Wheel cleaning device and method and vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of automobile wheels, and provides a wheel cleaning device and method and a vehicle. The wheel cleaning device comprises an air pump, an air tank and an air nozzle, and the air pump is installed on the vehicle body; the air tank is connected with the air pump and is mounted on the vehicle body; the air tap is connected with the air tank, is mounted on the vehicle body, and faces the tire surface of the wheel. The vehicle comprises the wheel cleaning device. According to the scheme, the wheels are purged through the air nozzles on the vehicle to complete self-cleaning of the wheels, sediment in tire patterns of the vehicle can be removed without getting off the vehicle by a driver and passengers, it is ensured that tires have enough road holding force, and the situation that the vehicle slides backwards or swings transversely on a ramp due to sufficient power but tire slipping, and then the vehicle turns over is avoided. Meanwhile, safety accidents can be avoided when drivers and passengers get off to clean, and more time and labor are saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of automobile wheels, and in particular to a wheel cleaning device, method and vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Off-road vehicles are usually equipped with MT or AT tires, which have deep tread and better grip. However, there is often a lot of mud and sand attached to the tread. When the vehicle is preparing to climb a slope, it will often slip until the mud and sand are thrown out of the tread and it has sufficient grip.

[0003] In the prior art, it is usually necessary for the occupants to get out of the vehicle and manually clean the mud and sand in the tire tread, which is time-consuming and laborious. When the vehicle is climbing a slope, even if the handbrake is pulled, the vehicle may slide down. At this time, the occupants who are cleaning the mud and sand in the tire tread are very likely to be hit or crushed by the sliding vehicle, causing casualties. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a wheel cleaning device, method and vehicle, which can self-clean the wheels of the vehicle.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned and other related purposes, the present invention provides a wheel cleaning device, comprising:

[0006] An air pump, mounted on the vehicle body;

[0007] The gas tank is connected to the gas pump and mounted on the vehicle body;

[0008] An air nozzle is connected to the air tank and installed on the vehicle body, and the air nozzle faces the tread of the wheel.

[0009] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, it further comprises a plurality of lifting shock absorbers respectively connected to each wheel, wherein the lifting shock absorbers are used to drive each wheel to lift and lower respectively.

[0010] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, each of the wheels is capable of rotating independently.

[0011] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, a motor is provided on the vehicle body corresponding to each wheel, and each of the motors independently drives a wheel to rotate.

[0012] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the air nozzle is arranged above the wheel.

[0013] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the airflow ejected by the air nozzle forms a fan-shaped surface.

[0014] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the sector surface covers the width of the wheel.

[0015] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the included angle between the injection direction of the air nozzle and the tread of the wheel is α, and 0°≤α<90°.

[0016] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, a monitoring device for monitoring the cleanliness of the wheel on the tire tread is also included.

[0017] The present invention also provides a wheel cleaning method, comprising a wheel cleaning step, wherein the wheel cleaning step comprises the following steps:

[0018] Get the cleaning instruction and wheel cleanliness, and lift a wheel whose wheel cleanliness is below the threshold according to the cleaning instruction.

[0019] Sending a start command to the gas pump to pressurize the gas in the gas tank;

[0020] Sending a command to the air nozzle to blow the pressurized gas in the air tank to the suspended tire surface for cleaning;

[0021] Rotate the suspended wheel at least one revolution to complete the cleaning;

[0022] Lower the cleaned suspended wheel to support the ground;

[0023] Repeat the above steps until all wheels whose cleanliness is below the threshold are cleaned.

[0024] The present invention also provides a vehicle, including the above-mentioned wheel cleaning device. The present invention proposes a wheel cleaning device, method and vehicle. In the above scheme, the wheel is purged by the air nozzle on the vehicle to complete the self-cleaning of the wheel, and the mud and sand in the tire tread of the vehicle can be removed without the driver and passengers getting off the vehicle, ensuring that the tire has sufficient grip, avoiding the vehicle sliding backward or swaying on the slope due to sufficient power but tire slippage, and then overturning. At the same time, it can also avoid safety accidents when the driver and passengers get off the vehicle to clean, and it is more time-saving and labor-saving. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without paying creative work.

