Sensor Cleaning Piston with Rotation-Locked Spray Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cleaning devices for motor vehicles, particularly those used for optical and optoelectronic sensor devices, face challenges such as increased friction and wear due to dry contact surfaces, moisture penetration, and difficulty in maintaining precise alignment and rapid operational readiness, which are not adequately addressed by known designs with reciprocating pistons.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning device with a guide means to prevent the reciprocating piston from rotating, featuring a groove and projection design within the inner channel, a hydraulically sealed connecting piece, and a stepped bore with a sealing element for precise valve function, allowing for miniaturization and reduced component count, along with a collar for axial guidance and adjustable lifting height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the piston is guided using longitudinal ribs and grooves with dry contact, then the piston can be supported and guided during reciprocation, but friction and wear increase due to the enlarged dry contact surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces dry mechanical contact guidance with hydraulic guidance using a guide collar that creates a fluid film between the piston and housing. The guide collar has a smaller diameter than the piston, creating a hydraulic gap that reduces friction and wear while maintaining guidance functionality during piston reciprocation.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the guide collar has a larger diameter to provide better guidance, then guidance stability improves, but the gap length increases allowing more moisture and dirt penetration
Solution Approach 1:
The guide collar utilizes hydraulic pressure to maintain a stable fluid film gap that is sufficiently small to prevent moisture and dirt penetration while providing adequate guidance stability. The hydraulic pressure generated during piston operation maintains consistent gap spacing without requiring a large mechanical interference fit.
3Manufacturing precision
If separate attachments are used for alignment, then alignment precision can be achieved, but device complexity and service effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the alignment function directly into the piston and spray nozzle assembly, eliminating the need for separate alignment attachments. The piston's cylindrical geometry and the spray nozzle's coaxial arrangement provide inherent alignment, reducing device complexity and service requirements while maintaining precise spray jet alignment.
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 design ensures exact and precise alignment of the spray jet, reduces service costs, and enhances reliability and adaptability, while maintaining aerodynamic and aesthetic requirements, with improved durability and reduced moisture ingress.
Implementation Method 1
a sealing element is provided to seal the mandrel against the bore in such a way that the inner channel is hydraulically impassable when the mandrel is immersed in the bore and hydraulically passable when the mandrel is withdrawn from the bore
Implementation Method 2
The piston is extended from an unactuated, normally retracted, and therefore concealed starting position by hydraulic pressure of the cleaning fluid generated by a pumping device
Implementation Method 3
After the pumping device is switched off, the piston is automatically returned to its starting position by spring force
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2~3
Figure 4a~4d
AI summary
The invention relates to a special cleaning apparatus (1), optimized for cleaning optical and optoelectronic sensor devices in motor vehicles, comprising a housing (2) and comprising a piston (3) which is movable in the housing (2) in a pressure-controlled manner and which can travel from a retracted starting position to an extended cleaning position along an actuating axis (A), wherein the piston (3) has an inner channel (4) for transporting a cleaning fluid through the piston (3) to a spray nozzle (5). The aim of the invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus (1) which is particularly miniaturized, simple and cost-effective to produce and which enables as exact and precise an alignment of the cleaning jet as possible, fast functional readiness, reduced tailing tendency of the cleaning fluid and improved adaptability to different installation positions. This aim is achieved, according to the invention, in that at least the cleaning apparatus (1) has at least one guide means (6) for rotation-locking the piston (3) about the actuating axis (A) during the entire stroke thereof, which guide means is arranged in the inner channel (4) at least in regions.