Cleaner

Abstract

A cleaner (103) that jets a cleaning medium onto a surface (120) to be cleaned of a sensor (6f) comprises: a nozzle (130) that is provided with a jet outlet (133); a motor (140) that is rotatable in at least one direction; and a transmission mechanism (150) that is provided between the motor (140) and the nozzle (130). The transmission mechanism (150) is configured to change the position of the jet axis line (ML) of the jet outlet (133) relative to the surface (120) to be cleaned, by reciprocation of the nozzle (130) caused by transmission of rotation force of the motor (140) to the nozzle (130).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cleaner.

Background Art

[0002] A headlamp cleaner for vehicles is known from Patent Document 1 and the like.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in recent years, the development of vehicles capable of autonomous driving has been attempted. In realizing autonomous driving, for example, it is required to maintain good sensitivity of various sensors such as LiDAR. Therefore, a sensor cleaner for cleaning the sensor to remove foreign substances attached to the sensor is required.

[0005] [[ID=3৮]] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a cleaner capable of efficiently cleaning a wide range of surfaces to be cleaned of a sensor.

[0006] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a cleaner that can efficiently clean a wide range of surfaces to be cleaned of a sensor and is small in size.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to achieve at least one of the above objects, a cleaner according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a cleaner that injects a cleaning medium onto a surface to be cleaned of a sensor, a nozzle provided with an injection port for injecting the cleaning medium, a motor rotatable in at least one direction, A transmission mechanism provided between the motor and the nozzle, Equipped with, The transmission mechanism is configured to transmit the rotational force of the motor to the nozzle, thereby causing the nozzle to reciprocate and changing the position of the spray axis of the spray port relative to the surface to be cleaned.

[0008] To achieve at least one of the above objectives, the cleaner relating to one aspect of this disclosure A cleaner that sprays a cleaning medium onto the surface of a sensor to be cleaned, A nozzle equipped with a nozzle for spraying the cleaning medium, A motor that can rotate in both forward and reverse directions, A link mechanism provided between the motor and the nozzle, Equipped with, The link mechanism is configured to transmit the rotational driving force of the motor to the nozzle, thereby causing the nozzle to reciprocate and change the position of the spray nozzle relative to the surface to be cleaned, while also changing the angle of the spray axis of the spray nozzle.

[0009] To achieve at least one of the above objectives, the cleaner relating to one aspect of this disclosure A cleaner that sprays a cleaning medium onto the surface of a sensor to be cleaned, A nozzle equipped with a nozzle for spraying the cleaning medium, The system includes a motor capable of rotating the nozzle to change the position of the spray nozzle relative to the surface to be cleaned, The motor and the nozzle are directly connected. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to this disclosure, a cleaner capable of efficiently cleaning a wide area of ​​the sensor's surface can be provided.

[0011] Furthermore, this disclosure provides a compact cleaner that can efficiently clean a wide area of ​​the sensor's surface to be cleaned. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] It is a top view of a vehicle equipped with a sensor system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] It is a block diagram of a vehicle system in which the sensor system of FIG. 1 is incorporated. [Figure 3] It is a block diagram of a cleaner system included in the sensor system of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] It is a perspective view of a cleaner according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] It is a perspective view showing the internal mechanism of the cleaner shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] It is a front view showing the internal mechanism and housing of the cleaner shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 7] It is a perspective view of a cleaner according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] It is a front view of the cleaner shown in FIG. 7. [Figure 9] It is a diagram for explaining the operation of the cleaner shown in FIG. 7. [Figure 10] It is a diagram for explaining the operation of the cleaner shown in FIG. 7. [Figure 11] It is a diagram for explaining the operation of the cleaner shown in FIG. 7. [Figure 12] It is a perspective view of a cleaner according to the third embodiment. [Figure 13] It is a front view of the cleaner shown in FIG. 12. [Figure 14] It is a diagram for explaining the operation of the cleaner shown in FIG. 12. %> [Figure 15] It is a diagram for explaining the operation of the cleaner shown in FIG. 12. [Figure 16] It is a front view of a cleaner according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 17] It is a perspective view of a cleaner according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 18] It is a front view of the cleaner shown in FIG. 17. [Figure 19] It is a diagram for explaining the operation of the cleaner shown in FIG. 17. [Figure 20]Figure 17 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the cleaner shown. [Figure 21] Figure 17 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the cleaner shown. [Figure 22] Figure 17 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the cleaner shown. [Figure 23] Figure 17 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the cleaner shown. [Figure 24] This is a perspective view showing an example of the cleaner according to the sixth embodiment being attached to a sensor. [Figure 25] Figure 24 is a rear perspective view of the sensor and cleaner. [Figure 26] This is a partial cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 24. [Figure 27] This diagram illustrates the rotation of the nozzle in the cleaner shown in Figure 24. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. For the sake of clarity, the description of components having the same reference numeral as those already described in the description of the embodiments will be omitted. Furthermore, the dimensions of the components shown in these drawings may differ from the actual dimensions of the components for the sake of clarity.

[0014] Furthermore, in describing the embodiments of this disclosure (hereinafter referred to as "this embodiment"), for the sake of convenience, the terms "left-right direction," "front-rear direction," and "up-down direction" will be referred to as appropriate. These directions are relative directions set for the vehicle 1 shown in Figure 1. Here, the "up-down direction" includes the "upward direction" and the "downward direction." The "front-rear direction" includes the "forward direction" and the "rearward direction." The "left-right direction" includes the "left direction" and the "right direction."

[0015] Figure 1 is a top view of a vehicle 1 equipped with a sensor system 100 comprising cleaners 101 to 108 according to this embodiment. The vehicle 1 is an automobile capable of driving in an automatic driving mode in which the driving control of the vehicle 1 is performed automatically. The vehicle 1 is equipped with a sensor system 100 comprising cleaners 101 to 108 for cleaning objects to be cleaned located outside the passenger compartment (e.g., onboard sensors, various lamps, windshields, etc.).

[0016] Figure 2 is a block diagram of the vehicle system 2 into which the sensor system 100 is incorporated. First, the vehicle system 2 of vehicle 1 will be described with reference to Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, the vehicle system 2 includes a vehicle control unit 3, an internal sensor 5, an external sensor 6, a lamp 7, an HMI 8 (Human Machine Interface), a GPS 9 (Global Positioning System), a wireless communication unit 10, and a map information storage unit 11. Furthermore, the vehicle system 2 includes a steering actuator 12, a steering device 13, a brake actuator 14, a brake device 15, an accelerator actuator 16, and an accelerator device 17. In addition, the sensor system 100, which has a cleaner control unit 113 and a sensor control unit 114, is communicably connected to the vehicle control unit 3 of the vehicle system 2.

[0017] The vehicle control unit 3 is composed of an electronic control unit (ECU). The vehicle control unit 3 consists of a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which various vehicle control programs are stored, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) in which various vehicle control data is temporarily stored. The processor is configured to load a program specified from the various vehicle control programs stored in the ROM onto the RAM and to execute various processes in cooperation with the RAM. The vehicle control unit 3 is configured to control the movement of vehicle 1.

[0018] The internal sensor 5 is a sensor capable of acquiring information about the vehicle itself. The internal sensor 5 is, for example, at least one of an acceleration sensor, a speed sensor, a wheel speed sensor, and a gyro sensor. The internal sensor 5 is configured to acquire information about the vehicle itself, including the driving state of the vehicle 1, and to output this information to the vehicle control unit 3 and the cleaner control unit 113. The internal sensor 5 may also include a seating sensor to detect whether the driver is sitting in the driver's seat, a face orientation sensor to detect the direction of the driver's face, and a human presence sensor to detect whether there is a person inside the vehicle.

[0019] The external sensor 6 is a sensor capable of acquiring information from outside the vehicle. The external sensor is at least one of the following: a camera, radar, LiDAR, etc. The external sensor 6 is configured to acquire information from outside the vehicle, including the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 (other vehicles, pedestrians, road shape, traffic signs, obstacles, etc.), and to output this information to the vehicle control unit 3, the cleaner control unit 113, and the sensor control unit 114. Alternatively, the external sensor 6 may include a weather sensor to detect weather conditions or an illuminance sensor to detect the illuminance of the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1. For example, the camera is a camera that includes an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary MOS). The camera is a camera that detects visible light or an infrared camera that detects infrared light. The radar is a millimeter-wave radar, microwave radar or laser radar, etc. LiDAR is an abbreviation for Light Detection and Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging. LiDAR is a sensor that generally emits invisible light in front of it and acquires information such as the distance to an object, the object's orientation, the object's shape, and the object's material based on the emitted and reflected light.

[0020] Lamp 7 is at least one of the following: a headlamp or position lamp located at the front of vehicle 1, a rear combination lamp located at the rear of vehicle 1, a turn signal lamp located at the front or side of the vehicle, or various lamps that inform pedestrians or drivers of other vehicles of the status of the vehicle.

[0021] The HMI8 consists of an input unit that receives input operations from the driver and an output unit that outputs driving information and other data to the driver. The input unit includes a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, brake pedal, and a driving mode selector switch for switching the driving mode of vehicle 1. The output unit is a display that shows various driving information.

[0022] The GPS 9 is configured to acquire the current location information of vehicle 1 and output the acquired current location information to the vehicle control unit 3. The wireless communication unit 10 is configured to receive driving information of other vehicles in the vicinity of vehicle 1 and to transmit driving information of vehicle 1 to other vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle communication). The wireless communication unit 10 is also configured to receive infrastructure information from infrastructure equipment such as traffic lights and marker lights and to transmit driving information of vehicle 1 to the infrastructure equipment (vehicle-to-infrastructure communication). The map information storage unit 11 is an external storage device such as a hard disk drive in which map information is stored and is configured to output the map information to the vehicle control unit 3.

[0023] When vehicle 1 is driving in autonomous driving mode, the vehicle control unit 3 automatically generates at least one of the steering control signal, accelerator control signal, and brake control signal based on driving state information, surrounding environment information, current location information, map information, etc. The steering actuator 12 is configured to receive the steering control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the steering device 13 based on the received steering control signal. The brake actuator 14 is configured to receive the brake control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the brake device 15 based on the received brake control signal. The accelerator actuator 16 is configured to receive the accelerator control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the accelerator device 17 based on the received accelerator control signal. In this way, in autonomous driving mode, the driving of vehicle 1 is automatically controlled by the vehicle system 2.

[0024] On the other hand, when vehicle 1 is running in manual driving mode, the vehicle control unit 3 generates steering control signals, accelerator control signals, and brake control signals according to the driver's manual operations on the accelerator pedal, brake pedal, and steering wheel. Thus, in manual driving mode, the steering control signals, accelerator control signals, and brake control signals are generated by the driver's manual operations, and the driving of vehicle 1 is controlled by the driver.

[0025] Returning to Figure 1, the sensor system 100 of vehicle 1 includes a front LiDAR 6f, a rear LiDAR 6b, a left LiDAR 6l, and a right LiDAR 6r as external sensors 6. The front LiDAR 6f is configured to acquire information in front of vehicle 1. The rear LiDAR 6b is configured to acquire information behind vehicle 1. The left LiDAR 6l is configured to acquire information to the left of vehicle 1. The right LiDAR 6r is configured to acquire information to the right of vehicle 1.

[0026] In the example shown in Figure 1, the front LiDAR 6f is located at the front of the vehicle 1, the rear LiDAR 6b is located at the rear of the vehicle 1, the left LiDAR 6l is located on the left side of the vehicle 1, and the right LiDAR 6r is located on the right side of the vehicle 1. However, this disclosure is not limited to this example. For example, the front LiDAR, rear LiDAR, left LiDAR, and right LiDAR may be arranged together on the ceiling of the vehicle 1.

[0027] Furthermore, the sensor system 100 includes a left headlamp 7l located on the left side of the front of the vehicle 1, and a right headlamp 7r located on the right side, as lamps 7. In addition, the sensor system 100 includes a front window 1f and a rear window 1b as windshields.

[0028] Furthermore, the sensor system 100 includes a cleaner unit 110 (detailed in Figure 3) that removes foreign matter such as water droplets, mud, and dust adhering to the object to be cleaned, or prevents foreign matter from adhering to the object to be cleaned. For example, in this embodiment, the cleaner unit 110 has a front window washer (hereinafter referred to as front WW) 101 capable of cleaning the front window 1f, and a rear window washer (hereinafter referred to as rear WW) 102 capable of cleaning the rear window 1b. The cleaner unit 110 also has a front sensor cleaner (hereinafter referred to as front SC) 103 capable of cleaning the front LiDAR 6f, and a rear sensor cleaner (hereinafter referred to as rear SC) 104 capable of cleaning the rear LiDAR 6b. Furthermore, the cleaner unit 110 includes a right sensor cleaner (hereinafter referred to as right SC) 105 capable of cleaning the right LiDAR 6r, and a left sensor cleaner (hereinafter referred to as left SC) 106 capable of cleaning the left LiDAR 6l. In addition, the cleaner unit 110 includes a right headlamp cleaner (hereinafter referred to as right HC) 107 capable of cleaning the right headlamp 7r, and a left headlamp cleaner (hereinafter referred to as left HC) 108 capable of cleaning the left headlamp 7l. Each of the cleaners 101 to 108 has one or more nozzles, and a cleaning medium such as high-pressure air or cleaning liquid is sprayed from the nozzle opening toward the target object.

[0029] Figure 3 is a block diagram of the cleaner unit 110 included in the sensor system 100. In addition to the cleaners 101 to 108, the cleaner unit 110 includes a tank 111, a pump 112, a cleaner control unit 113, and air pumps 115 to 118.

[0030] Front WW101, rear WW102, right HC107, and left HC108 are connected to tank 111 via pump 112. Pump 112 draws in cleaning fluid (an example of a cleaning medium) stored in tank 111 and transfers it to front WW101, rear WW102, right HC107, and left HC108.

[0031] Air pumps 115-118 are connected to the front SC103, rear SC104, right SC105, and left SC106, respectively. Each air pump 115-118 generates high-pressure air (an example of a cleaning medium) and sends the generated high-pressure air to the front SC103, rear SC104, right SC105, and left SC106.

[0032] Each cleaner 101-108 may be equipped with an actuator (not shown) that opens a nozzle on each cleaner to spray the cleaning medium onto the object to be cleaned. The actuators on each cleaner 101-108 are electrically connected to the cleaner control unit 113. Pumps 112 and air pumps 115-118 are also electrically connected to the cleaner control unit 113. The operation of the cleaners 101-108, pumps 112, air pumps 115-118, etc., is controlled by the cleaner control unit 113.

[0033] The cleaner control unit 113 is electrically connected to the vehicle control unit 3 and the sensor control unit 114 (see Figure 2). Information acquired by the cleaner control unit 113, information acquired by the sensor control unit 114, and information acquired by the vehicle control unit 3 are transmitted and received between each control unit.

[0034] Next, the configurations of cleaners 101 to 108 will be described in more detail with reference to Figures 4 to 16. In the example shown in Figures 4 to 16, the front SC103, which cleans the front LiDAR 6f located at the front of the vehicle 1, will be described. Note that the other cleaners have similar configurations and will therefore not be described.

[0035] (First Embodiment) The first embodiment of the front SC103A will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 6. Figure 4 is a perspective view of the front SC103A. Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the internal mechanism of the front SC103A shown in Figure 4 with the housing 160 (described later) removed. Figure 6 is a front view showing the internal mechanism and housing 160 of the front SC103A shown in Figure 4.

[0036] As shown in Figures 4 to 6, the front SC103A includes a nozzle 130, a motor 140 for rotating the nozzle 130, a transmission mechanism 150 provided between the motor 140 and the nozzle 130, and a housing 160 that accommodates the motor 140 and the transmission mechanism 150. The front SC103A is positioned in the upper central part of the front LiDAR 6f, for example, as shown in Figure 6. The front LiDAR 6f has a rectangular front lens portion 120 in the center of its front surface, which is the surface to be cleaned.

[0037] The nozzle 130 is positioned directly above the front LiDAR 6f and extends toward the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f. The nozzle 130 has an injection section 131 that extends in the vertical direction and a conduit 132 that extends in the front-rear direction. The nozzle 130 is configured to rotate about a rotation axis X2 that extends in the front-rear direction through the center of the conduit 132.

[0038] The injection unit 131 has an injection nozzle 133 that injects high-pressure air toward the front lens unit 120. The injection nozzle 133 is formed on the lower surface of the injection unit 131. The injection nozzle 133 is oriented so that the high-pressure air injected from the nozzle 133 is sprayed toward the front lens unit 120 from above toward below.

[0039] The conduit 132 is connected to the rear of the injection unit 131. As shown in Figure 5, the conduit 132 is provided along the rotation axis X2 of the nozzle 130. An external conduit (not shown) is connected to the rear end 132a of the conduit 132, and high-pressure air is supplied from the air pump 115 through this external conduit. The conduit 132 supplies the high-pressure air supplied from the air pump 115 to the injection unit 131.

[0040] Motor 140 is a motor capable of forward and reverse rotation. Motor 140 is positioned so that its rotation axis X1 extends in the front-rear direction. The direction of the rotation axis X1 of motor 140 coincides with the direction of the rotation axis X2 of nozzle 130. Motor 140 is electrically connected to the cleaner control unit 113. The operation of motor 140 is controlled by the cleaner control unit 113.

[0041] The transmission mechanism 150 consists of a motor gear 151 attached to the motor 140, a nozzle gear 154 attached to the nozzle 130, and driven gears 152 and 153 provided between the motor gear 151 and the nozzle gear 154. The transmission mechanism 150 is configured to transmit the rotational force of the motor 140 to the nozzle 130.

[0042] The motor gear 151 is attached to the output shaft 141 of the motor 140. The motor gear 151 rotates together with the output shaft 141 as the output shaft 141 of the motor 140 rotates.

[0043] The nozzle gear 154 is attached to the conduit 132 of the nozzle 130. The nozzle gear 154 is provided on a part of the conduit 132 in the circumferential direction and is formed to be, for example, a fan shape when viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X2 of the nozzle 130. The nozzle gear 154 is formed to be a fan shape centered on the direction directly above the conduit 132. The central angle θ2 of the fan shape of the nozzle gear 154 (see Figure 6) is set to an angle that corresponds to the rotation range of the injection part 131 of the nozzle 130. That is, the central angle θ2 of the fan shape of the nozzle gear 154 is set so that the injection part 131 can swing in forward and reverse directions, and the injection axis ML of the high-pressure air injected from the injection port 133 can move within a predetermined movable angle θ1. The predetermined movable angle θ1 is set to an angle such that the high-pressure air injected from the injection port 133 is injected from the left end region to the right end region of the front lens part 120 of the front LiDAR 6f.

[0044] The driven gears 152 and 153 are configured to rotate around a rotation axis X3 that extends in the front-rear direction. The driven gears 152 and 153 are mounted on the rotation axis X3 in a stacked manner in the front-rear direction. The driven gear 152 has a larger diameter than the driven gear 153. The driven gear 152 is mounted on the rear side of the rotation axis X3, and the driven gear 153 is mounted on the front side of the rotation axis X3. The direction of the rotation axis X3 coincides with the direction of the rotation axis X1 of the motor 140 and the direction of the rotation axis X2 of the nozzle 130. The driven gear 152 is configured to mesh with the motor gear 151 of the motor 140. The driven gear 153 (an example of a first gear) is configured to mesh with the nozzle gear 154 (an example of a second gear) of the nozzle 130.

[0045] The driven gears 152 and 153 rotate in the forward and reverse directions in accordance with the forward and reverse rotation of the motor 140, as driven gear 152 meshes with motor gear 151. Also, driven gears 152 and 153 rotate the nozzle gear 154 in the forward and reverse directions in accordance with the forward and reverse rotation of the motor 140, as driven gear 153 meshes with nozzle gear 154.

[0046] The housing 160 includes a motor housing 161 that houses the motor 140 and motor gear 151, a driven gear housing 162 that houses the driven gears 152 and 153, and a nozzle gear housing 163 that houses the nozzle gear 154. The motor housing 161, the driven gear housing 162, and the nozzle gear housing 163 are integrally formed.

[0047] The nozzle gear housing 163 is formed to be fan-shaped when viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X2 of the nozzle 130. The central angle θ3 of the fan shape of the nozzle gear housing 163 (see Figure 6) is set to an angle corresponding to the rotation range of the nozzle gear 154 in the forward and reverse directions along the circumferential direction of the conduit 132. That is, the central angle θ3 of the nozzle gear housing 163 is set to be a housing that has the internal space S necessary to accommodate the nozzle gear 154 that rotates in the forward and reverse directions. The nozzle gear housing 163 has inner wall surfaces 163A and 163B on the left and right and lower sides that define the central angle θ3. Each inner wall surface 163A and 163B functions as abutment surface that contacts the nozzle gear 154, thereby defining the range of motion of the nozzle gear 154.

[0048] The SC103A with this configuration operates as follows. For example, as shown in Figure 6, in a front view of the SC103A, when the motor 140 rotates, the motor gear 151 rotates clockwise as indicated by the arrow CW, and the driven gear 152 that meshes with the motor gear 151 rotates counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow CCW. When the driven gear 152 rotates counterclockwise, the driven gear 153 also rotates counterclockwise in conjunction with the rotation of the driven gear 152. When the driven gear 153 rotates counterclockwise, the nozzle gear 154 that meshes with the driven gear 153 rotates clockwise as indicated by the arrow CW. When the nozzle gear 154 rotates clockwise, the nozzle 130 also rotates clockwise in conjunction with the rotation of the nozzle gear 154, similar to the nozzle gear 154. As a result, the injection section 131 of the nozzle 130 rotates clockwise around the rotation axis X2, changing the direction of the injection port 133 of the injection section 131 relative to the front lens section 120 of the front LiDAR 6f to the right. The nozzle gear 154 can rotate clockwise until it abuts against the left inner wall surface 163B of the nozzle gear housing 163.

[0049] In contrast, as the motor 140 rotates, the motor gear 151 rotates counterclockwise, causing the driven gears 152 and 153 to rotate clockwise. When the driven gear 153 rotates clockwise, the nozzle gear 154 rotates counterclockwise, and the nozzle 130 to which the nozzle gear 154 is attached also rotates counterclockwise in the same way as the nozzle gear 154. As a result, the nozzle 131 of the nozzle 130 rotates counterclockwise around the rotation axis X2, changing the direction of the nozzle opening 133 of the nozzle 131 relative to the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f to the left, opposite to the direction when it rotates clockwise. The nozzle gear 154 can rotate counterclockwise until it abuts against the inner wall surface 163A on the right side of the nozzle gear housing 163.

[0050] In this way, as the motor 140 rotates in forward and reverse directions, the rotational driving force of the motor 140 is transmitted to the nozzle 130 by the transmission mechanism 150, causing the injection part 131 of the nozzle 130 to repeatedly reciprocate within a range of movable angle θ1 in the forward and reverse directions. As a result, the orientation of the injection port 133 of the injection part 131 is changed, the position of the injection axis ML of the injection port 133 changes, and the high-pressure air ejected from the injection port 133 is ejected from the left end region to the right end region of the front lens part 120 of the front LiDAR 6f.

[0051] As described above, the front SC103A (an example of a cleaner) of this embodiment includes a nozzle 130 equipped with a nozzle 133 for spraying high-pressure air (an example of a cleaning medium), a motor 140 that can rotate in at least one direction, and a transmission mechanism 150 provided between the motor 140 and the nozzle 130. The transmission mechanism 150 is configured to transmit the rotational force of the motor 140 to the nozzle 130, thereby causing the nozzle 130 to reciprocate and changing the position of the spray axis ML of the nozzle 133 relative to the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f, which is the surface to be cleaned. With this configuration, the position of the spray axis ML can be changed by reciprocating the nozzle 130 through the rotation of the motor 140, so that the front lens portion 120 can be cleaned efficiently over a wide area.

[0052] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the nozzle 130 has a conduit 132 that extends along the rotation axis X2 of the nozzle 130 in order to supply high-pressure air to the injection port 133. The transmission mechanism 150 consists of at least a driven gear 153 (an example of a first gear) that rotates in forward and reverse directions by the motor 140, and a nozzle gear 154 (an example of a second gear) that rotates in forward and reverse directions by meshing with the driven gear 153. The nozzle gear 154 is provided in a part of the circumferential direction of the conduit 132. With this configuration, the transmission mechanism 150 capable of realizing the reciprocating motion of the nozzle 130 can be constructed with a small number of parts.

[0053] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the nozzle gear 154 is formed in a fan shape. This configuration allows the nozzle gear 154 to be made compact according to the range of reciprocating motion of the nozzle 130, leading to a miniaturization of the SC103A.

[0054] Furthermore, the SC103A of this embodiment further includes a housing 160 that accommodates at least a motor 140 and a transmission mechanism 150. The nozzle gear housing 163 in the housing 160, which houses the nozzle gear 154, has inner wall surfaces 163A and 163B that define the range of motion of the nozzle gear 154 along the circumferential direction. With this configuration, the range of motion of the nozzle gear 154 can be restricted to a predetermined range by the inner wall surfaces 163A and 163B of the nozzle gear housing 163, thereby preventing the nozzle gear 154 and the driven gear 153 from disengaging when the motor 140 rotates.

[0055] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the rotation axis X1 direction of the motor 140 coincides with the rotation axis X2 direction of the nozzle 130. With this configuration, the reciprocating motion of the nozzle 130 can be achieved with fewer parts compared to the case where the rotation axis X1 of the motor 140 is provided perpendicular to the rotation axis X2 of the nozzle 130, and the entire SC103A can be made smaller.

[0056] (Second embodiment) The front SC103B of the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 7 to 11. Figure 7 is a perspective view of the front SC103B. Figure 8 is a front view of the front SC103B shown in Figure 7. Figures 9 to 11 are diagrams illustrating the operation of the front SC103B.

[0057] As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the front SC103B includes a nozzle 230, a motor 240 for rotating the nozzle 230, and a transmission mechanism 250 provided between the motor 240 and the nozzle 230. Although not shown in the figures, the front SC103B is positioned in the upper central part of the front LiDAR 6f, similar to the front SC103A in the first embodiment.

[0058] The nozzle 230 has a jet section 231 extending in the vertical direction and a conduit 232 extending in the front-rear direction. The jet section 231 is provided with a nozzle opening 233. The conduit 232 is provided with a connecting section 234 that connects to the transmission mechanism 250. The connecting section 234 is provided with a cylindrical projection 234a that protrudes forward. The configuration of the jet section 231, conduit 232, and nozzle opening 233 of the nozzle 230 is the same as the configuration of the corresponding parts of the nozzle 130 in the first embodiment.

[0059] In the second embodiment, the motor 240 of the SC103B is configured to rotate in only one of the forward or reverse directions. The other configurations of the motor 240 are the same as those of the motor 140 in the first embodiment.

[0060] The transmission mechanism 250 consists of a motor gear 251 attached to the motor 240, a drive gear 254 (an example of a third gear) connected to the nozzle 230, driven gears 252 and 253 (an example of a fourth gear) provided between the motor gear 251 and the drive gear 254, and a link member 255 (an example of a first link member) provided between the drive gear 254 and the nozzle 230. The transmission mechanism 250 is configured to transmit the rotational force of the motor 240 to the nozzle 230.

[0061] The motor gear 251 is attached to the output shaft 241 of the motor 240. The motor gear 251 rotates together with the output shaft 241 as the output shaft 241 of the motor 240 rotates.

[0062] The drive gear 254 is a gear that drives the nozzle 230. The drive gear 254 is connected to the nozzle 230 via a link member 255. The drive gear 254 is configured to rotate around a rotation axis X4 that extends in the front-rear direction. The direction of the rotation axis X4 coincides with the direction of the rotation axis X1 of the motor 240 and the direction of the rotation axis X2 of the nozzle 230. A cylindrical circular step portion 264 that protrudes forward is integrally formed with the drive gear 254 on its front surface. The diameter of the circular step portion 264 is smaller than the diameter of the drive gear 254, and its center P is formed eccentrically from the position of the rotation axis X4, which is the center of the drive gear 254.

[0063] The link member 255 is a member that connects the drive gear 254 to the nozzle 230. The link member 255 consists of a gear link portion 255a that connects to the drive gear 254, a nozzle link portion 255c that connects to the nozzle 230, and a communication portion 255b provided between the gear link portion 255a and the nozzle link portion 255c.

[0064] The gear link portion 255a is provided at one end of the link member 255 on the drive gear 254 side. The gear link portion 255a is formed as a cylindrical body. The gear link portion 255a is configured to connect with the drive gear 254 by housing the circular stepped portion 264 of the drive gear 254 within the internal space of the cylindrical body.

[0065] The nozzle link portion 255c is provided at one end of the link member 255 on the nozzle 230 side, opposite to the gear link portion 255a. The nozzle link portion 255c is formed as a cylindrical body. The nozzle link portion 255c is configured to connect to the nozzle 230 by housing the protruding portion 234a provided on the connecting portion 234 of the nozzle 230 within the internal space of the cylindrical body.

[0066] The connecting portion 255b is a member that connects the gear link portion 255a and the nozzle link portion 255c. The connecting portion 255b is formed, for example, in the shape of a plate or a rod.

[0067] The link member 255, which houses the circular stepped portion 264 of the drive gear 254 within the internal space of the gear link portion 255a, is configured to be rotatable in the circumferential direction around the circular stepped portion 264. The central axis X5 of rotation of the gear link portion 255a is eccentrically positioned from the rotation axis X4 of the drive gear 254. The central axis X5 of the gear link portion 255a coincides with the position of the center P of the circular stepped portion 264 of the drive gear 254.

[0068] The link member 255, which houses the protruding portion 234a of the connecting portion 234 of the nozzle 230 within the internal space of the nozzle link portion 255c, is configured to be rotatable in the circumferential direction around the protruding portion 234a.

[0069] The driven gear 252 is positioned to mesh with the motor gear 251 of the motor 240. The driven gear 253 is positioned to mesh with the drive gear 254. When the driven gear 252 meshes with the motor gear 251, the driven gears 252 and 253 rotate in one direction in conjunction with the rotation of the motor 240 in one direction. Also, when the driven gear 253 meshes with the drive gear 254, the driven gears 252 and 253 transmit the rotational force of the motor 240 in one direction to the drive gear 254, causing the drive gear 254 to rotate in one direction.

[0070] The SC103B with this configuration operates as follows. For example, as shown in Figure 8, with the nozzle 230's injection section 231 facing directly downwards, as shown in Figure 9, in a front view of the SC103B, when the motor gear 251 rotates clockwise as indicated by the arrow CW in conjunction with the rotation of the motor 240, the driven gear 252 that meshes with the motor gear 251 rotates counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow CCW. When the driven gear 252 rotates counterclockwise, the driven gear 253 also rotates counterclockwise in conjunction with it. When the driven gear 253 rotates counterclockwise, the drive gear 254 that meshes with the driven gear 253 rotates clockwise as indicated by the arrow CW. When the drive gear 254 rotates clockwise, the circular stepped section 264 changes its position in a direction that moves closer to the connecting section 234 of the nozzle 230. As the circular stepped portion 264 changes position, the link member 255 attached to the connecting portion 234 (protruding portion 234a) of the nozzle 230 rotates around the circular stepped portion 264 and the protruding portion 234a, pushing the connecting portion 234 to the left. As a result, the spray portion 231 of the nozzle 230 rotates clockwise around the rotation axis X2, and the direction of the nozzle opening 233 of the spray portion 231 relative to the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f changes to the right.

[0071] Next, as shown in Figure 10, when the motor gear 251 rotates further clockwise from the state in Figure 9, as indicated by the arrow CW, the drive gear 254 rotates further clockwise via the driven gears 252 and 253, as indicated by the arrow CW, in the same manner as above. As the drive gear 254 rotates further clockwise, the circular stepped portion 264 changes its position away from the connecting portion 234 of the nozzle 230 and downward compared to the state in Figures 8 and 9. As the circular stepped portion 264 changes its position in this way, the link member 255 rotates around the circular stepped portion 264 and the protruding portion 234a, pulling the connecting portion 234 to the right. As a result, the injection portion 231 of the nozzle 230 rotates counterclockwise around the rotation axis X2, and the direction of the injection nozzle 233 of the injection portion 231 relative to the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f changes to the left.

[0072] Next, as shown in Figure 11, when the motor gear 251 rotates further clockwise from the state in Figure 10, as indicated by the arrow CW, the drive gear 254 rotates further clockwise, as described above, and as the drive gear 254 rotates, the circular stepped portion 264 changes its position further away from the connecting portion 234 of the nozzle 230. Due to this change in the position of the circular stepped portion 264, the link member 255 rotates around the circular stepped portion 264 and the protruding portion 234a, pulling the connecting portion 234 even closer. As a result, the injection portion 231 of the nozzle 230 rotates further counterclockwise around the rotation axis X2, and the direction of the injection port 233 of the injection portion 231 relative to the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f changes further to the left.

[0073] Next, as the motor gear 251 rotates further clockwise from the state shown in Figure 11, the drive gear 254 rotates further clockwise, as described above. As the drive gear 254 rotates, the circular stepped portion 264 moves closer to the connecting portion 234 of the nozzle 230 and changes its position upward compared to the state shown in Figures 10 and 11. This change in the position of the circular stepped portion 264 causes the link member 255 to rotate around the circular stepped portion 264 and the protruding portion 234a, pushing the connecting portion 234 to the left. As a result, as shown in Figure 8, the injection portion 231 of the nozzle 230 rotates further counterclockwise around the rotation axis X2, returning to a state where the injection port 233 of the injection portion 231 is facing directly downwards relative to the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f.

[0074] In this way, as the motor 240 rotates in one direction, the rotational driving force of the motor 240 is transmitted to the nozzle 230 by the transmission mechanism 250, causing the injection part 231 of the nozzle 230 to repeatedly reciprocate in forward and reverse directions within a predetermined range of motion. As a result, the orientation of the injection port 233 of the injection part 231 is changed, the position of the injection axis ML of the injection port 233 changes, and the high-pressure air ejected from the injection port 233 is ejected from the left end region to the right end region of the front lens part 120 of the front LiDAR 6f.

[0075] As described above, in the SC103B of this embodiment, the transmission mechanism 250 includes a drive gear 254 (an example of a third gear) that rotates in one direction when the motor 240 rotates in one direction, and a link member 255 (an example of a first link member) with one end attached to the drive gear 254 and the other end attached to the nozzle 230. A cylindrical gear link portion 255a is formed at one end of the link member 255, and the central axis X5 of the gear link portion 255a is eccentric from the rotation axis X4 of the drive gear 254. With this configuration, because the central axis X5 of one end of the link member 255 (the cylindrical gear link portion 255a) attached to the drive gear 254 is eccentric from the rotation axis X4 of the drive gear 254, when the drive gear 254 rotates in one direction, the nozzle 230 attached to the other end of the link member 255 (the nozzle link portion 255c) reciprocates within a predetermined range of motion. This allows for wide-area cleaning of the front lens section 120, which is the surface to be cleaned, with a simple configuration.

[0076] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a circular stepped portion 264 is formed on one side of the drive gear 254, which is housed in the internal space of the gear link portion 255a of the link member 255, and the center P of the circular stepped portion 264 is eccentric from the rotation axis X4 of the drive gear 254. With this configuration, the central axis X5 of the gear link portion 255a of the link member 255 and the rotation axis X4 of the drive gear 254 can be eccentric with a simple configuration.

[0077] Furthermore, the SC103B in this embodiment further includes driven gears 252 and 253 (an example of a fourth gear) positioned between the motor 240 and the drive gear 254 to transmit the unidirectional rotation of the motor 240 to the drive gear 254. With this configuration, the nozzle 230 can be rotated without using a high-torque motor 240, thus allowing the motor 240 to be miniaturized.

[0078] (Third embodiment) The front SC103C of the third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 12 to 15. Figure 12 is a perspective view of the front SC103C. Figure 13 is a front view of the front SC103C shown in Figure 12. Figures 14 and 15 are diagrams illustrating the operation of the front SC103C.

[0079] As shown in Figures 12 and 13, the front SC103C includes a nozzle 330, a motor 340 for rotating the nozzle 330, and a transmission mechanism 350 provided between the motor 340 and the nozzle 330. Although not shown in the figures, the front SC103C is positioned in the upper central part of the front LiDAR 6f, similar to the front SC103A in the first embodiment.

[0080] The nozzle 330 has an injection section 331 extending in the vertical direction and a conduit 332 extending in the front-rear direction. The injection section 331 is provided with an injection port 333. The conduit 332 is provided with connecting sections 334, 335, and 336 that connect to the transmission mechanism 350. The connecting sections 334, 335, and 336 are provided above, to the right, and to the left of the conduit 332, respectively, in parallel and staggered in the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the conduit 332. The connecting sections 334, 335, and 336 are each provided with cylindrical projections 334a, 335a, and 336a that project forward or backward. The configuration of the injection section 331, conduit 332, and injection port 333 of the nozzle 330 is the same as the configuration of the corresponding parts of the nozzle 130 in the first embodiment.

[0081] Motor 340 is a motor having the same configuration as motor 140 in the first embodiment.

[0082] The transmission mechanism 350 consists of a motor gear 351 attached to the motor 340, a drive gear 354 (an example of a fifth gear) connected to the nozzle 330, driven gears 352 and 353 provided between the motor gear 351 and the drive gear 354, and a link member 355 (an example of a second link member) connected between the drive gear 354 and the nozzle 330. The transmission mechanism 350 is configured to transmit the rotational force of the motor 340 to the nozzle 330.

[0083] The motor gear 351 and the driven gears 352 and 353 are gears having the same configuration as the motor gear 151 and the driven gears 152 and 153 of the first embodiment, respectively.

[0084] The drive gear 354 is formed to be fan-shaped when viewed from the front of the front SC103C, and meshes with the driven gear 353. It rotates in the forward and reverse directions in accordance with the forward and reverse rotation of the motor 340, similar in configuration to the nozzle gear 154 in the first embodiment. The drive gear 354 is further provided with a connecting portion 354a that connects to a link member 355. The drive gear 354 is a gear that rotates the nozzle 330 via the link member 355.

[0085] The link member 355 includes an upper link member 355a attached above the nozzle 330, a right link member 355b attached to the right side of the nozzle 330, and a left link member 355c attached to the left side of the nozzle 330.

[0086] The upper link member 355a has one end attached to the connecting portion 334 of the nozzle 330, and the other end, opposite to the nozzle 330, is attached to the link fixing point 361. One end of the upper link member 355a is formed, for example, as a cylindrical body. The upper link member 355a is rotatably attached to the connecting portion 334 with the protruding portion 334a of the connecting portion 334 housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body forming the one end. The nozzle 330 is configured to be rotatable around the protruding portion 334a of the connecting portion 334. The other end of the upper link member 355a is formed, for example, as a cylindrical body. The upper link member 355a is fixed to the link fixing point 361 with the link fixing point 361 housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body forming the other end.

[0087] The right link member 355b has one end attached to the connecting portion 335 of the nozzle 330, and the other end, opposite to the nozzle 330, is attached to the connecting portion 354a of the drive gear 354. One end of the right link member 355b is formed, for example, as a cylindrical body. The right link member 355b is attached to the connecting portion 335 with the protruding portion 335a of the connecting portion 335 housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body forming the one end. The right link member 355b is configured to be rotatable around the protruding portion 335a of the connecting portion 335. The other end of the right link member 355b is formed, for example, as a cylindrical body. The right link member 355b is fixed to the connecting portion 354a with the connecting portion 354a of the drive gear 354 housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body forming the other end.

[0088] The left link member 355c has one end attached to the connecting portion 336 of the nozzle 330, and the other end, opposite to the nozzle 330, is attached to the link fixing point 362. One end of the left link member 355c is formed, for example, as a cylindrical body. The left link member 355c is attached to the connecting portion 336 with the protruding portion 336a of the connecting portion 336 housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body forming the one end. The left link member 355c is configured to be rotatable around the protruding portion 336a of the connecting portion 336. The other end of the left link member 355c is formed, for example, as a cylindrical body. The left link member 355c is attached to the link fixing point 362 with the link fixing point 362 housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body forming the other end. The left link member 355c is configured to be rotatable around the link fixing point 362.

[0089] The SC103C with this configuration operates as follows. For example, starting from a state where the nozzle 330's injection part 331 is facing directly downwards, as shown in Figure 13, when the motor gear 351 rotates counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow CCW in a front view of the SC103C, as shown in Figure 14, the driven gear 352 that meshes with the motor gear 351 rotates clockwise as indicated by the arrow CW. When the driven gear 352 rotates clockwise, the driven gear 353 also rotates clockwise in conjunction with that rotation. When the driven gear 353 rotates clockwise, the drive gear 354 that meshes with the driven gear 353 rotates counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow CCW. When the drive gear 354 rotates counterclockwise, the right link member 355b rotates counterclockwise around the connecting part 354a in conjunction with that rotation, pushing the nozzle 330 through the connecting part 335. As a result, the nozzle 330 rotates counterclockwise around the protruding portion 334a of the connecting portion 334, and the direction of the nozzle 333 of the injection portion 331 relative to the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f changes to the left. At this time, the left link member 355c rotates counterclockwise in conjunction with the rotation of the nozzle 330, while restricting the rotation so that the amount of rotation of the nozzle 330 does not exceed a predetermined range of motion.

[0090] In contrast, for example, as shown in Figure 13, when the nozzle 330's injection part 331 is facing directly downwards, as shown in Figure 15, when the motor gear 351 rotates clockwise as indicated by the arrow CW in conjunction with the rotation of the motor 340, the driven gears 352 and 353 rotate counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow CCW. When the driven gear 353 rotates counterclockwise, the drive gear 354, which meshes with the driven gear 353, rotates clockwise as indicated by the arrow CW. When the drive gear 354 rotates clockwise, the right link member 355b rotates clockwise around the connecting part 354a, pulling the nozzle 330 through the connecting part 335. As a result, the nozzle 330 rotates clockwise around the protruding part 334a of the connecting part 334, and the direction of the injection port 333 of the injection part 331 relative to the front lens part 120 of the front LiDAR 6f changes to the right. At this time, the left link member 355c rotates clockwise in conjunction with the rotation of the nozzle 330, while restricting the rotation of the nozzle 330 so that the amount of rotation does not exceed a predetermined range of motion.

