Radar system, cleaning device and its application

Abstract

The present invention provides a radar system, a cleaning device and applications thereof, wherein a radar cleaning method comprises the following steps: after generating a cleaning signal based on a surface state of a radar, generating a cleaning instruction based on an operating state of a cleaning device and the surface state of the radar, and the cleaning device cleaning the radar based on the cleaning instruction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to radar, and in particular to a vehicle-mounted radar system, a cleaning device and applications thereof. Background Art

[0002] Currently, vehicle autonomous driving has become the main driving force for the development of the automotive industry. Major automobile manufacturers around the world have chosen to jointly develop the next generation of autonomous vehicles with Internet technology giants.

[0003] The advantages of autonomous vehicles are very significant compared to manually driven vehicles. Autonomous driving can not only reduce the risk of road accidents, but also reduce fuel consumption.

[0004] The principle of autonomous driving technology is based on collecting surrounding environmental data in real time while the vehicle is driving, and then intelligently controlling the vehicle's operating status so that the vehicle can automatically drive on the road.

[0005] Radar or LiDAR is commonly used in the market to collect real-time environmental data around the vehicle. The working principle of radar or LiDAR is essentially to emit electromagnetic wave signals outward. The electromagnetic wave signals are reflected after encountering obstacles in the surrounding environment. Based on the emitted electromagnetic wave signals and the reflected electromagnetic wave signals, the vehicle's surrounding environment data can be obtained. The difference between radar and LiDAR is that radar uses radio waves while LiDAR uses light waves for sensing.

[0006] Such sensors are usually placed outside the vehicle to conduct a comprehensive detection of the environment around the vehicle. The problem is that the external environment is usually changing during the driving process of the vehicle, and sometimes it becomes worse with the change of geographical location and season. For example, in snow, fog, rain and dusty environment, the accuracy of radar and lidar will be affected to varying degrees.

[0007] In particular, for LiDAR, light is easily affected in snow, fog, rain and dusty environments, which reduces the performance of LiDAR.

[0008] Once the sensor itself is exposed to the outside and contaminated and cannot sense the vehicle's surrounding environment normally, the vehicle is like losing its eyes, which makes it prone to traffic accidents and is very dangerous. Summary of the invention

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a radar system, a cleaning device and applications thereof, wherein the radar system is capable of cleaning its radar surface.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radar system, a cleaning device and applications thereof, wherein the radar system is capable of removing dust from its radar surface.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radar system, a cleaning device and applications thereof, wherein the radar system automatically cleans its radar.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radar system, a cleaning device and applications thereof, wherein the radar system is capable of performing nearly 360-degree cleaning of its radar.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radar system, a cleaning device and applications thereof, wherein the force applied to the radar of the radar system can be in a balanced state when receiving cleaning treatment.

[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radar system, a cleaning device and applications thereof, wherein after the radar system is cleaned, contaminants can be detached from the radar to avoid being retained at the radar position.

[0015] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radar system, a cleaning device and applications thereof, wherein the radar system can perform targeted processing based on the location of contaminants on the radar surface.

[0016] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radar system, a cleaning device and applications thereof, wherein the radar system can be processed in a targeted manner based on the degree of contamination on the radar surface.

[0017] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radar system, a cleaning device and applications thereof, wherein the radar system can be processed in a targeted manner based on contaminants on the surface of the radar.

[0018] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radar system and a cleaning device thereof, wherein the radar system is capable of cleaning its radar in a harsh environment.

[0019] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radar system and a cleaning device thereof, wherein the radar system can be cleaned after its radar working performance is affected by contaminants.

[0020] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radar system and a cleaning device thereof, wherein the radar system is capable of processing pollutants attached to the radar surface before the working performance of the radar is affected.

[0021] According to one aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a radar system cleaning method, which is suitable for a radar system installed in a vehicle, wherein the cleaning method comprises the following steps:

[0022] generating a cleaning signal based on a state of a radar of the radar system;

[0023] generating a cleaning instruction based on a state of a cleaning device of the radar system and the state of the radar; and

[0024] The cleaning device cleans the radar based on the cleaning instruction.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, the cleaning signal is generated based on the state of the radar and a state of the vehicle.

[0026] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning method further comprises the following steps:

[0027] acquiring the status of the radar and the status of the vehicle; and

[0028] It is determined whether the radar has a tendency to operate abnormally due to the adhesion of contaminants, and if so, the cleaning signal is generated.

[0029] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning method further comprises the following steps:

[0030] A cleaning timing is selected based on a state of the vehicle and the state of the radar, and in the above method, the cleaning device cleans the radar at the cleaning timing.

[0031] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning method further comprises the following steps:

[0032] Acquiring a contamination status of the radar and acquiring a status of at least one nozzle of the cleaning device; and

[0033] The cleaning instruction is generated based on the contamination state of the radar and the state of the nozzle of the cleaning device.

[0034] According to one embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, the pollution state of the radar refers to the distribution position of pollutants, and the state of the nozzle refers to the orientation of the nozzle. Based on the distribution position of pollutants, the orientation of the nozzle is adjusted until the nozzle is aligned with the pollutants.

[0035] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, the contamination state of the radar refers to the degree of contamination of the radar surface, and the spray intensity of the nozzle is adjusted based on the degree of contamination.

[0036] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, the type of fluid sprayed by the nozzle is adjusted based on the state of the pollutant.

[0037] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning method further comprises the following steps:

[0038] Acquiring signals of electromagnetic waves emitted by a radar body of the radar before and after passing through a cover; and

[0039] Based on the electromagnetic wave signal, it is determined whether the cover needs to be cleaned, and if so, the cleaning signal is generated.

[0040] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning method further comprises the following steps:

[0041] Acquiring signals of reflected electromagnetic waves received by a radar body before and after passing through a cover; and

[0042] Based on the electromagnetic wave signal, it is determined whether the cover needs to be cleaned, and if so, the cleaning signal is generated.

[0043] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning method further comprises the following steps:

[0044] Acquiring a pollutant attachment state on a cover surface of the radar; and

[0045] Whether the cover body needs to be cleaned is determined based on the contaminant attachment state, and if so, the cleaning signal is generated.

[0046] According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a control method for a cleaning device, which is used to control at least one cleaning device, wherein the control method comprises the following steps:

[0047] At least one nozzle of the cleaning device is controlled to spray fluid toward a radar.

[0048] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, when the number of the nozzles is plural, the nozzles of the cleaning device are controlled separately to spray fluid toward the radar.

[0049] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control method further comprises the following steps:

[0050] The orientation of a nozzle of the nozzle is adjusted to change the relative position of the nozzle and the radar.

[0051] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control method further comprises the following steps:

[0052] The nozzle is rotated to adjust the orientation of the spout.

[0053] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, the nozzle is moved around the radar to change the relative position of the nozzle and the radar.

[0054] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, the orientation of the nozzle is adjusted based on a pollutant distribution of the radar.

[0055] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, the spray intensity of the nozzle is adjusted based on a contamination level of the radar.

[0056] According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a cleaning device, which is applied to a radar, wherein the cleaning device comprises:

[0057] At least one nozzle, wherein the nozzle has a nozzle, wherein the nozzle extends to the outside of the radar so that the nozzle is located outside the radar, and the nozzle can spray fluid outside the radar toward the radar through the nozzle.

[0058] According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a radar system, comprising:

[0059] A radar, wherein the radar comprises a radar body and a cover, wherein the cover has a receiving cavity and comprises a surrounding wall, wherein the surrounding wall surrounds and forms the receiving cavity, the radar body is received in the receiving cavity, and electromagnetic waves radiated by the radar body are emitted outward through at least a portion of the surrounding wall; and

[0060] A cleaning device, wherein the cleaning device comprises at least one nozzle, wherein the nozzle has a nozzle, wherein the nozzle extends to the outside of the cover body so that the nozzle is located outside the cover body, and the nozzle can spray fluid toward the cover body from the outside of the cover body through the nozzle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] Figure 1A is an application schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0062] Figure 1B is an application schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0063] Figure 1C is an application schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0064] Figure 1D is an application schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0065] Figure 1E is an application schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0066] Figure 2A is a schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0067] Figure 2Bis a schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0068] Figure 3 is a working schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0069] Figure 4 is a working schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0070] Figure 5 is a working schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0071] Figure 6 is a working schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0072] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0073] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0074] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0075] Fig.10 is a schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0076] Fig.11 is a schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0077] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0078] Fig.13 is a schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0079] Fig.14 is a schematic diagram of a radar system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0080] Fig.15 is a schematic diagram of a radar cleaning system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] The following description is used to disclose the present invention so that those skilled in the art can implement the present invention. The preferred embodiments described below are only examples, and those skilled in the art can think of other obvious variations. The basic principles of the present invention defined in the following description can be applied to other embodiments, variations, improvements, equivalents, and other technical solutions that do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0082] Those skilled in the art should understand that, in the disclosure of the present invention, the terms "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicating the orientation or position relationship are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, which are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operate in a specific orientation. Therefore, the above terms should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0083] It is to be understood that the term "one" should be understood as "at least one" or "one or more", that is, in one embodiment, the number of an element may be one, while in another embodiment, the number of the element may be multiple, and the term "one" should not be understood as a limitation on the quantity.

[0084] Reference Figure 1A To Attachment Figure 2B As shown, a radar system 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, wherein the radar system 1 can be applied to a vehicle body 100 of a vehicle 1000 to detect environmental information around the vehicle body 100. When the vehicle 1000 is traveling on the road, as the driving time increases, pollutants attached to the radar system 1 of the vehicle 1000 will gradually accumulate, thereby affecting its detection efficiency.

[0085] The radar system 1 includes a radar 10 and a cleaning device 20, wherein the cleaning device 20 is provided with the radar 10. The cleaning device 20 can clean an outer surface of the radar 10 to reduce the possibility that pollutants in the external environment continue to adhere to the surface of the radar 10 and finally affect the normal operation of the radar 10, which is beneficial to ensure the working accuracy of the radar 10, reduce the impact of harsh environment on the working accuracy and effectiveness of the radar 10, and also help to improve the reliability of the working of the radar 10.

[0086] Specifically, the radar 10 includes a radar body 11 and a cover 12, wherein the cover 12 has a receiving cavity 120, and the radar body 11 is received in the receiving cavity 120. The radar body 11 can radiate electromagnetic waves to the outside and receive electromagnetic waves reflected by the outside, thereby obtaining information about the external environment based on the information of the electromagnetic waves before and after the reflection, so as to realize the detection of the surrounding environment.

[0087] The internal structure of the radar body 11 is precisely designed and is completely wrapped by the cover 12 to reduce external interference and avoid the possibility of moisture or dust entering the radar body 11.

[0088] It is understandable that the radar 10 may be a radar 10 (RADAR) or a laser radar 10 (LiDAR). The difference between radar 10 (RADAR) and laser radar 10 (LiDAR) is that radar 10 uses radio waves while laser radar 10 uses light waves for sensing. Radar 10 in the following text is a general term, which may refer to radar 10 (RADAR) or laser radar 10 (LiDAR).

[0089] The cover body 12 includes an upper cover 121, a surrounding wall 122 and a lower cover 123, wherein the upper cover 121, the surrounding wall 122 and the lower cover 123 surround the accommodating cavity 120, wherein the upper cover 121 and the lower cover 123 are respectively located at two ends of the surrounding wall 122 and relatively seal the surrounding wall 122 to keep the entire accommodating cavity 120 in a relatively closed state.

[0090] Optionally, the upper cover 121 is detachably connected to the surrounding wall 122, so that the accommodating cavity 120 is exposed, and the radar body 11 can be placed in or taken out of the accommodating cavity 120. Optionally, the lower cover 123 is detachably connected to the surrounding wall 122.

[0091] The cover 12 further includes a transparent portion 124 , and the transparent portion 124 is used for allowing the electromagnetic waves emitted by the radar body 11 to pass through and for allowing the reflected electromagnetic waves to pass through.

[0092] The transparent portion 124 may be formed on the surrounding wall 122 , and the surrounding wall 122 may be made of a material that can transmit electromagnetic waves, that is, made of a wave-transmitting material.

[0093] Alternatively, the surrounding wall 122 has a transmission window, wherein the transmission portion 124 is installed at the transmission window position so that the transmission window position of the surrounding wall 122 can allow the electromagnetic waves emitted by the radar body 11 to pass through and can allow the reflected electromagnetic waves to pass through.

[0094] Of course, it is understandable that the transparent portion 124 can be formed at other positions of the cover 12, such as the upper cover 121 or the lower cover 123, or the transparent portion 124 can be formed at the upper cover 121, the surrounding wall 122 and the lower cover 123. In this example, the cover 12 has a cylindrical shape, and the radar body 11 radiates light outward along the circumferential direction of the cover 12. In other embodiments of the present invention, the radar body 11 can radiate light outward along the axial direction of the cover 12.

[0095] Furthermore, the permeable portion 124 can prevent other external solid substances from entering the accommodating cavity 120 through the permeable portion 124 .

[0096] The cover body 12 has a cover body high end portion 125 and a cover body low end portion 126 , wherein the cover body high end portion 125 extends downward to form the cover body low end portion 126 .

[0097] The cleaning device 20 is located below the cover body 12 , and can clean the cover body 12 from bottom to top to prevent pollutants attached to the cover body 12 from affecting the transmission efficiency of the transmission portion 124 .

[0098] Further, the cleaning device 20 is mounted on the cover lower end 126 of the cover 12. The cleaning device 20 can also be held below the cover 12 in other ways, for example, the cleaning device 20 is supported by another element, such as a bracket, so as to be located below the radar 10.

[0099] Of course, it is understandable that the cleaning device 20 can also be installed at the cover body high end portion 125 of the cover body 12. The cleaning device 20 includes at least one nozzle 21, wherein the nozzle 21 can be directed toward the permeable portion 124 of the cover body 12 to spray a fluid to the permeable portion 124. The fluid can remove contaminants attached to the permeable portion 124 of the cover body 12 or contaminants attached to the surrounding wall 122 of the cover body 12.

[0100] The nozzle 21 includes a nozzle head 211 and a nozzle tube 212 and has a nozzle 210, wherein the nozzle 210 is maintained on the outside of the surrounding wall 122 of the cover body 12 so that the nozzle 120 can spray fluid toward the surrounding wall 122 of the cover body 12 from the outside of the surrounding wall 122 of the cover body 12, wherein the nozzle head 211 is connected to the nozzle tube 212, and the nozzle 210 is located at the nozzle head 211.

[0101] Furthermore, the nozzle 210 of the nozzle 21 is simultaneously maintained above the transparent portion 124 or below the transparent portion 124 to prevent the radar body 11 from emitting electromagnetic waves or receiving electromagnetic waves during normal operation and being blocked by the nozzle 21, thereby affecting the normal working efficiency of the radar body 11.

[0102] It can be understood that the nozzle 210 of the nozzle 21 can be aimed at the transparent portion 124 or at the portion of the surrounding wall 122 outside the transparent portion 124 to treat pollutants attached to the surrounding wall 122 that may interfere with the normal operation of the radar 10.

[0103] The cleaning device 20 has at least one transmission channel 200, wherein each of the nozzles 21 is connected to the transmission channel 200, and the fluid from the transmission channel 200 is sprayed onto the surrounding wall 122 of the cover body 12 through the nozzle 21. Under the impact of the fluid sprayed by the nozzle 21, the pollutants attached to the surrounding wall 122 of the cover body 12, especially attached to the transparent portion 124, can be separated from the cover body 12 to achieve a cleaning effect.

