AU2021460294A1

AU2021460294A1 - Battery management system for autonomous power tool

Info

Publication number: AU2021460294A1
Application number: AU2021460294A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Hengsheng Liu
Original assignee: Techtronic Cordless GP
Current assignee: Techtronic Cordless GP
Priority date: 2021-08-09
Filing date: 2021-08-09
Publication date: 2024-02-22
Also published as: WO2023015411A1; CN117795807A

Abstract

This disclosure provides systems, methods, and devices for managing a battery charging process for an autonomous power tool. In aspects, an autonomous power tool detects a charging error condition during a charging process, and suspends the charging process in response to detecting the charging error condition. Suspending the charging process includes disabling a charging line configured to deliver a charging current to a battery of the autonomous power tool to prevent the charging current from being delivered to the battery, and maintaining a power input, using a bypass line, to a control unit (MCU) configured to control the charging process. The charging process is resumed when the charging error condition is determine to be corrected, and continues until the battery is fully charged. In some aspects, an alert may be sent to a user (e.g., a visual, audio, and/or remote signal (e.g., to an application running on a user device)).

Description

BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS POWER TOOL

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to autonomous power tools, and more particularly, to a battery management system for an autonomous power tool.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Autonomous power tools (e.g., robotic lawn mowers) are designed to function autonomously, preferably with minimum user intervention. Oftentimes, these autonomous power tools may be designed to work according to user configuration or according to predefined schedules. These autonomous power tools may also be designed to self-charge. For example, autonomous power tools may be designed to detect a low-battery condition and to proceed to a charging dock for charging. This self-charging process may occur several times during an operating schedule.

There are occasions, however, when the self-charging process is interrupted or does not occur for various reasons. In some cases, the reason for the self-charging failure may be overcome or fixed by the autonomous power tool, such that the scheduled work may not be interrupted. For example, a robotic lawn mower working under the sun may experience a condition where its battery may overheat. In this case, it is preferable not to charge the battery until the battery cools down. However, some current implementations of robotic lawn mowers may not be configured to respond to a battery overheat condition. These implementations may be configured to provide a charge to the battery as long as there is a load connected to the charging adapter.

Even in some implementations that are configured to detect and overheat condition, and to respond to the overheat condition, these implementations merely cut the charging line to the battery, in which case there is no power being provided to the autonomous power tool at all. In these implementations, if the battery is completely depleted, all power may be lost, even to the control unit (MCU) of the autonomous power tool, and the autonomous power tool may not be able to recover from the overheat condition (e.g., the MCU may not be able to resume the charging once the self-charging error is corrected) .

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for managing a battery charging process for an autonomous power tool. In particular aspects, an autonomous power tool may be configured for self-charging, where the autonomous power tool may dock with a charging station to receive a charging current for its battery. In aspects, the autonomous power tool may be configured to detect a charging error condition. The charging error condition may be a condition that prevents a charging current from being delivered to the battery of the autonomous power tool. In some aspects, the charging error condition may be a condition under which continuing to charge the battery may not be advisable or preferable (e.g., may be a condition under which continuing to charge the battery may cause equipment damage or may be dangerous (e.g., a battery overheat condition, etc. ) ) .

In aspects, the autonomous power tool may be configured to suspend, pause, or stop the charging current from being delivered to the battery of the autonomous power tool in response to detecting the charging error condition. For example, the autonomous power tool may be configured for charging by including (e.g., in the circuitry of the autonomous power tool) a charging line that may include circuitry for delivering the charging current (e.g., charging current provided by the charging station) to the battery of the autonomous power tool. The circuitry of the charging line may include a charging line switch (e.g., a circuit including a diode, a transistor, and/or any other circuit or electronic component configured to provide switching functionality) configured to disengage or to disable the charging line thereby preventing the charging current from being delivered to the battery of the autonomous power tool. In this manner, the autonomous power tool may stop or pause the charging process in response to the detection of the charging error condition.

In some aspects, the autonomous power tool may also include (e.g., in the circuitry of the autonomous power tool) a bypass line configured to bypass the charging line. The bypass line may include circuitry for delivering power to a control unit (MCU) of the autonomous power tool, while bypassing the charging line. In this manner, the MCU may receive power from the charging station, whether the charging line is disabled (e.g., in response to an charging error condition) or not. As such, even the battery of the autonomous power tool may be completely depleted, the MCU of the autonomous power tool may operate to control the functionality of the autonomous power tool.

In aspects, a battery voltage sampling circuit may be positioned within the charging line, such that the battery voltage sampling circuit may measure the voltage of the battery of the autonomous power tool more accurately. In these aspects, the battery voltage sampling circuit may be positioned after the charging line switch and between the battery and an isolating circuit of the charging line. The isolating circuit of the charging line may be a circuit configured to isolate the charging line from the bypass line (e.g., a circuit that may include a diode, a switch, a transistor, etc. ) . In aspects, the bypass line may also include an isolating circuit. By positioning the battery voltage sampling circuit after the charging line switch, and between the battery and the isolating circuit of the charging line, the battery voltage sampling circuit may measure the voltage of the battery more accurately, without interference from the voltage at the adapter (e.g., the adapter connecting to the charging station) .

