drives the movement of the self-propelled equipment. Knowing the wheel diameter of the automatic traveling equipment, one can know the distance traveled by the automatic traveling equipment when the motor rotates one circle. If you calculate the walking distance of the automatic traveling equipment, you need to know the number of turns of the automatic traveling equipment motor. It is possible to record the number of turns of the motor of the self-propelled equipment during the process when the self-propelled equipment starts to move from the docking station and returns to the docking station. It is also possible to record the number of turns of the motor of the automatic traveling equipment during the process of receiving the preset signal twice. Thus, the number of turns of the motor, the gear speed ratio of the motor, and the wheel diameter of the autonomous vehicle can be used to calculate the travel distance of the autonomous vehicle.

In one embodiment, determining the length of the boundary line of the working area where the autonomous vehicle is located includes: the autonomous device works along the boundary of the working area for multiple times, calculating the walking distance of the autonomous device for multiple jobs; moving multiple times The average of the walking distance is determined as the length of the boundary line of the working area.

Specifically, considering the complexity of the working conditions of the autonomous vehicle, the calculated walking distance is inaccurate, for example, when the autonomous vehicle is working, wheels slip or encounter obstacles. Therefore, the automatic traveling equipment is made to work multiple times along the boundary line of the working area, so that multiple corresponding walking distances can be obtained through these multiple movements, and then the average walking distance of multiple movements is calculated, and the walking distances The average value of the distance is determined as the length of the boundary line of the working area. In this embodiment, the walking distance is calculated multiple times, and the accuracy of the walking distance is improved by calculating the average value of the multiple calculation results.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 3, before determining the average of the walking distance of multiple movements as the length of the boundary line of the working area, the method further includes:

S310. Count the number of movements of the automatic traveling equipment along the boundary line of the working area;

S320: When the number of times of movement is less than or equal to the preset threshold, determine the average value of the walking distance of multiple movements as the length of the boundary line of the working area.

Specifically, when the autonomous vehicle is working along the boundary line of the working area, the number of movement of the autonomous vehicle along the boundary line of the working area is counted. Compare the counted number of movements with the preset threshold. When the number of movements is less than or equal to the preset threshold, calculate the average of the walking distance of multiple jobs, and determine the average of the walking distance of multiple movements as the working area. The length of the boundary line.

In this embodiment, considering that the autonomous vehicle moves along the boundary line multiple times, there may be a situation where the working area is changed. Different working areas may correspond to different border line lengths, that is, the length of the border line is also in a state of dynamic change when the automatic walking equipment is working. In order to improve the intelligence of the autonomous walking device, this embodiment presets a threshold corresponding to the number of moves. This embodiment does not limit the preset threshold value, and can be set according to actual working conditions. For example, the preset threshold value may be 5 times, 8 times, 10 times or more.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 4, the method further includes the following steps:

S410: When the number of times of movement exceeds a preset threshold, calculate an average value of the walking distance of the preset threshold times;

S420. Determine the walking distance of the current movement of the automatic walking equipment;

Get the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic walking equipment, including:

S430. Calculate the average value of the walking distance of the preset threshold time movement and the walking distance of the current movement as the average value, and determine the average value as the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic walking device.

Among them, when the automatic traveling equipment is working along the boundary line of the working area, the number of movement of the automatic traveling equipment along the boundary line of the working area is counted. Compare the counted number of movements with the preset threshold. When the number of work is greater than the preset threshold, in order to improve the accuracy of the calculation results and the intelligence of the automatic walking equipment, it is not only necessary to calculate the length of the boundary line of the working area. Considering the walking distance of the current movement of the automatic walking device, it is also necessary to consider the walking distance of the previous preset threshold movement.

Specifically, when the counted number of movements exceeds the preset threshold, firstly, calculate the average of the walking distance moved by the preset threshold; secondly, in the current movement, the automatic walking device moves along the boundary line of the working area, and calculates The walking distance of the current movement of the automatic walking equipment; finally, the average of the walking distance of the preset threshold movement and the average of the walking distance of the current movement is determined as the boundary line length of the working area.

Exemplarily, the preset threshold value is 10, and the calculation method of the boundary line length of the working area of the 11th movement is: calculating the average walking distance of the previous 10 movements as 100m; the walking distance of the 11th working is 120m; Then the length of the boundary line of the working area where the automatic traveling equipment is located is 110m. The calculation formula is as follows: (100+120)÷2=110.

Exemplarily, the preset threshold value is 10, and the calculation method of the boundary line length of the working area of the 15th movement is: calculating the average walking distance of the previous 10 movements as 100m; the walking distance of the 15th working is 136m; Then the length of the boundary line of the working area where the autonomous vehicle is located is 118m. The calculation formula is as follows: (100+136)÷2=118.

In this embodiment, considering the change of the working area, when calculating the length of the boundary line of the working area, it is necessary to consider not only the walking distance of the current movement of the automatic walking device, but also the walking distance of the previous preset threshold movement. , So as to improve the accuracy of calculation results and the degree of intelligence of automatic walking equipment. It is understandable that the walking distance in this embodiment is set according to the actual working conditions of the autonomous vehicle, and its purpose is to improve the degree of intelligence of the autonomous vehicle so that the autonomous vehicle can automatically adapt to changes in the working area.