[0104] The cleaning device 20 further includes a support seat 22, wherein the support seat 22 is an annular support seat 22, and the support seat 22 has at least one mounting channel 220, wherein the nozzle 21 can be mounted on the support seat 22 through the mounting channel 220, and the nozzle 210 of the nozzle 21 is located outside the annular support seat 22. When the cleaning device 20 is mounted on the cover lower end 126 of the cover 12 of the radar 10, the nozzle 21 is located outside the support seat 22 and outside the cover 12, and the nozzle 21 can face the transparent portion 124 of the cover 12. When the nozzle 21 faces the transparent portion 124, a spraying direction of the nozzle 21 forms an angle with the vertical direction. The spraying direction of the nozzle 21 forms an angle with the surrounding wall 122 of the cover 12. When the fluid is sprayed onto the permeable portion 124 , the fluid is blocked by the permeable portion 124 and can flow along the surrounding wall 122 to a certain range so that the cleaning device 20 has a larger cleaning range.

[0105] The cover 12 of the radar 10 is supported on the support base 22. The size of the support base 22 matches the size of the lower cover 123 of the cover 12. Optionally, the support base 22 and the lower cover 123 of the cover 12 are the same size, so that the cover 12 can be fully supported on the support base 22.

[0106] The nozzle 21 has an outer end and an inner end, wherein the nozzle 210 is located at the outer end of the nozzle. When viewed downward from the top of the radar system 1, the nozzle 210 is located outside the radar 10, so that the fluid can be sprayed outside the radar 10 toward the radar 10. In this example, the nozzle 210 of the radar 10 can spray the fluid from top to bottom to the surrounding wall 122 of the cover body 12 located on the side.

[0107] Furthermore, the cleaning device 20 includes a connector 23, wherein at least a portion of the transmission channel 200 is formed in the connector 23. The nozzle 21 is communicatively connected to the connector 23.

[0108] The connector 23 has at least one outlet and one inlet, wherein the fluid enters the transmission channel 200 from the inlet of the connector 23 , leaves the connector 23 from the outlet and flows to the nozzle 21 , and is ejected outward through the nozzle 21 .

[0109] More specifically, the connector 23 includes a connection body 231 and at least one connector 232, wherein at least a portion of the transmission channel 200 is formed in the connection body 231 and the connector 232. The connector is communicatively connected to the connection body 231.

[0110] The connection body 231 has at least one guide groove 2310 , wherein the connection head is connected to the guide groove 2310 and the nozzle 21 is communicatively connected to the joint 232 .

[0111] The inlet and the outlet of the connector 23 are respectively connected to the guide groove 2310 .

[0112] The connection body 231 is annular, and the nozzle 21 is disposed on the outside of the connection body 231. The nozzle 21 is mounted on the connector 23. When the number of the nozzles 21 is plural, the relative positions of the plurality of nozzles 21 can be determined by the connector 23. The nozzle 21 is supported by the connector 23, and then the nozzle 21 and the connector 23 are mounted on the support base 22, which is connected to the cover 12 of the radar 10 through the support base 22, so that the cleaning device 20 can be maintained at a preset position.

[0113] It is worth mentioning that when the radar system 1 is used with the vehicle body 100, the radar system 1 can be installed on a top of the vehicle body 100. The top of the vehicle body 100 is the highest position of the entire vehicle body 100, and the radar system 1 is installed on the top to facilitate the radar system 1 to fully detect the surrounding environment of the vehicle body 100, especially for the autonomous driving vehicle body 100, which needs to obtain as much information as possible about the surrounding environment of the vehicle body 100.

[0114] In some embodiments of the present invention, the radar system 1 may also be installed at other locations of the vehicle body 100, for example, at the front of the vehicle body 100 or at the rear of the vehicle body 100, as shown in the attached drawings. Figure 1D and attached Figure 1E The number of radar systems 1 installed may be one or more.

[0115] When the radar system 1 is installed at the front of the vehicle body 100, the radar system 1 can focus on collecting information about the environment in front of the vehicle body 100, and the vehicle body 10 or the user can perform multiple operations based on the information collected by the radar 10. For example, the vehicle body 100 can perform adaptive cruise control based on the information collected by the radar 10 of the radar system 1, or when the radar 10 of the radar system 1 detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle body 100, the radar 10 can send information to the vehicle body 10 so that the vehicle body 10 or the user can brake in time.

[0116] When the radar system 1 is installed at the rear of the vehicle body 10, the radar system 1 can focus on collecting information about the environment behind the vehicle body 100, and the vehicle body 10 or the user can perform multiple operations based on the information collected by the radar 10. For example, the vehicle body 100 can issue a reversing reminder or an obstacle avoidance reminder based on the information collected by the radar 10 of the radar system 1. When the radar system 1 is installed at the C-pillar position of the vehicle body 10, the radar system 1 can also provide a lane change assistance reminder.

[0117] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above example does not limit the installation position of the radar system 1 on the vehicle body 100 .

[0118] It is worth mentioning that the radar system 1 can be detachably installed on the vehicle body 100 to facilitate the maintenance of the radar system 1 itself, and also to expand the scope of use of the radar system 1.

[0119] It is worth mentioning that the cleaning device 20 of the radar system 1 can be detachably connected to the radar 10. For the vehicle body 100 equipped with the radar 10, the cleaning device 20 can be used to clean it, so as to expand the use range of the cleaning device 20.

[0120] Furthermore, in this example, there are multiple nozzles 21 and correspondingly multiple nozzles 210. The nozzles 21 are distributed at different positions of the support base 22, so as to clean different positions of the cover 12 of the radar 10.

[0121] The nozzle 21 is arranged around the connector 23. When the nozzle 21 and the connector 23 are supported on the support base 22, the nozzle 21 is exposed to the outside after passing through the installation channel 220, and the nozzle 21 is surrounded by the support base 22 to clean the cover 12 of the radar 10 in different directions.

[0122] Of course, it is understandable that the nozzle 21 can be directly mounted on the support base 22 and extend outside the support base 22 .

[0123] In this example, the connector 23 has a certain rigidity to support the nozzle 21. In other embodiments of the present invention, the nozzles 21 may be connected to each other through other elements, such as a transmission pipe, or even when there are multiple nozzles 21, the nozzles 21 may be independent of each other.

[0124] In this example, the nozzles 21 are interconnected, and when the fluid enters the transmission channel 200 from the inlet, each nozzle 21 can spray the fluid.

[0125] Further, see Attachment Figure 2B As shown, the nozzle 210 is held outside the cover 12 in a changeable direction. When the nozzle 21 rotates, the direction of the nozzle 210 can be changed, so that the corresponding cleaning position can also be changed, thereby cleaning different positions of the cover 12 of the radar 10.

[0126] In this example, the nozzle 21 is rotatably connected to the connector 23. Specifically, the nozzle 21 is rotatably connected to the joint 232 of the connector 23.

[0127] Further, in this example, the nozzle 21 is connected to the connector 23 so as to be able to swing back and forth, so that the spraying area of ​​the nozzle 21 can be expanded, which is beneficial to improve the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning device 20. More specifically, the nozzle 21 is connected to the connector 23 so as to be able to swing back and forth along the outer surface of the cover body 12.

[0128] In other embodiments of the present invention, the nozzle 21 is rotatably connected to the support seat 22. Further, the nozzle 21 is connected to the support seat 22 so as to be swingable back and forth, so that the spraying area of ​​the nozzle 21 can be expanded, which is beneficial to improve the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning device 20. More specifically, the nozzle 21 is connected to the support seat 22 so as to be swingable back and forth along the outer surface of the cover body 12.

[0129] In other embodiments of the present invention, the nozzle 21 is directly mounted on the cover 12 of the radar 10, for example, the cover lower end 126 of the cover 12, or the cover upper end 125 of the cover 12. The nozzle 21 extends to the outside of the surrounding wall 122 of the radar 10, and the nozzle 21 is rotatably connected to the radar 10. Further, the nozzle 21 is connected to the cover 12 so that it can swing back and forth, so that the spraying area of ​​the nozzle 21 can be expanded, which is conducive to improving the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning device 20. More specifically, the nozzle 21 is connected to the cover 12 so that it can swing back and forth along the outer surface of the cover 12.

[0130] In some other embodiments of the present invention, the nozzle head 211 of the nozzle 21 is rotatably connected to the nozzle tube 212, so that the orientation of the nozzle 210 located at the nozzle head 211 can be changed.

[0131] Furthermore, the rotation amplitude of the nozzle 21 may be in the range of 0° to 180°, so as to form a fan-shaped spraying area on the outer surface of the cover body 12 .