In aspects, the autonomous power tool may be configured to resume the charging process upon a determination that the charging error condition has been corrected. For example, in some aspects, the charging error condition may be a recoverable error condition (e.g., a battery over-temperature, or under-temperature condition) , in which case, the autonomous power tool may resume the self-charging process upon the recoverable error condition being corrected (e.g., once the battery temperature returns to an acceptable operating temperature) . In aspects, when the battery level of the battery of the autonomous power tool is fully charged (or charged to an acceptable operating level) , the charging process may be terminated and the autonomous power tool may be returned to autonomous operations.

In some aspects, the autonomous power tool may be configured to generate an alert in response to the charging error condition being detected. In aspect, the alert may include an indication of whether the charging error condition is a recoverable error condition (e.g., an over temperature or under temperature condition of the battery) or a defective error condition (e.g., an error that is not recoverable by the autonomous power tool and that may need direct intervention by the user to be corrected) . In some aspects, the autonomous power tool may include a visual indication of the charging error condition within the autonomous power tool itself (e.g., a visual indication such as a color-coded light or display, or an audio signal) , and/or may send the charging error condition to an application running on a user device (e.g., computer, mobile device, tablet, etc. ) . In some aspects, when the charging error condition is a recoverable condition, the autonomous power tool may send the alert, and/or may pause the charging process until the charging error condition is determined to be corrected. In some aspects, when the charging error condition is a defective error condition (e.g., a non-recoverable error condition) , the autonomous power tool may send the alert, but may not attempt to resume the charging process, until direct intervention by the user.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system configured with capabilities and functionality for managing a battery charging process for an autonomous power tool in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a battery charging management system for an autonomous power tool in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of circuitry implementing a battery charging management system for an autonomous power tool in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example flow executed to implement management of a battery charging process for an autonomous power tool in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the disclosed embodiments are sometimes illustrated diagrammatically and in partial views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the disclosed methods and apparatuses or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various features and advantageous details are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known starting materials, processing techniques, components, and equipment are omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the invention in detail. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, and not by way of limitation. Various substitutions, modifications, additions, and/or rearrangements within the spirit and/or scope of the underlying inventive concept will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.

As noted above, various aspects of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for managing a battery charging process for an autonomous power tool. In particular, an autonomous power tool may be configured to detect a charging error condition, to pause the charging process in response to detecting the charging error condition, and to resume the charging process when the charging error condition is determined to be corrected. In some aspects, when the charging error condition is a defective error condition, the autonomous power tool may not resume the charging process without direct intervention by a user. In aspects, a charging error condition alert may be generated and sent to the user (e.g., via a visual, audio, and/or remote signal (e.g., a remote signal sent to an application running on a user device) ) .

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 100 configured with capabilities and functionality for managing a battery charging process for an autonomous power tool in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, system 100 includes charging station 150, autonomous power tool 110, and user device 180, and these components may be configured to include various components for providing various aspects of the functionality described herein.

Autonomous power tool 110 may be any outdoor or indoor tool used for personal or commercial purposes which may operate autonomously or with minimal user intervention. Examples of autonomous power tool 110 may include, but are not limited to, any type of grass cutting device or lawn mower capable of autonomous operations, snow throwers, pressure washers, vacuum cleaners, electric or gas blowers, landscaping tools, multi-function outdoor equipments, portable generators, pumps, soil care devices, watering devices, fertilizers, soil investigating tools, fans, air filters, portable heaters, etc. With reference to FIG. 1, autonomous power tool 110 is illustrated as an autonomous lawn mower. The autonomous lawn mower illustrated in FIG. 1 may include a frame supporting the operating components of the autonomous lawn mower. These operating components may include, without limitation, at least one motor configured and arranged to drive the blades of the autonomous lawn mower to cut the grass of a lawn. The at least one motor may also be used to drive traction components (e.g., wheels, treads, belts, etc. ) of the autonomous lawn mower to move the autonomous lawn mower over the lawn being mowed. The operating components of the autonomous lawn mower may include a battery for providing power to the autonomous lawn mower, control circuitry for managing and controlling the operations of the autonomous lawn mower, memory for storing program code instructions and/or configuration information, a communication interface for receiving and transmitting information from remote devices (e.g., transmitting alerts and/or receiving configuration information) , a location system (e.g., global positioning system (GPS) ) , etc.

In aspects, autonomous power tool 110 may be configured to operate autonomously according to user configuration or according to a work schedule. For example, autonomous power tool 110 may be configured to operate during particular times to perform operations. During operations, autonomous power tool 110 may need to charge its battery one or more times. As such, autonomous power tool 110 may be configured to perform a self-charging process (also referred to as a charging process herein) . In some aspects, autonomous power tool 110 may be configured to coordinate with other autonomous power tools to perform autonomous operations. For example, multiple autonomous power tools may coordinate to perform autonomous operations, and when an error condition arises, or when autonomous power tool 110 may need to recharge, autonomous power tool 110 may communicate with one or more of the autonomous power tools so that at least one of the one or more autonomous power tools may take over for autonomous power tool 110 until the error condition is resolved and/or until charging is completed.