[0091] In this way, as the motor 340 rotates in forward and reverse directions, the rotational driving force of the motor 340 is transmitted to the nozzle 330 by the transmission mechanism 350, causing the injection part 331 of the nozzle 330 to repeatedly reciprocate in forward and reverse directions within a predetermined range of motion. As a result, the orientation of the injection port 333 of the injection part 331 is changed, the position of the injection axis ML of the injection port 333 changes, and the high-pressure air ejected from the injection port 333 is ejected from the left end region to the right end region of the front lens part 120 of the front LiDAR 6f.

[0092] As described above, in the SC103C of this embodiment, the transmission mechanism 350 includes a drive gear 354 (an example of a fifth gear) that rotates in forward and reverse directions by the motor 340, and a plurality of link members 355 (an example of a second link member), each with one end attached to the nozzle 330. Of the plurality of link members 355, the right link member 355b has its other end connected to the drive gear 354. Of the plurality of link members 355, the left link member 355c is configured so that its other end can rotate around the link fixing point 362. With this configuration, a transmission mechanism 350 capable of realizing the reciprocating motion of the nozzle 330 can be easily constructed.

[0093] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the multiple link members 355 include a parallel upper link member 355a, a right link member 355b, and a left link member 355c, and the three link members are provided above the nozzle 330 and on the left and right sides, respectively. With this configuration, the rotation mechanism of the nozzle 330 can be realized without the upper link member 355a, the right link member 355b, and the left link member 355c interfering with each other.

[0094] (Fourth embodiment) In the first SC103C of the third embodiment described above, the case in which the link member 355 of the transmission mechanism 350 is composed of three members, an upper link member 355a, a right link member 355b, and a left link member 355c, was described, but it is not limited to this. Figure 16 is a configuration diagram showing the transmission mechanism 450 of the first SC103D of the fourth embodiment.

[0095] As shown in Figure 16, the transmission mechanism 450 of the SC103D consists of a motor gear 451 attached to the motor 440, a drive gear 454 connected to the nozzle 430, driven gears 452 and 453 provided between the motor gear 451 and the drive gear 454, and a link member 455 connected between the drive gear 454 and the nozzle 430.

[0096] The motor gear 451, driven gears 452, 453, and drive gear 454 are gears having the same configuration as the motor gear 351, driven gears 352, 353, and drive gear 354 of the third embodiment.

[0097] The link member 455 consists of two parts: a right link member 455a attached to the right side of the nozzle 430 and a left link member 455b attached to the left side of the nozzle 430.

[0098] The right link member 455a has one end attached to the connecting portion 435 of the nozzle 430, and the other end, opposite to the nozzle 430, is attached to the connecting portion 454a of the drive gear 454. One end of the right link member 455a is formed, for example, as a cylindrical body, and is attached to the connecting portion 435 with the protruding portion 435a of the connecting portion 435 housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body. The right link member 455a is configured to be rotatable around the protruding portion 435a of the connecting portion 435. The other end of the right link member 455a is formed, for example, as a cylindrical body, and is fixed to the connecting portion 454a of the drive gear 454 with the connecting portion 454a housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body.

[0099] The left link member 455b has one end attached to the connecting portion 436 of the nozzle 430, and the other end, opposite to the nozzle 430, is attached to the link fixing point 461. One end of the left link member 455b is formed, for example, as a cylindrical body, and is attached to the connecting portion 436 with the protruding portion 436a of the connecting portion 436 housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body. The protruding portion 436a of the connecting portion 436 is rotatably housed within the internal space of one end of the left link member 455b. The other end of the left link member 455b is formed, for example, as a cylindrical body, and is attached to the link fixing point 461 with the link fixing point 461 housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body. The left link member 455b is positioned to intersect with the right link member 455a. The link fixing point 461 is positioned such that the left link member 455b and the right link member 455a intersect with each other.

[0100] The SC103D with this configuration operates as follows: As the motor 440 rotates, for example, when the drive gear 454 rotates counterclockwise, the right link member 455a rotates counterclockwise around the connecting portion 454a as a result of this rotation. As the right link member 455a rotates counterclockwise, the nozzle 430 rotates counterclockwise through the connecting portion 435. This changes the orientation of the nozzle 433 of the injection portion 431 relative to the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f to the left. At this time, the protruding portion 436a of the connecting portion 436 rotates counterclockwise in the internal space of one end of the left link member 455b as the nozzle 430 rotates, assisting the counterclockwise rotation of the nozzle 430 by the right link member 455a.

[0101] In contrast, for example, when the drive gear 454 rotates clockwise, the right link member 455a rotates clockwise around the connecting portion 454a as a result of this rotation. As the right link member 455a rotates clockwise, the nozzle 430 rotates clockwise through the connecting portion 435. This changes the orientation of the nozzle 433 of the injection portion 431 relative to the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f to the right. At this time, the protruding portion 436a of the connecting portion 436 rotates clockwise in the internal space of one end of the left link member 455b as the nozzle 430 rotates, assisting the clockwise rotation of the nozzle 430 by the right link member 455a.

[0102] As explained above, in the modified SC103D, the link member 455 of the transmission mechanism 450 consists of two link members: a right link member 455a and a left link member 455b. One end of each link member is connected to the left and right sides of the nozzle 430, and the other ends of each link member are fixed in a position where they intersect each other. With this configuration, the front lens portion 120, which is the surface to be cleaned, can be cleaned over a wider area with a smaller number of link members.

[0103] In the above embodiment, a driven gear was described as being provided between the motor gear and the nozzle gear, or between the motor gear and the drive gear, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, the nozzle gear or drive gear may be directly meshed with the motor gear without providing a driven gear.

[0104] (Fifth embodiment) Next, the configuration of the SC503 according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 17 to 23. Figure 17 is a perspective view of the front SC503. Figure 18 is a front view of the front SC503 shown in Figure 17. As shown in Figures 17 and 18, the front SC503 includes a nozzle 530, a motor 540 that rotates the nozzle 530, and a gear mechanism 550 and a link mechanism 560 provided between the motor 540 and the nozzle 530. As shown in Figure 18, the front SC503 is positioned in the upper center of the front LiDAR 6f. The front LiDAR 6f has a rectangular front lens portion 120, which is the surface to be cleaned, in the center of its front surface. The rear of the nozzle 530, the motor 540, the gear mechanism 550, and the link mechanism 560 of the front SC503 are housed within a casing, and the casing is configured to prevent water or other substances from entering from outside the casing. For the sake of simplification and clarity of the drawings, the casing of the front SC503 is not shown in Figure 17, etc.

[0105] The nozzle 530 is positioned directly above the front LiDAR 6f and extends toward the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f. The nozzle 530 has an injection section 531 that extends in the vertical direction and a conduit 532 that extends in the front-rear direction.

[0106] The injection unit 531 has an injection nozzle 533 that injects high-pressure air toward the front lens unit 120. The injection nozzle 533 is formed on the lower surface of the injection unit 531. The injection nozzle 533 is oriented so that the high-pressure air injected from the nozzle 533 is sprayed toward the front lens unit 120 from above toward below.

[0107] The conduit 532 is connected to the rear of the injection unit 531. An external conduit (not shown) is connected to the rear end 532a of the conduit 532, and high-pressure air is supplied from the air pump 115 via the external conduit. The conduit 532 supplies the high-pressure air supplied from the air pump 115 to the injection unit 531. The conduit 532 is provided with two connecting parts 534 and 535 that connect to the link mechanism 560. The connecting parts 534 and 535 are provided on the right and left sides of the conduit 532, respectively. The connecting parts 534 and 535 are provided at different positions from each other in the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the conduit 532. The connecting parts 534 and 535 are provided with cylindrical protrusions 534a and 535a that project forward or backward, respectively.

[0108] Motor 540 is a motor capable of rotating in both forward and reverse directions. Motor 540 is configured to rotate around a rotation axis X6 extending in the front-rear direction. Motor 540 is electrically connected to the cleaner control unit 113. The operation of motor 540 is controlled by the cleaner control unit 113.

[0109] The gear mechanism 550 consists of a motor gear 551 attached to the motor 540, a drive gear 554 connected to the link mechanism 560, and driven gears 552 and 553 located between the motor gear 551 and the drive gear 554. The gear mechanism 550 is configured to transmit the rotational force of the motor 540 to the link mechanism 560.

[0110] The motor gear 551 is attached to the output shaft 541 of the motor 540. The motor gear 551 rotates together with the output shaft 541 as the output shaft 541 of the motor 540 rotates.

[0111] The drive gear 554 is attached to the connecting portion 554a (an example of a fixed point). The connecting portion 554a is provided to extend in the front-rear direction. The drive gear 554 is provided on a part of the circumferential direction of the connecting portion 554a and is formed to be fan-shaped when viewed from the direction of the central axis X8 of the connecting portion 554a. The drive gear 554 is configured to rotate together with the connecting portion 554a about the central axis X8. The direction of the central axis X8 of the connecting portion 554a coincides with the direction of the rotation axis X6 of the motor 540.

[0112] The driven gears 552 and 553 are configured to rotate around a rotation axis X7 that extends in the front-rear direction. The driven gears 552 and 553 are mounted on the rotation axis X7 in a stacked manner in the front-rear direction. The driven gear 552 has a larger diameter than the driven gear 553. The driven gear 552 is mounted on the rear side of the rotation axis X7, and the driven gear 553 is mounted on the front side of the rotation axis X7. The direction of the rotation axis X7 coincides with the direction of the rotation axis X6 of the motor 540 and the direction of the central axis X8 of the connecting portion 554a. The driven gear 552 is configured to mesh with the motor gear 551 attached to the motor 540. The driven gear 553 is configured to mesh with the drive gear 554 attached to the connecting portion 554a.

[0113] The driven gears 552 and 553 rotate in the forward and reverse directions in accordance with the forward and reverse rotation of the motor 540, as driven gear 552 meshes with motor gear 551. Also, driven gears 552 and 553 rotate in the forward and reverse directions in accordance with the forward and reverse rotation of the motor 540, as driven gear 553 meshes with drive gear 554.

[0114] The link mechanism 560 includes a gear link member 561 (an example of a third link member) and an auxiliary link member 562 (an example of a fourth link member).

