Cleaning device for a vehicle environment recognition device and method of operating a cleaning device

Abstract

The invention relates to a cleaning device (10) for an environmental recognition device (12) of a vehicle, wherein the environmental recognition device (12) has a viewing window (16) with a field of view (18) for a sensor (14), wherein the cleaning device (10) is configured to blow compressed air (DL) at least onto the field of view (18), wherein the cleaning device (10) has a housing (20), a cylindrical body (28; 28a) is mounted on the housing about a rotation axis (32) and can be driven by a drive motor (50), wherein the cylindrical body (28; 28a) has at least one helical groove (36; 36a, 36b) on its outer shell surface (34), which can be supplied with compressed air (DL).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a cleaning device for an environmental identification system of a vehicle, characterized by a particularly simple and advantageous structural configuration. The invention also relates to a method of operating the cleaning device according to the invention. Background Technology

[0002] Vehicle environmental recognition devices are used to detect the vehicle's surroundings using at least one sensor (e.g., a lidar sensor or a camera). Detection of the vehicle's surroundings is necessary for the vehicle to operate semi-automatically or automatically. To ensure error-free function, it is crucial that the sensor can reliably and satisfactorily detect the surroundings; this sensor is typically positioned behind an observation window that has a sensor field of view. Here, contaminants or moisture (e.g., caused by rain) on the observation window can negatively impact or even hinder the detection of the surroundings. Therefore, prior art discloses cleaning devices that use cleaning fluid to clean the field of view of the observation window, wherein the cleaning fluid sprayed on the observation window is removed by means of a wiping element. The technology used here corresponds in principle to the technology also used for cleaning vehicle windows. Summary of the Invention

[0003] An advantage of a cleaning device for a vehicle's environmental identification apparatus according to claim 1 is that it allows for the removal of contaminants located in the field of view of the observation window using compressed air through a simple and advantageous construction, making it more difficult for sensors to detect the surrounding environment, especially liquids such as cleaning fluids and rainwater. Therefore, mechanically abrasive wiping elements, which are prone to wear, are unnecessary.

[0004] Therefore, in light of the background described above, a cleaning device according to the invention, having the features of claim 1, comprises a housing configured as an observation window of a cleaning environment identification device in the field of view, a cylindrical body mounted in the housing about a rotation axis and capable of being driven by a drive motor. The body has at least one helical groove on its outer surface, which can be supplied with compressed air. Furthermore, the housing has at least one opening that overlaps with the groove when the body rotates and guides the compressed air from the at least one groove along the direction of the observation window via the at least one opening in the housing.

[0005] Advantageous improvements to the cleaning apparatus for an environmental identification device for vehicles according to the invention are described in detail in the dependent claims.

[0006] In order to enable compressed air to be supplied evenly or homogeneously to the entire area of ​​the observation window or field of view, the at least one opening is provided to be configured as a longitudinal slot on the housing, the longitudinal slot being arranged parallel to the axis of rotation of the body, preferably extending parallel to the observation window, and extending at least along the area of ​​the field of view.

[0007] To ensure that compressed air impacts the observation window at a defined position and angle, an improvement to the above solution is provided, wherein a longitudinal slot is arranged at a certain distance from the observation window, the distance extending perpendicularly to the observation window, and the longitudinal slot has boundary walls configured to guide the compressed air in the direction of the observation window.

[0008] In a particularly preferred structural improvement of the cleaning device, the cylindrical body is configured as a hollow cylinder, wherein at least one helical groove is configured as a helical slot extending radially about the axis of rotation in the wall of the hollow cylinder, and wherein a longitudinal opening of the hollow cylinder arranged concentrically with respect to the axis of rotation can be supplied with compressed air and connected to the slot. This type of cylindrical body configuration makes it particularly easy to supply compressed air to the helical slot via the centrally located longitudinal opening in the hollow cylinder.

[0009] In order to allow compressed air to flow out of the hollow cylinder along the longitudinal slot of the housing in the above scheme, the longitudinal slot is as laminar as possible and generates the least possible flow resistance. In an improved scheme, the spiral slot is provided to have a guide wall with a rounded configuration for compressed air at least on the side facing the longitudinal opening.

[0010] Another preferred structural improvement (whereby preventing contamination of the internal space of the housing when the cleaning device is not in use) provides that the at least one helical groove has a circumferential angle of less than 360° when viewed in the circumferential direction about the axis of rotation. Therefore, when the cylindrical body is in the stopped position, at least one groove in the housing is arranged so as not to overlap with at least one opening on the housing. This allows at least one opening or longitudinal slot in the housing to be closed or sealed by the outer shell surface of the cylindrical body. Furthermore, for this purpose, it is desirable to achieve the smallest possible gap between the outer shell surface of the cylindrical body and the longitudinal slot in the housing.