User device 180 may be implemented as a mobile device, a smartphone, a tablet computing device, a personal computing device, a laptop computing device, a desktop computing device, a computer system of a vehicle, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a smart watch, another type of wired and/or wireless computing device, or any part thereof. User device 180 may be configured to provide input/output functionality to allow users of autonomous power tool 110 to provide inputs to autonomous power tool 110 (e.g., inputs including configuration and/or programming for operations of autonomous power tool 110, such as work schedules, acceptable operating levels (e.g., voltage, temperature, etc. ) , or other information related to the programming or operations of autonomous power tool 110) , and to receive outputs from autonomous power tool 110 (e.g., outputs including alerts, warnings, metrics, etc. ) .

In aspects charging station 150 may be configured to interface with autonomous power tool 110 to provide a charging current for charging the battery of autonomous power tool 110 during the self-charging process. In aspects, charging station 150 and autonomous power tool 110 may operate cooperatively to provide self-charging functionality to autonomous power tool 110. For example, autonomous power tool 110 may be configured to, upon detecting a low-battery condition (e.g., upon detecting that the power level of the battery of autonomous power tool 110 is running low during mid operation) , or upon termination of a work-schedule (e.g., upon completing the autonomous power tool operation) , navigate to charging station 150 and to “dock” with charging station 150. In aspects, autonomous power tool 110 may include sensors (e.g., sound navigation and ranging (SONAR) , light detection and ranging (LIDAR) , radio detection and ranging (RADAR) , proximity sensors, etc. ) configured to detect boundaries of a work area for autonomous power tool 110 and/or detect obstacles in the path of travel of autonomous power tool 110 during autonomous operations or during navigation to/from charging station 150. In aspects, the docking operation may include connecting or causing to be connected an adapter of autonomous power tool 110 to an adapter of charging station 150, through which a charging current may flow from charging station 150 to autonomous power tool 110. Upon docking with charging station 150, a charging process may be initiated whereupon a charging current may flow from charging station 150 and may be directed to the battery of autonomous power tool 110.

During normal operations, the charging process may be completed when the power level of the battery of autonomous power tool 110 returns to an acceptable operating level. For example, a battery voltage sampling circuit of autonomous power tool 110 may measure the voltage level of the battery of autonomous power tool 110. The measured level of the battery may be used by a control unit (MCU) of autonomous power tool 110 to determine when the charging process is to be terminated (e.g., upon a determination, based on the measured power level of the battery, that the level of the battery has returned to acceptable operating levels) . In these cases, the charging process may be terminated by disabling a charging line that is configured to deliver the charging current to the battery. An exemplary configuration of a charging line in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 2.

However, as noted above, there may be situations in which the charging process may not occur without problems. In these situations, autonomous power tool 110 may be configured to manage the charging process such that the charging process is managed during normal operations and when problems occur. For example, autonomous power tool 110 may be configured to detect charging error conditions and to respond accordingly. In some aspects, autonomous power tool 110 may, in response to detecting a charging error condition, generate an alert indicating a charging error condition and/or may pause, or cause to be interrupted, the charging process. For example, the charging error condition may be a recoverable error condition. In this case, autonomous power tool 110 may be configured to pause the charging process until the error condition is determined to be corrected. Upon determining that the recoverable error condition has been corrected, autonomous power tool 110 may resume the charging process until the battery returns to acceptable operating levels, or until another charging error condition occurs. In aspects, error conditions may include battery errors (e.g., hardware and/or firmware errors) , errors in the charging circuitry of the autonomous power tool, errors in the charging circuitry of the charging station, etc. In some cases, whether a charging error condition is recoverable or non-recoverable, the MCU may determine the root cause and may generate an indication of the cause of the charging error condition. In some cases, the MCU may not be able to determine the root cause of a charging error condition, in which case the MCU generate an indication indicating a generic charging error condition. In some aspects, the charging error conditions may include bumps, lifts, out of boundary conditions, docking failures, blade life failures, etc.

A recoverable error condition may include conditions that may be corrected without direct user intervention. For example, in some situations, the battery of autonomous power tool 110 may overheat (e.g., in hot weather conditions or when autonomous power tool 110 operates outside in direct sun, or in hot environments) or may experience under-temperature conditions (e.g., when autonomous power tool 110 operates in cold weather or cold environments) . Under these conditions, it is not advisable nor desirable to continue charging the battery, as this may cause damage to the battery, or damage to the equipment, or may even be dangerous. However, these types of conditions may be corrected, as with time the battery may return to acceptable operating temperatures. Recoverable error conditions may include battery undervoltage conditions. For example, the battery voltage may be detected to be under a threshold percentage of total battery capacity (e.g., may be detected to be 17.5%under total capacity, such as under 33V for a 40V battery) . In these cases, autonomous power tool 110 may determine that this condition may be corrected by first charging the battery with a relatively small current, and then increasing the charging current to a larger charging current once the battery voltage is charged to be above the threshold percentage of total battery capacity. In some aspects, recoverable error conditions may include a high humidity condition. For example, autonomous power tool 110 may operate in a high humidity or wet environment (e.g., may encounter rain or traverse a water surface, such as a small puddle) . Even if autonomous power tool 110 is waterproof such that no water may reach the battery or the charging circuit, autonomous power tool 110 may include a humidity sensor that may detect a humidity level. If the humidity level is detected to be a threshold humidity level, the condition may be determined to be a recoverable error condition, in which case the charging process may be suspended until the humidity level returns to an acceptable level (e.g., a humidity level below the threshold humidity level) .

