US 11,998,159 B2
Vacuum cleaner and control method thereof
Chulmo Sung, Seoul (KR); and Hyungjin Jeon, Seoul (KR)
Assigned to LG ELECTRONICS INC., Seoul (KR)
Appl. No. 17/054,860
Filed by LG ELECTRONICS INC., Seoul (KR)
PCT Filed May 16, 2019, PCT No. PCT/KR2019/005862
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 12, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/221524, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 21, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2018-0056135 (KR), filed on May 16, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0212541 A1, Jul. 15, 2021
Int. Cl. A47L 9/00 (2006.01); A47L 9/28 (2006.01); A47L 11/40 (2006.01); G05D 1/00 (2006.01); G06V 20/58 (2022.01)
CPC A47L 9/009 (2013.01) [A47L 9/2826 (2013.01); A47L 9/2852 (2013.01); A47L 11/4011 (2013.01); A47L 11/4061 (2013.01); G05D 1/0248 (2013.01); G05D 1/0251 (2013.01); G06V 20/58 (2022.01); A47L 2201/04 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A self-driving cleaner comprising:
a main body traveling through a cleaning area and sucking foreign substances from a floor in the cleaning area;
a drive unit for moving the main body in the cleaning area;
a pattern irradiation unit, disposed on a front surface of the main body, for irradiating light in a predetermined pattern toward a lower front side of the main body;
a camera, disposed on a front surface of the main body, for photographing the front of the main body; and
a controller for detecting a light pattern formed by the pattern irradiation unit using an image photographed by the camera, determining whether an obstacle exists in front of the main body on the basis of brightness of the detected light pattern, and controlling the drive unit to pass or avoid the obstacle on the basis of a result of the determination,
wherein the controller controls the drive unit to reduce a moving speed of the main body when the brightness of the detected light pattern is less than or equal to a preset reference brightness, and
wherein the controller variably sets the reference brightness based on an angle formed between a line segment formed by the light pattern and a reference line set in the image.