AU2019100130A4

AU2019100130A4 - Mowers and mower systems capable of displaying data information

Info

Publication number: AU2019100130A4
Application number: AU2019100130A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Hei Man Raymond LEE; Yong Min LI
Original assignee: TTI Macao Commercial Offshore Ltd
Current assignee: TTI Macao Commercial Offshore Ltd
Priority date: 2018-02-27
Filing date: 2019-02-06
Publication date: 2019-03-14
Anticipated expiration: 2027-02-06
Also published as: FR3078229A3; FR3078229B3; CN208638994U

Abstract

A lawn mower contains a power source, a motor, a controller connected to the motor, and a user interface device connected to the controller. The motor is connected to the power source. The user interface device is adapted to provide 5 the data information related to the lawn mower received from the controller to the user, and to provide the input information received from the user to the controller to control the operation of the lawn mower. The electric lawn mower of the present utility model can provide the user with data information related to the working state of the lawn mower in different ways, so that the user can 0 intuitively understand the working state of the lawn mower, and the user can adjust the working mode of the lawn mower according to the needs in real time. 11066698_1 (GHMatters) P110622.AU 21 Fig.1 Motor Display Controller Power --- detection device 34 device 24 Fig.2

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure relates to lawn mowers, and in particular relates to a user interface and working state control of the lawn mower.

BACKGROUND

Lawn mowers are widely used outdoor power tools that use mechanical force to mow the lawn. Existing lawn mowers have some deficiencies in the weeding process. For example, when using a low power lawn mower, the motor rotates at a low speed. At this time, if the grass or other vegetation in the lawn is dense, then the impeller of the lawn mower will have low mowing efficiency due to the low rotation speed and insufficient power. On the other hand, if the resistance encountered is too high during mowing, there is a risk of jamming the machine, which causes the motor to heat up and damage the lawn mower. In contrast, when a high power lawn mower is used, the motor rotates at a higher speed. If the lawn or vegetation-intensive area present in the lawn is small, then there is a possibility of wasting energy, and when the speed of the impeller of the lawn mower is too high, it is easy to cause the worker fatigued.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a lawn mower that comprises a power source, a motor, a controller connected to the motor, and a user interface device connected to the controller. The motor is 25 connected to a power source. The user interface device is adapted to provide

11066698_1 (GHMatters) P110622.AU

2019100130 06 Feb 2019 data information related to the lawn mower received from the controller to the user, and to provide input information received from the user to the controller to control the operation of the lawn mower.

The user interface device may comprise a display and an input device. The 5 display may be adapted to display data information to a user. The input device may be adapted to receive input information from a user.

In a specific embodiment, the user interface device comprises a wireless communication module. The wireless communication module may be adapted to perform two-way communication with an external device to transmit data 0 information to the external device and to receive the input information from the external device.

In another embodiment, the lawn mower includes a power detection device connected to the motor and the controller. The data information may include load information of the motor provided by the power detecting device.

In another embodiment, the data information includes one or more selected from the group consisting of: manufacturer information, maximum speed, current speed, current power, average power, current value, type or lifetime of the work component, preset working mode, preset working power, intelligent mode, and fault information.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a lawn mower system is provided that includes a lawn mower and an external device. The external device includes a display and a user input device. The display is adapted to display data information related to the lawn mower to the user, and the input device is adapted to receive input information from the user.

The electric lawn mower of an embodiment of the present disclosure is able to provide the user with data information related to the working state of the lawn

11066698_1 (GHMatters) P110622.AU

2019100130 06 Feb 2019 mower in different ways, so that the user can intuitively understand the working state of the lawn mower. This may be significantly different from prior art lawn mowers that do not provide any user feedback at all. By understanding the real-time working state of the lawn mower, the user may adjust the working 5 mode of the lawn mower such as the motor speed as needed, in real time. Such an arrangement may allow the user to fully participate in and control the operation of the lawn mower, and may select the best working mode according to the condition of the vegetation or the like. In contrast, in the prior art, either the mower cannot adjust the working mode at all (for example, the same motor 0 speed from start to finish), or the lawn mower can only adjust the mode according to its internal software, but the design of the latter is often suffering from limitations of the software that cannot optimizing the mowing operation as humans.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The performance and advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be further understood by reference to the remainder of the specification and the accompanying drawings; the same components in the drawings have the same reference numerals. In some cases, a sub-mark is placed after a label and hyphen to represent one of many similar components. When referring to a label 20 but does not specifically state a sub-mark, it refers to all of these similar components.