In aspects, autonomous power tool 110 may pause the charging process until the error condition is determined to be corrected (e.g., when the temperature of the battery is determined to return to acceptable operating temperatures) . In some aspects, autonomous power tool 110 may also generate an alert indicating that a charging error condition has occurred. The error condition alert may include an indication that the error condition is recoverable, and may include a visual signal, or an audio signal on autonomous power tool 110. In some aspects, the indication may include a remote signal transmitted to an application running on a user device to be presented to a user. The indication may indicate to the user that no user intervention is necessary as the charging error condition is recoverable. In aspects, the indication may also include metrics on the condition (e.g., current temperatures of the battery when the condition is a temperature related condition) and/or an estimate of when and/or how the charging error condition may be corrected. It is noted that autonomous power tool 110 may also be configured to not transmit, or to forego transmitting, the notification when the error condition is determined to be recoverable.

In some aspects, the battery may report an error condition (e.g., any of the error conditions described herein or combinations thereof) to the MCU of autonomous power tool 110. In some aspects, the MCU may determine that all errors conditions reported by the battery are non-recoverable errors. In some aspects, the error condition report by the battery may include an indication that the error condition is a recoverable error condition, in which case the charging process may be suspended and the MCU may periodically query the battery to determine if the error condition has persisted or has been corrected or has disappeared. If the error condition is determined to be corrected, or has disappeared, the charging process may be resumed.

In some cases, the charging error condition may be a defective error condition. For example, the charging error condition may be a condition that may not be corrected without at least direct user intervention. These types of charging error conditions may not be recoverable by autonomous power tool 110. For example, autonomous power tool 110 (e.g., using the MCU) may receive information about the charge level of the battery during the charging process and may determine that the charge level of the battery is not increasing after a threshold period of time. In this example, after the threshold period of time, autonomous power tool 110 may determine that the battery is defective and may need to be replaced (e.g., if the charge level of the battery has not increased or is not increasing at an expected rate) . Autonomous power tool 110 may determine that this is a defective error condition. In aspects, defective error conditions may include a condition in which the battery remains in charging status over a threshold time. For example, the battery may calculate a time required (e.g., a time remaining) to fully charge the battery based on an existing charge level. If the battery remains in charging status for a time longer than the time required to fully charge (plus a buffer time in some aspects) , the battery may report an error, and/or the MCU may determine a defective error condition. Defective error conditions may include a condition in which the charging current to the battery during the charging process is under a threshold current value, a condition in which the battery may discharge, rather than charge, during the charging process, such as when the battery voltage is dropping instead of rising during the charging process, and/or a condition in which an over current, an over voltage, or a short circuit (e.g., as detected by an analog front-end (AFE) or by the battery) is detected. Because autonomous power tool 110 may not correct a defective error condition without user intervention, autonomous power tool 110 may not operate to resume the charging process until an indication that the user has intervened and that the defective error condition no longer exists.

In some cases, autonomous power tool 110 may terminate the charging process when a defective error condition is detected, regardless of whether the battery level has reached an acceptable level for continued operations. In some aspects, autonomous power tool 110 may also generate an alert indicating that a defective error condition has occurred. The error condition alert may include an indication that the error condition is non-recoverable, and may include a visual signal, or an audio signal on autonomous power tool 110. In some aspects, the indication may include a remote signal transmitted to an application running on a user device to be presented to a user. The indication may indicate to the user that user intervention is necessary to correct the charging error condition and/or that charging may not resume until the user intervenes to correct the error condition.

In aspects, autonomous power tool 110 may be configured to maintain power to the MCU of autonomous power tool 110 while autonomous power tool 110 is docked to charging station 150 and/or while the charging process is paused. As will be discussed in more detail below with respect to FIG. 2, autonomous power tool 110 may be configured to disable a charging line (e.g., the circuitry delivering the charging current to the battery of autonomous power tool 110) while allowing power to be delivered to the MCU while the charging line is disabled (e.g., while the charging process is paused or when the charging process is terminated due to a defective error, in which case autonomous power tool 110 may not return to normal operations but may remain docked to charging station 150) . In aspects, this functionality may allow autonomous power tool 110 to maintain control of the charging process (e.g., through the MCU) while the charging current is not being delivered to the battery. In this manner, autonomous power tool 110 may determine when the charging error condition is corrected, and to resume the charging process in response. Were power removed from the MCU when the charging line is disabled (as it is the case in some current implementations of autonomous power tools) , autonomous power tool 110 may not be able to recover from the charging error condition, as the MCU may not be able to determine when the error condition has been corrected or to resume the charging (e.g., by enabling the charging line) . In some cases, maintaining a power input to the MCU may enable the MCU to maintain the ability to communicate with external devices, such as user device 180, to provide notifications regarding the status of autonomous power tool 110 despite the charging process being interrupted and/or despite the battery being depleted.

The details of the techniques and configurations for managing the self-charging process for autonomous power tool 110 will now be discussed in more detail with respect to FIG. 2, which shows a block diagram illustrating an example of a battery charging management system 200 for an autonomous power tool in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. It is noted that the functional blocks, and components thereof, of system 200 of embodiments of the present invention may be implemented using processors, electronics devices, hardware devices, electronics components, logical circuits, memories, software codes, firmware codes, etc., or any combination thereof. For example, one or more functional blocks, or some portion thereof, may be implemented as discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or combinations thereof configured to provide logic for performing the functions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, when implemented in software, one or more of the functional blocks, or some portion thereof, may comprise code segments operable upon a processor to provide logic for performing the functions described herein.

As shown in FIG. 2, battery charging management system 200 may include circuitry that allows an autonomous power tool (e.g., autonomous power tool 110 discussed with respect to FIG. 1) to provide the battery charging management features described herein. Battery charging management system 200 may be implemented in autonomous power tool 110 and may include several components configured to provide the features described herein. In particular, in some aspects, autonomous power tool 110 may be configured to include adapter 210, battery 250, battery voltage sampling circuit 230, and MCU 240. In aspects, battery charging management system 200 may include charging line 262 and bypass line 260.

In aspects, MCU 240 may comprise a processor, a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a plurality of microprocessors, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , an application-specific standard product (ASSP) , or any combination thereof, and may be configured to execute instructions to perform operations in accordance with the disclosure herein. In some aspects, implementations of MCU 240 may comprise code segments (e.g., software, firmware, and/or hardware logic) executable in hardware, such as a processor, to perform the tasks and functions described herein. In yet other aspects, MCU 240 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and software.

MCU 240 may be configured to control operations of autonomous power tool 110, including the self-charging process. For example, in aspects, MCU 240 may be configured to cause autonomous power tool 110 to dock to a charging station to initiate self-charging operations. In some aspects, MCU 240 may cause autonomous power tool 110 to dock to a charging station to initiate self-charging operations in response to a determination of a low-battery condition. For example, MCU 240 may determine that the charge of battery 250 has dropped below a predetermined threshold (e.g., has dropped below any value below 30%or has dropped below a percentage value of a power requirement estimated to be sufficient for returning to the charging station from a current location of autonomous power tool 110) , and/or that the temperature of battery 250 has reached a threshold temperature indicating that autonomous power tool 110 is to return to the charging station to return the battery temperature to acceptable operating conditions. In some aspects, MCU 240 may cause autonomous power tool 110 to dock to a charging station to initiate self-charging operations in response to a determination that autonomous operations have been completed by autonomous power tool 110. For example, MCU 240 may determine that a work schedule or operations of autonomous power tool 110 have been completed. In these cases, MCU 240 may cause autonomous power tool 110 to dock to the charging station to initiate self-charging operations.

MCU 240 may be configured to determine the power level of battery 250 (e.g., using battery voltage sampling circuit 230) to determine the low-battery condition and/or to determine when the battery has been charged to acceptable operating levels. In the latter case, MCU 240 may terminate the self-charging process (and may return autonomous power tool 110 to autonomous operations when appropriate, such as when autonomous operations have not been completed) . In some aspects, MCU 240 may be configured to determine that a charging error condition has occurred. For example, various sensors (e.g., temperature sensors, voltage sensors, location sensors, etc. ) may provide information that may be used to determine that a charging error condition has occurred. In some aspects, battery 250 may report the charging error condition to MCU 240. In response to determining that an error condition has occurred, MCU 240 may pause and/or may terminate the charging process (e.g., using charging line switch 212) . For example, when MCU 240 determines that a charging error condition has occurred, MCU 240 may pause the charging process (e.g., using charging line switch 212) until the error has been corrected. In some aspects, MCU 240 may suspend autonomous operations while autonomous power tool 110 is not docked to the charging station (e.g., while autonomous power tool 110 is in the field performing autonomous operations) in response to a detected condition of autonomous power tool 110. For example, MCU may detect an overheat condition, in which case, MCU 240 may suspend the autonomous operations until the temperature returns to an acceptable operating level (e.g., without returning to the docking station for charging) .

