Navigation device and method for auto-docking of a robot

• US 9,069,357 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2013
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ASUSTek Computer, Inc.
• Original Assignee: ASUSTek Computer, Inc.
• Inventors: Hsu, Cheng-Chung, Lai, Ming-lu
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nolan, Peter D
• Application Number:
  US13/911,083
• Publication Number:
  US 20130338853A1
• Time in Patent Office: 754 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/003 having parallel kinematics
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0225 involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay parking aids B62D15/027
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/028 using a RF signal

Abstract

A robot device includes a base station and a robot. The base station transmits guiding signals. The robot receives the guiding signal by three receivers. A receiver is disposed at the robot, and the other two receivers are disposed at the right and left of the receiver at different angles. The robot bypasses toward right or left according to the guiding signal received by the receivers. When the strength of the guiding signal received by the central receiver decreases, the robot stops bypassing to spin and searches the guiding signal again till the strength of the guiding signal received by the central receiver is a maximum value. The robot has a fine tuning to return to the base station to have a charge.

Claims

1. A robot device, comprising:

a base station used for transmitting a guiding signal; and

a robot including a first receiver, a second receiver and a third receiver, wherein the first receiver, the second receiver and the third receiver are used to receive the guiding signal, the second receiver and the third receiver are disposed at right and left of the first receiver of the robot at different angles, respectively;

wherein the robot determines to bypass towards right or left according to the guiding signals received by the second receiver and the third receiver; and

in the bypassing of the robot, the robot stops bypassing at a first position when the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver decreases or is reduced to zero,

wherein when the strength of the guiding signal received by the second receiver is larger than the strength of the guiding signal received by the third receiver, the robot bypasses towards left, the robot keeps bypassing when the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver continually increases, and the robot stops bypassing when the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver decreases;

wherein when the strength of the guiding signal received by the second receiver is smaller than the strength of the guiding signal received by the third receiver, the robot bypasses toward right, and the robot keeps bypassing when the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver gradually increases, and the robot stops at the first position when the guiding signal received by the first receiver decreases.

2. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein in the bypassing of the robot, the robot stops bypassing and turns to bypass at another side of the robot when the guiding signal received by the first receiver gradually decreases.

3. The robot device according to claim 2, wherein when the strength of the guiding signal received by the second receiver is smaller than the strength of the guiding signal received by the third receiver, the robot bypasses toward the right of the robot, when the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver continuously decreases, the robot turns from a second position to bypass toward the left of the robot till the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver first increases and then diminishes, and then the robot stops bypassing at the first position.

4. The robot device according to claim 3, wherein after the robot stops bypassing, the robot spins till the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver is a maximum in spinning, and then the robot stops spinning.

5. The robot device according to claim 2, wherein when the strength of the guiding signal received by the second receiver is larger than the strength of the guiding signal received by the third receiver, the robot bypasses towards left, when the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver gradually decreases, the robot turns from the second position to bypass toward the right of the robot till the strength of guiding signal received by the first receiver increases firstly and then decreases, and then the robot stops bypassing at the first position.

6. The robot device according to claim 5, wherein after the robot stops bypassing, the robot spins till the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver is a maximum in spinning.

7. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein the robot spins when the robot stops bypassing at the first position, and the robot spins till the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver is a maximum value in spinning, and then the robot stops spinning.

8. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein after the robot stops bypassing, the robot spins till the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver is a maximum in spinning, and then the robot stops spinning.

9. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein the robot bypasses along a curved trace.

10. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein the robot further includes a collision sensor, and the collision sensor is triggered to stop the robot when the robot collides the base station.

11. The robot device according to claim 1 wherein the robot further includes a signal transmitting element used for transmitting a continuous signal to start the base station to charge the robot when the robot docks with the base station.

12. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein after the robot stops spinning, the robot moves towards the base station while adjusting direction and speed.

13. The robot device according to claim 12, wherein after the robot stops spinning, when the robot moves towards the base station, the direction in moving forward is adjusted according to the strength of the guiding signals received by the second receiver and the third receiver, so as to make the strength difference of the guiding signals received by the second receiver and the third receiver is smaller than a threshold.

14. The robot device according to claim 12, wherein after the robot stops spinning, the moving speed is adjusted according to the strength of the guiding signal received by the first receiver when the robot moves towards the base station.

15. The robot device according to claim 12, wherein when the robot stops spinning and moves towards the base station, the robot corrects a bypass trace when the strength difference of the guiding signals received by the second receiver and the third receiver is larger than the threshold, and the robot does not stop correcting the trace until the strength difference of the guiding signal received by the second receiver and the third receiver is smaller than the threshold or the time for correcting the trace is over a preset time.