Vehicle Optical Sensor Cleaning with Suction Chamber Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optical sensor cleaning devices for vehicles are complex and require separate fluid transport circuits for cleaning liquid and drying air, which complicates their mechanical construction and management, and do not efficiently evacuate cleaning liquid and dirt from the optical sensor.
Innovation Solution
A device with a chamber around the optical sensor that uses suction means to draw in cleaning liquid and dirt through an elastic sealing lip, which opens to allow cleaning fluid onto the sensor and then closes to prevent external liquid entry, with a pump to store the liquid for recycling, simplifying the system and enhancing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate fluid transport circuits for cleaning liquid and drying air are used, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the cleaning liquid transport circuit and drying air transport circuit into a single common circuit. The chamber serves dual purposes: it receives cleaning liquid during cleaning operations and receives drying air during drying operations. This merging eliminates the need for separate circuits while maintaining both cleaning and drying functions, directly resolving the technical contradiction between cleaning effectiveness and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The chamber is designed as a multi-functional component that serves both as a cleaning liquid collection chamber and a drying air flow path. The elastic sealing lip enables the chamber to switch between receiving liquid and receiving gas, making the same structural element universal for both cleaning and drying operations, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If cleaning liquid is projected onto the optical sensor, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but image pollution risk increases due to residual liquid
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary suction of cleaning liquid immediately after liquid projection onto the optical sensor. The chamber is positioned to receive cleaning liquid as it flows down the sensor surface, and the suction means actively remove the liquid before it can dry and leave residues. This preliminary action prevents image pollution while maintaining cleaning effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The suction means operate continuously during and after the cleaning liquid projection to maintain a continuous removal action. This ensures that cleaning liquid is constantly evacuated from the optical sensor surface, preventing residue formation and ensuring the sensor remains clean and ready for immediate operation without image pollution.
3Productivity
If a chamber opens onto the optical sensor periphery is used, then liquid evacuation efficiency is improved, but mechanical construction complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The chamber is integrated into the existing collar structure that already surrounds the optical sensor. By hollowing out the chamber within the existing collar geometry and using the collar's outer surface for the opening, the design merges the evacuation chamber with the structural support element, improving liquid evacuation efficiency without adding separate mechanical components.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic sealing lip is implemented as a flexible membrane that can deform to seal or open the chamber opening as needed. This thin film approach provides the necessary sealing function with minimal mechanical complexity, allowing the chamber to efficiently receive and evacuate liquid while maintaining a simple overall structure.
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
This solution simplifies the cleaning process, ensures quick evaporation of cleaning liquid, and maintains performance by using a single chamber for both cleaning and drying, reducing mechanical complexity and enhancing the quality of data acquisition by preventing image pollution from residual liquid.
Implementation Method 1
suction means, one chamber of which opens onto at least a portion of the periphery of this optical sensor
Implementation Method 2
elastic sealing lip movable between a closed position in which it prevents any passage of liquid from the outside
Implementation Method 3
These suction means, which may in particular comprise a pump, are configured to discharge the sucked-up liquid into a storage tank
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for cleaning an optical sensor (2) of an optical detection system of a motor vehicle, which comprises means (4) for spraying a cleaning liquid onto an outer surface ( 20) of this optical sensor (2). The device comprises suction means (7), one chamber (5) of which opens onto at least a portion of the periphery of this optical sensor (2).