[0026] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the arrangement of the gas nozzle in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a wheel cleaning method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Explanation of the accompanying drawings: 1. wheel; 10. air pump; 20. air tank; 30. air nozzle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following describes the embodiments of the present invention by specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be noted that the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0031] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only used to illustrate the basic concept of the present invention in a schematic manner, and thus the illustrations only show components related to the present invention rather than being drawn according to the number, shape and size of components in actual implementation. In actual implementation, the type, quantity and proportion of each component may be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complicated.

[0032] Automobile tires are ground-contacting and rolling annular elastic rubber products installed on various vehicles. They are usually installed on metal rims, can support the vehicle body, buffer external impacts, achieve contact with the road surface and ensure the driving performance of the vehicle. There are many anti-skid patterns on the tire surface. When the vehicle is driving, stones, mud and sand will be stuffed into the gaps, especially for off-road vehicles that need to travel on muddy roads. There is a lot of mud and sand on the wheels 1. For off-road vehicles, these stones and mud will affect the grip of the tires, thereby causing the wheels 1 to slip and be unable to travel. It is necessary to manually clean the small stones in the gaps, which is time-consuming and inefficient. In addition, one side of the tire is always in contact with the ground during the cleaning process, which is not conducive to rapid and comprehensive cleaning of the tire. Therefore, a cleaning device for automatically cleaning mud and sand on automobile tires is needed to solve the problem of reduced grip caused by mud and sand adhering to the tires during driving.

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a wheel cleaning device, comprising an air pump 10, an air tank 20 and an air nozzle 30, wherein the air pump 10 is mounted on a vehicle body; the air tank 20 is connected to the air pump 10 and mounted on the vehicle body; the air nozzle 30 is connected to the air tank 20 and mounted on the vehicle body, and the air nozzle 30 faces the tread of the wheel 1.

[0034] In the above scheme, when in use, the air pump 10 is started to supply air to the air tank 20 for pressurization, and then the pressurized gas is sprayed toward the tread position of the wheel 1, so that the mud and sand in the tread can be cleaned out. Since the mud and sand have poor adhesion, the air flow can be used to complete the cleaning. At the same time, since the vehicle will move and the wheel 1 will rotate, the air nozzle 30 in a fixed position can blow and clean the entire circumference of the wheel 1. Even if the wheel 1 is idling due to slipping, the cleaning device can be started to clean it all around. The jet direction of the air nozzle 30 can be directly facing the tread of the wheel 1. In this application, a cleaning button can be set in the car, and when the wheel 1 needs to be cleaned, the driver can start the cleaning device to clean it by himself.

[0035] In the present application, air flow is used as the method for cleaning mud and sand instead of a brush or water flow because the brush structure will wear out due to long-term friction with the wheel 1 and needs to be replaced frequently, and the structure is complicated, cumbersome and costly. Water flow is not used because it is difficult to find a suitable water source on a general vehicle, while air is everywhere, so an air source can be obtained by configuring an air pump 10 and an air tank 20 to pressurize the air.

[0036] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of lifting shock absorbers are further included, each of which is connected to each wheel 1, and the lifting shock absorber is used to drive each wheel 1 to lift and lower. The shock absorber is used to suppress the shock when the spring rebounds after shock absorption and the impact from the road surface, and is used to accelerate the attenuation of the vibration of the vehicle body and the axle to improve the smoothness of the vehicle. The lifting shock absorber can be driven to lift by a linear motor, or it can be a pneumatic lifting shock absorber. If it is a pneumatic lifting shock absorber, its air pump 10 can be used as the air pump 10 of the wheel cleaning device, so that there is no need to arrange an additional air pump 10, only the corresponding air path and air nozzle 30 need to be arranged, which saves costs and reduces the weight of the whole vehicle. The present application is preferably a pneumatic lifting shock absorber, i.e., an air spring. The automobile suspension is a bridge between the vehicle body and the wheel 1, and is an important system for the ride comfort of the automobile. The traditional automobile suspension relies on a mechanical spring suspension to support the vehicle body, and the height of the vehicle body cannot be adjusted. The air spring can change the height of the vehicle body according to the road conditions and vehicle conditions, greatly improving the vehicle's passability and ride comfort. The working process of the air spring is to determine the target lifting and lowering speed of the air spring corresponding to a single wheel 1 of the target vehicle, and then control the opening of the proportional control valve corresponding to the air spring according to the target lifting and lowering speed, so that the wheel 1 corresponding to the air spring is lifted and lowered according to the lifting and lowering of the air spring.

