Cleaning device for vehicle sensor of autonomous vehicle

Abstract

The utility model provides a cleaning device for a vehicle sensor of an automatic driving vehicle, and the cleaning device comprises a fixed support, a self-heating glass assembly and a windscreen wiper; the self-heating glass assembly and the windscreen wiper are installed in front of the vehicle sensor through the fixing support. The self-heating glass assembly is composed of a glass lens and a heat-conducting resistor and used for melting ice and snow into water in the low-temperature and high-cold environment. The windscreen wiper is composed of a wiping strip and a wiping strip support and used for cleaning stains and melted water on the self-heating glass assembly. According to the cleaning device for the vehicle sensor, the self-heating glass assembly covers the vehicle sensor, ice and snow covering the vehicle sensor under the extreme conditions of low temperature, high cold and the like can be effectively melted, meanwhile, the windscreen wiper is used for removing melted water and stains, the cleaning effect of the cleaning device for the vehicle sensor is optimized, and the cleaning effect of the vehicle sensor is improved. Normal use of the vehicle sensor under extreme conditions is guaranteed, and the application scene of the automatic driving vehicle is widened.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to a cleaning device for vehicle sensors, and particularly to a cleaning device for vehicle sensors of autonomous vehicles. Background Art

[0002] For autonomous vehicles, sensors are the only channels for the vehicle to perceive the external environment, road vehicles, pedestrians, etc. If the sensors mounted on the autonomous vehicle are blocked by stains, the sensing ability of the sensors will be reduced, posing a great accident risk to the autonomous vehicle. Therefore, a cleaning device is usually equipped for the sensors of autonomous vehicles. However, in extreme weather such as low temperature and high cold, the traditional cleaning device cannot remove the frozen stains on the surface of the sensors, resulting in the vehicle sensors being unable to be used normally under extreme conditions and the autonomous vehicle being unable to operate in low temperature and high cold environments.

[0003] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a sensor cleaning device that can cope with extreme environments such as low temperature and high cold, ensure the normal use of vehicle sensors under extreme conditions, and broaden the application scenarios of autonomous vehicles. Summary of the Utility Model

[0004] Embodiments of this application provide a cleaning device for vehicle sensors of autonomous vehicles to solve one or more of the above technical problems.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a cleaning device for vehicle sensors of autonomous vehicles. The cleaning device includes a fixed bracket, a self-heating glass assembly, and a wiper. The self-heating glass assembly and the wiper are installed in front of the vehicle sensor through the fixed bracket. The self-heating glass assembly is composed of a glass lens and a heat-conducting resistor, and is used to melt ice and snow into water in a low temperature and high cold environment. The wiper is composed of a wiper blade and a wiper blade bracket, and is used to clean the stains and the melted water on the self-heating glass assembly.

[0006] In an implementation manner, the fixed bracket includes a mounting bracket and a mounting base. The self-heating glass assembly is fixed in front of the vehicle sensor through the mounting base and covers the scanning surfaces of the transmitter and receiver of the vehicle sensor. The wiper is fixed at the edge position of the self-heating glass assembly through the mounting bracket.

[0007] In some embodiments, a servo motor is further provided on the mounting bracket to drive the wiper. After being driven, the wiper cleans the self-heating glass assembly with the connection point between the wiper and the servo motor as the center point.

[0008] In some embodiments, the wiper blade bracket includes a servo motor connection bracket for connecting the wiper to the servo motor.

[0009] In one embodiment, antireflection films are respectively coated on the front and back surfaces of the glass lens; the antireflection films increase the light transmission amount of the glass lens by reducing the reflected light of the glass lens, so as to reduce the attenuation that occurs when the beam of the vehicle sensor penetrates the glass lens.

[0010] In one embodiment, the wiper blade bracket includes a water spray hole bracket for introducing a cleaning liquid and for fixing the wiper blade so that it does not move left and right.

[0011] In some embodiments, the wiper blade is fixed in the middle of the water spray hole bracket, and the cleaning liquid flows out onto the wiper blade through the water spray holes provided on the water spray hole bracket.

[0012] In some embodiments, a water passage is provided inside the water spray hole bracket, and water spray holes are provided outside the water spray hole bracket, and the cleaning liquid flows in through the water passage and flows out through the water spray holes.

