The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 21, 2015
Filed:
Jun. 27, 2013
Alexander Leonessa, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Christopher H. Cain, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Brian J. Boothe, Raleigh, NC (US);
Alexander Leonessa, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Christopher H. Cain, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Brian J. Boothe, Raleigh, NC (US);
Pentair Water Pool and Spa, Inc., Sanford, NC (US);
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc., Blacksburg, VA (US);
Abstract
Embodiments of the invention provide a pool cleaner control system including a laser range finder with a first laser line generator, a second laser line generator, and a camera. The first laser line generator and the second laser line generator are positioned to emit parallel laser lines and the camera is positioned to capture an image of the laser lines projected on an object. The control system also includes a controller in communication with the laser range finder and configured to control operation of the laser line generators to emit the laser lines and to control the camera to capture the image. The controller is also configured to receive the image from the camera, calculate a pixel distance between the laser lines in the image, and calculate the physical distance between the camera and the object based on the pixel distance.