Automated Camera Lens Cleaning Device with Propeller Lift
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surveillance camera systems face issues with spider webs and debris obstructing lens views, leading to continuous video recording activation, rapid data storage exhaustion, and manual cleaning challenges, which are inconvenient, time-consuming, and costly, especially for remote monitoring.
Innovation Solution
An automated electromechanical camera-cleaning device with a cleaning unit, L-shaped hinge, geared electric motor, and control circuits that transition between rest and cleaning positions, using a microfiber pad and propeller blades to remove debris without obstructing the camera view, programmed for periodic cleaning cycles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual cleaning methods (ladders with brushes or extension poles) are used to remove spider webs and debris from camera lenses, then the lens can be cleaned, but the process becomes inconvenient, time-consuming, and expensive, and may bump cameras out of position requiring re-alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables the camera lens to clean itself through an automated mechanism that attaches directly to the camera housing. A motor-driven brush assembly periodically extends to contact and clean the lens surface, then retracts automatically. This eliminates the need for manual intervention, saving time and avoiding camera displacement.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary cleaning device is introduced between the camera lens and the external environment. This device includes a brush assembly mounted on a extendable arm that acts as a mediator to remove debris without requiring direct human contact with the high-mounted camera, thus avoiding the need for ladders or extension poles.
2Productivity
If spider webs are left on the camera lens, then manual cleaning is avoided, but the webs block the field of view and continuously activate motion-detection recording, resulting in rapid exhaustion of data-storage capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning device performs preliminary action by removing spider webs and debris from the lens before they can cause harmful effects. The system operates on a timed cycle or upon detecting lens contamination, proactively cleaning the lens to prevent obstruction of the field of view and false activation of motion-detection recording.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback through motion-detection circuitry that monitors the camera field of view. When motion is detected that suggests lens obstruction (such as web movement), the system activates the cleaning mechanism to remove the obstruction, thereby preventing continuous false recording activation and optimizing data-storage capacity usage.
3Ease of operation
If an automated cleaning device is implemented, then manual labor and maintenance costs are reduced, but the device complexity increases with additional components like motors, control circuits, and moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
The automated cleaning device is designed with multi-functionality to justify its complexity. It integrates cleaning function, motion detection for activation, timed operation control, and automatic retraction capabilities into a single unit. This universal design allows the device to perform multiple functions that would otherwise require separate systems, making the added complexity worthwhile.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device reduces manual labor and maintenance costs, prevents unnecessary video recording activation, and extends data storage capacity by automatically cleaning surveillance camera lenses, ensuring clear images and efficient video review.
Implementation Method 1
a propeller blade that spins to lift the cleaning unit up from a rest position to a cleaning position
Implementation Method 2
The cleaning unit includes a cleaning head and a propeller blade
Implementation Method 3
using a microfiber pad and propeller blades to remove debris
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
The current document is directed to automated, electromechanical methods and devices that clean dirt, moisture, and spider webs from the lenses of surveillance cameras. In one implementation, a camera-cleaning device comprises a cleaning unit, a freely rotating L-shaped hinge, a geared electric motor, a motor- control circuit for controlling the forward and backward motion of the device, and a time-control circuit for controlling the start, finish and run time of cleaning cycles. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning head and a propeller blade that spins to lift the cleaning unit up from a rest position to a cleaning position and subsequently clean the front of the camera lens. The pivotal L-shaped linkage enables the device to transition between the cleaning position and the rest position.