[0132] It is worth mentioning that the nozzle 21 can extend to the outside of the radar 20 so that the nozzle 210 can be located outside the radar 20 and spray fluid toward the radar 20 .

[0133] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the nozzle 21 itself can be configured to be retractable, for example, retractable along the length direction of the nozzle 21. When the nozzle 21 is extended, the nozzle 210 can be located outside the radar 20, so that fluid can be sprayed toward the radar 20.

[0134] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the nozzle 21 may have a fixed length, and the nozzle 21 may be extended to the outside of the radar 20 by means of the support base 22 or the connector 23 .

[0135] Reference Figure 3 To Attachment Figure 6 As shown, various application modes of the radar system 1 are explained, and reference can be made to the attached Figure 1A To Attachment Figure 2B The present invention further provides a cleaning method for the radar system 1, which comprises the following steps:

[0136] Sending a cleaning signal based on a state of the radar 10 of the radar system 1;

[0137] generating a cleaning instruction based on the state of the radar 10 and a state of the cleaning device 20;

[0138] The cleaning device 20 executes the cleaning instruction to clean the radar 10 .

[0139] Specifically, the working status of the radar 10 can be detected by a detection unit. For example, the detection unit is respectively arranged on the inside and outside of the transparent part 124 to obtain the data of the electromagnetic waves emitted by the radar 10 before and after passing through the transparent part 124 or the data of the reflected electromagnetic waves before and after passing through the transparent part 124.

[0140] Whether the radar 10 needs to be cleaned can be determined by comparing the change of the electromagnetic wave before and after passing through the transparent portion 124. If the contaminants in the radar 10 interfere with the normal operation of the radar 10, the change of the electromagnetic wave before and after passing through the transparent portion 124 will exceed a preset value, thereby sending a cleaning signal to clean the radar 10 in subsequent steps.

[0141] The state of the radar 10 may be a surface state of the radar 10 . When the surface of the radar 10 is contaminated, the radar 10 needs to be processed.

[0142] Furthermore, the cleaning method of the radar system 1 comprises the following steps:

[0143] Acquire signals of the electromagnetic waves emitted by the radar 10 before and after passing through the transparent portion 124; and

[0144] It is determined whether the change of the electromagnetic wave signal exceeds a preset value, and if so, a cleaning signal is issued.

[0145] It is worth noting that the detection unit can not only detect the electromagnetic wave signal, but also detect the position of the transparent part 124 corresponding to the electromagnetic wave to obtain position information about the pollutant, so as to facilitate cleaning of the transparent part 124 of the radar 10 in subsequent steps.

[0146] Furthermore, the cleaning method of the radar system 1 comprises the following steps:

[0147] Acquire the position of at least one of the nozzles 21 of the cleaning device 20 and the distribution state of pollutants in the cover 12 of the radar 10 to generate the cleaning instruction; and

[0148] The cleaning device 20 adjusts the position of the nozzle 21 according to the cleaning instruction.

[0149] Specifically, for the cleaning device 20, the cleaning device 20 can adjust the position and state of the nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 based on the different positions of the contaminants, and can be attached. Figure 3 and attached Figure 4 For reference. A detector can be used to detect the state of the cleaning device 20. The data that the detector can obtain include the position of the cleaning device 20, the fluid that the cleaning device 20 can provide, the fluid injection speed, the fluid injection intensity, the fluid type and other data. The position and direction of the nozzle 21 can be detected by the detector.

[0150] When a processor obtains the location of the pollutant or the location that needs to be cleaned based on the data detected by the radar detector, the processor further generates a cleaning instruction based on the data about the cleaning device 20 obtained by the cleaning device 20 detector. The cleaning device 20 adjusts the orientation of the cleaning device 20 based on the cleaning instruction so that the nozzle 21 is aligned with the location of the radar 10 that needs to be cleaned, thereby improving the working efficiency of the cleaning device 20.

[0151] It is understandable that the nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 can be adjusted not only in its direction but also in its position. For example, when the cleaning device 20 is installed at the lower end 126 of the cover body 12 of the radar 10, the nozzle 21 is not set on the pollutant side. The relative position of the nozzle 21 and the cover body 12 can be changed. For example, the nozzle 21 can move around the cover body 12, so that the nozzle 21 can move to the side where the pollutant is located, and the nozzle 210 of the nozzle 21 can be aligned with the location of the pollutant, and then the fluid is sprayed by the nozzle 21 to the location of the pollutant. For example, when the state of the nozzle 21 can also be adjusted, when the pollutant contamination area is small and only one nozzle 21 is needed for treatment, the other nozzles 21 can stop working.

[0152] Of course, it is understandable that the nozzle 210 of the nozzle 21 does not necessarily need to be completely aligned with the contaminant. The spraying direction of the nozzle 21 and the surface of the cover 12 have an angle. After the fluid is sprayed onto the surface of the cover 12, part of it flows along the surface of the cover 12, and part of it splashes due to the obstruction of the cover 12. The surface of the cover 12 may be subjected to different impact intensities. The nozzle 21 can be aligned with part of the contaminant, and then the contaminants in other parts are removed by the sputtering or flow of the fluid.

[0153] Further, the cleaning method of the radar system 1 comprises the following steps:

[0154] Obtaining the position of at least one of the nozzles 21 of the cleaning device 20 and the contamination state of the cover 12 of the radar 10;

[0155] generating the cleaning instruction; and

[0156] The cleaning device 20 adjusts the spraying intensity of the nozzle 21 according to the cleaning instruction.

[0157] Specifically, the radar detector can obtain signal change data of the electromagnetic wave emitted by the radar 10 or the reflected electromagnetic wave before and after passing through the cover 12. Based on the strength of the electromagnetic wave signal change, the processor can analyze and obtain the strength of the pollution degree of the surface of the cover 12 of the radar 10.

[0158] Reference Figure 5For example, the radar detector detects that there is contaminant on the surface of the cover 12 of the radar 10, which has two contaminated areas A and B, and the change value of the electromagnetic wave signal passing through the contaminated area A exceeds the change value of the electromagnetic wave signal passing through the contaminated area B. The radar detector can also detect the contaminant itself after finding the specific location of the contaminant, for example, directly detecting the area size of the two contaminated areas or the thickness of the contaminant.

[0159] The processor determines the degree of contamination of the contaminated area A and the contaminated area B of the radar 10 based on the detection result of the radar detector and generates a cleaning instruction. The cleaning instruction includes a cleaning intensity. For an area with a higher degree of contamination, a cleaning method with a higher cleaning intensity can be used, and for an area with a lower degree of contamination, a cleaning method with a lower cleaning intensity can be used.

[0160] At least one of the nozzles 21 can process the contaminated area A, and at least one of the nozzles 21 can process the contaminated area B. The nozzles 21 for processing the contaminated area A and the contaminated area B can be the same nozzle 21, for example, the contaminated area A and the contaminated area B can be processed respectively in a certain order. The nozzles 21 for processing the contaminated area A and the contaminated area B can also be different, and different areas can be processed simultaneously.

[0161] If the contamination level of the contaminated area A is higher than that of the contaminated area B, the intensity of treating the contaminated area A can be higher than that of treating the contaminated area B. For example, the spray intensity of the nozzle 21 can be different. When the spray intensity of the nozzle 21 changes, the ability to remove contaminants also changes accordingly. The stronger the impact force of the fluid, the easier it is to remove contaminants.

[0162] It is worth mentioning that the type of fluid sprayed by the nozzle 21 can also affect the cleaning intensity. For fine particles, air flow can be used to remove them, for mud, water flow is needed, and for some organic matter, some organic cleaning agents may be needed.

[0163] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, in the cleaning method of the radar system 1, the cleaning device 20 adjusts the type of fluid sprayed by the nozzle 21 according to the cleaning instruction.

[0164] Reference Figure 6Specifically, the radar detector can detect the state of the pollutant after determining the location of the pollutant, and can obtain information about the distribution state of the pollutant in the cover body 12, and can also obtain information about the morphology of the pollutant itself. The processor analyzes the state information about the pollutant obtained by the radar detector and obtains a treatment method for the pollutant.

