Vacuum cleaner
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A vacuum cleaner comprising:
- a main casing;
a driving wheel for enabling the main casing to travel;
a control unit for controlling drive of the driving wheel to thereby make the main casing autonomously travel,a cleaning unit for cleaning a cleaning-object surface;
cameras disposed apart from each other in the main casing and serving for picking up images on a traveling-direction side of the main casing with their fields of view overlapping with each other;
a calculator for calculating a depth of an object distanced from the cameras based on images picked up by the cameras;
an image generation pan for generating a distance image based on a depth of an object calculated by the calculator; and
an obstacle discrimination part for discriminating an object located closer than a specified distance within the distance image as an obstacle.
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Abstract
A vacuum cleaner includes a main casing, driving wheels, a control unit, a cleaning unit, cameras, and a depth calculation part. The driving wheels enable the main casing to travel. The control unit controls drive of the driving wheels to make the main casing autonomously travel. The cleaning unit cleans a floor surface. The cameras are disposed apart from each other in the main casing to pick up images on a traveling-direction side of the main casing with their fields of view overlapping with each other. The depth calculation part calculates a depth of an object distanced from the cameras based on images picked up by the cameras. The vacuum cleaner has improved obstacle detection precision.
12 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A vacuum cleaner comprising:
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a main casing; a driving wheel for enabling the main casing to travel; a control unit for controlling drive of the driving wheel to thereby make the main casing autonomously travel, a cleaning unit for cleaning a cleaning-object surface; cameras disposed apart from each other in the main casing and serving for picking up images on a traveling-direction side of the main casing with their fields of view overlapping with each other; a calculator for calculating a depth of an object distanced from the cameras based on images picked up by the cameras; an image generation pan for generating a distance image based on a depth of an object calculated by the calculator; and an obstacle discrimination part for discriminating an object located closer than a specified distance within the distance image as an obstacle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A control method for a vacuum cleaner in which a main casing having a cleaning unit and a plurality of cameras is enabled to autonomously travel, the method comprising:
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picking up, by the plurality of cameras, images on a traveling direction side of the main casing with their fields of view overlapping with each other; calculating depths of an object distanced from the cameras based on the picked-up images; generating a distance image based on the calculated depths of an object; and discriminating an object located closer than a specified distance within the distance image as an obstacle.
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Specification