In one embodiment, referring to Fig. 5, determining the length of the boundary line of the working area where the autonomous vehicle is located includes:

S510: When the automatic traveling equipment moves along the boundary line of the working area, acquire the moving speed and moving time of the automatic traveling equipment;

S520: According to the moving speed and the moving time, determine the length of the boundary line of the working area where the automatic traveling equipment is located.

Specifically, the moving speed of the autonomous vehicle can be set in advance, and the movement time of the autonomous vehicle during one week of walking along the boundary line can be counted by the timer in the autonomous vehicle. In order to calculate the length of the boundary line of the working area, when the automatic traveling equipment moves along the boundary line of the working area for one week, the moving speed and moving time of the automatic traveling equipment are obtained. According to the product of time and speed equal to the distance, the moving speed and moving Multiply the time to get the length of the boundary line of the working area where the automatic walking equipment is located.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 6, the method further includes the following steps:

S610. Detect the current voltage of the storage battery installed on the automatic traveling equipment;

S620: When the current voltage is less than or equal to the return voltage, control the automatic traveling equipment to stop working and return to charging.

Among them, the battery includes but is not limited to lithium batteries. The storage battery needs to provide electric energy to the working motor and the walking motor of the automatic traveling equipment. During the operation of the automatic traveling equipment, the current voltage of the battery can be detected in real time, and the detected current voltage is compared with the set return voltage. When the current voltage is less than or equal to the return voltage, it indicates that the battery power of the automatic traveling equipment has been When it is nearly used up, it is necessary to control the automatic walking equipment to stop working and return to charging. It is understandable that when the current voltage is greater than the return voltage, the automatic walking device is kept working.

In this embodiment, by detecting the current voltage of the battery installed on the autonomous walking device, when the current voltage is less than or equal to the return voltage, the automatic walking device is controlled to stop working and return to charging, which solves the problem that the smart lawn mower in the traditional technology returns to the charging station The technical problem of abnormal shutdown occurred on the way.

In one embodiment, the working area where the autonomous device is located is provided with a boundary line, and the boundary line is provided with a stop for the autonomous device. When the self-propelled equipment works along the boundary line of the working area, it starts to move from the docking station and returns to the docking station. The self-propelled equipment performs multiple tasks along the boundary of the working area. Please refer to Fig. 7. This application provides a method for controlling the return of an autonomous vehicle to a docking station, including the following steps:

S702. During the process of the automatic traveling equipment starting to move from the docking station and returning to the docking station, record the number of turns of the motor of the automatic traveling equipment each time it works;

S704: Calculate the walking distance of the automatic traveling equipment each time it moves according to the number of turns of the motor and the wheel diameter of the automatic traveling equipment;

S706. Count the number of movement times of the automatic traveling equipment along the boundary line of the working area;

S708: When the number of times of movement is less than or equal to a preset threshold, determine the average value of the walking distance of multiple movements as the length of the boundary line of the working area.

S710: When the number of times of movement exceeds a preset threshold, calculate an average value of the walking distance of the preset threshold times.

S712: Determine the walking distance of the current movement of the automatic walking equipment;

S714. Determine the average value of the walking distance of the preset threshold value movement and the average value of the walking distance of the current movement as the length of the boundary line of the working area.

S716: Set a corresponding return voltage according to the length of the boundary line of the working area where the automatic traveling equipment is located;

Illustratively, taking a smart lawn mower as an example, the smart lawn mower has an edge cutting mode, and the intelligent lawn mower can count the length of the boundary line in the edge cutting mode. Combined with the regression voltage parameter list (Table 1), different regression voltages can be set according to different boundary line lengths.

Table 1

It should be noted that if the smart lawn mower has not performed edge cutting, the previous return voltage setting can be retained, such as 17.2V or 17.4V.

S718. Detect the current voltage of the storage battery installed on the automatic traveling equipment;

S720. When the current voltage is less than or equal to the return voltage, control the automatic walking equipment to stop working and return to charging.

It should be understood that, although the steps in the above flowchart are displayed in sequence as indicated by the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in sequence in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless specifically stated in this article, the execution of these steps is not strictly limited in order, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least part of the steps in the above-mentioned flowchart may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages. These sub-steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times. The order of execution is not necessarily performed sequentially, but may be performed alternately or alternately with other steps or at least a part of sub-steps or stages of other steps.

In one embodiment, the present application provides an autonomous walking device, including: a housing, a mobile module, a task execution module, and a controller; the mobile module and the task execution module are installed in the housing; the controller is respectively connected to the mobile module and the task execution module. The modules are electrically connected, and the controller includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program that is stored on the memory and can run on the processor. The computer program is executed by the processor to implement the method steps in the foregoing embodiments. Taking the smart lawn mower as an example, the task execution module is the lawn mower cutter head, and the movement module is the front wheel and the rear wheel.

