Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Jin Nishimura

Toshiaki Kawakami

Makoto Yamamura

Junichi Eguchi

Yuki Matsui

Toshio Inoue

Takumi Shiiyama

Naoki Kameyama

Takuya Kanisawa

Takahide Konchi

Kouichi Okada

George Murakami

Haruna Minawa

An autonomous work vehicle is adapted to be guided by a signal emitted by a wire disposed at a working area. The autonomous work vehicle includes a control unit comprising a processor, and at least one sensor detecting the signal emitted by the wire. The wire includes an area wire surrounding the working area, and a shortcut wire disposed inside the working area. When the at least one sensor detects the shortcut wire while the autonomous work vehicle is tracing the area wire at a predetermined variable distance, the control unit is configured to control the autonomous work vehicle to trace the shortcut wire at a predetermined variable distance.

Travel route control of autonomous work vehicle

An autonomous work vehicle including a positioning information obtaining unit including a GNSS receiver acquiring a position of the autonomous work vehicle, a driving unit including a motor, a memory storing position coordinates used to establish an entry avoidance zone, and a control unit including a processor. The control unit is configured to function as a zone entry judgement unit determining whether the autonomous work vehicle has approached the entry avoidance zone, and a zone entry validation unit determining whether the determination by the zone entry judgement unit that the autonomous work vehicle has approached the entry avoidance zone is valid. When the zone entry judgement unit determines that the autonomous work vehicle has approached the entry avoidance zone, and the zone entry validation unit determines that the determination by the zone entry judgement unit is valid, the control unit controls the autonomous work vehicle to perform an avoidance maneuver.

Travel route control of autonomous work vehicle using global navigation satellite system

A charging control system includes a lawn mower that includes a battery and performs a lawn mowing work while traveling autonomously, and a charging station for charging the battery. The lawn mower includes a superimposing unit for superimposing, on a charging current, a current indicating period information for defining a shutoff period of supply power to be supplied from the charging station. The charging station includes a current detector for detecting the charging current, an information acquisition unit for acquiring period information based on a detection result of the current detector, a switch for shutting off the supply power, and a shutoff controller for controlling the operation of the switch. The shutoff controller releases the shutoff of supply of power to the lawn mower based on the period information acquired by the information acquisition unit. Therefore, the power consumption of the lawn mower can be reduced.

Charging control system, charging station, autonomous traveling work machine, and charging control system control method

In an apparatus for controlling operation of an autonomously navigating utility vehicle adapted to run about a working area defined by a boundary wire which generates magnetic field therearound when supplied with electric current and having a magnetic sensor that produces an output indicating intensity of magnetic field generated by the boundary wire and a position determining unit that determine a position of the vehicle with respect to the working area based on the output of the magnetic sensor, a coded data signal determined to be inherent to the working area is generated and supplied to the electric current, and the position determining unit detects the data signal and determines the position of the vehicle based on a rate of concordance of the detected data signal and a reference signal.

Control, apparatus for autonomously navigating utility vehicle

In a charging station for charging a battery installed on an autonomously navigating utility vehicle equipped with a prime mover powered by the battery to travel about a working area delineated by a boundary wire, there are provided with a pair of charging terminals installed on the station to be capable of connecting with a pair of charging terminals installed on the vehicle, a first wire installed on the station at a location inside of the working area and being formed as a circular shape having a center, and a second wire installed on the station to be formed as a shape that is symmetrical with respect to a center line obtained by connecting a midpoint of the terminals and the center of the first wire.

Charging station and charging station guide for autonomously navigating utility vehicle

In an unmanned autonomous operating system having a station provided with a signal generator for supplying an area signal in electric pulse current to an area wire that defines an operating area, and an unmanned autonomous vehicle having magnetic sensors for detecting a magnetic field generated by the area wire and a microcomputer programmed to recognize the operating area from the detected magnetic field, a selection mechanism is installed at the station that outputs one of area signals from the signal generator in response to a selection of a user, one of the area signals generated from the signal generator is registered, and the operating area is recognized based on the registered area signal.

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Wako, Japan

Jin Nishimura