Fig. 1 shows an external view of a lawn mower according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the electronic connections of the internal 25 components of the lawn mower of Fig. 1.

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Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing the lawn mower and the mobile phone communicating with each other according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the electronic connections of the internal 5 components of the lawn mower of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing a lawn mower and a wireless display device in communication with each other according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention use user interface devices to communicate the working state of the lawn mower to the user and obtain control commands from the user to optimize the operation of the lawn mower. Other different benefits and advantages provided by the various embodiments of the 5 present disclosure are readily apparent from the following description.

Turning now to Fig. 1, a first embodiment of the present disclosure is an electric lawn mower 20. The lawn mower includes components well known to those skilled in the art such as a vehicle body 21, wheels 23, an armrest 25, a dust bag 27, a motor (not shown) located inside the vehicle body, a blade (not 20 shown) connected to the motor, and battery pack (not shown), etc. The structure and working principle of these common components will not be described in any further details here. On the vehicle body 21, there is also a display screen 22 and an input device 24. The display screen 22 is preferably an LCD display screen that can display text, numbers, and images. The input device 24 is preferably a 25 physical button. The display screen 22 and the input device 24 act as user interface devices for the lawn mower 20 in this embodiment.

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Turning to Fig. 2, inside the lawn mower 20 there is a controller 30. The controller 30 is connected to the display screen 22 and the input device 24 as described above. Additionally, a controller 30 is also connected to the motor 32 and the power detection device 34 connected to the motor 32. It should be noted 5 that lawn mower 20 further includes the above-described battery pack, which is connected as a power source to the controller 30, the motor 32, and other components to supply electric power thereto. The battery pack is not shown in Fig. 2. The power detecting device 34 is preferably a torque or current sensor so that real-time working state of the motor connected thereto can be detected, such 0 as whether the lawn mower encounters a large cutting resistance or the like.

Now turn to the working principle of the above lawn mower. During operation of the lawn mower, the power detection device 34 obtains source data associated with the motor 32, such as current and/or torque, in real time, and then provides such source data to the controller 30. The controller 30 converts 5 the source data to at least a portion of the data information reflecting the working state of the lawn mower by appropriate conversion or calculation as needed. Alternatively, at least a portion of the data information may not be converted or calculated at all. The data information including one or more information selected from the group consisting of: manufacturer information, 20 maximum speed, current speed, current power, average power, current value, type or lifetime of the work component, preset working mode, preset working power, intelligent mode, and fault information. That is, in addition to the real-time working state of the motor, such as load information, the data information may also include inherent information of the lawn mower, such as 25 manufacturer information or fault information. Such data information is then sent by the controller 30 to the display screen 22, which in turn displays the data information to the user of the lawn mower in an intuitive, real-time manner.

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After the user has learned the data information related to the lawn mower, he/she can make user input through the input device 24 to provide control commands to the lawn mower. Such control commands may include, but are not limited to, switching the working mode of the lawn mower (e.g., smart or manual), energy consumption mode (e.g., full speed or low speed), and the like. After receiving the corresponding control commands from the input device 24, the controller 30 can issue a corresponding command to the motor 32 to effect control of the operating state of the lawn mower.

