Standards Development

Scope

This International Standard deals with the safety of

– electric motor-operated or magnetically driven rechargeable battery-powered rotary robotic lawnmowers;

– their batteries; and

– their peripherals.

Robotic lawnmowers are also referred to as “machines” in this document.

The maximum rated voltage for machines and their battery packs is 250 V d.c.

The rated voltage for peripherals is not more than

– 250 V single-phase a.c. or d.c.; and

– 480 V for three-phase a.c.

The rated input for mains-powered peripherals is not more than 3 700 W.

Robotic lawnmowers and battery-powered peripherals are not considered to be class I tools, class II tools, or class III tools and therefore are not required to have basic insulation, supplementary insulation or reinforced insulation. Electric shock hazard is considered to exist only between parts of different potential.

This document deals with the hazards presented by machines and peripherals which are encountered by all persons in the normal use and reasonably foreseeable misuse of the machines and peripherals.

When evaluating a rechargeable battery pack for protection against electric shock during charging, creepage distances, clearances and distances through insulation, the relevant requirements of this document are applicable with the battery pack fitted to the intended charger.

Since rechargeable battery packs for machines and peripherals are submitted to different use patterns (such as rough use, high charging and discharging currents) their safety can be evaluated only by this document and not by using other standards for rechargeable battery packs, such as IEC 62133-1:2017 or IEC 62133- 2:2017, unless otherwise indicated in this document. All relevant aspects related to the safety of rechargeable batteries are addressed in this document, such that the requirements of IEC 62133-1:2017 or IEC 62133-2:2017 need not be separately applied.

When evaluating the risk of fire associated with rechargeable battery packs for machines and peripherals, consideration has been given to the fact that these battery packs are unattended energy sources and have been evaluated as such in this document. Requirements in other standards regarding the risk of fire due to the charging of these battery packs are therefore considered to be fulfilled.

This document also addresses requirements covering the use of lithium-ion cells employed in battery systems in robotic lawnmowers and battery-powered peripherals. The following is considered within the context of these requirements:

– These requirements address the risk of fire or explosion of these batteries and not any possible hazards associated with toxicity nor potential hazards associated with transportation or disposal.

– Battery systems covered by these requirements are not intended to be serviced by the end user.

– These requirements are intended to provide comprehensive evaluation of a battery only if used in products covered by this document.

– These requirements address the safety of lithium-ion battery systems during storage and use including discharge and charge. These requirements are only considered to be supplementary requirements in regards to battery charger fire and electric shock.

– These requirements refer to and require parameters supplied in reference to the cells that establish conditions for safe use of those cells. Those parameters form the basis of acceptance criteria for a number of tests contained herein. This document does not independently evaluate the safety of cells. These parameters, taken as a set, constitute the “Specified Operating Region” for a cell. There may be several sets of specified operating region(s).

This document does not apply to machines with a provision for a person to ride on the machine for any purpose.

This document does not apply to robotic lawnmowers using general purpose batteries installed by the user and this document alone will not be sufficient to ensure all hazards are considered for these products.

This document does not apply to battery-powered peripherals powered by rechargeable general purpose batteries. This document does not apply to the safety of battery chargers themselves.

Purpose

Robotic lawnmowers are widely used by consumers worldwide. This proposed new Part 4 standard is aligned with IEC 62841-1 Ed. 1.0: Electric motor operated hand-held tools, transportable tools and lawn and garden machinery - Safety - Part 1: General requirements.