Recharge station for mobile robot
First Claim
1. A mobile robot recharging system comprising:
- a mobile robot comprising;
a housing;
a set of wheels for driving;
a motor for driving the wheels;
a processor;
a rechargeable battery;
two charging contacts for recharging said battery;
a first signal receiver; and
a second signal receiver; and
a recharge station comprising;
a housing;
two charging contacts positioned on the surface of the housing such that they complete a battery circuit when they make contact with the two charging contacts of the mobile robot;
a power supply electrically coupled with the charging contacts to provide electrical power thereto;
a first signal emitter positioned within a first channel emitting a first signal in a predetermined range; and
,a second signal emitter positioned within a second channel emitting a second signal, distinguishable from the first signal, in a predetermined range, separate from the predetermined range of the first signal;
wherein the mobile robot is configured to align with the recharge station by detecting the first signal with the first signal receiver and the second signal with the second signal receiver simultaneously, and wherein the first channel and second channel limit the range of the first signal emitter and second signal emitter, respectively, such that the signals from the first signal emitter and the signals from the second signal emitter do not overlap.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A recharge station for a mobile robot and method for navigating to a recharge station. Two signal emitters on the recharge station emit uniquely identifiable signals in two separate ranges. A mobile robot is configured to look for the signals with two signal receivers, a left receiver looking for the signals of the left emitter and a right receiver looking for the signals of the right receiver. Upon sensing the left emitter signals with the left receiver and the right emitter signals with the right receiver, the mobile robot is aligned with the recharge station. The mobile robot is configured to then drive forward until charging contacts on the mobile robot make contact with charging contacts on the recharge station.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A mobile robot recharging system comprising:
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a mobile robot comprising; a housing; a set of wheels for driving; a motor for driving the wheels; a processor; a rechargeable battery; two charging contacts for recharging said battery; a first signal receiver; and a second signal receiver; and a recharge station comprising; a housing; two charging contacts positioned on the surface of the housing such that they complete a battery circuit when they make contact with the two charging contacts of the mobile robot; a power supply electrically coupled with the charging contacts to provide electrical power thereto; a first signal emitter positioned within a first channel emitting a first signal in a predetermined range; and
,a second signal emitter positioned within a second channel emitting a second signal, distinguishable from the first signal, in a predetermined range, separate from the predetermined range of the first signal; wherein the mobile robot is configured to align with the recharge station by detecting the first signal with the first signal receiver and the second signal with the second signal receiver simultaneously, and wherein the first channel and second channel limit the range of the first signal emitter and second signal emitter, respectively, such that the signals from the first signal emitter and the signals from the second signal emitter do not overlap. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method for recharging a mobile robot comprising:
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providing a recharge station comprised of; a housing; two charging contacts positioned on the surface of the housing such that they complete a battery circuit when they make contact with corresponding charging contacts on a mobile robot positioned adjacent to the recharge station; a power supply electrically coupled with the charging contacts to provide electrical power thereto; a left signal emitter positioned in a first channel and emitting a first signal in a predetermined range limited by the first channel; and
,a right signal emitter positioned in a second channel and emitting a second signal, distinguishable from the first signal, in a predetermined range limited by the second channel, separate from the predetermined range of the first signal such that the first signal from the first signal receiver and the second signal from the second signal receiver do not overlap; providing the mobile robot comprising a housing including a set of wheels for driving, a motor for driving the wheels, a processor or control unit for controlling said wheels, a rechargeable battery, at least two charging contacts for recharging said battery, and a left signal receiver and a right signal receiver for receiving signals emitted by the signal emitters of the recharge station; configuring the processor of the mobile robot to seek a state in which the left signal receiver detects the first emitted signal and the right signal receiver detects the second emitted signal simultaneously when the mobile robot is in a recharge seeking mode; upon detecting the first emitted signal by the left signal receiver and the second emitted signal by the right signal receiver simultaneously, controlling the mobile robot to drive forward. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification