Pressure control device for a consumer and cleaning device

Abstract

The invention relates to a pressure control device (10) for a consumer (54), having an inlet line (12) for a medium (M), wherein a first pressure sensor (14) for detecting the pressure (p1) of the medium (M) prevailing in the inlet line (12) is arranged in the inlet line (12), wherein a signal that can be generated by the first pressure sensor (14) can be fed to a control device (18) as an input signal, wherein the control device (18) has an algorithm (36) that is designed so that the control device (18) controls at least one pressure reducing valve (25a to 25n) arranged in the flow path between the inlet line (12) and an outlet line (28) to the consumer (54) as a function of at least one parameter (P).

Description

Technical FieldThe invention relates to a pressure control device for a consumer, which enables a structurally simple adaptation to different parameters and thus good functionality, in particular with the removal of liquids from a viewing screen of a surroundings detection device. The invention further relates to a cleaning device having a pressure regulating device designed according to the invention.Prior ArtEnvironment recognition devices as a component of partially autonomous or fully autonomous driving vehicles are already known from the prior art (DE 10 2020 122 332 A1). Such environment recognition devices typically have an image recording device in the form of a camera, the images of which are evaluated by the control device of the vehicle and used for the driving operation. To capture the vehicle environment, the camera is typically located in an exposed location of the vehicle. In order to protect the camera from soiling, such a surroundings detection device additionally typically has a viewing screen behind which the camera is arranged. The viewing screen can be cleaned by means of a cleaning nozzle with a cleaning medium (typically water, optionally with cleaning additives). It is essential that a moisture film of the cleaning medium, which remains on the viewing screen after cleaning, should be removed without residue as possible, so that high-quality images can be recorded by the camera.The same applies also to cases in which the lens has to be freed of rain, moisture or the like, for example, even without a cleaning medium having been applied to the lens beforehand.Disclosure of the InventionThe pressure regulating device according to the invention for a consumer having the features of claim 1 has the advantage that it enables an advantageous and simple adaptation of an output pressure of a medium (typically compressed air) for a consumer as a function of at least one parameter. A speed-dependent setting of an output pressure of the medium for cleaning a lens of a surroundings detection device of a vehicle can thus be realized, for example, if the speed is the parameter.The invention is based on the concept of actuating a plurality of pressure-reducing valves arranged in a parallel connection to one another as a function of a detected parameter in order to be able to achieve different pressures at the consumer. Furthermore, the advantage is achieved that the energy consumption for maintaining the pressure of the medium in a pressure source can be reduced, since the quantity of the medium taken from the pressure source differs depending on the parameter, and in particular, compared to a maximum value, also comprises values or quantities which are lower, so that during these phases, a lower energy consumption is required for maintaining the pressure in the pressure source.Against the background of the above explanations, a pressure regulating device according to the invention for a consumer having the features of claim 1 therefore has an inlet line for a medium, wherein a first pressure sensor for detecting the pressure of the medium prevailing in the inlet line is arranged in the inlet line. Furthermore, a signal that can be generated by the first pressure sensor can be supplied as an input signal to a control device, wherein the control device has an algorithm which is designed such that the control device actuates at least one pressure regulating valve arranged in a flow path between the input line and an output line to the consumer as a function of at least one parameter in order to reduce the pressure of the medium prevailing in the output line compared to the pressure prevailing in the input line.Advantageous further developments of the pressure regulating device according to the invention for a consumer are listed in the dependent claims.With a view to adapting the pressure of the medium prevailing in the outlet line as sensitive as possible or in a fine-stage manner as a function of the at least one parameter, it is provided in particular that a plurality of pressure-reducing valves are present which are arranged in a parallel connection to one another.In a development of the last proposal, it is provided that the pressure reduction valves are designed to generate pressure reductions of the medium of different levels.In order to be able to realize as many different pressure reductions as possible of the pressure prevailing in the outlet line to the consumer, it is provided that the pressure reduction valves can be controlled by the control device either individually or else in combination.It is furthermore preferred that a second pressure sensor is arranged in the output line, the output signal of which can be supplied to the control device as an input variable. This forms a control path which ensures that the desired pressure of the medium prevails in the outlet line.With a view to the use of the removal of liquids or similar media from viewing panes of environment recognition devices, it is furthermore particularly preferred if the at least one parameter is a travel speed of a vehicle. This has the consequence that, for example, in the case of a stationary vehicle or at relatively low vehicle speeds, the pressure of the medium prevailing in the outlet line can be selected to be relatively low in order to enable residue-free removal of the damage medium from the lens. This means that the output pressure of a pressure source can be reduced relatively greatly. The faster the vehicle is travelling, the higher the pressure prevailing in the outlet line should be selected, since in addition to the pressure of the medium from the outlet line, the relative wind, which is dependent on the vehicle speed, acts on the viewing window and brings about a deflection of the compressed air jets.Furthermore, the invention also comprises a cleaning device for a vehicle having a pressure regulating device designed according to the invention as described so far.In a development of such a cleaning device, it is provided that the inlet line is connected to a compressed air source and the outlet line is connected to a compressed air nozzle as a consumer.The cleaning device serves in particular for removing liquid from a viewing screen of a surroundings recognition