Mowing robot with mowing boundary area and grass length recognizer

• US 9,554,507 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2014
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Choi, Sung Lok, Park, Jae Hyun, Yu, Won Pil
• Primary Examiner(s): TORRES, ALICIA M
• Application Number:
  US14/220,579
• Publication Number:
  US 20150096276A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,048 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 34/008 for automated or remotely controlled operation

Abstract

A mowing boundary area recognizing apparatus of a mowing robot includes a ground state measurer configured to acquire environment data of a ground based on a grass length on the ground, a determiner configured to determine the grass length on the ground on a basis of the ground environment data to recognize a mowing boundary area, and a controller configured to adjust running of the mowing robot to a mowing area for which mowing is needed.

Claims

1. A mowing boundary area recognizing apparatus of a mowing robot, the mowing boundary area recognizing apparatus comprising:

a ground state measurer configured to acquire environment data of a ground based on a grass length on the ground;

a determiner configured to determine the grass length on the ground on a basis of the ground environment data to recognize a mowing boundary area; and

a controller configured to control running of the mowing robot to a mowing area for which mowing is needed,

wherein, the ground state measurer comprises a ground slip state measuring unit configured to estimate a friction coefficient of a wheel of the mowing robot on a basis of frictional force of the wheel of the mowing robot, and

when the friction coefficient of the wheel of the mowing robot acquired from the ground slip state measuring unit is equal to or less than a certain value the determiner recognizes the ground as the mowing area.

2. The mowing boundary area recognizing apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the ground slip state measuring unit comprises a slope measuring unit configured to, in a ground having a slope, correct the friction coefficient of the wheel of the mowing robot in consideration of the slope of the ground, and

the determiner determines the mowing area on a basis of the corrected friction coefficient of the ground according to the slope of the ground.

3. A mowing boundary area recognizing method of a mowing robot, the mowing boundary area recognizing method comprising:

acquiring environment data of a ground based on a grass length on the ground;

determining the grass length on the ground on a basis of the ground environment data to recognize a mowing boundary area; and

adjusting running of the mowing robot to a mowing area for which mowing is needed,

wherein the acquiring of environment data comprises;

estimating a friction coefficient of a wheel of the mowing robot on a basis of frictional force of the wheel of the mowing robot; and

recognizing the mowing area on a basis of the estimated friction coefficient of the wheel of the mowing robot.

4. The mowing boundary area recognizing method of claim 3, wherein the estimating of a friction coefficient comprises, in a ground having a slope, correcting the friction coefficient of the wheel of the mowing robot in consideration of the slope of the ground.