[0165] When the pollutants are fine particles distributed on the cover 12, the cleaning device 20 can use airflow to treat them. For example, when the vehicle body 100 is driving in a desert, the cleaning device 20 can continuously spray airflow on the surface of the radar 10 to remove the fine particles attached to the cover 12.

[0166] When the pollutant is mud distributed on the cover 12 or other pollutants with a certain viscosity, the cleaning device 20 can use water flow to treat it. For example, when the vehicle body 100 is driving in heavy rain, the nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 can spray water flow to the surface of the radar 10 to wash the surface of the radar 10 and remove the mud and water mixture attached to the surface of the radar 10.

[0167] When the pollutants are pollutants that are difficult to remove by other water flows or air flows distributed in the cover 12, the cleaning device 20 can use a specific cleaning agent to treat them. For example, in the long-term use of the radar system 1, some impurities are inevitably mixed in the water flow, leaving scale on the cover 12 of the radar 10, then the nozzle 21 can spray a cleaning agent with a certain acidity to remove the pollutants, and can also spray water flow after spraying the cleaning agent to remove the cleaning agent.

[0168] In this way, the probability of removing the pollutants attached to the cover 12 of the radar 10 is greatly improved.

[0169] Furthermore, the detector further includes a vehicle body detector for acquiring the state of the vehicle body 100. For the vehicle body 100, especially the vehicle body 100 in autonomous driving, the importance of the role played by the radar 10 is self-evident.

[0170] Once the vehicle body 100 is traveling at high speed, the cleaning device 20 will clean the radar 10, so that the radar 10 may not work for a short period of time. The safety of the user in the vehicle body 100 is obviously not guaranteed during this process.

[0171] After generating the cleaning instruction, the processor generates a cleaning strategy based on the state of the vehicle body 100 obtained by the vehicle body detector and the state of the radar 10 obtained by the radar detector. The cleaning strategy includes a cleaning timing.

[0172] Specifically, based on the information about the radar 10 obtained by the radar detector, the processor generates a cleaning signal, that is, the radar 10 needs to be cleaned. Based on the information about the cleaning device 20 detected by the cleaning device 20 detector, the processor generates a cleaning instruction, and the cleaning device 20 can clean the radar 10 in a certain direction and in a certain way based on the cleaning instruction.

[0173] Further, the processor generates a cleaning strategy based on the information about the vehicle body 100 detected by the vehicle body state detector. For example, the processor selects a timing to provide service for the radar 10 installed on the vehicle body 100 based on the information about the vehicle body 100 detected by the vehicle body detector and the working state information about the radar 10 detected by the radar detector, and the cleaning device 20 executes the cleaning instruction for the radar 10 based on the timing.

[0174] For example, the vehicle body status detector detects that the vehicle body 100 is currently in a high-speed driving state, and the surrounding environment of the vehicle body 100 is complex, and the radar system 1 needs to monitor it at all times to deal with emergencies. At this time, although the radar 10 is in a state that requires cleaning, the cleaning device 20 cannot perform this action immediately.

[0175] In this case, a reminder can be used to remind the user that the user can switch the driving state of the vehicle body 100 from automatic driving to manual driving, and then the cleaning device 20 cleans the radar 10 immediately after the state of the vehicle body 100 changes to manual driving, and after the cleaning is completed, a reminder signal is issued to remind the user to switch back to the automatic driving state. The radar 10 can work normally.

[0176] For example, the cleaning signal has been received, and the vehicle body detector detects that the radar 10 may be in a stopped state, for example, the vehicle body 100 is parked on the roadside or the vehicle body 100 is in a manual driving state. The processor selects the present as the cleaning timing, and the cleaning device 20 performs cleaning processing for the radar 10 based on the cleaning timing.

[0177] Furthermore, the cleaning method of the radar system 1 comprises the following steps:

[0178] Acquiring an operating state of the vehicle body 100 and selecting a cleaning time; and

[0179] The cleaning device 20 cleans the radar 10 based on the cleaning timing.

[0180] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the cleaning method of the radar system 1 further comprises the following steps:

[0181] Determine whether the radar 10 is in a stopped working state based on the operating state of the vehicle body 100, and if so, select the present time as the cleaning time; and

[0182] The cleaning device 20 cleans the radar 10 based on the cleaning timing.

[0183] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, if the radar 10 is in a working state, the radar 10 is stopped to prevent the radar 10 from sensing information with large deviation when the cleaning device 20 is working.

[0184] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the cleaning method of the radar system 1 further comprises the following steps:

[0185] Based on the running state of the vehicle body 100, it is determined whether the radar 10 can be in a stopped working state. If not, a prompt message is issued, and the prompt message is used to prompt the user to change the motion state of the vehicle body 100, such as pulling the vehicle body 100 over or setting the vehicle body 100 to manual driving.

[0186] It is worth mentioning that the cleaning device 20 of the radar system 1 can not only clean the radar 10 when the radar 10 is affected by pollutants to work properly, but also pre-process the radar 10 to prevent the radar 10 from failing to work properly after working for a period of time.

[0187] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the cleaning method of the radar system 1 comprises the following steps:

[0188] Based on the surface state of the radar 10 in the past period of time and the current environmental information around the vehicle body 100, it is determined whether the radar 10 needs to be cleaned, and if so, the cleaning signal is issued.

[0189] Specifically, the vehicle body 100 is traveling on a sandy road. The processor finds that the pollutants on the surface of the radar 10 are increasing with the increase of the driving distance based on the radar detector. At the same time, the vehicle body detector detects that the vehicle body 100 needs to continue to travel on the current road for a long period of time, and based on a communicator, such as obtaining the air quality information of this area based on a navigation map of the vehicle body 100, it is obtained that the road ahead will have worse weather conditions. If the vehicle body 100 continues to move forward, the radar 10 will not work properly at a certain moment. Before the radar 10 appears in an abnormal working state, the processor generates the cleaning signal based on the tendency of the radar 10 to work abnormally due to the attachment of pollutants. The processor can be set in the radar 10. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the position and type of the processor do not limit the present invention.

[0190] The cleaning instruction is generated based on the cleaning signal, and then the cleaning device 20 cleans the radar 10 based on the cleaning instruction.

[0191] By using such a pre-cleaning method, the probability of the radar 10 suddenly failing to work normally at a critical moment can be reduced, thereby improving the safety performance of the entire vehicle.

[0192] According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a cleaning method for the radar 10, wherein the cleaning method comprises the following steps:

[0193] generating a cleaning instruction based on a state of the radar 10 and a state of the cleaning device 20; and

[0194] The cleaning device 20 is controlled according to the cleaning instruction to clean the radar 10 .

[0195] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, the state of the radar 10 includes the distribution state of pollutants on the surface of the radar 10, the state of the cleaning device 20 includes the position of at least one nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20, and the cleaning device 20 adjusts the position of the nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 according to the cleaning instruction to clean the radar 10.

[0196] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, the state of the radar 10 includes the contamination degree state of the surface of the radar 10, the state of the cleaning device 20 includes the position of at least one nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20, and the cleaning device 20 adjusts the spray intensity of the nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 according to the cleaning instruction to clean the radar 10.

[0197] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, the state of the radar 10 includes the state of the pollutant morphology on the surface of the radar 10, and the cleaning device 20 adjusts the type of fluid sprayed by the nozzle 21 according to the cleaning instruction.

[0198] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the cleaning method of the cleaning device 20 further comprises the following steps:

[0199] Determining whether the radar 10 needs to be cleaned based on an electromagnetic wave state of the radar 10;

[0200] If yes, obtaining a contamination state of the surface of the radar 10; and

[0201] The cleaning instruction is generated based on the contamination state of the surface of the radar 10 and the state of the cleaning device 20 .

[0202] According to some embodiments of the present invention, there are multiple nozzles 21, and each nozzle 21 is controlled separately based on the cleaning instruction.

[0203] According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a radar cleaning method, comprising the following steps: after generating the cleaning signal based on the surface state of the radar 10, generating the cleaning instruction based on the operating state of the cleaning device 20 and the surface state of the radar 10; and

[0204] The cleaning device 20 cleans the radar 10 based on the cleaning instruction.