device.The environment recognition device is in particular designed as a camera-based environment recognition device.Further advantages, features and details of the invention are evident from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention and on the basis of the drawings.Brief Description of the DrawingsFIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a cleaning device for removing liquid from a viewing screen of a surroundings detection device having a pressure control device designed according to the invention and a compressed air nozzle, and FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the switching of pressure-reducing valves as a function of a vehicle speed as a parameter.Embodiments of the InventionIdentical elements or elements with the same function are provided with the same reference numbers in the figures.FIG. 1 shows a greatly simplified illustration of a surroundings detection device 100 which, in a vehicle (not shown), serves to detect the surroundings of the vehicle in order to enable at least indirectly semi-autonomous or fully autonomous operation of the vehicle.For this purpose, the environment recognition device 100 is typically arranged at an exposed position of the vehicle, for example at a roof region of the vehicle, and has a housing 102 for receiving a camera 104, the signals of which can be fed to a control device, not shown. The housing 102 is closed by a lens 106 which is transparent to the light spectrum captured by the camera 104 in order to enable the capturing of the environment by the camera 104. Furthermore, the environment recognition device 100 has a cleaning device 50, which is designed to clean and dry the viewing window 106 of the housing 102 when any soiling occurs, in order to enable good conditions for the camera 104 for capturing the environment.The cleaning device 50 has a cleaning nozzle 52, which allows spraying or wetting of the viewing screen 106 with a cleaning medium (in particular water, optionally with cleaning additives). In order to remove any liquids adhering to the lens 106 after the cleaning process or else liquid accumulating on the lens 106 during driving (caused by rain, mist, etc.), the cleaning device 50 additionally has a compressed air nozzle 54 as consumer, the compressed air jets 56 of which act on the lens 106 in order to remove any liquid film or liquids located on the lens 106.The compressed air nozzle 54 is actuated in particular as a function of a travel speed v of the vehicle, the travel speed v representing a parameter P which influences the actuation of the compressed air nozzle 54 as a consumer.A pressure control device 10 designed according to the invention serves to control the pressure of the compressed air in the compressed air nozzle 54; the pressure control device 10 has an inlet line 12 for a medium M, here compressed air, wherein the pressure p 1 of the medium M prevailing in the inlet line 12 can be detected by means of a first pressure sensor 14. The inlet line 12 is connected to a pressure source 16 which provides the pressurized medium (compressed air). Pressure p 1 of medium M (compressed air) detected by first pressure sensor 14 is supplied as an input variable to a control device 18.The input line 12 branches out after the first pressure sensor 14 into a plurality of strings 20 ato 20 narranged parallel to one another, wherein for the sake of simplicity only two strings 20 a, 20 bare described in more detail within the scope of the exemplary embodiment. In each of the strands 20 ato 20 narranged parallel to one another, a pressure-reducing valve 25 ato 25 nis arranged in each case, which reduces the pressure p 1 prevailing in the inlet line 12. By way of example, the pressure-reducing valve 25 ais designed to reduce the pressure p 2 prevailing in an outlet line 28 connected to the compressed-air nozzle 54 by 0.8 bar compared to the pressure p 1. In contrast, the pressure-reducing valve 25 bis designed to reduce the pressure p 2 in the outlet line 28 by 0.4 bar compared to the pressure p 1. The pressure p 2 of the medium M (compressed air) prevailing in the outlet line 28 can be detected by means of a second pressure sensor 30, the signals of which are likewise fed to the control device 18 as an input variable. The control device 18 is in turn connected via output lines 32 ato 32 nto the respective pressure-reducing valve 25 ato 25 nto actuate the latter. In this case, the control device 18 can control both individual ones of the pressure-reducing valves 25 ato 25 n, and a plurality or groups of pressure-reducing valves 25 ato 25 ntogether.In addition, an algorithm 36 is formed in the control device 18, which serves to actuate one or more of the pressure-reducing valves 25 ato 25 nin dependence on the at least one parameter P, thus the vehicle speed v in the exemplary embodiment shown, in order to set the pressure p 2 of the medium M in the outlet line 28.For clarification, reference is made to the diagram of FIG. 2. There, on the one hand, the pressure-reducing valves 25 aand 25 band their pressure reductions Δp (p 1- p 2) and the vehicle speed v are shown as abscissa, and the switching position(s) of the two pressure-reducing valves 25 a, 25 bare shown as ordinate. In particular, it can be seen that, for example, in a range of the travel speed v between 0 km / h and 50 km / h, the pressure-reducing valve 25 ais open, while the pressure-reducing valve 25 bis closed. This leads to a pressure reduction Δp in the output line 28 of 0.8 bar. On the other hand, when the running speed v is increased to a value between 50 km / h and 90 km / h, the pressure reducing valve 25a is closed while the pressure reducing valve 25b is opened. This leads to a pressure reduction Δp in the output line 28 of 0.4 bar. At even higher travel speeds v, for example a travel speed v between 90 km / h and 130 km / h, on the other hand, both pressure-reducing valves 25 aand 25 bare open. This results in a pressure reduction Δp in the outlet line 28 of 0.18 bar, for example.The pressure reduction device 10 as described thus far and the environment recognition device 100 can be modified or modified in a variety of ways without departing from the concept of the invention. Thus, the pressure-reducing valves 25 ato 25 nmay also be designed differently in design terms, for example by means of a throttle that can be controlled by the control device 18 and a downstream valve or similar deviceReference numerals denote reference numerals10 Pressure regulating device 12 Input line 14 First pressure sensor 16 Pressure source 18 Control device 20 a- 20 n Strang 25 a- 25 nPressurizing valve 28 Output line 30 Second pressure sensor 32 a- 32 n 36 Algorithm 50 Cleaning device 52 Cleaning nozzle 54 Compressed air nozzle 56 Compressed air jet 100 Environment recognition device 102 Housing 104 Camera 106 Lens v Travel speed M Medium p 1, p 2 Pressure Δp Pressure reduction P ParameterReferences included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedDE 10 2020 122 332 A1