[0013] In one embodiment, the wiper blade bracket includes a cover plate bracket for fixing the wiper blade so that it does not move up and down.

[0014] In one embodiment, the wiper blade is made of rubber.

[0015] According to the embodiments of the present application, the present application provides a cleaning device for a vehicle sensor of an autonomous vehicle. The cleaning device includes a fixing bracket, a self-heating glass assembly, and a windshield wiper. The self-heating glass assembly and the windshield wiper are mounted in front of the vehicle sensor through the fixing bracket. The self-heating glass assembly is composed of a glass lens and a heat conduction resistor, and is used to melt ice and snow into water in a low-temperature and high-cold environment. The windshield wiper is composed of a wiper blade and a wiper blade bracket, and is used to clean the stains and the melted water on the self-heating glass assembly. According to the embodiments of the present application, by covering the vehicle sensor with the self-heating glass assembly, the ice and snow falling on the vehicle sensor under extreme conditions such as low temperature and high cold can be effectively melted, so that the stains will not freeze. At the same time, the melted water and stains are removed by using the windshield wiper, optimizing the cleaning effect of the cleaning device and ensuring the normal use of the vehicle sensor under extreme conditions.

[0016] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present application. In order to be able to understand the technical means of the present application more clearly, it can be implemented according to the content of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features, and advantages of the present application more obvious and understandable, the specific embodiments of the present application are specifically listed below. Description of the Drawings

[0017] In the accompanying drawings, unless otherwise specified, the same reference numerals throughout the several views denote the same or similar components or elements. These drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. It should be understood that these drawings depict only some embodiments in accordance with the present application and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the present application.

[0018] Figure 1 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a cleaning device for a vehicle sensor of an autonomous vehicle provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a self-heating glass assembly in a cleaning device for a vehicle sensor of an autonomous vehicle provided in an embodiment of the present application; and

[0020] Figure 3 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a wiper in a cleaning device for a vehicle sensor of an autonomous vehicle provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0021] Description of reference numerals:

[0022] Self-heating glass assembly 110; Wiper 120; Fixed bracket 130; Vehicle sensor 140; Glass lens 210; Thermal resistance 220; Wiper blade 310; Wiper blade bracket 320; Mounting bracket 410; Mounting base 420; Servo 510; Servo connection bracket 610; Water spray hole bracket 620; Cover plate bracket 630; Water spray hole 710. Detailed implementation manners

[0023] In the following, only some exemplary embodiments are briefly described. As those skilled in the art can recognize, the described embodiments can be modified in various different ways without departing from the concept or scope of the present application. Therefore, the drawings and the description are considered to be exemplary in nature and not restrictive.

[0024] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the related technologies of the embodiments of the present application are described below. The following related technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and all of them fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0025] Since self-driving vehicles usually use devices such as laser radar or cameras to sense or identify the driving environment around the vehicle, taking the vehicle sensor as a laser radar as an example, the laser radar mainly relies on emitting laser beams and receiving their reflected signals, and perceives the surrounding environment by analyzing these signals, thereby helping the self-driving vehicle to navigate and avoid obstacles. In the process of laser radar emitting laser beams and receiving their reflected signals, the laser radar transmitter and receiver usually use the form of rotating emission and reception of laser beams to perceive the environment, thereby forming a laser beam scanning surface. If stubborn stains appear on the scanning surface, the laser radar will cause attenuation of the beams emitted and received, and even hinder the laser radar from emitting and receiving beams, affecting the perception performance of the laser radar, and may lead to serious consequences such as accidents of self-driving vehicles. Therefore, during the operation of the laser radar, it is necessary to use the cleaning device of the vehicle sensor to keep the laser radar scanning surface clean at all times to ensure the normal use of the laser radar.

[0026] However, in some situations, such as in low temperature and cold environments, if ice and snow fall on the scanning surface of the vehicle sensor (such as the lens of the lidar transmitter and receiver, or the glass used to protect the transmitter and receiver lenses), it may freeze to form stubborn stains. Moreover, since the cleaning process of the cleaning fluid will also affect the beam emission and reception of the vehicle sensor, the cleaning device cannot continuously spray the cleaning fluid to continuously clean the vehicle sensor. Only using the cleaning fluid in the cleaning device cannot remove such stubborn stains, resulting in ineffective cleaning.

