Recharge station for mobile robot

1. A system, comprising:

a mobile robot, comprising:

at least one charging contact;

a battery;

at least a first signal receiver; and

a recharging station, comprising:

at least one charging contact for connecting with the at least one charging contact of the mobile robot to charge the battery of the mobile robot;

a power supply electrically coupled with the at least one charging contact to provide electrical power thereto;

at least a first signal emitter emitting a first signal in a first predetermined range; and

a second signal emitter emitting a second signal;

wherein:

the mobile robot aligns with the recharging station based on at least the first signal received by the first signal receiver of the mobile robot;

the mobile robot is actuated to adjust a direction of movement of the mobile robot based on at least the first signal received by the first signal receiver of the mobile robot; and

the mobile robot is positioned to drive in a forward direction and dock with the recharging station when the first signal receiver detects the first signal and the second signal receiver detects the second signal simultaneously.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the mobile robot further comprises a second signal receiver; and

the mobile robot is positioned to drive in a forward direction and dock with the recharging station when the first signal receiver and the second signal receiver detect signals simultaneously.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the second signal emitter emits the second signal in a second predetermined range, different from the predetermined range of the first signal.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first signal and the second signal are differentiated from one another based on any of a color of a signal, a carrier frequency of a signal, a modulation of a signal, a bit pattern of a signal, and a wavelength of a signal.

5. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first signal and the second signal do not overlap.

6. The system of claim 2 , wherein the mobile robot executes predetermined navigational instructions when the first signal or the second signal is received by the first signal receiver and the second signal receiver simultaneously.

7. The system of claim 2 , wherein receiving the second signal by the first signal receiver and no signal by the second signal receiver causes the mobile robot to turn in a clockwise direction a predetermined number of degrees or until the second signal receiver receives the second signal and then turn in a counterclockwise direction until the first signal receiver receives the first signal and the second signal receiver receives the second signal.

8. The system of claim 2 , wherein receiving the first signal by the second signal receiver and no signal by the first signal receiver causes the mobile robot to turn in a counterclockwise direction a predetermined number of degrees or until the first signal receiver receives the first signal and then turn in a clockwise direction until the second signal receiver receives the second signal and the first signal receiver receives the first signal.

9. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first signal emitter is positioned in a first channel and the second signal emitter is positioned in a second channel.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first channel limits the range of the first signal emitter and the second channel limits the range of the second signal emitter such that the first signal and the second signal do not overlap.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the mobile robot is aligned with the recharging station when the mobile robot is positioned to dock with the recharging station; and

the mobile robot drives forward until the at least one charging contact of the mobile robot connects with the at least one charging contact of the recharging station.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein a driving speed of the mobile robot is reduced when the mobile robot approaches the recharging station for docking.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mobile robot uses SLAM to navigate to a general location of the recharge station for docking then more precisely aligns with the recharging station based on signals received by at least the first signal receiver.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the recharging station comprises baffles for limiting the range of at least the first signal and preventing signal reflections from creating false signals.

15. A method for recharging a mobile robot, comprising:

emitting, with a first signal emitter of a recharging station, a first signal; and

actuating, with a processor of the mobile robot, the mobile robot to adjust a direction of movement based on at least the first signal received by at least a first signal receiver of the mobile robot; and

actuating, with the processor, the mobile robot to drive in a forward direction and dock with the recharging station when the first signal receiver and a second signal receiver detect signals simultaneously.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein:

the recharging station further comprises a second signal emitter emitting a second signal; and

the method further comprises:

actuating, with the processor, the mobile robot to drive in a forward direction and dock with the recharging station when the first signal receiver detects the first signal and the second signal receiver detects the second signal simultaneously.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein:

the mobile robot drives in the forward direction until at least one charging contact of the mobile robot connects with at least one charging contact of the recharging station; and

a driving speed of the mobile robot is reduced when the mobile robot approaches the recharging station for docking.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the mobile robot uses SLAM to navigate to a general location of the recharge station to dock then more precisely aligns with the recharging station based on signals received by at least the first signal receiver.