[0037] The present application is mainly used in off-road vehicles, and lifting shock absorbers are conventional configurations of off-road vehicles. Thus, the present application only requires additional arrangement of air nozzles 30 and air circuits on the basis of the original off-road vehicles to realize the wheel 1 cleaning function, which greatly reduces the cost of additional configuration and allows derivative utilization of the configuration on the original vehicle.

[0038] If the wheel 1 is on the ground, its rotation will inevitably be converted into the movement of the vehicle. In some cases, only the wheel 1 needs to be cleaned without the vehicle moving forward. At this time, each wheel 1 can be lifted up for cleaning, so that the rotation of the wheel 1 will not be converted into the displacement of the vehicle. At the same time, the airflow direction of the air nozzle 30 is roughly opposite to the rotation direction of the wheel 1 at the intersection of the wheel 1. In this way, the faster the rotation speed of the wheel 1, the faster the relative speed between the wheel 1 and the airflow. The lifted wheel 1 will not be limited by the vehicle's own speed and can rotate faster, effectively increasing the relative speed between the wheel 1 and the airflow to improve the cleaning ability. In addition, the airflow cleaning of larger mud and stones may be slow. At this time, the rotation speed of the wheel 1 can be increased by centrifugal force to throw out the larger mud and stones, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency.

[0039] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, each of the wheels 1 can rotate independently. In this way, each wheel 1 can be cleaned and rotated individually. Specifically, the lifting and lowering of the wheel 1 is controlled by controlling the lifting and lowering of the lifting shock absorber connected to the wheel 1, so that the wheel 1 that needs to be cleaned is lifted and rotated, while the remaining wheels remain in contact with the ground. For example, the left front wheel 1 can be controlled to lift and rotate, while the remaining three wheels remain in contact with the ground to complete the cleaning of the left front wheel 1. In the present application, only the wheel 1 needs to be lifted to rotate a wheel 1 for cleaning. The way in which the wheel 1 rotates independently can be achieved by manual manual rotation or by the differential lock of the four-wheel drive system. In the present application, four independent cleaning buttons can be set in the car. When a wheel 1 needs to be cleaned, the driver can start the cleaning device by himself to clean each wheel 1 that needs to be cleaned independently.

[0040] Preferably, a motor is provided on the vehicle body corresponding to each wheel 1, and each motor drives a wheel 1 to rotate independently. The present application is mainly applied to vehicles with four-wheel independent motors. The motor in the present application is a hub motor provided on the wheel 1. The characteristics of the hub motor driving technology are that the power, transmission and braking devices are integrated into the hub, which greatly simplifies the mechanical part of the electric vehicle, omits a large number of mechanical transmission components, makes the vehicle structure simpler, can realize a variety of complex driving modes, and facilitates the use of a variety of new energy vehicle technologies. If the off-road vehicle adopts the hub motor driving technology, firstly, it can simplify the mechanical part of the vehicle, save the space inside the vehicle, so that the vehicle can obtain a larger use space; secondly, due to the characteristics of independent control of each hub motor, the vehicle can obtain better power, maneuverability and passability, and significantly improve the vehicle's adaptability to various road surfaces. The present application directly adopts the hub motor of the four-wheel independent motor vehicle as the driving mechanism of the wheel 1 cleaning device, so that a wheel 1 can be driven to rotate independently without arranging an additional motor.

[0041] like Figure 2As shown, the air nozzle 30 is arranged above the wheel 1. There is more space above the wheel 1, which is convenient for arranging the lines and can prevent the air nozzle 30 from being exposed and affecting the appearance of the whole vehicle.