[0011] In addition, an improved embodiment is preferred, wherein the cylindrical body is connected to the drive motor via a mechanical interface at one end and has an inlet opening for compressed air at the opposite end.

[0012] For situations where, for example, dirt seeps into the housing of the cleaning device via longitudinal slots during operation, it is advantageous to clean the internal space of the cylindrical body or housing to ensure reliable functioning of the cleaning device. To this end, a cylindrical body is provided with a through opening for discharging cleaning fluid, the through opening being arranged to overlap with an opening disposed in the housing at the outlet position of the cylindrical body, and the cleaning fluid can be introduced into the cylindrical body via a supply opening. The arrangement of the through opening in the cylindrical body is preferably offset by 180 degrees about the axis of rotation relative to a region on the cylindrical body in which there is no overlap between the helical groove or slot and the opening in the housing. Advantageously, the cleaning fluid introduced into the longitudinal opening in the cylindrical body flows exclusively into the cylindrical body and is not guided to the outside via at least one opening, thus relieving pressure loss in the housing.

[0013] There are several possibilities regarding the number and configuration of the spiral grooves. Besides a single spiral groove, it is also possible to provide two spiral grooves, as viewed in the direction of the axis of rotation, each extending from a region on one end of the cylindrical body to its center and connecting with each other at that center. This type of configuration with two spiral grooves allows compressed air to be swept from two opposite or reverse sides of the observation window of the field of view along the axis of symmetry of the field of view. Furthermore, this doubles the speed at which the compressed air jet sweeps along the field of view of the observation window at a limited rotational speed of the cylindrical body compared to using a single spiral groove.

[0014] Preferably, the housing and cylindrical body are configured as injection-molded parts from plastic. This not only results in a relatively small weight, but also allows the provided geometry and openings to be configured on the housing and cylindrical body in a particularly simple manner, without the need for subsequent machining processes or complex machining operations.

[0015] The present invention also relates to a method of operating the above-described cleaning apparatus configured according to the invention. The method according to the invention is characterized in that: in order to supply compressed air to the viewing window, the cylindrical body rotates about a rotation axis, thereby blowing compressed air onto the viewing window via at least one helical groove and at least one opening in the housing, and guiding the compressed air longitudinally along the viewing window while the cylindrical body rotates.

[0016] Particularly preferred is that the cylindrical body moves continuously in a single rotational direction around the rotation axis. This allows compressed air to be supplied uniformly to the observation window; in other words, the time intervals for supplying compressed air to each area of ​​the observation window are consistently the same.

[0017] To prevent dirt from entering the interior space of the housing when the cleaning device is not activated, the cylindrical body is provided to rotate about the axis of rotation to a stop position when the cleaning device is deactivated, in which the helical groove is arranged to not overlap with at least one opening in the housing.

[0018] To clean the interior space of the housing or cylindrical body, in the cleaning position, the cylindrical body rotates to a stop position, where the cleaning fluid introduced into the cylindrical body is discharged from the housing through an opening on the housing, which is arranged to overlap with a through opening on the cylindrical body.

[0019] In the above-described solution, it is preferable to activate a compressed air source to discharge cleaning fluid from the cylindrical body. Specifically, the compressed air source is the same compressed air source to ensure that compressed air is used to clean the field of view or to supply compressed air to the field of view during normal operation of the cleaning device.

[0020] Further advantages, features and details of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, based on the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0021] [ Figure 1 A perspective view of a cleaning device for a vehicle's environmental recognition system is shown, wherein the environmental recognition system has an observation window. [ Figure 2 The image shows the results based on […]. Figure 1 A perspective view of the components of a cleaning device, which has two hollow cylinders with different configurations for supplying compressed air. [ Figure 3 The diagram shows a plan view of the housing and hollow cylinder in the stopped position of the cleaning device. [ Figure 4 The plan shows the data according to […]. Figure 3 A hollow cylinder. [ Figure 5 ]and[ Figure 6 Each shows the passage through the hollow cylinder at different locations according to [ Figure 1 The three-dimensional cross-section of the cleaning device. [ Figure 7 ]、[ Figure 8 ]and[ Figure 9 The image shows the results based on […]. Figure 1 A perspective view of the cleaning device during cleaning mode, at different positions within the hollow cylinder, and... [ Figure 10 ]and[ Figure 11 A three-dimensional cross-sectional view through the cleaning device is shown to illustrate the cleaning location within the internal space of the hollow cylinder. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The same elements or elements with the same function in the figure are represented by the same reference numerals.

