Accessories
14
A
UTOMATED
R
ECHARGING
A
CCESSORY
The Pioneer 3-DX automated recharging accessory
5
is both a manual and an automated mechanism. Onboard
controls, triggered either by the
DEPLOY CHARGER
button near the manual
CHARGE
port or by ARCOS-mediated client
commands, deploy actuated contacts on the bottom of the robot, which in turn seat onto the power platform. Then,
when activated by an IR-based, unique frequency-modulated signal from the robot, the power platform delivers up to 17
VDC @ 11.5 A to its plates.
Manual Operation (Robot Power OFF)
With
MAIN POWER
off, place the robot over the power platform so that its charging contacts are perpendicular to and,
when deployed, contact the charger plates. Note that no charging power is applied to the plates on the platform; only
low signal (5VDC @ <300mA) power for the IR detectors.
Press and hold the
DEPLOY CHARGER
button to manually deploy the power-contact mechanism on the bottom of the
robot. Hold for a few seconds, but not more than 10 seconds. Charging is activated by positive contact with the power
platform. In that case, the charge lamp on the power unit will light and the robot's contacts will remain deployed when
you release the
DEPLOY CHARGER
button. Otherwise, the mechanism will retract. In that case, re-position the robot
and try again.
The robot's power-contact mechanism automatically retracts if you press the
DEPLOY CHARGER
button while charging, if
you move the robot on the power platform and lose positive charging contact, or if you remove power from the power
unit. In all cases, charging power is removed immediately from the power platform when not actively engaged by the
robot.
Manual Operation (Robot Power and Systems ON)
Because the automated recharging system’s integrated circuitry actively adjusts to system loads, it can run your robot's
onboard systems while properly and optimally recharging its batteries. And because the charging mechanism may be
operated independently of your robot's systems power, you may start up and shut down your robot and its onboard
systems without disturbing the battery charging cycle, if engaged.
For example, with
MAIN POWER
on, use JoyDrive mode to position the robot onto the power platform. Then manually
deploy the power-contact mechanism as described in the section above. Thereafter, switch
MAIN POWER
off, or
conversely, start up and shut down other onboard systems, including the PC, camera, laser and other accessories, to
proceed with development work without disturbing battery recharging.
The same conditions apply to remove power and retract the robot's power-contact mechanism with the robot’s
MAIN
POWER
on as well as off. Since the ARCOS microcontroller always is active while the robot’s power is on, you also may
connect and disconnect a client program, run in maintenance mode, or engage JoyDrive mode. However, engaging the
motors, such as when you press the “fire” button on the joystick, immediately and automatically removes charging
power and retracts the power-contact mechanism. And the mechanism will not activate manually via the
DEPLOY
CHARGER
button until you disengage the motors.
R
ADIO
C
ONTROLS AND
A
CCESSORIES
All Adept MobileRobots platforms are servers in a client-server architecture. You supply the client software to run your
intelligent mobile-robot applications. The client can run on either an onboard piggy-back laptop or embedded PC, or an
off-board PC connected through radio modems or wireless serial Ethernet. In all cases, that client PC must connect to
the internal
HOST
or User Control Panel
SERIAL
port in order for the robot and your software to work.
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The power-contact mechanism and onboard power conditioning circuitry can be retrofitted to all Pioneer 3 and some
Pioneer 2 and Performance PeopleBot robots. All require return to the factory.