In some aspects, MCU 240 may generate an alert that a charging error condition has occurred. The alert may be sent to a user device (e.g., to an application running on the user device) , such as user device 180 described above with reference to FIG. 1. In aspect, the alert may include an indication of whether the charging error condition is a recoverable error (e.g., an over temperature or under temperature condition of the battery) or a defective error (e.g., an error that is not recoverable by autonomous power tool 110 and that may need direct intervention by the user to be corrected) . In some aspects, the alert may include a visual indication of the charging error condition provided by autonomous power tool 110 itself (e.g., a visual indication such as a color-coded light or display, or an audio signal) . In some aspects, MCU 240 may send the charging error condition alert to an application running on the user device. In some aspects, when the charging error condition is a recoverable condition, MCU 240 may send the alert, and/or may pause the charging process until the charging error condition is determined to be corrected. In alternative aspects, MCU 240 may not send the alert when the charging error condition is determined to be a recoverable condition. In some aspects, when the charging error condition is a defective condition, the autonomous power tool may send the alert, but may not attempt to resume the charging process, until direct intervention by the user to correct the charging error condition has occurred.

In aspects, adapter 210 may be configured to connect or interface with an adapter of a charging station (e.g., charging station described with respect to FIG. 1) , and to receive a charging current from the charging station during the self-charging process (as described above) . The charging current received from the charging station is to be delivered to battery 250 during the charging process. In aspects, charging line 262 may be configured to deliver the charging current received by adapter 210 to battery 250. As shown, charging line 262 may include charging line switch 212 and isolation circuitry 222. Isolation circuit 222 may be configured to isolate charging line 262 from bypass line 260. In aspects, switch 212 may include any component and/or circuit configured to provide switching functionality (e.g., a circuit including a diode switch, a transistor switch, and/or any other circuit or electronic component configured to provide switching functionality) . Switch 212 may be configured to selectively enable and/or disable charging line 262. For example, switch 212 may be turned on to enable charging line 262, thereby allowing the charging current to flow from adapter 210 to battery 250. However, switch 212 may be turned off to disable charging line 262, thereby preventing the charging current from flowing from adapter 210 to battery 250. In some aspects, switch 212 may be communicatively coupled to MCU 240. MCU 240 may issue commands to turn switch 212 on or off, in order to enable or disable charging line 262. In this manner, switch 212 may be configured to allow MCU 240 to selectively enable and/or disable charging line 262 and to prevent or allow a charging current to flow from adapter 210 to battery 250. In this manner, MCU 240 may initiate, pause, terminate, and/or resume the self-charging process.

In aspects, system 200 may include bypass line 260. Bypass line 260 may be configured to deliver power from adapter 210 to MCU 240, regardless of whether charging line 262 is enabled or disabled. In this manner, bypass line 260 is configured to ensure that power is provided to MCU 240 even when battery 250 is not being charged, and/or even when battery 250 is depleted. By ensuring that power is provided to MCU 240 while autonomous power tool 110 is connected to a charging station regardless of whether battery 250 is being charged or is depleted, system 200 ensures that MCU 240 is powered up to manage the self-charging process of autonomous power tool 110. As shown, bypass line 260 may include isolation circuitry 220 configured to isolate bypass line 260 from charging line 262.

As shown in FIG. 2, system 200 may include battery voltage sampling circuit 230. Battery voltage sampling circuit 230 may be configured to measure a voltage level of battery 250. The battery voltage level measured by battery voltage sampling circuit 230 may be reported to MCU 240. In aspects, battery voltage sampling circuit 230 may be positioned between battery 250 and charging line isolation circuitry 222. By positioning battery voltage sampling circuit 230 between battery 250 and charging line isolation circuitry 222, system 200 ensures that there is no interference from bypass line 260 when measuring the voltage level of battery 250. If battery voltage sampling circuit 230 were not positioned between battery 250 and charging line isolation circuitry 222, there may be possible interference from bypass line 260 and battery voltage sampling circuit 230 may measure the voltage at adapter 210 instead of battery 250. As such, the innovative design of system 200 ensures that the voltage level measured by battery voltage sampling circuit 230 is more accurate.

Referring to FIG. 3, a schematic diagram illustrating an example of circuitry implementing a battery charging management system for an autonomous power tool in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In particular, FIG. 3 illustrates an example implementation for the various components described with respect to FIG. 2. In this manner, the various blocks representing the various components of system 200 may be implemented using the circuitry illustrated in FIG. 3. For example, adapter 210 may be implemented using Adapter 1 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Switch 212 may be implemented using at least D1 and Q1, which operate to enable and/or disable charging line 262 (e.g., cooperatively with MCU 240) . D15 and D17 may implement isolation circuitry 220 and 222, respectively. Battery voltage sampling circuit 230 may be implemented by the battery voltage detection circuitry illustrated in FIG. 3. As shown, an MCU_VSense signal may be sent to the MCU from this circuitry representing the measured voltage level of the battery (implementing battery 250) .

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary flow diagram of operations of a system configured for managing a battery charging process for an autonomous power tool in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. For example, the functions illustrated in the example blocks shown in FIG. 4 may be performed by system 100 and/or system 200 of FIGS. 1 and 2, according to embodiments herein.