[0023] [ Figure 1 The cleaning device 10 shown is a component, particularly of a semi-autonomous or autonomous vehicle (not shown). The cleaning device 10 is a component of an environmental recognition device 12 (not shown in detail), which has a sensor 14 (particularly a lidar sensor or camera) within a housing (not shown in detail). At least one sensor 14 is used to detect the vehicle's surrounding environment so that semi-autonomous or autonomous driving operation can be performed. The sensor 14 is arranged behind an observation window 16 having a field of view 18, and the observation window is transparent to the wavelength of the sensor 14. For example, in exemplary embodiments, the observation window 16 and / or field of view 18, both rectangularly configured, comprise glass. By way of example only, the length L of the observation window 16 is 130 mm, the height H is 40 mm, and the length l of the field of view 18, centered relative to the observation window 16, is 100 mm, and the height h is 30 mm.

[0024] The cleaning device 10 has a housing 20, which is preferably made of plastic and manufactured using an injection molding method. The elongated housing 20 has a recessed cutout 22 on its upper side facing the observation window 16 for receiving and / or securing the observation window 16. Furthermore, for example, the observation window 16 protrudes at a right angle from the upper side of the plane of the housing 20.

[0025] A longitudinal slot 24 of constant width b is arranged on the upper side of the housing 20 at a small distance a from the observation window 16 or the cutout 22. The housing 20 has a cylindrical opening 26 extending in the longitudinal direction of the housing 20 for receiving a cylindrical body 28 in the form of a hollow cylinder 30. Preferably, the cylindrical body 28 or the hollow cylinder 30 is also configured as an injection-molded part made of plastic.

[0026] The diameter (outer diameter) of the hollow cylinder 30 is only slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the opening 26. Therefore, the hollow cylinder 30, which is rotatably mounted on the rotation axis 32, is arranged at a small distance from the inner wall of the opening 26.

[0027] The hollow cylinder 30 has at least one helical groove 36 on its outer shell surface 34. This at least one helical groove extends longitudinally and is configured as a helical slot 38. In other words, the slot 38 is disposed in a wall 37 that extends radially about a rotation axis 32 and extends from the outer shell surface 34 to the longitudinal opening 39 of the hollow cylinder 30. (Based on...) Figure 5 and Figure 6As can be seen, in particular, the slot 38 has rounded guide walls 41, 42 in the transition region to the longitudinal opening 39, the spacing between these guide walls decreasing along the direction of the outer shell surface 34. Therefore, the slot 38 functions as a nozzle. The length of the slot 38 corresponds at least to the length of the longitudinal slot 24. Furthermore, for stability reasons, the starting position of the slot 38 is not directly located at the end of the hollow cylinder 30, but is arranged at a certain distance from the end of the hollow cylinder.

[0028] As viewed in the circumferential direction about the axis of rotation 32 of the hollow cylinder 30, the at least one helical groove 38 does not extend around the entire circumference or around 360°, but rather extends, for example, around a circumferential angle of 355°. According to […] Figure 4 As illustrated in the diagram, therefore, as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the hollow cylinder 30, the outer shell surface 34 has a rectangular region 44 (shown using dashed lines) in which the slot 38 does not enter the outer shell surface 34. Furthermore, as can be specifically based on [ Figure 3 As can be seen, the groove width c of the longitudinal slot 34 on the housing 20 is less than the width e of the region 44. Therefore, the cleaning device 10 or the hollow cylinder 30 is positioned such that, according to […] Figure 3 As shown in the illustration, the longitudinal slot 24 on the shell 20 is closed or covered by the region 44 of the hollow cylinder 30.

[0029] Additionally, it should be noted that, according to [ Figure 2 As shown in the illustration, the cylindrical body 28a or the hollow cylinder 30a may also have two grooves 36a, 36b or slots 38a, 38b, which themselves extend around a circumferential angle of less than 360°. The starting positions of the corresponding slots 38a, 38b are located at a certain distance from the corresponding end sides 46, 54 of the hollow cylinder 30a, and extend far to the center of the hollow cylinder 30a, where the two slots 38a, 38b are connected to each other.