[0042] Preferably, the airflow sprayed by the air nozzle 30 forms a fan-shaped surface. The airflow sprayed by the air nozzle 30 to form the fan-shaped surface can also be formed by the air nozzle 30 itself swinging within the fan-shaped range to form the fan-shaped surface, which can increase the sweeping range and improve the cleaning ability.

[0043] like Figure 2 As shown, the sector-shaped surface covers the width of the wheel 1. This ensures that the airflow ejected by the air nozzle 30 can sweep all tread positions on the wheel 1, so as to clean all treads on the wheel 1.

[0044] like Figure 2 As shown, the spray direction of the air nozzle 30 and the tread of the wheel 1 are at an angle α, and 0°≤α<90°. That is, the spray direction of the air nozzle 30 and the radial direction of the wheel 1 are arranged at an angle. Since the tread of the wheel 1 is concave in the radial direction, if the cleaning is performed directly perpendicular to the tire surface, the cleaning effect is poor, so the angle α is set.

[0045] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, a monitoring device for monitoring the wheel cleanliness on the tread of the wheel 1 is also included. The monitoring device is a camera located above the wheel for acquiring a tread image, or a counting device for recording the number of times each wheel slips within a certain period of time in the ESP.

[0046] like Figure 3 As shown, the present invention also provides a wheel cleaning method, including a wheel cleaning step, wherein the wheel cleaning step includes the following steps:

[0047] S1, obtaining a cleaning instruction and wheel cleanliness, and lifting and suspending a wheel 1 whose wheel cleanliness is lower than a threshold value according to the cleaning instruction,

[0048] S2, sending a start command to the air pump 10 to pressurize the gas in the gas tank 20;

[0049] S3, sending a command to the air nozzle 30 to blow the pressurized gas in the air tank 20 toward the tread of the suspended wheel 1 to clean it;

[0050] S4, rotating the suspended wheel 1 for at least one circle to complete the cleaning;

[0051] S5, lowering the suspended wheel 1 after cleaning to support the ground;

[0052] S6. Repeat the above steps until all wheels whose cleanliness is lower than the threshold are cleaned.

[0053] A camera can be set above the wheel to obtain images, and then the wheel cleanliness can be obtained through image analysis. The wheel cleanliness can also be obtained by the degree of wheel slippage. For example, if the wheel slips more times in the past period of time, it can be judged that the wheel cleanliness is low. In this way, only the wheels that need to be cleaned are executed to save time and energy costs.

[0054] In the above cleaning method, a cleaning switch is set in the vehicle, and the above wheel cleaning method is performed when the vehicle is in a stationary state to avoid safety accidents caused by using the above method when the vehicle is moving. If the wheel needs to be cleaned in a moving state, the wheel 1 can be cleaned directly by rotating it without lifting it.

[0055] The present invention also provides a vehicle, comprising the wheel cleaning device mentioned above.

[0056] In summary, the present invention proposes a wheel cleaning device, method and vehicle. In the above scheme, the wheel 1 is purged by the air nozzle 30 on the vehicle to complete the self-cleaning of the wheel 1. The mud and sand in the tread of the wheel 1 can be removed without the driver or passengers getting off the vehicle, ensuring that the tire has sufficient grip, avoiding the vehicle sliding backward or swaying on the slope due to sufficient power but tire slippage, and then overturning. At the same time, it can also avoid safety accidents when the driver and passengers get off the vehicle to clean, and it is more time-saving and labor-saving.

[0057] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone familiar with the art may modify or alter the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or alterations made by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and technical concept disclosed by the present invention shall still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

[0058] In the description herein, many specific details, such as examples of components and / or methods, are provided to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details or with other devices, systems, components, methods, components, materials, parts, etc. In other cases, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not specifically shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of embodiments of the present invention.