Now turn to Figs. 3 and 4. The same or similar parts of the lawn mower shown in the drawing to the lawn mower in the embodiment of Figs. 1-2 described above will not be described in detail, but only their differences will be described herein. The lawn mower 120 of Figs. 3 and 4 does not have a display screen and input device on the body, but has a wireless communication module 136 connected to the controller 130 therein. The parameters of the motor 132, also detected by the power detection device 134, are sent by the controller 130 to the wireless communication module 136 in the form of data information, which in turn transmits the data information to the user's smart phone 126. The smart phone 126 and the wireless communication module 136 communicate via a communication link 128, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and the like. The 20 smart phone 126 has a display screen 122 and buttons 124, and the display screen 122 can alternatively be a touch screen as well. A software program that cooperates with the lawn mower 120 is installed on the smart phone 126 so that the software program can display data related to the lawn mower 120 on the display screen 122 so that the user can see it. The user may then make user input 25 via the display screen 122 and/or the button 124, and such user input is further transmitted by smart phone 126 to the wireless communication module 136 of lawn mower 120 and ultimately to the controller 130 to effect control of the

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2019100130 06 Feb 2019 working state of the lawn mower. In this embodiment, the wireless communication module 136 constitutes a user interface device for the lawn mower 120 that indirectly provides the user with data information related to the working state of the lawn mower. The smart phone 126 and the lawn mower 120 5 together form a lawn mower system.

Now turn to Fig. 5. The same or similar parts of the lawn mower shown in the drawing to the lawn mower in the embodiment of Figs. 3-4 described above will not be described in detail, but only their differences will be described herein. The lawn mower 220 in the drawing can also communicate with external 0 devices wirelessly, but in this embodiment, the external device is a wireless display device 226, such as a tablet computer, a wall-mounted display screen, a terminal, and the like. The wireless display device 226 has a display screen 222 and buttons 224, and the display screen 222 can alternatively be a touch screen. A software program cooperating with the lawn mower 220 is mounted on the 5 wireless display device 226 so that the software program can display data information related to the lawn mower 220 on the display screen 222 so that the user can see it. The user may then make user input via display screen 222 and/or button 224, and such user input is further transmitted to the lawn mower 220 via the wireless display device 226 to effect control of the working state of the lawn 20 mower. The wireless display device 226 and the lawn mower 220 together form a lawn mower system.

Having thus described several embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications, other structures, and equivalents can be used without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the 25 above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the following claims.

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The lawn mower in the different embodiments described above includes different user interface devices, such as a display screen and an input device disposed on the lawn mower body, or a module configured on the lawn mower for wireless communication with external devices. Those skilled in the art will 5 appreciate that the user interface device of the present invention can be any type of components that can provide the user with data information related to the working state of the lawn mower in a direct or indirect way. For example, the user interface device on the lawn mower can also be a USB port and a data transceiver associated therewith, such that an external device such as a computer 0 or the like can connected to the lawn mower via a USB port and obtain data information and provide control commands.

In addition, the input device of the lawn mower shown in Fig. 1 above is a separate physical button. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the input device can also be a touch panel integrated with the display screen 5 (such as the display screen of the smart phone in Figs. 2-3). That is to say, the display screen can be a touch screen, which simultaneously functions as an input device.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part 20 of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the 25 stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A lawn mower, comprising:

a power source;

a motor connected to the power source;

5 a controller connected to the motor; and a user interface device connected to the controller;

wherein the user interface device is adapted to provide data information related to the lawn mower received from the controller to a user, and to provide input information received from the user to the controller to control the 0 operation of the lawn mower.
2. The lawn mower according to claim 1, wherein the user interface device comprises a display and an input device; the display adapted to display the data information to the user; the input device adapted to receive the input information from the user.
5 3. The lawn mower according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the user interface device comprises a wireless communication module adapted to perform two-way communication with an external device to transmit the data information to the external device, and to receive the input information from the external device.

20 4. The lawn mower according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprises a power detection device which is connected to the motor and the controller; the data information comprising load information of the motor provided by the power detection device.

5. A lawn mower system comprising the lawn mower according to claim 3

25 or 4, and an external device; the external device comprising a display and a user input device; the display adapted to display data information related to the lawn mower to a user; the input device adapted to receive the input information from the user.