At block 402, an autonomous power tool (e.g., autonomous power tool 110 of FIG. 1) detects a charging error condition during a charging process. For example, the autonomous tool may detect a low-battery level condition, or may determine that autonomous operations have been completed (e.g., a work scheduled may be completed by the autonomous power tool) , and may determine to navigate to a docking station. The autonomous power tool may then initiate a self-charging process to charge the battery. The autonomous power tool may detect that a charging error condition during the self-charging process. In some aspects, the autonomous power tool may determine whether the charging error condition is one of a recoverable charging error condition or a defective charging error condition. For example, the autonomous power tool may determine that the charging error condition is a recoverable charging error condition that may be resolved without user intervention (e.g., the charging error condition may be a battery over-temperature condition or a battery under-temperature condition) , or may determine that the charging error condition is a defective charging error condition that is unrecoverable without user intervention.

At block 404, the autonomous power tool suspends, in response to detecting the charging error condition, the charging process. In aspects, suspending the charging process may include halting, pausing, or otherwise stopping the charging process. In aspects, suspending the charging process may include, at block 406, disabling a charging line configured to deliver a charging current to a battery of the autonomous power tool to prevent the charging current from being delivered to the battery. Disabling the charging line may include turning off a charging line switch that is disposed within the charging line. Turning off the charging line switch may prevent the charging current from flowing to the battery via the charging line.

In aspects, suspending the charging process may also include, at block 408, maintaining a power input to an MCU of the autonomous power tool via a bypass line. In aspects, the bypass line may be configured to bypass the charging line. The bypass line may include circuitry for delivering the power to the MCU, while bypassing the charging line. In this manner, the MCU may receive power from the charging station, whether the charging line is disabled (e.g., in response to an charging error condition) or not. As such, even the battery of the autonomous power tool may be completely depleted, the MCU of the autonomous power tool may operate to control the functionality of the autonomous power tool.

In aspects, the autonomous power tool may generate an alert to notify a user that the error condition has occurred. The alert may include one or more of a visual indication on the autonomous power tool that the error condition has occurred, an audio indication from the autonomous power tool that the error condition has occurred, or an indication transmitted to a user device (e.g., to an application running on the user device) indicating that the error condition has occurred. In some aspect, the alert may include an indication of whether the charging error condition is a recoverable error condition (e.g., an over temperature or under temperature condition of the battery) or a defective error condition (e.g., an error that is not recoverable by the autonomous power tool and that may need direct intervention by the user to be corrected) . In some aspects, when the charging error condition is a defective error condition (e.g., a non-recoverable error condition) , the autonomous power tool may send the alert, but may not attempt to resume the charging process, until direct intervention by the user is determined.

In aspects, the charging line may include a charging line isolation circuit that is configured to isolate the charging line from the bypass line. In aspects, the autonomous power tool may be configured to measure a voltage of the battery using a battery voltage sampling circuit. The battery voltage sampling circuit may be disposed within the charging line between the battery and the charging line isolation circuit, and may provide the measured voltage to the MCU. In these aspects, by positioning the battery voltage sampling circuit between the battery and the isolating circuit of the charging line, the battery voltage sampling circuit may measure the voltage of the battery more accurately, without interference from the voltage at the adapter (e.g., the adapter connecting to the charging station) .

In aspects, the MCU may determine, based on the measured voltage, whether the battery has been fully charged or not. If the battery is determined to not be fully charged, the MCU may determine whether the charging error condition has been corrected and, in response to a determination that the charging error condition has been corrected, resume the charging process until the battery is fully charged. In aspects, resuming the charging process may include enabling the charging line to allow the charging current to be delivered to the battery. For example, the charging line switch may be turned on to allow the charging current to flow to the battery via the charging line. In response to a determination that the battery is fully charged, the MCU may terminate the charging process. In aspects, terminating the charging process may include disabling the charging line to prevent the charging current from being delivered to the battery, and/or causing the autonomous power tool to return to autonomous operations.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification.

Claims

A method of managing a charging process for an autonomous power tool, comprising:

detecting a charging error condition during the charging process;

suspending, in response to detecting the charging error condition, the charging process, wherein suspending the charging process includes:

disabling a charging line configured to deliver a charging current to a battery of the autonomous power tool to prevent the charging current from being delivered to the battery; and

maintaining a power input, using a bypass line, to a control unit (MCU) of the autonomous power tool, the MCU configured to control the charging process for the autonomous power tool.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the charging error condition has been corrected; and

resuming, in response to determining that the charging error condition has been corrected, the charging process, wherein resuming the charging process includes enabling the charging line to allow the charging current to be delivered to the battery.
The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining that a power level of the battery has reached an acceptable operating level; and

terminating the charging process, wherein terminating the charging process includes:

disabling the charging line to prevent the charging current from being delivered to the battery; and

causing the autonomous power tool to return to autonomous operations.
The method of claim 1, wherein disabling the charging line includes turning off a charging line switch disposed within the charging line, wherein turning off the charging line switch prevents the charging current from being delivered to the battery.
The method of claim 1, wherein the charging line includes a charging line isolation circuit configured to isolate the charging line from the bypass line, further comprising:

measuring a voltage of the battery via a battery voltage sampling circuit, wherein the battery voltage sampling circuit is disposed within the charging line between the battery and the charging line isolation circuit; and