[0027] Therefore, an embodiment of the present application proposes a vehicle sensor cleaning device with a self-heating function, which covers the surface of the vehicle sensor (at least covers the scanning surfaces of the transmitter and receiver of the vehicle sensor) with a glass cover (self-heating glass component) with a self-heating function, so that rain, snow or stains fall on the surface of the self-heating glass component but not on the scanning surface of the vehicle sensor. Since the self-heating glass component can be in a heated state, rain and snow will melt directly when they come into contact with the self-heating glass component, which can effectively melt the frozen stains on the scanning surface of the sensor; at the same time, through a wiper that can self-spray cleaning fluid, stains or ice and snow can be effectively removed to ensure the normal use of the vehicle sensor.

[0028] Among them, the self-heating glass assembly is composed of a glass lens and a heat-conducting resistor. Since the heat-conducting resistor and the glass lens are located in front of the vehicle sensor, the part covering the scanning surface of the vehicle sensor may cause a certain attenuation effect on the beams transmitted and received by the vehicle sensor (such as lidar, camera, etc.). Therefore, through the outer frame heating technology (setting the heat-conducting resistor on the outer frame of the glass lens) and the double-sided transparent film technology (coating an anti-reflection film on the front and back surfaces of the glass lens), the beam transmittance of the vehicle sensor can be maintained at about 95%. The beam transmittance within this range can ensure that the sensing performance of the vehicle sensor is not affected. In addition, the windshield wiper in the embodiment of the present application can be composed of a wiper blade and a wiper blade bracket. The wiper blade bracket can include a water spray hole bracket, so that the windshield wiper combines the dual functions of spraying cleaning liquid and cleaning stains. The cleaning liquid can flow out through the water spray hole bracket onto the wiper blade, so that the windshield wiper is equipped with a cleaning liquid spraying device. When using the windshield wiper to clean, the cleaning liquid and the wiper can move together, making the spraying of the cleaning liquid more evenly cover the surface of the entire self-heating glass assembly, resulting in a better cleaning effect.

[0029] The following uses specific embodiments to elaborate in detail on the technical solution of the present application and how the technical solution of the present application solves the foregoing technical problems. The several specific embodiments listed can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments. The following will describe the embodiments of the present application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a cleaning device for a vehicle sensor of an autonomous vehicle provided in an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 1 shown, the cleaning device in the embodiment of the present application includes a fixed bracket 130, a self-heating glass assembly 110, and a windshield wiper 120; among them, the self-heating glass assembly 110 and the windshield wiper 120 are installed in front of the vehicle sensor 140 through the fixed bracket 130; the self-heating glass assembly 110 is composed of a glass lens 210 and a heat-conducting resistor 220 ( Figure 1 not shown in the figure, see Figure 2 ), and is used to melt ice and snow into water in a low-temperature and high-cold environment; the windshield wiper 120 is composed of a wiper blade 310 and a wiper blade bracket 320 ( Figure 1 not shown in the figure, see Figure 3 ), and is used to clean the stains and melted water on the self-heating glass assembly 110.

[0031] Among them, the fixed bracket 130 may include a mounting bracket 410 and a mounting base 420. A servo 510 may also be provided on the mounting bracket 410 for driving the wiper 120. The wiper 120 for cleaning stains and the servo 510 for driving the wiper 120 to rotate are fixed to the mounting bracket 410. When the servo 510 drives the wiper 120 to rotate, since the mounting bracket 410 has fixed the positions of the servo 510 and the wiper 120, the wiper 120 can clean the self-heating glass assembly 110 with the connection point between the wiper 120 and the servo 510 as the center point after being driven. In addition, a vehicle sensor (such as a lidar) 140 and the self-heating glass assembly 110 can be fixed to the mounting base 420, so that the self-heating glass assembly 110 is located in front of the vehicle sensor 140 and covers the scanning surfaces of the transmitter and receiver of the vehicle sensor, ensuring that stains, rain, and snow fall on the self-heating glass assembly 110 instead of on the scanning surfaces of the transmitter and receiver of the vehicle sensor, so as to effectively melt the ice and snow covering the vehicle sensor under extreme conditions such as low temperature and high cold and remove the melted water and stains, optimize the cleaning effect of the cleaning device of the vehicle sensor, ensure the normal use of the vehicle sensor under extreme conditions, and broaden the application scenarios of autonomous vehicles.