[0030] The hollow cylinders 30, 30a have a mechanical interface 48 on their end sides 46 for connection to a drive motor (shown symbolically only), particularly an electric motor 50. Figure 10 and Figure 11 With the aid of an electric motor 50, the hollow cylinders 30, 30a preferably rotate continuously in one direction about their axis of rotation 32, for example, in the direction of arrow 52 ( Figures 7 to 9The cylinders rotate continuously in a counterclockwise direction. On the other end side 54 of the hollow cylinders 30, 30a, the inlet opening 59 of the longitudinal opening 39 of the hollow cylinders 30, 30a is connected to the compressed air source 56, and preferably additionally connected to the pump 58 for conveying the cleaning fluid RF.

[0031] In addition, such as based on Figure 10 and Figure 11 As can be seen particularly clearly, the housing 20 has an opening 62 in the form of a through hole in the wall 60, which is disposed on the end side. In addition, a through opening 64 is preferably disposed in the wall 37 of the hollow cylinders 30, 30a so as to be precisely opposite to the region 44, which connects to the opening 62 at the position where the region 44 closes or covers the longitudinal slot 24 on the housing 20.

[0032] Finally, according to Figure 5 and Figure 6 It can be seen that the longitudinal slot 24 on the housing 20 has boundary walls 66, 68, which are arranged to face each other at a certain angle. The distance between these boundary walls decreases in the direction of the outer side of the housing 20 in order to configure the nozzle action. The arrangement or orientation of the boundary walls 66, 68 is selected such that the compressed air DL flowing out of the longitudinal slot 24 at positive pressure impacts the observation window 16 at the desired position.

[0033] The operation of the cleaning device 10 described above is explained below. To supply compressed air DL to the observation window 16 within the field of view 18, compressed air DL is supplied to the longitudinal openings 39 of the hollow cylinders 30, 30a via a pressure source 36. Furthermore, preferably, the hollow cylinders 30, 30a rotate at a constant speed by means of an electric motor 50. This ensures that the compressed air DL located in the longitudinal openings 39 always flows along the direction of the observation window 16 into the longitudinal slots 24 of the housing 20 in the region where the slots 38, 38a, 38b are currently located overlapping with the longitudinal slots 24. Figures 7 to 9 As can be seen from the diagram, the outlet area AB of the compressed air DL from the longitudinal slot 24 is in accordance with... Figures 7 to 9 The order of movement shifts from left to right, thus supplying compressed air DL to the field of view 18.

[0034] To remove contaminants (such as dirt, particles, etc.) that may enter the housing 20 or the hollow cylinder 30 during operation of the cleaning device 10, the cleaning device 10 can also introduce cleaning fluid RF into the longitudinal opening 39 at a stop position, where the longitudinal slot 24 is closed by the housing surface 34. Preferably, compressed air DL (see […]) is introduced into the housing 20. Figure 10The cleaning fluid is introduced into the longitudinal opening 39 at the same time, so that the cleaning fluid RF can be discharged from the housing 20 via the opening 62 by means of compressed air DL.

[0035] The cleaning device 10 described above can be developed in different ways without departing from the concept of the invention. Therefore, for example, not only one or two slots 38, 38a, 38b can be used, but more than three slots or multiple spiral grooves or slots can be used, which are arranged offset from each other when viewed in the circumferential direction of the hollow cylinders 30, 30a. The grooves 36, 36a, 36b are not necessarily configured in the form of slots 38, 38a, 38b. Rather, the corresponding grooves 36, 36a, 36b can also be configured as recesses, on which compressed air DL is supplied at the end sides of the cylindrical bodies 28, 28b.

[0036] Reference Symbol List 10 Cleaning equipment 12 Environmental Identification Device 14 Sensors 16 Observation Window 18 Field of view 20. Housing 22 Incisions 24 Longitudinal groove 26 Opening 28, 28a Cylindrical body 30, 30a Hollow cylinder 32. Rotation axis 34. Surface of the outer casing 36 grooves Grooves 36a and 36b 37 wall 38 Groove 38a, 38b grooves 39. Longitudinal opening 41 Guide Wall 42 Guide Wall 44 areas 46 end side 48 Interfaces 50 electric motors 52 arrows 54 end side 56 Compressed air source 58 pumps 59. Entrance opening 60 wall 62 Opening 64 Through opening 66 Boundary Wall 68 Boundary Wall a Spacing c. Groove width e width H, h height L, l length RF cleaning solution DL compressed air AB Exit Area.