providing the measured voltage to the MCU.
The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the charging error condition is one of a recoverable charging error condition or a defective charging error condition, wherein the recoverable charging error condition is recoverable without user intervention, and the defective charging error condition is unrecoverable without user intervention.
The method of claim 6, wherein the recoverable charging error condition includes one of: a battery over-temperature condition, or an under-temperature condition.
The method of claim 6, further comprising:

indicating to a user that the error condition has occurred, wherein indicating that the error condition has occurred includes one or more of:

providing a visual indication on the autonomous power tool that the error condition has occurred;

providing an audio indication from the autonomous power tool that the error condition has occurred; or

transmitting an indication that the error condition has occurred to a user device.
An autonomous power tool comprising:

a charging line configured to deliver a charging current to a battery of the autonomous power tool;

a bypass line configured to deliver a power input to a control unit (MCU) of the autonomous power tool when the charging line is disabled; and

the MCU configured to:

detect a charging error condition during a charging process;

suspend, in response to detecting the charging error condition, the charging process, wherein suspending the charging process includes:

disabling the charging line to prevent the charging current from being delivered to the battery; and

maintaining the power input, using the bypass line, to the MCU while the charging line is disabled.
The autonomous power tool of claim 9, wherein the MCU is further configured to:

determine that the charging error condition has been corrected; and

resume, in response to determining that the charging error condition has been corrected, the charging process, wherein resuming the charging process includes enabling the charging line to allow the charging current to be delivered to the battery.
The autonomous power tool of claim 10, wherein the MCU is further configured to:

determine that a power level of the battery has reached an acceptable operating level; and

terminate the charging process, wherein terminating the charging process includes:

disabling the charging line to prevent the charging current from being delivered to the battery; and

causing the autonomous power tool to return to autonomous operations.
The autonomous power tool of claim 9, wherein disabling the charging line includes turning off a charging line switch disposed within the charging line, wherein turning off the charging line switch prevents the charging current from being delivered to the battery.
The autonomous power tool of claim 9, wherein the charging line includes a charging line isolation circuit configured to isolate the charging line from the bypass line, and further comprising a battery voltage sampling circuit disposed within the charging line between the battery and the charging line isolation circuit, the battery voltage sampling circuit configured to:

measure a voltage of the battery; and

provide the measured voltage to the MCU.
The autonomous power tool of claim 9, wherein the MCU is further configured to determine whether the charging error condition is one of a recoverable charging error condition or a defective charging error condition, wherein the recoverable charging error condition is recoverable without user intervention, and the defective charging error condition is unrecoverable without user intervention.
The autonomous power tool of claim 14, wherein the recoverable charging error condition includes one of: a battery over-temperature condition, or an under-temperature condition.
The autonomous power tool of claim 14, wherein the MCU is further configured to:

indicate to a user that the error condition has occurred, wherein indicating that the error condition has occurred includes one or more of:

providing a visual indication on the autonomous power tool that the error condition has occurred;

providing an audio indication from the autonomous power tool that the error condition has occurred; or

transmitting an indication that the error condition has occurred to a user device.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

detecting a charging error condition during the charging process;

suspending, in response to detecting the charging error condition, the charging process, wherein suspending the charging process includes:

disabling a charging line configured to deliver a charging current to a battery of the autonomous power tool to prevent the charging current from being delivered to the battery; and

maintaining a power input, using a bypass line, to a control unit (MCU) of the autonomous power tool, the MCU configured to control the charging process for the autonomous power tool.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that the charging error condition has been corrected; and

resuming, in response to determining that the charging error condition has been corrected, the charging process, wherein resuming the charging process includes enabling the charging line to allow the charging current to be delivered to the battery.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that a power level of the battery has reached an acceptable operating level; and

terminating the charging process, wherein terminating the charging process includes:

disabling the charging line to prevent the charging current from being delivered to the battery; and

causing the autonomous power tool to return to autonomous operations.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein disabling the charging line includes turning off a charging line switch disposed within the charging line, wherein turning off the charging line switch prevents the charging current from being delivered to the battery.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the charging line includes a charging line isolation circuit configured to isolate the charging line from the bypass line, wherein the operations further comprise:

measuring a voltage of the battery via a battery voltage sampling circuit, wherein the battery voltage sampling circuit is disposed within the charging line between the battery and the charging line isolation circuit; and

providing the measured voltage to the MCU.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise determining whether the charging error condition is one of a recoverable charging error condition or a defective charging error condition, wherein the recoverable charging error condition is recoverable without user intervention, and the defective charging error condition is unrecoverable without user intervention.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the recoverable charging error condition includes one of: a battery over-temperature condition, or an under-temperature condition.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the operations further comprise:

indicating to a user that the error condition has occurred, wherein indicating that the error condition has occurred includes one or more of:

providing a visual indication on the autonomous power tool that the error condition has occurred;

providing an audio indication from the autonomous power tool that the error condition has occurred; or

transmitting an indication that the error condition has occurred to a user device.