Sensor Mount Cleaning Structure for Blind-Spot-Free Surface Wiping
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicle sensors mounted outside the vehicle compartment are prone to contamination and damage from external factors like rain, dust, and debris, leading to inaccurate data collection and potential malfunction.
Innovation Solution
A sensor mounting apparatus with a housing, guiding component, and dual cleaning members - a sliding wiper blade and a rotating spray head - that work together to clean the light-transmitting surface, ensuring complete and effective removal of contaminants, preventing blind spots and stubborn stains.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the sensor is mounted outside the vehicle compartment to perceive environmental information, then the sensor can collect data on obstacles and driving paths, but the sensor is exposed to external contamination and damage from rain, dust, bird droppings, and debris
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning element performs preliminary cleaning action on the light-transmitting surface before contamination can significantly degrade sensor performance. The wiper blade proactively removes rain, dust, and other contaminants as they accumulate, preventing contamination rather than just responding to it after the fact.
Solution Approach 2:
The light-transmitting surface serves as an intermediary between the external environment and the sensor. By cleaning this intermediary surface, the system protects the sensor from direct exposure to contaminants while still allowing the intermediary to perform its function of transmitting light to the sensor.
2Area of stationary object
If a single cleaning element is used to clean the light-transmitting surface, then the structure is simple, but the cleaning coverage is incomplete and blind spots remain
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning function is segmented into two distinct elements: a wiper blade for primary cleaning and a cleaning element for secondary cleaning and blind spot coverage. This segmentation allows each element to specialize in specific cleaning tasks, achieving complete coverage without requiring an overly complex single-unit system.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning element is configured to swing back and forth in an arc around a direction perpendicular to the light-transmitting surface, adding a rotational dimension to the cleaning action. This dimensional change allows the cleaning element to reach areas that the linearly moving wiper blade cannot access, eliminating blind spots.
3Reliability
If the cleaning element only moves linearly along the guiding component, then the mechanism is simple, but stubborn stains and localized contamination cannot be effectively removed
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning element transitions from static or simple linear motion to dynamic arc-shaped swinging motion. This dynamic movement pattern allows the cleaning element to apply varying pressures and angles to different portions of the light-transmitting surface, effectively removing stubborn stains and localized contamination that linear motion cannot address.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning element performs periodic back-and-forth swinging motions, creating a rhythmic cleaning pattern that repeatedly applies cleaning force to the same areas. This periodic action ensures that stubborn contaminants are progressively removed through multiple passes, enhancing cleaning effectiveness for tough stains.
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 maintains the light-transmitting surface in a clean condition, ensuring continuous accurate data collection and preventing sensor malfunctions due to contamination, thereby enhancing the reliability of autonomous vehicle operations in adverse weather conditions.
Implementation Method 1
the cleaning element having a cleaning portion that fits an outer surface of the light-transmitting surface; the cleaning portion has a cleaning area covering the outer surface of the light-transmitting surface as the first cleaning member slides from one end of the guiding component to another end of the guiding component; and the second driving element is configured to drive the cleaning element to swing back and forth around a direction perpendicular to the light-transmitting surface
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A sensor (100) mounting apparatus is provided, including a housing (10), a guiding component (20) provided on the housing (10), a first cleaning member (30) slidably arranged on the guiding component (20), and a first driving element (40). The housing (10) has an accommodating cavity (11), the first driving element (40) is configured to drive the first cleaning member (30) to slide along the guiding component (20), and the first cleaning member (30) includes a second driving element (31) and a cleaning element (32) in transmission connection with the second driving element (31). The second driving element (31) is configured to drive the cleaning element (32) to swing back and forth around a direction perpendicular to a light-transmitting surface (12).