US Patent 10264938 Vacuum cleaner

A vacuum cleaner includes a main casing, driving wheels, side brushes, an obstacle sensor, and a controller. The driving wheels enable the main casing to travel. The side brushes are reciprocatively movable in both a direction of protruding from an outer frame of the main casing and its opposite direction, enabling cleaning of dust and dirt located outside the outer frame of the main casing. The obstacle sensor detects an obstacle by detecting a movement of the side brush in the opposite direction due to its contact with the obstacle. The controller controls drive of the driving wheels based on detection of an obstacle by the obstacle sensor to make the main casing autonomously travel. The vacuum cleaner can detect an obstacle at a position of a side brush while securely cleaning dust and dirt located outside an outer frame of a main casing by the side brush.