Optical Sensor Cleaning Jet Deflection Without Telescopic Mechanisms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing telescopic cleaning devices for motor vehicle surfaces, such as optical sensors, are expensive, complex, and fragile due to their kinematics and numerous parts, making them costly and unreliable for effective cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning device with a movable deflection element that adjusts its position based on fluid pressure, allowing the cleaning fluid jet to modify its orientation and sweep the surface without the need for a telescopic mechanism, reducing complexity and cost while ensuring effective cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a telescopic movable element is used to deploy the ejection nozzle above the surface, then the entire surface can be cleaned effectively, but the device becomes expensive, complex and fragile
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex telescopic mechanism from the system and replaces it with a simple stationary nozzle combined with a movable deflection element. The deflection element is the only moving component, eliminating the need for complex deployment mechanisms while maintaining the ability to clean the entire surface through jet deflection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical telescopic system with a fluid-pressure-driven deflection element. Instead of using motors, gears, and telescopic tubes, the system uses the cleaning fluid's own pressure to move a flexible deflection element, substituting a complex mechanical system with a simple fluid-actuated mechanism.
2Area of stationary object
If a telescopic mechanism is used to position the nozzle, then the jet can reach the entire surface, but the device becomes more expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the expensive telescopic mechanism and retains only the essential function of positioning the jet over the surface by using a movable deflection element. This extraction eliminates unnecessary components while preserving the cleaning coverage capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The deflection element is actuated by the cleaning fluid itself, using the fluid's pressure to move the deflection element and control the jet orientation. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for external actuators or complex positioning systems, reducing manufacturing costs.
3Area of stationary object
If a telescopic mechanism is used for nozzle deployment, then full surface coverage is achieved, but the device becomes more fragile
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fragile telescopic mechanism and replaces it with a robust stationary nozzle and a simple movable deflection element. This removal of complex mechanical linkages significantly improves device reliability while maintaining the ability to cover the entire surface through fluid-pressure-driven deflection.
Solution Approach 2:
The deflection element can be implemented as a flexible component that responds to fluid pressure without requiring rigid mechanical linkages. This flexible approach eliminates fragile moving parts while maintaining the capability to redirect the jet across the entire surface area.
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 provides effective cleaning of motor vehicle surfaces by modifying the jet's orientation with pressure-adjustable deflection, eliminating the need for a telescopic mechanism, resulting in a simpler, more reliable, and cost-effective solution.
Implementation Method 1
the deflection element is adapted to move, depending on the pressure to which it is subjected by the jet of fluid, between a near position and a moved-away position
Data Source
AI summary
Cleaning device for projecting a cleaning fluid toward a surface of an optical sensor, including a hollow body with an intake port for the cleaning fluid and an ejection nozzle for ejecting the cleaning fluid in the form of a jet, the hollow body being pierced with a conduit for distributing the cleaning fluid, and a deflection element arranged downstream of the ejection nozzle and configured to obstruct the jet of fluid ejected by the ejection nozzle in such a way as to modify the orientation of the jet of fluid with respect to the surface to be cleaned. The deflection element is adapted to move, depending on the pressure to which it is subjected by the jet of fluid, between a near position, in which the deflection element is next to the ejection nozzle, and a moved-away position, in which the deflection element is away from the ejection nozzle.