[0115] The gear link member 561 is provided between the nozzle 530 and the drive gear 554. The gear link member 561 has a nozzle link portion 561a that connects to the nozzle 530, a gear link portion 561c that connects to the connecting portion 554a to which the drive gear 554 is attached, and a shaft portion 561b that connects the nozzle link portion 561a and the gear link portion 561c.

[0116] The nozzle link portion 561a and the gear link portion 561c of the gear link member 561 are formed as cylindrical bodies. The nozzle link portion 561a is connected to the nozzle 530 such that it accommodates the protruding portion 534a of the connecting portion 534 of the conduit 532 within the internal space of the cylindrical body. The nozzle link portion 561a is rotatable around the protruding portion 534a. The gear link portion 561c is fixed to the connecting portion 554a of the drive gear 554, with the connecting portion 554a being housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body. The gear link portion 561c rotates together with the connecting portion 554a around the central axis X8.

[0117] The auxiliary link member 562 is provided between the nozzle 530 and a link fixing portion 563 (an example of a fixing point) located above the nozzle 530. The auxiliary link member 562 has a nozzle link portion 562a connected to the nozzle 530, a fixed link portion 562c connected to the link fixing portion 563, and a shaft portion 562b connecting the nozzle link portion 562a and the fixed link portion 562c. The link fixing portion 563 is a cylindrical protruding member that projects forward. The direction of the central axis X9 of the link fixing portion 563 coincides with the direction of the central axis X8 of the connecting portion 554a.

[0118] The nozzle link portion 562a and the fixed link portion 562c of the auxiliary link member 562 are formed as cylindrical bodies. The nozzle link portion 562a is connected to the nozzle 530 such that it accommodates the protruding portion 535a of the connecting portion 535 of the conduit 532 within the internal space of the cylindrical body. The nozzle link portion 562a is rotatable around the protruding portion 535a. The fixed link portion 562c is connected to the link fixing portion 563 so as to house the link fixing portion 563 within the internal space of the cylindrical body. The fixed link portion 562c is rotatable around the link fixing portion 563 about the central axis X9.

[0119] The gear link member 561 and the auxiliary link member 562 of the link mechanism 560 are mounted so as to intersect each other in a front view of the front SC503. That is, the connecting portion 554a to which the gear link member 561 is fixed and the link fixing portion 563 to which the auxiliary link member 562 is connected are positioned such that the gear link member 561 and the auxiliary link member 562 intersect each other.

[0120] The gear link member 561, fixed to the connecting portion 554a, is configured to receive the rotational driving force of the motor 540. The gear link member 561 is configured to transmit the rotational force of the motor 540 to the nozzle 530, causing the nozzle 530 to rotate. The auxiliary link member 562, connected to the link fixing portion 563, is configured to rotate the nozzle 530 together with the gear link member 561. The auxiliary link member 562 assists the rotation of the nozzle 530 by the gear link member 561.

[0121] Next, the operation of the front SC503 will be explained with reference to Figures 19 to 23. Figures 19 to 23 schematically show the operation of the link mechanism 560 and nozzle 530 of the front SC503 shown in Figures 17 and 18.

[0122] Figure 19 shows the state in which the injection part 531 is facing directly downwards, as shown in Figures 17 and 18. As shown in Figure 19, when the injection part 531 of the nozzle 530 is facing directly downwards, the injection axis ML of the high-pressure air ejected from the injection port 533 is adjusted to point towards the central region of the front lens part 120 of the front LiDAR 6f.

[0123] From the state shown in Figures 17 and 18, for example, suppose that motor 540 rotates in one direction, and as a result of that rotation, motor gear 551 rotates counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow CCW. When motor gear 551 rotates counterclockwise, driven gear 552, which is meshed with motor gear 551, rotates clockwise as indicated by the arrow CW. When driven gear 552 rotates clockwise, driven gear 553 also rotates clockwise as a result of that rotation. When driven gear 553 rotates clockwise, drive gear 554, which is meshed with driven gear 553, rotates counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow CCW.

[0124] Figure 20 shows the state of the link mechanism 560 and nozzle 530 when the drive gear 554 rotates counterclockwise. When the drive gear 554 rotates counterclockwise, as shown in Figure 20, the gear link member 561 of the link mechanism 560, which is fixed to the connecting portion 554a, rotates counterclockwise together with the connecting portion 554a around the connecting portion 554a as the drive gear 554 rotates. When the gear link member 561 rotates counterclockwise, the connecting portion 534 (right side of the nozzle 530) of the conduit 532 of the nozzle 530, which is connected to the nozzle link portion 561a of the gear link member 561, is pushed to the left by the gear link member 561. When the nozzle 530 is pushed by the gear link member 561 and rotates to the left, the connecting portion 535 of the conduit 532 of the nozzle 530 (the left side of the nozzle 530) is connected to the auxiliary link member 562 of the link mechanism 560, so the nozzle rotates to the left while being pulled toward the link fixing portion 563 by the auxiliary link member 562. At this time, the auxiliary link member 562 rotates counterclockwise around the link fixing portion 563 as the nozzle 530 is pushed by the gear link member 561.

[0125] As a result, the nozzle 530 rotates counterclockwise around the protruding portion 534a of the connecting portion 534 with respect to the gear link member 561, and rotates counterclockwise around the protruding portion 535a of the connecting portion 535 with respect to the auxiliary link member 562, while rotating to the left. Consequently, the position of the nozzle opening 533 in the injection portion 531 of the nozzle 530 moves diagonally upward to the left, and the orientation of the nozzle opening 533 tilts to the left, causing the direction of the injection axis ML of the high-pressure air ejected from the nozzle opening 533 to change from the direction of the central region of the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f to the direction of the outer region (left).

[0126] Figure 21 shows the state of the link mechanism 560 and nozzle 530 when the drive gear 554 rotates further counterclockwise. When the drive gear 554 rotates further counterclockwise, the gear link member 561 rotates further counterclockwise around the connecting portion 554a, as shown in Figure 21. When the gear link member 561 rotates further counterclockwise, the connecting portion 534 of the conduit 532 of the nozzle 530 (the right side of the nozzle 530) is pushed further to the left by the gear link member 561. The nozzle 530, pushed by the gear link member 561, rotates to the left while being pulled toward the link fixing portion 563 by the auxiliary link member 562, as described above. At this time, the auxiliary link member 562 rotates counterclockwise around the link fixing portion 563, as described above.

[0127] As a result, the nozzle 530 rotates further counterclockwise around the protruding portion 534a of the connecting portion 534 relative to the gear link member 561, and rotates further counterclockwise around the protruding portion 535a of the connecting portion 535 relative to the auxiliary link member 562, while rotating to the left. Therefore, the position of the nozzle 533 of the nozzle 530 moves further diagonally upward to the left, the orientation of the nozzle 533 tilts further to the left, and the direction of the injection axis ML changes to the direction of the area further outside the front lens portion 120 (to the left). In this way, the rotational force of the motor 540 is transmitted to the nozzle 530 by the link mechanism 560, and as the position of the nozzle 533 moves from the central area of ​​the front lens portion 120 to the left side area, the angle of the injection axis ML of the nozzle 533 with respect to the vertical direction (up and down direction) gradually increases. In other words, the orientation of the nozzle 530 changes such that the angle θ6 of the injection axis ML in Figure 21 is greater than the angle θ5 of the injection axis ML in Figure 20.

[0128] Next, let's assume that, starting from the state shown in Figures 17 and 18, motor 540 rotates in the opposite direction to the one direction shown in Figures 20 and 21, and as a result of this rotation, motor gear 551 rotates clockwise as indicated by arrow CW. When motor gear 551 rotates clockwise, driven gear 552, which is meshed with motor gear 551, rotates counterclockwise as indicated by arrow CCW. When driven gear 552 rotates counterclockwise, driven gear 553 also rotates counterclockwise as a result of this rotation. When driven gear 553 rotates counterclockwise, drive gear 554, which is meshed with driven gear 553, rotates clockwise as indicated by arrow CW.

[0129] Figure 22 shows the state of the link mechanism 560 and nozzle 530 when the drive gear 554 rotates clockwise. When the drive gear 554 rotates clockwise, the gear link member 561 rotates clockwise around the connecting portion 554a, as shown in Figure 22. When the gear link member 561 rotates clockwise, the connecting portion 534 (right side of the nozzle 530) of the conduit 532 of the nozzle 530 is pulled to the right by the gear link member 561. When the nozzle 530, pulled by the gear link member 561, rotates to the right, the connecting portion 535 (left side of the nozzle 530) is connected to the auxiliary link member 562 of the link mechanism 560, so it is pushed in the direction of the connecting portion 535 by the auxiliary link member 562 and rotates to the right. At this time, the auxiliary link member 562 rotates clockwise around the link fixing portion 563 as the nozzle 530 is pulled by the gear link member 561.

[0130] As a result, the nozzle 530 rotates clockwise around the protruding portion 534a of the connecting portion 534 relative to the gear link member 561, and also rotates clockwise around the protruding portion 535a of the connecting portion 535 relative to the auxiliary link member 562, while rotating to the right. Consequently, the position of the nozzle 533 of the nozzle 530 moves diagonally upward to the right, the orientation of the nozzle 533 tilts to the right, and the direction of the injection axis ML changes from the direction of the central region of the front lens portion 120 to the direction of the outer region (to the right).

[0131] Figure 23 shows the state of the link mechanism 560 and nozzle 530 when the drive gear 554 rotates further clockwise. When the drive gear 554 rotates further clockwise, the gear link member 561 rotates further clockwise around the connecting portion 554a, as shown in Figure 23. When the gear link member 561 rotates further clockwise, the connecting portion 534 (right side of the nozzle 530) of the conduit 532 of the nozzle 530 is pulled further to the right by the gear link member 561. The nozzle 530, pulled by the gear link member 561, rotates to the right while being pushed toward the connecting portion 535 by the auxiliary link member 562, as described above. At this time, the auxiliary link member 562 rotates clockwise around the link fixing portion 563, as described above.

[0132] As a result, the nozzle 530 rotates further clockwise around the protruding portion 534a of the connecting portion 534 relative to the gear link member 561, and also rotates further clockwise around the protruding portion 535a of the connecting portion 535 relative to the auxiliary link member 562, while rotating to the right. Therefore, the position of the nozzle 533 of the nozzle 530 moves further diagonally upward to the right, the orientation of the nozzle 533 tilts further to the right, and the direction of the injection axis ML changes to the direction of the area further outside the front lens portion 120 (to the right). In this way, the rotational force of the motor 540 is transmitted to the nozzle 530 by the link mechanism 560, and as the position of the nozzle 533 moves from the central area of ​​the front lens portion 120 to the right side area, the angle of the injection axis ML of the nozzle 533 with respect to the vertical direction (up and down direction) gradually increases. In other words, the orientation of the nozzle 530 changes such that the angle θ8 of the injection axis ML in Figure 23 is greater than the angle θ7 of the injection axis ML in Figure 22.

