Autonomous cleaner

• US 10,420,448 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2017
• Issued: 09/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Nam, Bohyun, Shim, Inbo, Sung, Jihoon, Park, Sojin, Song, Seunghyun, Lee, Sangkyu, Jun, Woochan
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramesh, Krishnan
• Application Number:
  US15/599,800
• Publication Number:
  US 20170332866A1
• Time in Patent Office: 858 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/33 having means for storing dirt
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4013 Contaminants collecting devices, i.e. hoppers, tanks or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4061 Steering means; Means for avoiding obstacles; Details related to the place where the driver is accommodated
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4066 Propulsion of the whole machine
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4069 Driving or transmission means for the cleaning tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/00 Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/06 Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/00 Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/009 Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/02 Nozzles suction nozzles for fluid transport B65G51/00
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/04 with driven brushes or agitators
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/122 flat
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1427 Means for mounting or attaching bags or filtering receptacles in suction cleaners; Adapters
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/16 Arrangement or disposition of cyclones or other devices with centrifugal action
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1608 Cyclonic chamber constructions
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1683 Dust collecting chambers; Dust collecting receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1691 Mounting or coupling means for cyclonic chamber or dust receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2857 User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2868 Arrangements for power supply of vacuum cleaners or the accessories thereof

Abstract

A robot cleaner comprising: a cleaner body including a wheel unit and a controller controlling driving of the wheel unit a suction unit disposed in the cleaner body, the suction unit sucking air containing dust and a sensing unit disposed at the front of the cleaner body in which the suction unit is disposed, wherein the sensing unit includes a first sensing part disposed respectively inclined with respect to side and top surfaces at an upper corner portion of the cleaner body to simultaneously photograph front and upper parts of the cleaner body.

Claims

1. An autonomous cleaner comprising:

a cleaner body including a controller and a plurality of wheels;

a cleaner head provided at the cleaner body; and

a sensor assembly provided at a front of the cleaner body,

wherein the sensor assembly includes a first sensor oriented in an inclined angle at an upper corner of the cleaner body to capture at least one image corresponding to a front space and an upper space in front of the cleaner body, and

wherein the at least one image is divided into a first image corresponding to the front space and a second image corresponding to the upper space based on an angle of view in the vertical direction.

2. The autonomous cleaner of claim 1, wherein the controller compares the first image to a stored first image captured by the first sensor at a previous time when the cleaner body was stationary, and generates a control signal when the first image and the stored first image are different from each other.

3. The autonomous cleaner of claim 2, wherein the control signal is a signal transmission of the first image, which is sent to a mobile terminal through a remote connection.

4. The autonomous cleaner of claim 1, wherein the angle of view has a prescribed range to allow the first sensor to capture the second image to include an image of a ceiling.

5. The autonomous cleaner of claim 1, wherein the angle of view is an obtuse angle.

6. The autonomous cleaner of claim 1, wherein the controller generates an area map for autonomous travel using a boundary between a ceiling and a side surface of a wall.

7. The autonomous cleaner of claim 6, wherein a current position of the cleaner body within the area map is determined based on the second image of the at least one image captured by the first sensor.

8. The autonomous cleaner of claim 1, wherein the sensor assembly further includes a sensor module provided at a side surface of the cleaner body to sense at least an obstacle or a vertical drop located in front of the cleaner body.

9. The autonomous cleaner of claim 8, wherein the sensor module includes:

a first light source emitting a first beam toward a lower front of the cleaner body;

a second light source emitting a second beam toward an upper front of the cleaner body; and

a camera configured to photograph the first and second beams irradiated within a prescribed photographic area.

10. The autonomous cleaner of claim 9, wherein the first light source, the second light source, and the camera are vertically aligned at the side surface of the cleaner body.

11. The autonomous cleaner of claim 10, wherein the first light source is inclined in a downward direction relative to the side surface of the cleaner body, and the second light source is inclined in an upward direction relative to the side surface of the cleaner body.

12. The autonomous cleaner of claim 11, wherein the camera is positioned below the first and second light sources.

13. The autonomous cleaner of claim 9, wherein the first beam includes a first laser beam for detecting an obstacle on a floor, and the second beam includes a second linear laser beam for detecting an obstacle above the floor.

14. The autonomous cleaner of claim 13, wherein the first beam further includes a third laser beam intersecting the first and second laser beams and extending between the first and second laser beams.

15. The autonomous cleaner of claim 13, wherein, when at least one of the first laser beam or the second laser beam is blocked or distorted, a direction of movement of the cleaner body is changed to avoid the obstacle on the floor or the obstacle above the floor.

16. The autonomous cleaner of claim 8, wherein the sensor assembly further includes a frame mounted to the side surface of the cleaner body, a cover having an opening toward the front of the cleaner body and attached to the frame, and first and second windows over the opening of the cover, the first sensor and the sensor module being provided in the opening, and the first sensor being provided above the sensor module.

17. The autonomous cleaner of claim 16, where the first window over the first sensor is transparent, and the second window over the sensor module is translucent.

18. An autonomous cleaner comprising:

a cleaner body including a plurality of wheels and a controller that manages driving of at least one wheel to control a direction of travel;

a cleaner roller attached to the cleaner body to allow cleaning of a surface below the cleaner body; and

a sensor assembly having a first sensor provided at a front of the cleaner body, the first sensor being orient in an inclined angle relative to side and top surfaces of the cleaner body and positioned at an upper corner formed by the side and top surfaces of the cleaner body,

wherein, based on an angle of view of the first sensor and the inclined angle of the first sensor, the sensor captures an image of a front space and an upper space, which are in front of the cleaner body, and

wherein a front image corresponding to the front space is extracted from the image captured by the sensor, and when the front image is different from a stored front image captured by the first sensor at a previous time when the cleaner body was stationary, the front image is transmitted to a mobile terminal through a remote connection.

19. The autonomous cleaner of claim 18, wherein an upper image corresponding to the upper space is used to generate an area map of a room and to determine a current position of the cleaner body within the area map.

20. The autonomous cleaner of claim 18, wherein the cleaner roller is provided in a cleaner head, the cleaner head being attached at the front of the cleaner body.