Motor Vehicle Sensor Cleaning Piston Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing driver assistance sensor cleaning devices are inefficient in terms of size and fluid management, often interfering with sensor operation and failing to quickly dry lenses after cleaning, which can lead to image pollution.
Innovation Solution
A compact cleaning device with a sliding piston and selective fluid admission system, allowing for the deployment of a nozzle to distribute either a single fluid or a mixture, enabling continuous or discontinuous fluid distribution profiles, and featuring a non-return valve to prevent fluid reversal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cleaning device is added to clean sensors, then cleaning performance is improved, but device size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning device is integrated directly into the sensor housing, merging the cleaning function with the sensor assembly. The nozzle is positioned to face the sensor lens, and the fluid injection system is built into the existing sensor structure, eliminating the need for separate cleaning apparatus while maintaining effective cleaning capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning device is designed to handle multiple fluid types (cleaning fluid and drying fluid) through a single integrated system. The piston mechanism can selectively inject different fluids based on operational requirements, making the device versatile for both cleaning and drying operations without requiring separate dedicated systems.
2Reliability
If the cleaning device is activated continuously, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but interference with sensor operation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning device employs a movable piston that can dynamically adjust its position between retracted and extended states. The piston is actuated only when cleaning is required, allowing the device to transition from a non-interfering retracted state to an active cleaning state, and then back to retracted state after cleaning, minimizing interference with sensor operation during normal detection phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning operation is performed periodically or on-demand rather than continuously. The device activates the piston to inject cleaning fluid, maintains it in the extended position only during the brief cleaning interval, then retracts it afterward. This periodic activation ensures the sensor remains clean when needed while avoiding continuous interference with sensor detection functions.
3Productivity
If the piston is made hollow to route fluids, then fluid routing efficiency is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The piston is designed as a hollow structure with fluid routing channels nested within its body. The piston cavity contains internal passages that route cleaning fluid from the injection source to the nozzle, and routing channels that guide drying fluid from the rear of the device to the nozzle. This nested configuration consolidates multiple fluid pathways into a single integrated component, improving fluid routing efficiency while avoiding the need for separate external routing mechanisms.
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 effectively cleans sensors with precise fluid control, minimizing interference during operation and ensuring quick drying of lenses to prevent image pollution, while being compact enough for automotive applications.
Implementation Method 1
The hollow piston is rendered mobile, between a rest position and a working position, by the effect of a second fluid
Implementation Method 2
a distribution through-conduit, a routing through-chamber, and an admission through-chamber coaxial with one another and with the hollow body and communicating with one another are respectively arranged in the distribution terminal part, the central part, and the admission part of the hollow piston
Implementation Method 3
the shoulder formed, inside the distribution conduit, by this constriction, accepts a non-return valve
Implementation Method 4
This annular groove is advantageously adapted to receive an O-ring which seals the sliding of the routing tube inside the smaller inside diameter part of the routing chamber
Data Source
AI summary
The invention consists in a device for cleaning a sensor of a motor vehicle.A piston (2) is able to slide in a circular hollow body (1) having a longitudinal axis (XX) and carrying at a first end a single nozzle (4) for distributing one or more fluids, said piston being hollow to enable the routing to the nozzle of at least one first fluid.The hollow piston is rendered mobile, between a rest position and a working position, by the effect of a second fluid to take up a working position in which the nozzle is deployed.