Claims

1. A cleaning device (10) for an environmental identification device (12) for a vehicle, wherein, The environmental identification device (12) has an observation window (16) having a field of view (18) for the sensor (14), wherein the cleaning device (10) is configured to blow compressed air (DL) at least onto the field of view (18), wherein the cleaning device (10) has a housing (20), a cylindrical body (28; 28a) mounted on the housing about a rotation axis (32) and capable of being driven by a drive motor (50), wherein the cylindrical body (28; 28a) has at least on its outer surface (34) A spiral groove (36; 36a, 36b) is provided, at least one spiral groove being supplied with compressed air (DL), and wherein the housing (20) has at least one opening (24) that overlaps with the at least one spiral groove (36; 36a, 36b) when the cylindrical body (28; 28a) rotates and guides the compressed air (DL) from the at least one spiral groove (36; 36a, 36b) along the direction of the observation window (16) via the at least one opening (24).

2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The at least one opening (24) is configured as a longitudinal slot on the housing (20), the longitudinal slot being arranged parallel to the axis of rotation (32) of the cylindrical body (28; 28a), preferably extending parallel to the observation window (16), and extending at least along the area of ​​the field of view (18) of the observation window (16).

3. The cleaning device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The longitudinal slot is arranged at a distance (a) from the observation window (6), the distance being perpendicular to the observation window (6), and the longitudinal slot has boundary walls (66, 68) configured to guide the compressed air (DL) along the direction of the observation window (18).

4. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The cylindrical body (28; 28a) is configured as a hollow cylinder (30; 30a), and the at least one helical groove (36; 36a, 36b) is configured as a helical slot (38; 38a, 38b) extending radially around the axis of rotation (32) in the wall (37) of the hollow cylinder (30; 30a), and a longitudinal opening (39) of the hollow cylinder (30; 30a) arranged concentrically with respect to the axis of rotation (32) is capable of being supplied with compressed air (DL) and connected to the helical slot (38; 38a, 38b).

5. The cleaning device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The spiral groove (38; 38a, 38b) has guide walls (41, 42) in a rounded configuration for the compressed air (DL) on at least one side facing the longitudinal opening (39).

6. The cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The at least one spiral groove (36; 36a, 36b) has a circumferential angle of less than 360 degrees when viewed in the circumferential direction about the axis of rotation (32). Therefore, when the cylindrical body (28; 28a) is in the stopped position, the at least one spiral groove (36; 36a, 36b) is arranged to not overlap with at least one opening (24) in the housing (20), and the at least one opening (24) is closed by the outer shell surface (34) of the cylindrical body (28; 28a).

7. The cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The cylindrical body (28; 28a) is connected to the drive motor (50) via a mechanical interface (48) on one end (46) and has an inlet opening (59) for the compressed air (DL) on the opposite end (54).

8. The cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The cylindrical body (28; 28a) has a through opening (64) for discharging cleaning fluid (RF), the through opening being arranged to overlap with an opening (62) disposed in the housing (20) at the outlet position of the cylindrical body (28; 28a), and the cleaning fluid (RF) can be introduced into the cylindrical body (28; 28a) via a supply opening.

9. The cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Two helical grooves (36a, 36b) are provided, which, when viewed in the direction of the axis of rotation (32), extend from the end side (46, 54) of the cylindrical body (28a) to the center of the cylindrical body (28a) and are connected to each other at the center.

10. The cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The housing (20) and the cylindrical body (28; 28a) are made of plastic and are configured as injection-molded parts.

11. A method of operating a cleaning device (10) configured according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, In order to supply the compressed air (DL) to the observation window (16), the cylindrical body (28; 28a) rotates about the rotation axis (32), so that the compressed air (DL) is blown onto the observation window (16) through the at least one helical groove (36; 36a, 36b) and at least one opening (24) in the housing (20), and in the cylindrical body (28; 28a) 28a) When rotating, the compressed air is guided in the longitudinal direction along the observation window (16).

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The cylindrical body (28; 28a) moves continuously in a single rotational direction around the rotation axis (32).

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, When the cleaning device (10) is deactivated, the cylindrical body (28; 28a) rotates about the axis of rotation (32) to a stop position, in which the at least one spiral groove (36; 36a, 36b) is arranged not to overlap with the at least one opening (24) in the housing (20).

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, In the cleaning position of the cleaning device (10), the cylindrical body (28; 28a) rotates to the stop position, in which the cleaning fluid (RF) introduced into the cylindrical body (28; 28a) is discharged from the housing (20) through an opening (62) on the housing (20), the opening being arranged to overlap with a through opening (64) on the cylindrical body (28; 28a).

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, Activate the compressed air source (56) to discharge the cleaning fluid (RF) from the cylindrical body (28; 28a).

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