# US 9,516,984 B2 · Positioning system of sweeper and positioning method of the positioning system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,516,984 B2 - Document ID: US9516984B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/674,166 - Filed: 2015-03-31 - Published: 2016-07-14 - Granted: 2016-12-13 - Earliest claimed: 2015-01-12 - Assignees: Kinpo Electronics, Inc.; Cal-Comp Electronics & Communications Company Limited - Applicants: Kinpo Electronics, Inc.; Cal-Comp Electronics & Communications Company Limited - Inventors: Yu-Ta Lin; Chuan-Wang Chang; Ming-Wei Chuang - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9516984B2 ## CPC - A47L 11/4011: {Regulation of the cleaning machine by electric means; Control systems and remote control systems therefor} - A47L 11/4066: {Propulsion of the whole machine} - G01S 3/783: using amplitude comparison of signals derived from static detectors or detector systems - G01S 5/0054: {of actual mobile position, i.e. position calculation on base station} - G01S 5/16: using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves - G01S 11/12: using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves - G05D 1/0234: {using optical markers or beacons (optical beacons per se G01S1/70)} - A47L 2201/04: Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection - A47L: DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING (brushes A46B; cleaning quantities of bottles or of other hollow articles of one kind B08B9/00; laundry D06F); SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL (cleaning in general B08) - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES ## Abstract A positioning system comprises a sweeper and a positioning device arranged on a ceiling. The sweeper has a lighting component for emitting light. The positioning device at least has a height measuring unit and a plurality of light-sensitive units. The positioning device measures a vertical distance between the positioning device and a floor through the height measuring unit. The positioning device receives the light emitted from the emitting light of the sweeper through the light-sensitive units, and calculates an oblique distance between the positioning device and the sweeper based on different strengths of the light respectively received from each of the plurality of light-sensitive units. Therefore, the positioning device can calculates a parallel distance between the positioning device and the sweeper based on the vertical distance and the oblique distance, and further determines a related position of the sweeper opposite to the positioning device. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A positioning system, comprising: a sweeper having a lighting component; and a positioning device having a height measuring unit and a plurality of light-sensitive units and arranged on a ceiling, measuring a vertical distance between the positioning device and a floor through the height measuring unit, receiving light emitted from the lighting component through the plurality of light-sensitive units and calculating an oblique distance between the positioning device and the sweeper based on light strengths respectively received by each of the plurality of light-sensitive units, wherein the positioning device calculates a parallel distance between the positioning device and the sweeper based on the vertical distance and the oblique distance. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The positioning system of claim 1, wherein the oblique distance comprises a linear distance between the positioning device and the sweeper, and a direction of the sweeper opposite to the positioning device, and the positioning device calculates a related position of the sweeper opposite to the positioning device based on the direction and the parallel distance. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The positioning system of claim 2, wherein the sweeper comprises a wireless transmission module, the positioning device comprises a wireless transmission unit, and the positioning device transmits the related position to the sweeper through the wireless transmission module and the wireless transmission unit. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The positioning system of claim 2, wherein the sweeper comprises a shell, and the lighting component is arranged on a top face of the shell. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The positioning system of claim 4, wherein the lighting component is light emitting diode (LED), and if an amount of the lighting component is plural, the plurality of lighting components have same wavelength. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The positioning system of claim 5, wherein an amount of the sweeper is plural, and each lighting component of each sweeper respectively has different wavelength. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The positioning system of claim 5, wherein an amount of the sweeper is plural, and each lighting component of each sweeper respectively emits light in different frequency. ### Claim 8 (depends on 2) The positioning system of claim 2, wherein the positioning device further comprises: a memory unit storing a calculating program; and a processing unit electrically connected with the height measuring unit, the plurality of light-sensitive units and the memory unit, the processing unit calculating the vertical distance, the oblique distance, the parallel distance, the direction and the related position through executing the calculating program, wherein the calculating program calculates the parallel distance by executing a trigonometric conversion based on the vertical distance and the oblique distance. ### Claim 9 (depends on 2) The positioning system of claim 2, wherein the positioning device comprises a housing, the height measuring unit is arranged on a bottom of the housing and exposed out of the housing. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The positioning system of claim 9, wherein the height measuring unit is infrared transceiver, and the positioning device emits downward an infrared to the floor through the infrared transceiver to calculate the vertical distance based on reflection information. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The positioning system of claim 2, wherein the positioning device comprises a housing and at least one separating mechanism arranged on a side face of the housing, the separating mechanism separates multiple sensitive areas for the positioning device, the plurality of light-sensitive units are respectively arranged on the multiple sensitive areas, and an amount of the plurality of light-sensitive units is according to that of the multiple sensitive areas. ### Claim 12 A positioning method of a positioning system, the positioning system comprising a sweeper having a lighting component and a positioning device having a height measuring unit and a plurality of light-sensitive units, wherein the positioning device being arranged on a ceiling, and the positioning method comprising: a) measuring a vertical distance between the positioning device and a floor through the height measuring unit; b) receiving light emitted from the lighting component through the plurality of light-sensitive units; c) calculating an oblique distance between the positioning device and the sweeper through light strengths respectively received by each of the plurality of light-sensitive units; and d) calculating a parallel distance between the positioning device and the sweeper based on the vertical distance and the oblique distance. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The positioning method of claim 12, wherein the oblique distance comprises a linear distance between the positioning device and the sweeper, and a direction of the sweeper opposite to the positioning device, and the positioning method further comprises a step e): calculating a related position of the sweeper opposite to the positioning device based on the direction and the parallel distance. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The positioning method of claim 13, wherein further comprises a step f): transmitting the related position from the positioning device to the sweeper. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The positioning method of claim 14, wherein further comprises a step g): transmitting a working data from the positioning device to the sweeper, wherein the working data comprises finished tasks and unfinished tasks of the sweeper. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The positioning method of claim 13, wherein the positioning device comprises a housing and at least one separating mechanism arranged on a side face of the housing, the separating mechanism separates multiple sensitive areas for the positioning device, the plurality of light-sensitive units are respectively arranged on the multiple sensitive areas, and an amount of the plurality of light-sensitive units is according to that of the multiple sensitive areas.