[0133] As described above, the front SC503 (an example of a cleaner) of this embodiment includes a nozzle 530 equipped with a nozzle 533 for spraying high-pressure air (an example of a cleaning medium), a motor 540 that can rotate in forward and reverse directions, and a link mechanism 560 provided between the motor 540 and the nozzle 530. The link mechanism 560 is configured to transmit the rotational driving force of the motor 540 to the nozzle 530, thereby reciprocating the nozzle 530 to change the position of the nozzle 533 relative to the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f (an example of a sensor), which is the surface to be cleaned, while also changing the angle θ5 to θ8 of the spray axis ML of the nozzle 533. With this configuration, the rotation of the motor 540 reciprocates the nozzle 530, changing not only the position of the nozzle 533 but also its orientation, thus enabling efficient cleaning of the front LiDAR 6f over a wide area.

[0134] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the nozzle 530 is reciprocated such that the angle θ5 to θ8 of the injection axis ML increases as the position of the injection port 533 moves from the central region to the outer region of the front lens portion 120. With this configuration, the front lens portion 120 can be cleaned over a wider area.

[0135] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the link mechanism 560 includes a gear link member 561 (an example of a third link member) and an auxiliary link member 562 (an example of a fourth link member). Either the gear link member 561 or the auxiliary link member 562 is configured to receive the rotational driving force of the motor 540. With this configuration, the nozzle 530 can be reciprocated with a simple configuration in which one of the link members is rotated by the motor 540.

[0136] Furthermore, in this embodiment, one end of the gear link member 561 is connected to the right side of the nozzle 530, and one end of the auxiliary link member 562 is connected to the left side of the nozzle 530. The other end of the gear link member 561 and the other end of the auxiliary link member 562 are configured to be rotatable around a link fixing part 563 (an example of a fixing point) and a connecting part 554a (an example of a fixing point) which are provided at positions where the gear link member 561 and the auxiliary link member 562 intersect each other. With this configuration, a link mechanism 560 capable of realizing the reciprocating motion of the nozzle 530 can be constructed with a small number of parts.

[0137] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the rotation axis X6 direction of the motor 540 of the front SC503 coincides with the rotation axis direction of the link mechanism 560 (the central axis X8 of the connecting portion 554a and the central axis X9 of the link fixing portion 563). With this configuration, the reciprocating motion of the nozzle 530 can be achieved with fewer parts compared to the case where the rotation axis X6 of the motor 540 is provided perpendicular to the rotation axis of the link mechanism 560, and the entire front SC503 can be miniaturized.

[0138] In the above embodiment, a case in which a gear mechanism 550 (motor gear 551, driven gears 552, 553, and drive gear 554) is provided between the motor 540 and the link mechanism 560 has been described, but the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the link mechanism 560 may be directly connected to the motor 540 without providing the motor gear 551, driven gears 552, 553, and drive gear 554.

[0139] (Sixth Embodiment) Next, the configuration of the SC603 according to the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 24 to 27. Figure 24 is a perspective view showing the front SC603 attached to the front LiDAR 6f. As shown in Figure 24, the front LiDAR 6f to which the front SC603 is attached has a box-like shape overall, and a rectangular front lens portion 120, which is the surface to be cleaned, is provided in the center of its front surface. The front SC603 is attached to the upper center of the front LiDAR 6f.

[0140] The front SC603 includes a nozzle 633, a motor 643 for rotating the nozzle 633, a motor housing 653 for housing the motor 643, and a mounting portion 663 for attaching the motor housing 653 to the front LiDAR 6f.

[0141] The nozzle 633 is provided so as to extend vertically from the front of the motor housing 653 toward the front lens portion 120 of the front LiDAR 6f. The nozzle 633 is formed, for example, as a vertically elongated rod. The nozzle 633 is provided with an injection port 634 for injecting high-pressure air toward the front lens portion 120, and a first conduit 635 for supplying high-pressure air to the injection port 634.

[0142] The nozzle 634 is located on the underside of the nozzle 633 so as to face the front lens section 120. The nozzle 634 is oriented so that the high-pressure air ejected from it is sprayed onto the front lens section 120 from above to below. The first conduit 635 is located so as to face the rear and protrudes from the back of the nozzle 633.

[0143] Motor 643 is connected to nozzle 633. Motor 643 is configured to rotate the nozzle 633 by rotating itself, thereby changing the position of the nozzle 634 relative to the front lens section 120. Motor 643 is electrically connected to cleaner control unit 113. The operation of motor 643 is controlled by cleaner control unit 113.

[0144] The motor housing 653 is formed in a box shape capable of housing the motor 643. The motor housing 653 houses the motor 643 inside and is positioned in the upper central part of the front LiDAR 6f.

[0145] The mounting portion 663 has a housing connecting portion 664 that connects to the motor housing 653 and a sensor connecting portion 665 that connects to the front LiDAR 6f. The housing connecting portion 664 is connected to the left and right walls of the motor housing 653 and is provided to hold the motor housing 653 from both the left and right sides. An internal space 666 is formed inside the housing connecting portion 664. An opening 667 that communicates with the internal space 666 is formed in the front wall of the housing connecting portion 664. The sensor connecting portion 665 has an upper surface connecting portion 665a that abuts the upper surface of the front LiDAR 6f and a pair of side surface connecting portions 665b that abut the left and right sides of the front LiDAR 6f, respectively. The pair of side surface connecting portions 665b are made of, for example, an elastic material and fix the front SC 603 to the front LiDAR 6f by elastically gripping the sides of the front LiDAR 6f from both the left and right sides. In the example shown in Figure 24, the mounting portion 663 is integrally formed with the motor housing 653.

[0146] Figure 25 is a perspective view of the front SC603 shown in Figure 24, viewed from the rear. As shown in Figure 25, a cover portion 654 is provided on the rear side of the motor housing 653 to close the rear opening of the motor housing 653. The cover portion 654 is provided with a wiring pass-through opening 655 through which wiring for supplying power to the motor 643 housed inside is passed.

[0147] A second conduit 669 is provided in the housing connection section 664, protruding outward from the rear wall 668. The second conduit 669 also protrudes through the rear wall 668 into the internal space 666 of the housing connection section 664. The first conduit 635 of the nozzle 633 described above is connected to the second conduit 669 that protrudes into the internal space 666. An external conduit (not shown) is connected to the second conduit 669 that protrudes outward, and high-pressure air is supplied from the air pump 115 to the second conduit 669 via this external conduit.

[0148] Figure 26 is a partial cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 24. As shown in Figure 26, a motor 643 is housed inside the motor housing 653. The motor 643 is housed with its output shaft 644 protruding outward from the front wall 656 of the motor housing 653. In the motor 643, the output shaft 644 that protrudes outward is directly connected to the nozzle 633. Specifically, the output shaft 644 of the motor 643 is connected to the nozzle 633 by being directly fitted into a mating hole 636 formed on the back side of the nozzle 633. The mating hole 636 is formed on the back side of the upper end of the nozzle 633. Thus, the output shaft 644 of the motor 643 is connected to the upper end of the nozzle 633. The nozzle 633 is configured to rotate around the output shaft 644, which is the rotation axis of the motor 643, as the motor 643 rotates. That is, the nozzle 633 is configured to be directly rotated by the motor 643 by being connected to the output shaft 644 of the motor 643.

[0149] A portion of the rear side of the first conduit 635, which protrudes from the back of the nozzle 633, passes through the opening 667 (see Figure 24) of the housing connection part 664 and is located within the internal space 666 of the housing connection part 664. The front portion of the second conduit 669, which is provided penetrating the rear wall 668 of the housing connection part 664, is also located within the internal space 666 of the housing connection part 664. The first conduit 635 and the second conduit 669, located within the internal space 666, are connected by a flexible conduit 670 that connects the two conduits 635 and 669. As a result, the high-pressure air sent from the air pump 115 to the second conduit 669 is supplied to the nozzle 634 via the flexible conduit 670 and the first conduit 635.

[0150] The flexible conduit 670 is formed of a flexible conduit, and is configured to flex in conjunction with the movement of the nozzle 633 even when the nozzle 633 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the motor 643, without generating a large load on the first conduit 635, the second conduit 669, and the flexible conduit 670 itself. Specifically, the flexible conduit 670 is formed of a conduit that has a bellows structure and can be bent (flexed) freely. The flexible conduit 670 may be a conduit that is flexible overall, or it may be a conduit that is flexible in at least a part of it.

[0151] Figure 27 illustrates the operation of the nozzle 633 of the SC603. As shown in Figure 27, the rotational force of the motor 643 is directly transmitted to the nozzle 633 as the output shaft 644 of the motor 643 connected to the nozzle 633 rotates. In other words, in this example, the axis of rotation of the output shaft 644 of the motor 643 coincides with the axis of rotation of the nozzle 633. The nozzle 633 rotates around the output shaft 644 by, for example, a movable angle θ as the motor 643 rotates. The nozzle 633 repeatedly reciprocates left and right within the range of the movable angle θ around the output shaft 644 as the rotation of the motor 643 is switched between forward and reverse rotation. When the nozzle 633 rotates, the flexible conduit 670 connected to the first conduit 635 of the nozzle 633 moves within the internal space 666 of the housing connection part 664, bending to follow the nozzle 633. The movable angle θ of the nozzle 633 is set such that the high-pressure air ejected from the nozzle 634 is ejected across the front lens section 120 from the left end to the right end.

[0152] As described above, the front SC603 (an example of a cleaner) of this embodiment has a nozzle 633 equipped with a nozzle 634 that sprays high-pressure air (an example of a cleaning medium) onto the front lens portion 120, which is the surface to be cleaned of the front LiDAR 6f (an example of a sensor), and a motor 643 that can rotate the nozzle 633 to change the position of the nozzle 634 relative to the front lens portion 120. In the front SC603, the motor 643 and the nozzle 633 are directly connected. With this configuration, because the nozzle 633 is directly connected to the motor 643, the nozzle 633 can be rotated within a predetermined range of motion with a small number of parts. As a result, the front SC603 can be used to efficiently clean a wide area of ​​the front lens portion 120.

[0153] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the output shaft 644 of the motor 643 is directly connected to the nozzle 633. This configuration allows the rotation mechanism of the nozzle 633 to be constructed with fewer parts.