[0205] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, the cleaning signal is generated based on the surface state of the radar 10 and the surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1000 .

[0206] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the radar cleaning method further comprises the following steps:

[0207] After acquiring the surface state of the radar 10, determining whether the radar 10 has a tendency to operate abnormally due to the attachment of contaminants; and

[0208] If so, the cleaning signal is generated.

[0209] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the radar cleaning method further comprises the following steps:

[0210] A cleaning timing is selected based on the operating state of the vehicle 1000 and the surface state of the radar 10 , and in the above method, the cleaning device 20 cleans the radar 10 at the cleaning timing.

[0211] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, the cleaning instruction is generated based on a contamination state of the radar 10 and a state of at least one nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20. It is understandable that the state of the nozzle 21 may include the direction, position, type of fluid sprayed, and intensity of fluid sprayed of the nozzle 21.

[0212] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, the pollution state of the radar 10 refers to the distribution position of pollutants, and the state of the nozzle 21 refers to the orientation of the nozzle 21. Based on the distribution position of pollutants, the orientation of the nozzle 21 is adjusted until the nozzle 21 is aligned with the pollutants.

[0213] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, the contamination state of the radar 10 is a degree of surface contamination of the radar 10 , and the spray intensity of the nozzle 21 is adjusted based on the degree of contamination.

[0214] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, the type of fluid sprayed by the nozzle 21 is adjusted based on the type of the pollutant.

[0215] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the radar cleaning method further comprises the following steps:

[0216] After obtaining signals of electromagnetic waves emitted by a radar body 11 of the radar 10 before and after passing through a cover 12, judging whether the cover 12 needs to be cleaned based on the electromagnetic wave signals; and

[0217] If so, the cleaning signal is generated.

[0218] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the radar cleaning method further comprises the following steps:

[0219] After obtaining signals of reflected electromagnetic waves received by a radar body 11 of the radar 10 before and after passing through a cover 12, judging whether the cover 12 needs to be cleaned based on the electromagnetic wave signals; and

[0220] If so, the cleaning signal is generated.

[0221] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the radar cleaning method further comprises the following steps:

[0222] After obtaining a pollutant attachment state on a surface of a cover 12 of the radar 10 , judging whether the cover 12 needs to be cleaned based on the pollutant attachment state; and

[0223] If so, the cleaning signal is generated.

[0224] Reference Figure 7 As shown, please refer to the attached Figure 1A To Attachment Figure 1C , a modified embodiment of the radar system 1 according to the above-mentioned preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained.

[0225] The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiments lies in the cleaning device 20 .

[0226] The cleaning device 20 includes a plurality of nozzles 21 and a support seat 22, wherein the nozzles 21 are disposed on the support seat 22. The nozzles 21 may be integrally formed with the support seat 22. The nozzles 21 are configured to extend outward from the support seat 22.

[0227] The relative position between the cleaning device 20 and the radar 10 can be changed so that the cleaning device 20 can treat the radar 10 as comprehensively as possible, thereby reducing the possibility of contaminants staying on the surface of the radar 10 .

[0228] Specifically, for the vehicle body 100 , the cover 12 of the radar 10 is fixedly mounted on the vehicle body 100 . The cleaning device 20 is also mounted on the vehicle body 100 , and in this example, the cleaning device 20 is located below the radar 10 .

[0229] The cleaning device 20 is held below the radar 10 , and is held below the radar 10 rotatably relative to the radar 10 , so that the nozzle 21 located outside the radar 10 can rotate around the radar 10 .

[0230] For example, the radar 10 is supported on the vehicle body 100 through a first bracket, and the cleaning device 20 is supported on the vehicle body 100 through a second bracket. The radar 10 is fixed to the vehicle body 100, and when the cleaning device 20 is rotatably supported on the vehicle body 100 through the second bracket, the radar 10 can continue to remain fixed. The second bracket can be annular, and the first bracket passes through the second bracket, so that the rotation of the cleaning device 20 does not affect the radar 10.

[0231] When the cleaning device 20 rotates, the position of the radar 10 is fixed, and the nozzle 21 located on the support seat 22 rotates along the circumferential direction of the radar 10, so that the nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 can clean the radar 10 from different directions.

[0232] Reference Figure 8 As shown, please refer to the attached Figure 1A To Attachment Figure 1C , a modified embodiment of the radar system 1 according to the above-mentioned preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained.

[0233] The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiments lies in the cleaning device 20 .

[0234] When the radar system 1 is installed on a vehicle body 100, the radar 10 is rotatably installed on the vehicle body 100. The nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 is supported on the vehicle body 100, and its relative position to the vehicle body 100 remains fixed.

[0235] There are many types of radars 10. For example, the commonly used mechanical radar 10 requires the rotation of a radiation source to achieve a 360-degree all-round scan during the scanning process. Therefore, when the radar 10 is rotatably connected to the vehicle body 100, the radar 10 can also work.

[0236] Reference Fig. 9 As shown, a modified embodiment of the radar system 1 according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained.

[0237] The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiment lies in the cleaning device 20 . The cleaning device 20 comprises at least one nozzle 21 . The nozzle 21 is configured to be rotatable around the radar 10 .

[0238] Specifically, when the radar system 1 is installed on the vehicle body 100 , the nozzle 21 is installed on the vehicle body 100 so as to be rotatable around the radar 10 , and the radar 10 is fixedly supported on the vehicle body 100 .

[0239] When the nozzle 21 rotates around the radar 10 , the cover 12 of the radar 10 can be cleaned 360 degrees by the nozzle 21 as much as possible.

[0240] Further, the cleaning device 20 includes a support base 22, wherein the support base 22 has a mounting channel 220, wherein the mounting channel 220 has a certain length to allow the nozzle 21 to move in the mounting channel 220. The nozzle 21 passes through the mounting channel 220. The radar 10 is at least partially supported by the support base 22. The nozzle 21 is independent of the support base 22.

[0241] When the nozzle 21 rotates relative to the radar 10 , the relative positions of the support base 22 and the radar 10 remain fixed. The nozzle 21 moves around the radar 10 along the installation channel 220 .

[0242] Furthermore, the cleaning device 20 includes a connector 23, wherein at least a portion of the transmission channel 200 is formed in the connector 23. The nozzle 21 is communicatively connected to the connector 23.

[0243] When there are multiple nozzles 21 , the multiple nozzles 21 can simultaneously rotate around the radar 10 with the aid of the connector 23 .

[0244] Reference Fig.10 As shown, a modified embodiment of the radar system 1 according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained.

[0245] The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiments lies in the cleaning device 20 .

[0246] The cleaning device 20 includes at least one nozzle 21 , wherein the nozzle 21 is mounted on the cover 12 of the radar 10 , and the nozzle 21 is rotatably disposed on the radar 10 .

[0247] The cleaning device 20 may include a connector 23. When there are multiple nozzles 21, the connector 23 may connect the nozzles 21 in series or in parallel, so that different nozzles 21 can work together.

[0248] The nozzle 21 may also be connected to a transmission pipe, through which the fluid is transmitted, and then the fluid is sprayed onto the surface of the cover body 12 .

[0249] The nozzle 21 may be disposed at the bottom of the cover body 12 , or at the top of the cover body 12 .

[0250] Reference Fig.11 As shown, a modified embodiment of the radar system 1 according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained.

[0251] The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiments lies in the cleaning device 20 .

[0252] In this example, the cleaning device 20 is installed at the cover body high end portion 125 of the cover body 12. The nozzle 21 is arranged to face downward and toward the cover body 12, so that the fluid can be sprayed toward the cover body 12 from top to bottom.

[0253] The nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 extends outward from the top of the cover body 12 so that the nozzle 210 can spray toward the surrounding wall 122 of the cover body 12 below.

[0254] It is understandable that the nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 may also be held on the upper cover 121 of the housing 12 , and the nozzle 21 extends outward so that the nozzle 210 is located outside the radar 10 .

[0255] The nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 may also be held outside the surrounding wall 122 of the cover body 12 , and the nozzle 21 extends outward so that the nozzle 210 is located outside the radar 10 .

