Lawn care robot
First Claim
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1. A robot lawnmower swath edge detector system comprising:
- a controller carried by a body of a robot; and
a grass length sensor carried by the body of the robot and in communication with the controller, the grass length sensor comprising;
a sensor housing defining a cavity and a cavity opening directly downward configured to allow grass entry into the cavity while inhibiting direct sunlight into the cavity;
an emitter carried by the housing in the cavity and configured to emit an emission across the cavity opening; and
a receiver carried by the housing and configured to receive a grass-reflected emission, the receiver positioned in the cavity in a position where the housing blocks direct sunlight and the receiver positioned in the cavity on substantially the same side of the housing as the emitter in a location relative to the emitter such that the receiver receives emissions reflected from grass penetrating into the cavity;
wherein the controller compares outputs from multiple ones of the grass length sensors to determine a swath edge location.
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Abstract
A robot lawnmower includes a body and a drive system carried by the body and configured to maneuver the robot across a lawn. The robot also includes a grass cutter and a swath edge detector, both carried by the body. The swath edge detector is configured to detect a swath edge between cut and uncut grass while the drive system maneuvers the robot across the lawn while following a detected swath edge. The swath edge detector includes a calibrator that monitors uncut grass for calibration of the swath edge detector. In some examples, the calibrator comprises a second swath edge detector.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A robot lawnmower swath edge detector system comprising:
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a controller carried by a body of a robot; and a grass length sensor carried by the body of the robot and in communication with the controller, the grass length sensor comprising; a sensor housing defining a cavity and a cavity opening directly downward configured to allow grass entry into the cavity while inhibiting direct sunlight into the cavity; an emitter carried by the housing in the cavity and configured to emit an emission across the cavity opening; and a receiver carried by the housing and configured to receive a grass-reflected emission, the receiver positioned in the cavity in a position where the housing blocks direct sunlight and the receiver positioned in the cavity on substantially the same side of the housing as the emitter in a location relative to the emitter such that the receiver receives emissions reflected from grass penetrating into the cavity; wherein the controller compares outputs from multiple ones of the grass length sensors to determine a swath edge location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification