Celestial navigation system for an autonomous vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10990110-B2
Application number	US-202017037057-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 29, 2020
Priority date	Jul 7, 2004
Publication date	Apr 27, 2021
Grant date	Apr 27, 2021

Abstract

A navigation control system for an autonomous vehicle comprises a transmitter and an autonomous vehicle. The transmitter comprises an emitter for emitting at least one signal, a power source for powering the emitter, a device for capturing wireless energy to charge the power source, and a printed circuit board for converting the captured wireless energy to a form for charging the power source. The autonomous vehicle operates within a working area and comprises a receiver for detecting the at least one signal emitted by the emitter, and a processor for determining a relative location of the autonomous vehicle within the working area based on the signal emitted by the emitter.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An autonomous robotic cleaning device comprising:
a robot body;
a drive supporting the robot body above a floor surface within a room and configured to maneuver the robot body across the floor surface;
a cleaning apparatus to clean the floor surface; and
one or more processors configured to:
navigate the autonomous robotic cleaning device based on a map, the map indicating areas with carpeting and indicating areas that do not have carpeting,
sense a location of the autonomous robotic cleaning device relative to the areas with carpeting and the areas that do not have carpeting; and
adjust a cleaning behavior of the autonomous robotic cleaning device based on the sensed location relative to the areas with carpeting and the areas that do not have carpeting; and
transmit data to cause a user display device to display a floor plan that comprises a plurality of rooms, the plurality of rooms comprising the room, and the displayed floor plan comprising an identification of the areas with carpeting and the areas that do not have carpeting and an indication of doors separating the plurality of rooms.

2. The autonomous robotic cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein the configurations of the one or more processors to adjust the cleaning behavior based on the sensed location comprise configurations to avoid the areas with carpeting.

3. The autonomous robotic cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein the autonomous robotic cleaning device is configured to transmit data indicating portions of the floor surface that the autonomous robotic cleaning device has traversed and portions of the floor surface that the autonomous robotic cleaning device has not traversed.

4. The autonomous robotic cleaning device of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor to detect obstacles within the room, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:
indicate, on the map, an entrapment area based on an output from the sensor while navigating the autonomous robotic cleaning device during a first cleaning run, and then
control the autonomous robotic cleaning device using the map to avoid the entrapment area during a second cleaning run.

5. The autonomous robotic cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning apparatus is configured for floor scrubbing, sweeping, and vacuuming.

6. The autonomous robotic cleaning device of claim 1 , further comprising an upward-angled camera positioned on a top of the robot body and directed at least partially away from a ceiling of the room to capture visible points on wall surfaces within the room.

7. The autonomous robotic cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to
assign a name to the room and another name to another room of the plurality of rooms based on signals indicative of user registrations of the name and the other name,
determine an order to clean the room and the other room based on signals indicative of a user selection of the name and the other name, and
control the autonomous robotic cleaning device to clean the room and the other room in accordance to the order.

8. An method comprising:
navigating an autonomous robotic cleaning device based on a map, the map indicating areas with carpeting and indicating areas that do not have carpeting;
sensing a location of the autonomous robotic cleaning device relative to the areas with carpeting and the areas that do not have carpeting;
adjusting a cleaning behavior of the autonomous robotic cleaning device based on the sensed location relative to the areas with carpeting and the areas that do not have carpeting; and
transmitting data to cause a user display device to display a floor plan that includes a plurality of rooms, the displayed floor plan including an identification of the areas with carpeting and the areas that do not have carpeting and an indication of doors separating the plurality of rooms.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein adjusting the cleaning behavior based on the sensed location comprises adjusting the cleaning behavior of the autonomous robotic cleaning device to avoid the areas with carpeting.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising transmitting data indicating portions of the a floor surface that the autonomous robotic cleaning device has traversed and portions of the floor surface that the autonomous robotic cleaning device has not traversed.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
indicating, on the map, an entrapment area based on receiving an output from an obstacle detection sensor while navigating the autonomous robotic cleaning device during a first cleaning run, and then
controlling the autonomous robotic cleaning device using the map to avoid the entrapment area during a second cleaning run.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the autonomous robotic cleaning device comprises a cleaning apparatus configured for floor scrubbing, sweeping, and vacuuming.

13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising capturing visible points on wall surfaces within the plurality of rooms using an upward-angled camera positioned on a top of a robot body of the autonomous robotic cleaning device and directed at least partially away from a ceiling of the plurality of rooms.

14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
assigning a name to a room of the plurality of rooms and another name to another room of the plurality of rooms based on signals indicative of user registrations of the names, and
determining an order to clean the room and the other room based on signals indicative of a user selection of the name and the other name, and
controlling the autonomous robotic cleaning device to clean the room and the other room in accordance to the order.

Assignees

• Irobot Corp
• Robot Corp

Inventors

• Chiappetta Mark J

Classifications

• B60W2420/403

  Image sensing, e.g. optical camera · CPC title

• G05D1/43

  Control of position or course in two dimensions [2D] · CPC title

• G05D1/226

  Communication links with the remote-control arrangements · CPC title

• G05D2111/14

  Non-visible signals, e.g. IR or UV signals · CPC title

• G05D1/247

  using signals provided by artificial sources external to the vehicle, e.g. navigation beacons · CPC title