[0256] In other words, the nozzle 21 can be installed on the upper cover 121 of the cover body 12 through the support seat 22, can be installed on the surrounding wall 122 of the cover body 12 through the support seat 22, or can be installed on the lower cover 123 of the cover body 12 through the support seat 22.

[0257] It is worth noting that when the nozzle 21 is installed on the surrounding wall 122 of the cover body 12 through the support seat 22, the transparent portion 124 may not be interfered by the nozzle 21 to avoid affecting the radiation of the radar body 11.

[0258] Reference Fig.12 As shown, a modified embodiment of the radar system 1 according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained.

[0259] The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiments lies in the cleaning device 20 .

[0260] The number of the nozzles 21 of the cleaning device 20 is plural, and the fluids sprayed by the nozzles 21 can be different.

[0261] Specifically, the cleaning device 20 can use water flow, air flow or other fluids that can be used for cleaning. The air flow can be air flow, such as compressed air, or other gases, such as nitrogen.

[0262] In this example, the number of the nozzles 21 is 6, and the nozzles 21 are arranged to surround the cover 12 of the radar 10 .

[0263] Furthermore, the nozzle 21 is configured to extend outward from the support base 22 and surround the support base 22 .

[0264] Furthermore, the nozzle 21 is configured to extend outward from the connecting seat, pass through the supporting seat 22, and then pass through the supporting seat 22 to extend to the outside of the cover 12 of the radar 10.

[0265] At least one of the nozzles 21 is used to spray water, and at least one of the nozzles 21 is used to spray air. A plurality of the nozzles 21 are arranged at equal intervals outside the cover body 12 .

[0266] Optionally, the fluids sprayed by adjacent nozzles 21 are different. Optionally, three nozzles 21 are used to spray water, and three nozzles 21 are used to spray air. Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that this is only an example, and the arrangement of the nozzles 21 is not limited to the above case.

[0267] Each of the nozzles 21 may correspond to one of the transmission channels, that is, the nozzles 21 may be independent of each other.

[0268] Alternatively, the nozzles 21 that spray the same fluid may correspond to the same transmission channel. Of course, it is understandable that a nozzle 21 may be used to spray airflow or waterflow. The transmission pipeline connected to the nozzle 21 may be switched to transmit different fluids.

[0269] Reference Fig.13 As shown, a modified embodiment of the radar system 1 according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained.

[0270] The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiments lies in the cleaning device 20 .

[0271] In this example, the number of the cleaning devices 20 is two, and one cleaning device 20 is installed at the cover body high end portion 125 of the cover body 12 of the radar 10 , and the other cleaning device 20 is installed at the cover body low end portion 126 of the cover body 12 of the radar 10 .

[0272] The nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 located at the upper end 125 of the cover body can spray the fluid from top to bottom toward the permeable portion 124 of the cover body 12. The nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 located at the lower end 126 of the cover body can spray the fluid from bottom to top toward the permeable portion 124 of the cover body 12.

[0273] The two cleaning devices 20 can work together to simultaneously perform a decontamination treatment on the cover body 12 in the upper and lower directions.

[0274] For example, the cleaning device 20 spraying the airflow can first spray the cover body 12 with airflow to remove some tiny particles, and then the cleaning device 20 spraying the water flow can continue to treat the pollutants with water flow after the cleaning device 20 spraying the airflow stops working. Some pollutant particles are small, and after being sprayed with water, they are easily adsorbed on the surface of the cover body 12 due to the surface tension of water. Finally, the cleaning device 20 spraying the airflow can continue to work to blow away the water that may be hanging on the surface of the cover body 12.

[0275] Reference Fig.14 As shown, a modified embodiment of the radar system 1 according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained.

[0276] The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiments lies in the cleaning device 20 .

[0277] The number of the nozzles 21 of the cleaning device 20 is plural, and the fluids sprayed by the nozzles 21 can be different.

[0278] Specifically, the cleaning device 20 can use water flow, air flow or other fluids that can be used for cleaning. The air flow can be air flow, such as compressed air, or other gases, such as nitrogen. The fluid used for cleaning can be some detergents, such as various surfactants.

[0279] In this example, the number of the nozzles 21 is 6, and the nozzles 21 are arranged to surround the cover 12 of the radar 10. Two of the nozzles 21 can be used to spray airflow, two of the nozzles 21 can be used to spray water, and two of the nozzles 21 can be used to spray cleaning agents. The nozzles 21 are evenly spaced around the cover 12. Adjacent nozzles 21 can spray different fluids.

[0280] The nozzles 21 can cooperate with each other. The nozzles 21 can be rotatably held outside the cover body 12 .

[0281] It is worth mentioning that, for the radar 10 , the plurality of nozzles 21 can uniformly spray fluid toward the radar 10 , so that the radar 10 is in a state of balanced force, which is conducive to maintaining the radar 10 in a stable state.

[0282] According to another aspect of the present invention, Fig.15 Also refer to the attached Figure 1A To Attachment Figure 2BAs shown, the present invention provides a radar cleaning system 2000, wherein the radar cleaning system 2000 includes a data acquisition unit 2100, a processing unit 2200 and the cleaning device 20. The data acquisition unit 2100 includes a radar acquisition module 2101, a cleaning device acquisition module 2102 and a vehicle acquisition module 2103, wherein the radar acquisition module 2101 is used to acquire the state information about the radar 10, the cleaning device acquisition module 2102 is used to acquire the state information about the cleaning device 20, and the vehicle acquisition module 2103 is used to acquire the state information of the vehicle body 100. The radar system 10 is installed on the vehicle body 100.

[0283] The data acquisition unit 2100 further includes a judgment module 2104 and a cleaning signal generation module 2105, wherein the judgment module 2104 is communicably connected to the radar acquisition module 2101. The cleaning signal generation module 2105 is communicably connected to the judgment module 2104. The judgment module 2104 is used to judge whether the radar 10 needs to be cleaned. When a judgment result of the judgment module 2104 is affirmative, the cleaning signal generation module 2105 is used to generate the cleaning signal.

[0284] The determination module 2104 may also be communicatively connected to the vehicle acquisition module 2103 to determine whether the radar 10 needs to be processed based on the state of the vehicle body 100 and the state of the radar 10 .

[0285] It can be understood that the judgment module 2104 can determine whether the radar 10 needs to be cleaned based on the current state of the radar 10, and the judgment module 2104 can also determine whether the radar 10 has a tendency to be polluted based on the state of the radar 10 in the past period of time and the state of the vehicle body 100. If so, the demand generation module generates the cleaning signal.

[0286] The processing unit 2200 is communicatively connected to the data acquisition unit 2100. The processing unit 2200 receives the cleaning signal and then generates a cleaning strategy based on the data acquired from the data acquisition unit 2100.

[0287] The processing unit 2200 includes an analysis module 2201 and a strategy generation module 2202 , wherein the analysis module 2201 is communicably connected to the data acquisition module. The analysis module 2201 is communicably connected to the data acquisition unit 2100 .

[0288] After the data acquisition unit 2100 generates the cleaning signal, the analysis module 2201 of the processing unit 2200 analyzes the vehicle body 100 based on the status information about the vehicle body 100 and the status information of the radar 10 acquired by the vehicle acquisition module 2103 and the radar acquisition module 2101, and determines whether the vehicle body 100 is currently capable of cleaning processing and generates an analysis result.

[0289] The strategy generation module 2202 includes a cleaning timing generation module 22021 and a cleaning method generation module 22022 , wherein the cleaning timing generation module 22021 is communicatively connected to the analysis module 2201 .

[0290] The cleaning timing generation module 22021 is used to generate the timing for performing cleaning on the radar 10, and the cleaning method generation module 22022 is used to generate the method for performing cleaning on the radar 10, such as the spraying direction and spraying position of the cleaning device 20, which nozzle 21 of the cleaning device 20 needs to spray, the type, intensity and frequency of the fluid sprayed by the nozzle 21, etc.

[0291] When the analysis result of the analysis module 2201 is that the vehicle body 100 can be cleaned, the cleaning timing generation module 22021 selects the current time as the cleaning timing, and the cleaning device 20 starts to clean the radar 10 .

