FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure relates to a recharge station for a mobile robot, and more particularly, to methods for navigating a mobile robot to a recharge station.

BACKGROUND

Various types of mobile robots are used in home and commercial settings to carry out routine tasks like vacuuming, mopping, and polishing floors. These robots and other robotic devices are often powered by rechargeable batteries that must be periodically recharged. A mobile robot may be recharged manually by connecting the robot to a charging apparatus. However, it may be more desirable to have method for a mobile robot to autonomously recharge itself without when needed without any human intervention.

SUMMARY

Some aspects provide a recharging station of a mobile robot including: a housing; at least one charging contact for connecting with at least one charging contact of the mobile robot to charge a battery of the mobile robot; a power supply electrically coupled with the charging contacts to provide electrical power thereto; a first signal emitter emitting a first signal in a predetermined range; and a second signal emitter emitting a second signal in a predetermined range, separate from the predetermined range of the first signal, such that the signals from the first signal emitter and the signals from the second signal emitter do not overlap.

Some aspects include a method for recharging a mobile robot, including: emitting, with a first signal emitter of a recharging station, a first signal; emitting, with a second signal emitting of the recharging station, a second signal, wherein the signals from the first signal emitter and the signals from the second signal emitter do not overlap; and aligning, with a processor of the mobile robot, the mobile robot with the recharging station by seeking a state in which a first signal receiver of the mobile robot receives the first signal and a second signal receiver of the mobile robot receives the second signal simultaneously.

