Autonomous robot auto-docking and energy management systems and methods
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An autonomous mobile floor cleaning robot for cleaning a surface, the robot comprising:
- a housing having a bottom;
a motive system operative to propel the robot across the surface;
an induction charging system including a receiver coil in the housing proximate the bottom of the housing, the receiver coil being configured to be inductively coupled to a transmitter coil in a charging dock to charge the robot via electromagnetic induction, the receiver coil including at least one concentrically spirally wound planar wire at least partially proximate a lateral side of the housing; and
a cleaning system operative to clean the surface as the robot traverses the surface, the cleaning system including an evacuation port located in the bottom of the housing to release debris from the robot, wherein the evacuation port is laterally outside an outer diameter of the receiver coil.
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Abstract
A method for docking an autonomous mobile floor cleaning robot with a charging dock, the robot including a receiver coil and a structured light sensor, the charging dock including a docking bay and a transmitter coil, includes: positioning the robot in a prescribed docked position in the docking bay using the structured light sensor and by sensing a magnetic field emanating from the transmitter coil; and thereafter induction charging the robot using the receiver coil and the transmitter coil with the robot in the docked position.
57 Citations
22 Claims
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1. An autonomous mobile floor cleaning robot for cleaning a surface, the robot comprising:
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a housing having a bottom; a motive system operative to propel the robot across the surface; an induction charging system including a receiver coil in the housing proximate the bottom of the housing, the receiver coil being configured to be inductively coupled to a transmitter coil in a charging dock to charge the robot via electromagnetic induction, the receiver coil including at least one concentrically spirally wound planar wire at least partially proximate a lateral side of the housing; and a cleaning system operative to clean the surface as the robot traverses the surface, the cleaning system including an evacuation port located in the bottom of the housing to release debris from the robot, wherein the evacuation port is laterally outside an outer diameter of the receiver coil. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. An autonomous mobile robot, comprising:
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a housing having a bottom; a motive system operative to propel the robot across a surface; an induction charging system including a receiver coil in the housing proximate the bottom of the housing, the receiver coil including at least one concentrically spirally wound planar wire at least partially proximate a lateral side of the housing and configured to enable inductive charging; and an evacuation port located in the bottom of the housing and laterally outside an outer diameter of the receiver coil; wherein the housing includes a bottom wall separating the receiver coil from the surface. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification