| US 7,515,991 B2 | ||
| Self-propelled cleaning device and method of operation thereof | ||
| Saku Egawa, Toride (Japan); Yutaka Arai, Chiyoda (Japan); Ryoko Ichinose, Tsukuba (Japan); Yasuhiro Asa, Chiyoda (Japan); and Hirofumi Tanaka, Shiroyama (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Hitachi, Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); and Hitachi Home and Life Solutions, Inc., Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Mar. 17, 2004, as Appl. No. 10/801,861. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2003-071206 (JP), filed on Mar. 17, 2003. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2004/0181896 A1, Sep. 23, 2004 | ||
| Int. Cl. G06F 19/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 700—245 [700/56; 700/61; 701/23; 15/1.7; 15/98; 15/300.1; 15/319; 318/568.12] | 16 Claims |
| 1. An autonomous self-propelled cleaning device comprising:
a moving means for moving the cleaning device;
a driving means for driving said cleaning device;
a control means for controlling the moving means;
an orientation angle detection means for detecting an orientation angle of the cleaning device;
a wall surface detection means which is capable of detecting a wall surface in a position at one side of the cleaning device;
wherein the control means determines rectangular spiral travel paths based on an orientation angle detected by the orientation
angle detection means and causes the cleaning device to travel along the rectangular spiral travel paths for cleaning a room
including travel alongside the wall surface which partitions the room to be cleaned and which is detected by the wall surface
detection means, and
the driving means drives the cleaning device such that it moves along the travel path;
wherein the rectangular spiral travel paths are in a form of continuous loops which at least partially overlap with each other.
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