Docking station for autonomous floor cleaner

A docking station for an autonomous floor cleaner, comprising:

• a housing having a bottom side on which the docking station rests;
• charging contacts disposed on the housing configured to charge a battery of the autonomous floor cleaner;
• a plurality of docking signal transmitters within the housing configured to transmit light signals that are detectable by the autonomous floor cleaner, the plurality of docking signal transmitters comprising:
• a center transmitter configured to emit at least one light signal within a first transmission zone;
• a right transmitter disposed laterally of the center transmitter and configured to emit at least one light signal within a second transmission zone;
• and
• a left transmitter disposed laterally of the center transmitter and configured to emit at least one light signal within a third transmission zone;
• a shroud within the housing, the shroud comprising:
• a center shroud section enclosing the center transmitter and defining a first light chamber, the center shroud section comprising an opaque first wall around the center transmitter and a first aperture in the first wall through which light is emittable, the first aperture defining a direction and angle of the first transmission zone;
• a right shroud section enclosing the right transmitter and defining a second light chamber, the right shroud section comprising an opaque second wall around the right transmitter and a second aperture in the second wall through which light is emittable, the second aperture defining a direction and angle of the second transmission zone;
• and
• a left shroud section enclosing the left transmitter and defining a third light chamber, the left shroud section comprising an opaque third wall around the left transmitter and a third aperture in the third wall through which light is emittable, the third aperture defining a direction and angle of the third transmission zone.

A method for docking an autonomous floor cleaner with a docking station, the autonomous floor cleaner having a plurality of distance sensors configured to detect obstacles, the method comprising:

• registering a return-to-dock event at the autonomous floor cleaner;
• searching for docking signals transmitted by the docking station;
• turning off the plurality of distance sensors of the autonomous floor cleaner upon detecting a first docking signal transmitted by the docking station;
• receiving, with at least one passive receiver of the autonomous floor cleaner, at least one other docking signal transmitted by the docking station;
• driving the autonomous floor cleaner toward the docking station based on the at least one other docking signal received by the at least one passive receiver;
• maneuvering the autonomous floor cleaner to align charging contacts on the autonomous floor cleaner with charging contacts on the docking station;
• and
• docking the autonomous floor cleaner with the docking station.