[0154] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the axial direction of the output shaft 644 of the motor 643 coincides with the rotation axis direction of the nozzle 633. With this configuration, the rotation of the motor 643 can be directly transmitted to the nozzle 633 to rotate the nozzle 633. This makes it possible to achieve rotation of the nozzle 633 with a simple configuration.

[0155] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the front SC603 further includes a motor housing 653 that houses the motor 643, and a mounting portion 663 for attaching the motor housing 653 to the front LiDAR 6f. With this configuration, the front SC603 equipped with the motor 643 and nozzle 633 is directly mounted on the front LiDAR 6f, which leads to miniaturization of the entire sensor system 100.

[0156] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the nozzle 633 has a first conduit 635 that supplies high-pressure air toward the injection port 634. The mounting portion 663 is provided with a second conduit 669 that is connected to the first conduit 635 of the nozzle 633 and supplies high-pressure air to the first conduit 635. A flexible conduit 670, which is at least partially flexible, is provided between the first conduit 635 and the second conduit 669. With this configuration, the flexible conduit 670 provided between the first conduit 635 and the second conduit 669 flexes in response to the rotation of the nozzle 633, so that high-pressure air can be appropriately supplied from each conduit toward the injection port 634 even when the nozzle 633 rotates.

[0157] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the front LiDAR 6f is an on-board sensor mounted on the vehicle 1. With this configuration, the front lens portion 120 of the on-board sensor can be efficiently cleaned over a wide area by the small front SC603.

[0158] (modified version) In the sixth embodiment described above, an example was described in which a flexible pipeline 670, at least in part, is provided between the first pipeline 635 and the second pipeline 669 as a pipeline for supplying high-pressure air, but the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, at least one of the first pipeline 635 and the second pipeline 669 may be configured as a flexible pipeline.

[0159] Specifically, in Figure 26, the flexible conduit 670, which has flexibility, may be formed integrally with the first conduit 635 as a part of the first conduit 635. That is, a part of the first conduit 635 may be formed as a flexible conduit. Furthermore, the rear end of the first conduit 635 may be configured to be connected to the front end of the second conduit 669.

[0160] Similarly, in Figure 26, the flexible pipeline 670 may be formed integrally with the second pipeline 669 as a part of the second pipeline 669. That is, a part of the second pipeline 669 may be formed as a flexible pipeline. Furthermore, the front end of the second pipeline 669 may be configured to be connected to the rear end of the first pipeline 635.

[0161] Thus, a flexible portion may be provided in at least one of the first pipeline 635 and the second pipeline 669. This allows the flexible region to flex in response to the rotation of the nozzle 633, enabling the proper supply of high-pressure air from the pipeline to the injection port 634 even when the nozzle 633 rotates.

[0162] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the motor housing 653 and the mounting portion 663 are integrally formed, but the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the motor housing 653 and the mounting portion 663 may be formed separately, and the motor housing 653 may be attached to the mounting portion 663.

[0163] While embodiments of this disclosure have been described above, it goes without saying that the technical scope of this disclosure should not be interpreted restrictively by the description of these embodiments. These embodiments are merely examples, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications to the embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims. The technical scope of this disclosure should be determined based on the scope of the invention described in the claims and the scope of its equivalents.

[0164] In the above embodiment, the front WW101, rear WW102, right HC107, and left HC108 are described as spraying cleaning fluid, while the front SC103 (103A~103D), 503, 603, rear SC104, right SC105, and left SC106 are described as spraying high-pressure air. However, the embodiment is not limited to this example. In each cleaner, whether to use cleaning fluid or high-pressure air as the cleaning medium can be appropriately changed depending on the type of object to be cleaned and the desired level of cleanliness.

[0165] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the vehicle control unit 3, the cleaner control unit 113, and the sensor control unit 114 are provided as separate components, but this is not limited to this configuration. For example, the vehicle control unit 3 and the sensor control unit 114 may be configured as an integrated unit, or the vehicle control unit 3 and the cleaner control unit 113 may be configured as an integrated unit, or the vehicle control unit 3, the cleaner control unit 113, and the sensor control unit 114 may be configured as an integrated unit.

[0166] Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes an example in which the sensor system 100 is mounted on a vehicle capable of autonomous driving, the sensor system 100 may also be mounted on a vehicle that is not capable of autonomous driving.

[0167] Furthermore, although the above embodiment described a cleaner for cleaning on-board sensors mounted on vehicle 1, the invention is not limited to this. The cleaner for this sensor system may also be used, for example, as a cleaner for cleaning surveillance cameras, LiDARs, etc., installed in infrastructure such as roads and railways. Even when used in such an infrastructure sensor system, the surface to be cleaned can be efficiently cleaned over a wide area with a small cleaner.

[0168] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-178592 filed on November 1, 2021, Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-187223 filed on November 17, 2021, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-187224 filed on November 17, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A cleaner that sprays a cleaning medium onto the surface of a sensor to be cleaned, A nozzle equipped with a nozzle for spraying the cleaning medium, A motor capable of rotating in at least one direction, A transmission mechanism provided between the motor and the nozzle, A housing that accommodates at least the motor and the transmission mechanism, Equipped with, The transmission mechanism is configured to transmit the rotational force of the motor to the nozzle, thereby causing the nozzle to reciprocate and changing the position of the spray axis of the spray nozzle relative to the surface to be cleaned. The nozzle has a conduit extending along the rotation axis of the nozzle in order to supply the cleaning medium to the spray opening. The transmission mechanism comprises at least a first gear that rotates in forward and reverse directions by the motor, and a second gear that rotates in forward and reverse directions by meshing with the first gear. The second gear is provided in a part of the circumferential direction of the conduit and is formed in a fan shape. A cleaner wherein the portion of the housing that accommodates the second gear has an inner wall surface for defining the range of motion of the second gear along the circumferential direction.

2. A cleaner that sprays a cleaning medium onto a surface of a sensor to be cleaned, A nozzle equipped with a nozzle for spraying the cleaning medium, A motor capable of rotating in at least one direction, A transmission mechanism provided between the motor and the nozzle, Equipped with, The transmission mechanism is configured to transmit the rotational force of the motor to the nozzle, thereby causing the nozzle to reciprocate and changing the position of the spray axis of the spray nozzle relative to the surface to be cleaned. The aforementioned transmission mechanism is A third gear that rotates in one direction due to the rotation of the motor in one direction, It has a first link member, one end of which is attached to the third gear and the other end of which is attached to the nozzle, The one end of the first link member is formed as a cylindrical body, A cleaner in which the central axis of the cylindrical body is eccentric from the rotation axis of the third gear.

3. A circular stepped portion is formed on one side of the third gear, which is housed within the internal space of the cylindrical body. The cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the center of the circular stepped portion is eccentric from the rotation axis of the third gear.

4. The cleaner according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a fourth gear positioned between the motor and the third gear to transmit the unidirectional rotation of the motor to the third gear.

5. A cleaner that sprays a cleaning medium onto a surface of a sensor to be cleaned, A nozzle equipped with a nozzle for spraying the cleaning medium, A motor capable of rotating in at least one direction, A transmission mechanism provided between the motor and the nozzle, Equipped with, The transmission mechanism is configured to transmit the rotational force of the motor to the nozzle, thereby causing the nozzle to reciprocate and changing the position of the spray axis of the spray nozzle relative to the surface to be cleaned. The aforementioned transmission mechanism is A fifth gear that rotates in forward and reverse directions by the aforementioned motor, A plurality of second link members, each with one end attached to the nozzle, It has, One of the plurality of second link members has its other end connected to the fifth gear. A cleaner in which, of the plurality of second link members, all link members except for the one link member are configured so that their other ends can rotate around a fixed point.

6. The plurality of second link members include three link members arranged in parallel, The cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the three link members are provided above the nozzle and on the left and right sides, respectively.

7. The plurality of second link members include two link members, One end of the two link members is connected to the left and right sides of the nozzle, respectively. The cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the other ends of the two link members are fixed in a position where the two link members intersect each other.

8. The cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the rotation axis direction of the motor coincides with the rotation axis direction of the nozzle.

9. A cleaner that sprays a cleaning medium onto the surface of a sensor to be cleaned, A nozzle equipped with a nozzle for spraying the cleaning medium, A motor that can rotate in both forward and reverse directions, A link mechanism provided between the motor and the nozzle, Equipped with, A cleaner in which the link mechanism is configured to transmit the rotational driving force of the motor to the nozzle, thereby causing the nozzle to reciprocate and change the position of the spray port relative to the surface to be cleaned, while also changing the angle of the spray axis of the spray port.

10. The cleaner according to claim 9, wherein the nozzle is reciprocated such that the angle increases as the position of the spray nozzle moves from the central region to the outer region of the surface to be cleaned.

11. The link mechanism includes a third link member and a fourth link member, The cleaner according to claim 9 or 10, wherein either the third link member or the fourth link member is configured to receive the rotational driving force of the motor.

12. One end of the third link member is connected to the right side of the nozzle, and one end of the fourth link member is connected to the left side of the nozzle. The cleaner according to claim 11, wherein the other end of the third link member and the other end of the fourth link member are configured to be rotatable about a fixed point provided at a position where the third link member and the fourth link member intersect each other.

13. The cleaner according to claim 10, wherein the rotation axis direction of the motor coincides with the rotation axis direction of the link mechanism.

14. A cleaner that sprays a cleaning medium onto the surface of a sensor to be cleaned, A nozzle equipped with a nozzle for spraying the cleaning medium, The system includes a motor capable of rotating the nozzle to change the position of the spray nozzle relative to the surface to be cleaned, A cleaner in which the motor and the nozzle are directly connected.

15. The cleaner according to claim 14, wherein the output shaft of the motor is directly connected to the nozzle.

16. The cleaner according to claim 15, wherein the axial direction of the output shaft coincides with the rotation axis direction of the nozzle.

17. A motor housing that houses the motor inside, Mounting portion for attaching the motor housing to the sensor, A cleaner according to any one of claims 14 to 16, further comprising:

18. The nozzle has a first conduit for supplying the cleaning medium toward the injection port, The mounting portion is provided with a second conduit that is connected to the first conduit of the nozzle and supplies the cleaning medium to the first conduit. The cleaner according to claim 17, wherein a flexible conduit having at least a portion of its flexibility is provided between the first conduit and the second conduit.

19. The nozzle has a first conduit for supplying the cleaning medium toward the injection port, The mounting portion is provided with a second conduit that is connected to the first conduit of the nozzle and supplies the cleaning medium to the first conduit. The cleaner according to claim 17, wherein at least one of the first conduit and the second conduit is flexible.

20. The cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 5 to 7, 9, 10, or 13 to 16, wherein the sensor is an on-board sensor mounted on a vehicle.

Images