[0032] Figure 2 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a self-heating glass assembly in a cleaning device for a vehicle sensor of an autonomous vehicle provided in an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 2 shown, the self-heating glass assembly 110 is composed of a glass lens 210 and a heat-conducting resistor 220. Among them, the heat-conducting resistor 220 may adopt a thermistor. When an electric current passes through the resistor, the thermistor can convert electrical energy into heat energy to heat the glass lens. The heat-conducting resistor 220 can be bonded to the glass lens 210 by a conductive adhesive, can be bonded to the side of the glass lens 210 close to the vehicle sensor 140, or can be built into the glass lens 210. The present application does not make any restrictions on this. For example, conductive silver paste can be used for bonding, and the present application does not make any limitations on the bonding method between the heat-conducting resistor 220 and the glass lens 210. The area ratio of the heat-conducting resistor 220 to the glass lens 210 can be 1:10, or the area of the heat-conducting resistor 220 accounts for more than 10% of the area of the glass lens 210, so as to ensure that the entire lens of the glass lens 210 can be heated up within a short time after the heat-conducting resistor 220 is powered on.

[0033] The setting position of the heat conduction resistor 220 can be at the edge of the glass lens 210. For example, it can be set at the upper and lower sides (long sides) of the rectangular glass lens and / or the left and right sides (short sides) of the outer frame, etc., as long as the position where the thermistor is set does not belong to the scanning surface of the vehicle sensor transmitter and receiver. In this way, by adopting this edge heating (outer frame heating) method, not only can the glass lens be heated, but also the area where the vehicle sensor beam propagates will not be blocked.

[0034] In the embodiments of the present application, a controller built in the vehicle or an external controller can be used to control the cleaning device of the vehicle sensor to work or not work; a controller built in the vehicle or an external controller different from the cleaning device can be used to control the self-heating glass component to work or not work. For example, two wires are connected to the heat conduction resistor 220 of the self-heating glass component 110 to control its power on or off, etc. The present application does not make any restrictions on this.

[0035] The heating method adopted can be a continuous heating method or an intermittent heating method (for example, heating at fixed intervals). The present application does not make any restrictions on this. For example, the heat conduction resistor 220 is connected to the power supply system of the autonomous driving system or the battery of the autonomous driving vehicle, and heating starts when the autonomous driving system is turned on and stops when the autonomous driving system is turned off; a switch can also be set separately to control the power-on state, power-on time, etc. of the heat conduction resistor 220; an external sensor or an infrared device can also be used. The external sensor is connected to the glass lens 210 or a non-contact infrared device is used to detect the temperature of the glass lens 210. When the temperature is lower than a certain threshold, the heat conduction resistor 220 is controlled to be powered on to heat the glass lens, and when the temperature is higher than a certain threshold (such as 55 degrees Celsius) and / or after a certain period of time, the heat conduction resistor 220 is controlled to be powered off to stop heating.

[0036] In a possible implementation manner, the above-mentioned fixed bracket 130 includes a mounting bracket 410 and a mounting base 420; the self-heating glass component 110 is fixed in front of the vehicle sensor 140 through the mounting base 420 and covers the scanning surfaces of the transmitter and receiver of the vehicle sensor 140; the windshield wiper 120 is fixed at the edge position of the self-heating glass component 110 through the mounting bracket 410.

[0037] In order to conduct a more comprehensive detection of the vehicle driving environment, vehicle sensors generally adopt a rotary working mode during operation to obtain information within a wider field of view. At the same time, vehicle sensors such as lidar and cameras are equipped with transmitters and receivers during operation, and they measure information such as the position, speed, or shape of an object through the light beam emitted by the transmitter and the reflected light of the object received by the receiver. Therefore, when the vehicle sensor is operating, its recognition range will form a scanning plane. By adjusting the installation angle, size, etc. of the self-heating glass component, the self-heating glass component can cover the scanning planes of the transmitter and receiver of the vehicle sensor, comprehensively ensuring that there will be no ice, snow, or stains directly covering the vehicle sensor within the scanning range (field of view) of the vehicle sensor. Furthermore, only by cleaning the ice, snow, and stains on the self-heating glass component can it be ensured that the vehicle sensor will not be blocked by ice, snow, or stains during operation.