A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by instructing relevant hardware through a computer program. The computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer readable storage. In the medium, when the computer program is executed, it may include the procedures of the above-mentioned method embodiments. Wherein, any reference to memory, storage, database or other media used in the embodiments provided in this application may include non-volatile and/or volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory may include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. As an illustration and not a limitation, RAM is available in many forms, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDRSDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous chain Channel (Synchlink) DRAM (SLDRAM), memory bus (Rambus) direct RAM (RDRAM), direct memory bus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and memory bus dynamic RAM (RDRAM), etc.

The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are not described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, All should be considered as the scope of this specification.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the descriptions are more specific and detailed, but they should not be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present invention, several modifications and improvements can be made, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

A method for controlling the return of an autonomous vehicle to a docking station. The autonomous vehicle moves and works within a working area defined by a boundary line. The autonomous vehicle includes a power supply module for providing energy, characterized in that the control method includes :

Obtain the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic walking equipment;

Setting a preset energy level threshold of the power module according to the length of the boundary line;

The energy level of the power module is detected, and when the energy level of the power module is less than or equal to the preset energy level threshold, the automatic walking equipment is controlled to return to the stop along the boundary line.
The control method according to claim 1, wherein the energy level of the power module is expressed by the voltage or/and the discharge current of the power module.
The control method according to claim 1, wherein the preset energy level threshold is positively correlated with the length of the border line, and when the length of the border line increases, the preset energy level threshold increases, and/or, When the length of the boundary line decreases, the preset energy level threshold decreases accordingly.
The control method according to claim 1, wherein said acquiring the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle comprises acquiring the length of the outer boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle, and setting the power module's length according to the length of the outer boundary line Preset energy level threshold.
The control method according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous walking device comprises receiving parameters input by the user, and determining the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous walking device according to the parameters input by the user.
The control method according to claim 5, wherein said receiving the parameters input by the user comprises receiving parameter information sent by the user through the control panel of the autonomous walking device and/or the remote terminal.
The control method according to claim 1, wherein said obtaining the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle comprises controlling the autonomous vehicle to move one circle along the boundary of the working area, and calculating Walking distance

The length of the boundary line of the working area is determined according to the walking distance of the automatic traveling equipment.
The control method according to claim 7, wherein the controlling the automatic traveling equipment to move one circle along the boundary line of the working area comprises: controlling the automatic traveling equipment to start moving with the stop as a starting point, when When the self-propelled equipment returns to the stop along the boundary line, it is determined that the self-propelled equipment has moved along the boundary line of the working area.
The control method according to claim 7, wherein the controlling the automatic traveling equipment to move one circle along the boundary line of the working area comprises: controlling the automatic traveling equipment to move along the boundary line of the working area, and detecting Whether the automatic traveling equipment receives the preset signal, the automatic traveling equipment determines the current position as the starting point after receiving the preset signal, and when the automatic traveling equipment receives the preset signal next time, it is determined that the automatic traveling equipment is moving along the working area The boundary line moved in a circle.
The control method according to claim 7, wherein the calculating the walking distance of the autonomous walking device comprises:

During the process of the automatic traveling equipment moving along the boundary line of the working area, recording the number of turns of the driving motor of the automatic traveling equipment;

According to the number of revolutions of the driving motor and the diameter of the driving wheel of the autonomous vehicle, the walking distance of the autonomous vehicle is calculated.
The control method according to claim 7, wherein the determining the length of the boundary line of the working area where the autonomous vehicle is located comprises:

The automatic traveling equipment moves along the boundary line of the working area multiple times, and the walking distance of the automatic traveling equipment multiple times is calculated;

The average value of the walking distance of multiple movements is determined as the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic traveling equipment.
The control method according to claim 11, wherein the determining the average value of the traveling distance of multiple movements as the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic traveling equipment comprises:

Counting the number of times the automatic traveling equipment moves along the boundary line of the working area;

When the number of movements is less than or equal to the preset threshold, the average value of the walking distance of the multiple movements is determined as the length of the boundary line of the working area.
The control method according to claim 12, wherein the control method further comprises:

When the number of times of movement exceeds a preset threshold, calculating an average value of the walking distance moved within the preset threshold times;

Determining the walking distance of the current movement of the automatic walking equipment;

The acquiring the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic walking equipment includes:

The average value of the walking distance of the preset threshold value movement and the walking distance of the current movement are averaged, and the average value is determined as the length of the boundary line of the working area of the automatic walking device.
The control method according to claim 7, wherein the determining the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle comprises:

Controlling the automatic traveling equipment to move one circle along the boundary line of the working area, and obtaining the moving speed and moving time of the automatic traveling equipment;

According to the moving speed and the moving time, the length of the boundary line of the working area of the autonomous vehicle is determined.
An automatic walking device, characterized by comprising: a housing, a mobile module, a task execution module, and a controller;

The mobile module and the task execution module are installed in the housing;

The controller is electrically connected with the mobile module and the task execution module, and the controller includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and running on the processor, and the computer program is processed The steps in the method described in any one of claims 1 to 14 are implemented when the device is executed.