[0059] References throughout this specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," or "a specific embodiment" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention, and not necessarily in all embodiments. Thus, various appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment," "in an embodiment," or "in a specific embodiment" in different places throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, the particular features, structures, or characteristics of any specific embodiment of the invention may be combined with one or more other embodiments in any suitable manner. It should be understood that other variations and modifications of the embodiments of the invention described and illustrated herein may be possible in light of the teachings herein and are to be considered part of the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0060] It should also be understood that one or more of the elements shown in the figures may also be implemented in a more separate or more integrated manner, or even removed because they are inoperable in certain circumstances or provided because they may be useful depending on the application.

[0061] In addition, unless otherwise explicitly stated, any marking arrows in the drawings should be regarded as exemplary only and not limiting. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the term "or" used herein is generally intended to mean "and / or". In the case where the term is unclear because it is anticipated that the ability to separate or combine is provided, the combination of components or steps will also be regarded as specified.

[0062] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, "a", "an", and "the" include plural references unless otherwise indicated. Likewise, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of "in" includes "in" and "on" unless otherwise indicated.

[0063] The above description of the illustrated embodiments of the present invention (including the contents described in the Abstract) is not intended to be an exhaustive list or to limit the present invention to the precise form disclosed herein. Although specific embodiments of the present invention and examples of the present invention are described herein for illustrative purposes only, various equivalent modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention as will be recognized and appreciated by those skilled in the art. As noted, these modifications may be made to the present invention in accordance with the above description of the embodiments described in the present invention, and these modifications will be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0064] Systems and methods have been generally described herein as details that aid in understanding the present invention. In addition, various specific details have been given to provide an overall understanding of embodiments of the present invention. However, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or may be practiced using other devices, systems, accessories, methods, components, materials, parts, etc. In other cases, well-known structures, materials, and / or operations are not specifically shown or described in detail to avoid confusion with various aspects of embodiments of the present invention.

[0065] Thus, although the invention has been described herein with reference to specific embodiments thereof, freedom of modification, various changes and substitutions are also within the foregoing disclosure, and it should be understood that in some cases, some features of the invention will be employed without the corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope and spirit of the proposed invention. Thus, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular environment or material to the essential scope and spirit of the invention. The invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms used in the claims below and / or the specific embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention, but the invention will include any and all embodiments and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims. Thus, the scope of the invention will be determined solely by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wheel cleaning device, characterized in that: include: An air pump, mounted on the vehicle body; The gas tank is connected to the gas pump and mounted on the vehicle body; An air nozzle is connected to the air tank and installed on the vehicle body, and the air nozzle faces the tread of the wheel.

2. The wheel cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a plurality of lifting shock absorbers respectively connected to each wheel, and the lifting shock absorbers are used to drive each wheel to lift and lower respectively.

3. The wheel cleaning device according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each of the wheels is capable of rotating independently.

4. The wheel cleaning device according to claim 3, characterized in that: A motor is arranged on the vehicle body corresponding to each wheel, and each motor drives a wheel to rotate independently.

5. The wheel cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air nozzle is arranged above the wheel.

6. The wheel cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The airflow sprayed by the air nozzle forms a fan-shaped surface.

7. The wheel cleaning device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The sector covers the width of the wheel.

8. The wheel cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The included angle between the injection direction of the air nozzle and the tread of the wheel is α, wherein 0°≤α<90°.

9. The wheel cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also included is a monitoring device for monitoring wheel cleanliness on the tire tread.

10. A wheel cleaning method, characterized in that: The method comprises a wheel cleaning step, wherein the wheel cleaning step comprises the following steps: Get the cleaning instruction and wheel cleanliness, and lift a wheel whose wheel cleanliness is below the threshold according to the cleaning instruction. Sending a start command to the gas pump to pressurize the gas in the gas tank; Sending a command to the air nozzle to blow the pressurized gas in the air tank to the suspended tire surface for cleaning; Rotate the suspended wheel at least one revolution to complete the cleaning; Lower the cleaned suspended wheel to support the ground; Repeat the above steps until all wheels whose cleanliness is below the threshold are cleaned.

11. A vehicle, characterized in that: It comprises a wheel cleaning device as described in any one of claims 1-8.

Images