[0038] In some embodiments, a servo motor 510 is further provided on the mounting bracket 410 for driving the wiper 120. After being driven, the wiper 120 cleans the self-heating glass component 110 with the connection point between the wiper 120 and the servo motor 510 as the center point.

[0039] In terms of the installation method, the wiper 120 can be installed on the steering wheel of the servo motor 510 using screws or other fixing devices. As Figure 1 shown, the steering wheel can be Figure 1 the circular device between the wiper 120 and the mounting bracket 410 in the figure. The steering wheel can be arranged on the rotating shaft of the servo motor 510 (the steering wheel can be connected to the rotating shaft of the servo motor using screws, etc.), and the servo motor 510 is connected to the mounting bracket 410 (it can be connected using screws, etc.). Thus, the wiper 120 connected to the servo motor 510 can be driven by the servo motor 510. When the servo motor 510 is powered on, it drives the wiper 120 to descend and swing. The wiper 120 can change from a state perpendicular to the self-heating glass component (or at an angle of 30° with the horizontal plane, etc.) to fitting the wiper blade to the glass lens 210 of the self-heating glass component 110 to clean the self-heating glass component 110.

[0040] In addition, the wiper 120 can be installed at the middle position directly above the self-heating glass component 110 (such as Figure 1 the position connected by the servo motor in the figure). After being driven by the servo motor, the wiper 120 can fit on the glass lens 210 of the self-heating glass component 110 and perform oscillating cleaning, and the oscillation amplitude can be at least 120°.

[0041] Exemplarily, the wiper blade holder 320 includes a servo motor connection bracket 610 for connecting the wiper 120 to the servo motor 510.

[0042] The servo connecting bracket 610 may be a part of the squeegee bracket 320 (for example Figure 3 the cylindrical servo connecting bracket 610 in

[0043] In a possible implementation, antireflection films are respectively coated on the front and back surfaces of the glass lens 210; the antireflection films increase the light transmittance of the glass lens 210 by reducing the reflected light of the glass lens 210, so as to reduce the attenuation of the beam of the vehicle sensor 140 during the process of penetrating the glass lens 210.

[0044] In the embodiment of the present application, the glass lens 210 may be rectangular, and the area may be greater than or equal to the projected area of the lidar mirror surface (the scanning surface of the transmitter and the receiver, which may be an inclined surface or a curved surface, etc.). The material of the glass lens 210 may be tempered glass, etc. The present application does not impose any restrictions on the shape and material of the glass lens 210. When processing the glass lens 210, first, the silver (Ag) coating on the surface of the glass lens 210 can be removed to reduce the attenuation effect of the silver (Ag) coating on the beam; then, antireflection films are respectively coated on the front and back surfaces of the glass lens 210. The material of the antireflection film may be an AR infrared antireflection film, etc., and the present application does not impose any restrictions on this. Of course, an antireflection film can also be coated on one side (front or back) of the glass lens 210, and the effect of increasing the light transmittance can also be achieved. After testing, when an antireflection film is coated on one side (front or back) of the glass lens 210, the light transmittance is about 92%, and when antireflection films are respectively coated on the front and back surfaces of the glass lens 210, the light transmittance is about 95%. In the self-heating glass assembly 110 provided in the embodiment of the present application, the heat conduction resistor 220 can be bonded at the internal or external edge position of the glass lens 210 first, and then the antireflection film is pasted or coated on the glass lens 210. When the heat conduction resistor 220 is built into the glass lens 210, the area of the antireflection film can be the same as or smaller than the area of the glass lens 210; when the heat conduction resistor 220 is external to the glass lens 210 (for example, when pasted on the glass lens 210), the area of the antireflection film can be smaller than the area of the glass lens 210, that is, the antireflection film is not directly connected to the heat conduction resistor 220.

