Vehicle Window and Sensor Cleaning Priority in Automated Driving
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cleaning systems for automated vehicles do not ensure operational safety by potentially overriding active safety-relevant cleaning programs when manually initiated, which can impair the safety of partially automated driving systems.
Innovation Solution
The cleaning system determines if a cleaning program for driving assistance sensors is active before manually initiating the cleaning of the vehicle window during automated driving, prioritizing sensor cleaning and deactivating autonomous driving if necessary, ensuring that safety-relevant programs are not interrupted.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the cleaning system is manually initiated to clean the vehicle window during automated driving operation, then the vehicle window can be cleaned, but the active cleaning program for driving assistance sensors may be interrupted or overwritten
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit checks the status of cleaning programs for driving assistance sensors before executing a manual cleaning request for the vehicle window. If such a program is active, the manual request is rejected or delayed, preventing interference with the safety-critical sensor cleaning operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs a preliminary check of the cleaning program status before allowing manual initiation. This advance verification ensures that manual cleaning requests are only processed when they will not compromise the operational safety of the automated driving system
2Reliability
If the cleaning system prioritizes sensor cleaning over manual window cleaning requests, then operational safety is maintained, but the manual cleaning request may be delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning system dynamically adjusts its operation based on the active cleaning program status. When a safety-critical sensor cleaning program is active, manual requests are temporarily deferred; when no such program is active, manual requests are processed normally, creating a flexible priority system
Data Source
AI summary
The invention proceeds from a cleaning procedure for a cleaning system (12a; 12b; 12c; 12d), in particular wash system, of an at least partially automated mobile vehicle (10a; 10b; 10c; 10d), for cleaning at least a partial area (18a; 18b; 18c; 18d) of a vehicle window (14a; 14b; 14c; 14d) of the vehicle (10a; 10b; 10c; 10d) and for cleaning at least a partial area (22a; 22b; 22c; 22d) of a field of view (16a; 16b; 16c; 16d) of a, in particular optical, driving assistance sensor (20a; 20b; 20c; 20d) of the vehicle (10a; 10b; 10c; 10d), such as a LiDAR sensor, a camera sensor, a video sensor or the like, wherein the cleanable partial areas (18a; 18b; 18c; 18d, 22a; 22b; 22c; 22d) of the field of view (16a; 16b; 16c; 16d) and the vehicle window (14a; 14b; 14c; 14d), at least partially overlap.It is proposed that when the cleaning system (12a; 12b; 12c; 12d), in particular the wash system, be manually initiated to clean the vehicle window (14a; 14b; 14c; 14d) during an at least partially automated driving operation of the vehicle (10a; 10b; 10c; 10d), it is determined whether a cleaning program for cleaning the driving assistance sensor (20a; 20b; 20c; 20d) is currently active.