Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Renu Robotics Corporation

Tim A Matus

Michael Odell Blanton, Jr

Bruce Patrick Albrecht

Bernard J Vogel

James F Ulrich

Kristopher Charles Kozak

Marc Christopher Alban

Tony Padgett

Jeff Dayov

Michael D Eyman

Richard Martin Hutchison

Joseph C Schneider

Gerd Huismann

Lin Zhang

Peter Hennecke

Rick Hutchison

Joe Schneider

John Henry Gold

Lori L Kuiper

Mark Andrew Ulrich

Kenneth Austin Stanzel

David E Lambert

Troy A Sommerfeld

Sean Moran

Ken Stanzel

A grounds maintenance system comprising: a robot tractor comprising; a robot body; a drive system including one or more motorized drive wheels to propel the robot body; a control system coupled to the drive system, the control system configurable to store a mow plan that specifies a set of paths to be traversed for a grounds maintenance operation and control the drive system to autonomously traverse the set of paths to implement the mow plan; a battery system comprising one or more batteries housed in the robot body; and a low-profile mowing deck coupled to the robot body, the mowing deck adapted to tilt and lift relative to the robot body, wherein the control system is configured to control tilting and lifting of the mowing deck and cutting by the mowing deck.

System and method for automated grounds maintenance

Disclosed herein is an autonomous vehicle comprising at least one subsystem capable of determining a location corresponding to a connectable tool; determining an orientation for interconnecting with the connectable tool; aligning the autonomous vehicle for interconnecting with the connectable tool based on the location and the orientation of the connectable tool; engaging the connectable tool at one or more physical connection points and at least one electrical connection point; and establishing power line modem (PLM) communications between the autonomous vehicle and the connectable tool via an electrical power connection resulting from the engaging the at least one electrical connection point; and, before commencing full power operations over said electrical power connection, determining that the electrical power connection is without current diversion by transmitting a fixed amount of non-lethal electrical power from the autonomous vehicle to the connectable tool via the electrical power connection and determining whether the difference between the power transmitted by the autonomous vehicle and the power received by the connectable tool exceeds a threshold for indicating current diversion.

Autonomous vehicle connected tool interchange systems and methods

Disclosed herein is autonomous vehicle charging station featuring self-cleaning contact points, power flow safety features, and electrical connection testing (meeting minimum performance thresholds) for safe and efficient power transfer from the charging station to the autonomous vehicle. After docking, power line modem (PLM) communications are established between the autonomous vehicle and the charging station via an electrical power connection resulting from the docking act as an initial test of connectivity, and then the electrical power connection is determined to be safe with non-lethal power flow before charging the autonomous vehicle.

Autonomous vehicle charging station

Disclosed are solutions for proactively sensing the condition of the ground in the path of the autonomous vehicle in order to mitigate the risks of an autonomous vehicle encountering troublesome terrain, navigation obstacles, and other potential risks to the continued uninterrupted operation of said autonomous vehicle. Accordingly, various implementations disclosed herein are directed to the use of ground analysis sensors to assist in the detection of navigationally difficult terrain including, for example, the use of cantilevered sensors operating well in front of the autonomous vehicle's front wheels (drive wheels or otherwise).

Autonomous vehicle terrain prediction and detection

Disclosed herein are solar-based semi-mobile recharge skids ('solar skids') for augmenting on-site fixed charging stations and/or mobile recharge stations, as well as for autonomous operation—that is, the solar skids may operate in conjunction with fixed charging stations, mobile recharge stations, both, or neither (i.e., operating independently). These solar skids are able to supply DC power for charging high-power electric-based autonomous vehicles—including providing variable charging power levels if needed—in a relatively short period of time and at relatively low cost. Various implementations are also directed to modular—based solar skids that can be interconnected for even higher levels and greater availability of recharge power.

Solar-based semi-mobile recharge skid

An autonomous mowing system comprising: a memory configured to hold a set of path data defining a set of paths, the set of paths comprising a transit path to a maintenance area and a set of mow paths to cover the maintenance area; a processor coupled to the memory; a computer-readable medium coupled to the processor, the computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions executable by the processor, the set of instructions comprising instructions for: using the set of path data, determining a plurality of candidate routes that traverse the transit path and fully cover the maintenance area and a total cost for each of the plurality of candidate routes; determining a least cost route from the plurality of candidate routes; and configuring an autonomous mower to follow the least cost route to mow the maintenance area.

Autonomous vehicle systems and methods

Methods, controllers, and power sources for controlling weld states of a MIG welding machine having a 115 volt inverter are provided. The regulation of a power source may include determining a command current signal based on a maximum allowable voltage error determined from the output condition at the weld. The signal may be provided to a controller that regulates the output of the 115 volt inverter. A MIG welding power source may include the 115 volt inverter and a processor that determines a maximum allowable voltage offset from a voltage feedback signal and a voltage level. The processor may provide a signal based on a determined instantaneous command current to regulate the 115 volt inverter.

Method and apparatus for controlling weld states of a MIG welding process

An apparatus and method of manufacturing a plasma torch consumable is disclosed. The invention includes at least two of a tip, a shielding cup, an electrode, and a swirl ring being integral to form a unitary one-piece assembly prior to being attached to the torch. Such a construction minimizes the number of parts that must be handled and orientated when connecting the consumable assembly to a plasma torch.

One-piece consumable assembly

A welder having an internal shielding gas regulator is disclosed. The welder has an internal gas cylinder and an internal regulator disposed in an enclosure. The welder may be equipped with an auxiliary shielding gas cylinder inlet so that a bulk shielding gas cylinder can be attached thereto and have a flow therefrom regulated by the internal shielding gas regulator. The welder constructed according to the invention is highly transportable, compact, and self-sufficient.

Welder with internal shielding gas regulator

An appartus and method for a stud welder power source is disclosed. The power source has a control circuit connected to an inverter which converts an electrical signal from a power source into an electrical signal that can perform stud welding. The inverter conditions the power signal such that a current of at least 1000 amps can be generated nearly instantaneously. Additionally, having a power source that includes a control circuit with an inverter allows for a smaller and lighter appartus when compared to known stud welders.

Stud welder

Methods and systems for clearing short circuits during a MIG welding process are disclosed. A method may include detecting a short circuit and increasing output current of a power source at a first ramp rate to clear the short circuit. The method further includes increasing output current at a second ramp rate after the output current reaches a threshold. Power sources and systems implementing the method are also provided.

Growing community of inventors

San Antonio, TX, United States of America

Tim A Matus