[0045] Among them, the antireflection films are respectively coated on the front and back surfaces of the glass lens 210, which can be understood as a double-sided transmission film technology. The main materials of the antireflection films can include fluorides, oxides, and semiconductor materials. In the embodiments of the present application, an antireflection film that can transmit the 905 nm or 1550 nm wavelength band can be selected. By depositing one or more thin film materials with specific optical properties on the surface of the optical element, the antireflection film uses the interference effect of light to cancel out the reflected light waves with each other, thereby significantly reducing the intensity of the reflected light and increasing the intensity of the transmitted light. This can make the coated glass lens 210 have a higher light transmittance, so that the beam of the vehicle sensor does not attenuate excessively during the process of penetrating the glass lens 210. Compared with using a glass lens without an antireflection film, using a glass lens coated with an antireflection film can improve the penetration rate of vehicle sensors such as lidar beams.

[0046] In a possible implementation manner, the wiper blade holder 320 includes a water spray hole holder 620, which is used to introduce the cleaning liquid and to fix the wiper blade 310 so that it does not move left and right.

[0047] In the embodiments of the present application, the wiper blade holder 320 in the windshield wiper 120 can be composed of multiple parts such as a servo connection holder 610, a water spray hole holder 620, and a cover plate holder 630. The wiper blade holder 320 is used to fix the position of the wiper blade 310 and / or provide the cleaning liquid for the wiper blade 310, etc.

[0048] Figure 3 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a windshield wiper in a cleaning device for a vehicle sensor of a self-driving vehicle provided in the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 3 shown, the windshield wiper (windshield wiper device) provided in the embodiments of the present application is composed of a main cleaning tool, the wiper blade 310, and the wiper blade holder 320. The wiper blade holder 320 can be composed of multiple parts such as a servo connection holder 610, a water spray hole holder 620, and a cover plate holder 630. Among them, the cover plate holder 620 can be used to fix the wiper blade 310 so that it does not move up and down; on the one hand, the water spray hole holder 620 can be used to introduce the cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid can flow in along the waterway provided inside the water spray hole holder 620 and be sprayed out from the water spray holes 710 on the water spray hole holder 620. On the other hand, the water spray hole holder 620 can also be used to fix and ensure that the wiper blade 310 does not move left and right; the servo connection holder 610 can be used to connect with the driving servo 510 (as described above).

[0049] In some embodiments, the wiper blade 310 is fixed in the middle of the water spray hole holder 620, and the cleaning liquid flows out to the wiper blade 310 through the water spray holes 710 provided on the water spray hole holder 620.

[0050] Among them, one row or multiple rows of water spray holes 710 can be provided in the water spray hole holder 620 (as Figure 3As shown, there are two rows of water spray holes), and each row can have 7 or more water spray holes 710. The diameter of each water spray hole 710 can be 1 mm. This application does not impose any restrictions on the number and diameter of the water spray holes.

[0051] Exemplarily, a water path is provided inside the water spray hole bracket 620, and water spray holes 710 are provided outside the water spray hole bracket 620. The cleaning liquid flows in through the water path and flows out through the water spray holes 710.

[0052] For example, between the squeegee 310 and the disc of the servo connection bracket 610, there can be a through hole for inserting a water pipe (as Figure 3 shown). After inserting the water pipe into this through hole, the cleaning liquid can be introduced into the windshield wiper 120 through the water pipe, and flow in through the water path provided inside the water spray hole bracket 620 and flow out through the water spray holes 710.

[0053] The cleaning liquid can be pre-stored in the water tank of the autonomous vehicle, and the water tank and the windshield wiper 120 can be connected by a water pipe. For example, when the autonomous vehicle is a truck, due to the large chassis of the truck, the water tank can be set on the truck chassis, and the water pipes can also be set on the truck chassis. There can be multiple water pipes to provide cleaning liquid for the cleaning devices supporting multiple vehicle sensors on the truck at the same time.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the squeegee bracket 320 includes a cover plate bracket 630 for fixing the squeegee 310 so that it does not move up and down.

[0055] Specifically, the squeegee 310 can be inserted into the card slots provided on the cover plate bracket 630 and the water spray hole bracket 620 to fix the position of the squeegee 310, so that the squeegee 310 does not move up and down or left and right.

[0056] In some embodiments, the squeegee 310 is made of rubber.

