Vehicle Sensor Cleaning Control for Air-Liquid Switching

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing sensor cleaning technologies for autonomous vehicles do not effectively differentiate between air cleaning and liquid cleaning, leading to potential misidentification of cleaning liquids as contamination and interference with autonomous driving operations.

Innovation Solution

A sensor cleaning apparatus that includes an object detection unit, a contamination detection unit, a cleaning control unit, and an autonomous driving control unit. This apparatus selectively uses air cleaning and liquid cleaning based on contamination type and vehicle surroundings, ensuring that liquid cleaning does not interfere with autonomous driving.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If liquid cleaning is used to remove contamination from sensors, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but risk of misidentification as contamination and interference with autonomous driving increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecleaning effectivenessVSAvoidinterference with autonomous driving

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs air cleaning before liquid cleaning to remove water droplets and loose contamination. This preliminary action prepares the sensor surface for more effective liquid cleaning while reducing the risk of misidentification during the cleaning process

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The contamination detection unit continuously monitors the sensor surface during and after cleaning operations. This feedback mechanism allows the system to detect when cleaning is complete and to distinguish between cleaning liquid and actual contamination, preventing misidentification and interference with autonomous driving operations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Object-affected harmful factors

If air cleaning is used to clean sensor surfaces, then interference with autonomous driving is reduced, but cleaning effectiveness for certain contamination types decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinterference with autonomous drivingVSAvoidcleaning effectiveness

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically switches between air cleaning and liquid cleaning modes based on the detected contamination type. For water droplets and loose contamination, air cleaning is used to minimize interference. For stubborn contamination, liquid cleaning is activated to ensure effective removal, with the contamination detection unit monitoring to prevent misidentification

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements periodic cleaning cycles that alternate between air cleaning and liquid cleaning. This periodic action ensures that sensors are maintained through appropriate cleaning methods while the contamination detection unit provides continuous monitoring to distinguish between cleaning activities and actual contamination

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

3Measurement precision

If contamination detection is performed continuously, then accurate identification of contamination type is improved, but computational load and processing time increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontamination identification accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The contamination detection unit performs partial detection by focusing on specific characteristics of contamination (such as water droplet shape and reflection patterns) rather than analyzing all possible contamination types in detail. This partial action maintains accurate identification of common contamination types while reducing computational load and processing time

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

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 apparatus effectively removes contamination from sensors while minimizing disruptions to autonomous driving operations, ensuring safe and reliable vehicle control.

Implementation Method 1

air cleaning in which high-pressure air is sprayed onto the at least one sensor

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHigh-pressure air spray: Fluid Spray

Implementation Method 2

cleaning the at least one sensor by spraying the cleaning liquid

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectLiquid spray cleaning: Fluid Spray

Data Source

PatentUS20250065848A1Sensor cleaning apparatus,sensor cleaning method, and sensor cleaning program

Publication Date: 2025.02.27 DENSO CORP

AI summary

A sensor cleaning apparatus detects an object in a vicinity of a vehicle from information acquired by at least one sensor monitoring the vehicle vicinity, detects contamination on the sensor, and continues air cleaning in which high-pressure air is sprayed onto the sensor for a predetermined air cleaning time, in response to detecting that water droplets are attached to a sensor surface of the sensor. The sensor cleaning apparatus controls autonomous driving of the vehicle using information on the object detected, and outputs a command to clean the sensor with a cleaning liquid, in response to detecting contamination on the sensor and determining that cleaning with the liquid cleaner is possible. The sensor cleaning apparatus controls at least one liquid cleaning actuator to clean the sensor by spraying the cleaning liquid based on the command, and notifies that the sensor is being cleaned with the cleaning liquid.