[0002]

Claims

Pressure regulating device (10) for a consumer (54), having an input line (12) for a medium (M), wherein a first pressure sensor (14) for detecting the pressure (p 1) of the medium (M) prevailing in the input line (12) is arranged in the input line (12), wherein a signal which can be generated by the first pressure sensor (14) can be fed as an input signal to a control device (18), wherein the control device (18) has an algorithm (36) which is designed such that the control device (18) actuates at least one pressure reducing valve (25a to 25n) arranged in the flow path between the input line (12) and an output line (28) to the consumer (54) as a function of at least one parameter (P), This is to reduce the pressure (p 2) of the medium (M) prevailing in the outlet line (28) compared with the pressure (p 1) prevailing in the inlet line (12).Pressure regulating device according to Claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of pressure-reducing valves (25a to 25n) arranged in a parallel circuit with one another are provided.Pressure regulating device according to Claim 2, characterized in that the pressure reduction valves (25a to 25n) are designed to generate pressure reductions (Δp) of the medium (M) of different levels.Pressure regulating device according to Claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the pressure-reducing valves (25a to 25n) can be actuated by the control device (18) individually or in a combination.Pressure regulating device according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a second pressure sensor (30) is arranged in the output line (28), the output signal of which pressure sensor can be fed to the control device (18) as an input variable.Pressure regulating device according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the at least one parameter (P) is a travel speed (v) of a vehicle.Cleaning device (50) for a vehicle, having a pressure regulating device (10) which is designed according to one of Claims 1 to 6.Cleaning device according to claim 7, characterised in that the inlet line (12) is connected to a compressed air source (16) and the outlet line (28) is connected to a compressed air nozzle as a consumer (54).Cleaning device according to Claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the cleaning device (50) is designed to remove liquid from a viewing screen (106) of a surroundings detection device (100).Cleaning device according to Claim 9, characterized in that the environment recognition device (100) is designed as a camera-based environment recognition device (100).

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