[0057] Of course, the squeegee 310 can also be made of other materials for cleaning. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0058] In the embodiments of this application, an autonomous vehicle can have at least 5 vehicle sensors (such as lidar). Different vehicle sensors can be installed at different positions, such as on the left and right sides of the vehicle, above the vehicle, near the vehicle tires, etc. This application does not impose any limitations on the number of vehicle sensors on the same autonomous vehicle and the installation positions of the vehicle sensors.

[0059] According to the installation positions of vehicle sensors on an autonomous vehicle, the cleaning device for vehicle sensors provided in this application can be configured for vehicle sensors that are relatively low to the ground. Since vehicle sensors that are relatively low to the ground (such as around the tires) are more likely to come into contact with stains (such as being splashed with mud and water), it is necessary to use the cleaning device provided in this application with strong cleaning ability; of course, the cleaning device for vehicle sensors provided in this application can also be configured for all vehicle sensors, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0060] In addition, other components of the cleaning device in the above embodiments can adopt various technical solutions known to those of ordinary skill in the art now and in the future, and will not be described in detail here.

[0061] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to terms such as "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. In addition, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of different embodiments or examples.

[0062] It should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of this application.

[0063] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" can explicitly or implicitly include at least one of these features. In the description of this application, "a plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0064] In this application, unless otherwise clearly defined or limited, terms such as "install", "connect", "join", "fix", "compose", "drive", "include", "set", "pass through", etc. shall be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or integrated; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a communication connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal connection of two components or the interaction relationship between two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0065] In this application, unless otherwise clearly defined or limited, the first feature being "on" or "under" the second feature may include the direct contact between the first and second features, or may include the situation where the first and second features are not in direct contact but in contact through other features therebetween. Moreover, the first feature being "above", "over" and "on top of" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than that of the second feature. The first feature being "under", "below" and "beneath" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the horizontal height of the first feature is lower than that of the second feature.

[0066] The above disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different structures of this application. To simplify the disclosure of this application, components and settings of specific examples are described above. Of course, they are only examples and are not intended to limit this application. In addition, this application may repeat reference numerals and / or reference letters in different examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplification and clarity, and does not itself indicate the relationship between various embodiments and / or settings discussed.

[0067] As described above, it is only the exemplary embodiment of this application, but the protection scope of this application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application can easily think of various changes or substitutions, and these should all be covered within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A cleaning device for vehicle sensors of an autonomous vehicle, characterized in that, The cleaning device includes a fixed bracket, a self-heating glass assembly, and a wiper; The self-heating glass assembly and the wiper are mounted in front of the vehicle sensor through the fixed bracket; The self-heating glass assembly consists of a glass lens and a heat-conducting resistor, and is used to melt ice and snow into water in low-temperature and high-cold environments; The wiper consists of a wiper blade and a wiper blade bracket, and is used to clean the stains and the melted water on the self-heating glass assembly.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein The fixed bracket includes a mounting bracket and a mounting base; The self-heating glass assembly is fixed in front of the vehicle sensor through the mounting base and covers the scanning surfaces of the transmitter and receiver of the vehicle sensor; The wiper is fixed at the edge position of the self-heating glass assembly through the mounting bracket.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein A servo motor is further provided on the mounting bracket for driving the wiper. After being driven, the wiper cleans the self-heating glass assembly with the connection point between the wiper and the servo motor as the center point.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein, The wiper blade bracket includes a servo motor connection bracket for connecting the wiper to the servo motor.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein, Anti-reflection films are respectively coated on the front and back surfaces of the glass lens; The anti-reflection film increases the light transmittance of the glass lens by reducing the reflected light of the glass lens, so as to reduce the attenuation of the beam of the vehicle sensor during the process of penetrating the glass lens.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein, The wiper blade bracket includes a water spray hole bracket for introducing cleaning liquid and for fixing the wiper blade so that it does not move left and right.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein, The wiper blade is fixed in the middle of the water spray hole bracket, and the cleaning liquid flows out to the wiper blade through the water spray holes provided on the water spray hole bracket.

8. The device according to claim 6, wherein, A water channel is provided inside the water spray hole bracket, and water spray holes are provided outside the water spray hole bracket. The cleaning liquid flows in through the water channel and flows out through the water spray holes.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein The wiper blade bracket includes a cover plate bracket for fixing the wiper blade so that it does not move up and down.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein, The wiper blade is made of rubber.

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