[0292] The processing unit 2200 further includes a prompt generation module 2203, wherein the prompt generation module 2203 is used to generate a prompt. When the analysis result of the analysis module 2201 is that the vehicle body 100 cannot be processed at present, but the radar 10 needs to be cleaned, the prompt generation module 2203 generates a prompt based on the analysis result.

[0293] The radar cleaning system 2000 further includes a prompt unit 2300, wherein the prompt unit 2300 is communicatively connected to the prompt generating module 2203. The prompt unit 2300 sends the prompt to the outside, so that the user changes the state of the vehicle body 100 after receiving the prompt, so that the cleaning device 20 can clean the radar 10.

[0294] The cleaning method generation module 22022 is communicatively connected to the radar acquisition module 2101 and the cleaning device acquisition module 2102 of the data acquisition unit 2100. The cleaning method generation module 22022 generates the cleaning method based on the contamination state of the radar 10 and the state of the cleaning device 20, so that the cleaning device 20 can perform targeted treatment on the contaminants on the surface of the radar 10 based on the cleaning method.

[0295] Furthermore, the radar acquisition module 2101 and the cleaning device acquisition module 2102 can respectively acquire real-time data for the radar 10 and the cleaning device 20. When the radar acquisition module 2101 detects that the contamination state of the surface of the radar 10 does not affect the normal operation of the radar 10, the cleaning device 20 can stop the cleaning process for the radar 10.

[0296] According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a cleaning method for the radar 10, wherein the cleaning method comprises the following steps:

[0297] At least one of the nozzles 21 of the cleaning device 20 sprays fluid toward the radar 10 .

[0298] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, when the number of the nozzles 21 is plural, the plurality of nozzles 21 of the cleaning device 20 spray fluid toward the radar 10 .

[0299] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the cleaning method further comprises the following step: adjusting the orientation of the nozzle 210 of the nozzle 21 so as to change the relative position of the nozzle 210 and the radar 10 .

[0300] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the cleaning method further comprises the following step: rotating the nozzle 21 to adjust the orientation of the nozzle 210 .

[0301] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, the nozzle 21 is moved around the radar 10 to change the relative position of the nozzle 210 and the radar 10 .

[0302] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, the position of the nozzle 210 is adjusted based on a pollutant distribution of the radar 10 .

[0303] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the above method, the spray intensity of the nozzle 21 is adjusted based on a contamination level of the radar 10 .

[0304] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present invention described above and shown in the accompanying drawings are only examples and do not limit the present invention. The purpose of the present invention has been fully and effectively achieved. The functional and structural principles of the present invention have been demonstrated and explained in the embodiments, and the embodiments of the present invention may be deformed or modified in any way without departing from the principles.

Claims

1. A radar cleaning method, characterized in that: The steps include: After generating a cleaning signal based on a surface state of a radar, generating a cleaning instruction based on an operation state of two cleaning devices and the surface state of the radar; and The cleaning device cleans the radar based on the cleaning instruction; Two of the cleaning devices respectively include at least one nozzle, a support seat and a connector, the support seat is an annular support seat having at least one mounting channel, the connector is mounted on the support seat, the nozzle is rotatably mounted on the support seat and is communicatively connected to the connector through the mounting channel of the support seat, one of the cleaning devices is mounted above the transparent part of the radar, and the nozzle of the nozzle of the cleaning device is maintained above the transparent part of the radar and facing the transparent part, so that the nozzle of the cleaning device can be directed from top to bottom toward the transparent part. The second cleaning device is installed below the transparent part of the radar, and the nozzle of the nozzle of the cleaning device is maintained below the transparent part of the radar and toward the transparent part, so that the nozzle of the cleaning device can spray fluid from bottom to top toward the transparent part, and the nozzle of one cleaning device sprays water, and the nozzle of the other cleaning device sprays air, wherein when the nozzle rotates back and forth relative to the support seat, the nozzle swings back and forth relative to the transparent part of the radar to expand the spraying area of ​​the nozzle. 2 . The radar cleaning method according to claim 1 , wherein in the method, the cleaning signal is generated based on the surface state of the radar and a surrounding environment information of a vehicle.

3. The radar cleaning method according to claim 1 further comprises the following steps: After acquiring the surface state of the radar, determining whether the radar has a tendency to operate abnormally due to adhesion of contaminants; and If so, the cleaning signal is generated.

4. The radar cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the radar cleaning method further comprises the following steps: A cleaning time is selected based on a running state of the vehicle and the surface state of the radar, and in the above method, the cleaning device cleans the radar at the cleaning time. 5 . The radar cleaning method according to claim 1 , wherein in the method, the cleaning instruction is generated based on a contamination state of the radar and a state of the nozzle of the cleaning device.

6. The radar cleaning method according to claim 5, wherein in the above method, the contamination state of the radar refers to the distribution position of the pollutants, the state of the nozzle is the orientation of the nozzle, and the orientation of the nozzle is adjusted based on the distribution position of the pollutants until the nozzle is aligned with the pollutants. 7 . The radar cleaning method according to claim 5 , wherein in the above method, the contamination state of the radar is a contamination degree of the surface of the radar, and the spray intensity of the nozzle is adjusted based on the contamination degree. 8 . The radar cleaning method according to claim 5 , wherein in the method, the type of fluid sprayed by the nozzle is adjusted based on the type of the contaminant.

9. The radar cleaning method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising the following steps: After obtaining signals of electromagnetic waves emitted by a radar body of the radar before and after passing through a cover, judging whether the cover needs to be cleaned based on the electromagnetic wave signals; and If so, the cleaning signal is generated.

10. The radar cleaning method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising the following steps: After acquiring a signal of a reflected electromagnetic wave received by a radar body of the radar before and after passing through a cover, judging whether the cover needs to be cleaned based on the electromagnetic wave signal; and If so, the cleaning signal is generated.

11. The radar cleaning method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising the following steps: After obtaining a pollutant attachment state on a surface of a cover of the radar, judging whether the cover needs to be cleaned based on the pollutant attachment state; and If so, the cleaning signal is generated.

12. A cleaning method, characterized in that: The steps include: A water flow is sprayed toward a radar through a cleaning device and an air flow is sprayed toward the radar through another cleaning device, wherein the two cleaning devices respectively include at least one nozzle, a support seat and a connector, the support seat is an annular support seat, which has at least one mounting channel, the connector is mounted on the support seat, the nozzle is rotatably mounted on the support seat through the mounting channel of the support seat and is communicatively connected to the connector, one cleaning device is installed above the transparent part of the radar, and the nozzle of the nozzle of this cleaning device is maintained above the transparent part of the radar and facing the transparent part, so that this cleaning device The nozzle disposed therein can spray fluid from top to bottom toward the permeable portion, and the other cleaning device is installed below the permeable portion of the radar, and the nozzle of the nozzle of this cleaning device is maintained below the permeable portion of the radar and toward the permeable portion, so that the nozzle of this cleaning device can spray fluid from bottom to top toward the permeable portion, and among the two cleaning devices, the nozzle of one cleaning device sprays water flow, and the nozzle of the other cleaning device sprays air flow, wherein when the nozzle rotates back and forth relative to the support seat, the nozzle swings back and forth relative to the permeable portion of the radar to expand the spraying area of ​​the nozzle. 13 . The cleaning method according to claim 12 , wherein in the above method, when the number of the nozzles is plural, the plurality of nozzles spray fluid toward the radar respectively.

14. The cleaning method according to claim 12, further comprising the step of adjusting the orientation of a nozzle of the nozzle to change the relative position of the nozzle and the radar.

15. The cleaning method according to claim 14 further comprises the following steps: The nozzle is rotated to adjust the orientation of the spout.

16. The cleaning method according to claim 14, wherein in the above method, the nozzle is moved around the radar to change the relative position of the nozzle and the radar.

17. The cleaning method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein in the method, the position of the nozzle is adjusted based on a contaminant distribution of the radar.

18. The cleaning method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein in the method, the spray intensity of the nozzle is adjusted based on a contamination level of the radar.

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