Autonomous robot

• US 9,079,303 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2013
• Issued: 07/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mtd Products Incorporated (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: F Robotics Acquisitions Ltd. (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Inventors: Abramson, Shai, Ikar, Ido
• Primary Examiner(s): PATTON, SPENCER D
• Application Number:
  US13/918,924
• Publication Number:
  US 20130274920A1
• Time in Patent Office: 759 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 34/008 for automated or remotely controlled operation
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/00 Watering gardens, fields, sports grounds or the like special apparatus or adaptations for fertilising-liquids A01C23/00; nozzles or outlets, spraying apparatus B05B
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/00 Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/0003 Home robots, i.e. small robots for domestic use
• 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 1/0265 using buried wires
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5458 Monitor sensor; Alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/54 Systems for transmission via power distribution lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/548 the power on the line being DC arrangements for feeding power H04L12/10; extracting feeding power from signals H04L25/02
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

A robot designed for scanning within a work area, wherein the robot travels inside the work area in successive paths. The robot operates to scan the work area using a first scanning mode and monitors the length of each of the paths traveled by the robot. The robot than switches from the first scanning mode to a second scanning mode when an obstacle is encountered on a minimum number of consecutive said paths each having a length between a first threshold distance and a longer, second threshold distance. The robot switches back to the first scanning mode when the length of one of the paths has increased to more than the second threshold distance.

Claims

1. A method for scanning, by a robot, a work area to be covered by the robot, wherein the robot travels inside the work area in successive paths, each initiated when the robot changes direction, the method comprising:

scanning the work area using a first scanning mode;

monitoring the length of each of the paths traveled by the robot;

switching from the first scanning mode to a second scanning mode when an obstacle is encountered on a minimum number of consecutive said paths each having a length between a first threshold distance and a longer, second threshold distance; and

,

switching back to the first scanning mode when the length of one of the paths has increased to more than the second threshold distance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first scanning mode comprises:

the robot traveling in a random walk pattern, and,

wherein the second scanning mode comprises the robot traveling in a pattern comprising alternating pairs of essentially parallel paths, wherein a first one of the paths in each of the alternating pairs is oriented at an angle between approximately 120 and 240 degrees from the angle of the immediately previous one of the paths.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, if a predetermined number of consecutive paths traveled by the robot are each shorter than the first threshold distance, determining that the robot has reached a corner, in response to which the robot performs a maneuver to exit from the corner.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the robot changes direction in the first scanning mode and in the second scanning mode when a work area boundary is encountered and when an obstacle is encountered.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the minimum number of consecutive paths is at least two.