FR3056517A1 - CLEANING DEVICE FOR PROJECTING AT LEAST ONE FLUID TO A CLEANING SURFACE OF A MOTOR VEHICLE, SUCH AS AN OPTICAL SURFACE OF A SENSOR OF AN OPTICAL DETECTION SYSTEM - Google Patents

Abstract

A cleaning device according to the invention comprises at least one hollow body (2) closed at one end by a flange (14) projecting from which is arranged a guide rod (20) which extends inside the body hollow, having an axis of elongation (A), a movable member (3) sliding along a longitudinal axis (X) in the hollow body (2) being guided on the one hand inside the a sleeve (30) located at one end of the hollow body (2) opposite the flange (14), and secondly around the guide rod (20), the elongation axis (A) being parallel to the longitudinal axis (X). According to the invention, the guide rod (20) has, in the vicinity of the plate of the flange (14), a softening portion (50).

Description

® FRENCH REPUBLIC

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY © Publication number: 3,056,517 (to be used only for reproduction orders) (© National registration number: 16 59180

COURBEVOIE © IntCI ⁸

B 60 S 1/48 (2017.01), B 60 S 1/56

A1 PATENT APPLICATION

(© Filing date: 28.09.16. © Applicant (s): VALEO SYSTEMS DESSUYAGE (© Priority: Simplified joint stock company - FR. @ Inventor (s): GRASSO GIUSEPPE, KOLANOWSKI GREGORY, PICOT PHILIPPE, TREBOUET MARCEL, (43) Date of public availability of the BAUDOUIN MAXIME, VIEILLE JORDAN and PASSE- request: 30.03.18 Bulletin 18/13. RIEUX THIBAUD. (© List of documents cited in the report of preliminary research: Refer to end of present booklet (© References to other national documents ® Holder (s): VALEO WIPING SYSTEMS related: Joint stock company. ©) Extension request (s): © Agent (s): VALEO WIPING SYSTEMS INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY SERVICE.

(□ 4) CLEANING DEVICE, FOR PROJECTING AT LEAST ONE FLUID TO A CLEANING SURFACE OF A MOTOR VEHICLE, SUCH AS AN OPTICAL SURFACE OF A SENSOR OF AN OPTICAL DETECTION SYSTEM.

FR 3 056 517 - A1 _ A cleaning device according to the invention comprises at least one hollow body (2) closed at one end by a flange (14) projecting from which is arranged a guide rod (20) which s extends inside the hollow body, having an axis of elongation (A), a movable element (3) sliding along a longitudinal axis (X) in the hollow body (2) being guided by on the one hand inside a sleeve (30) located at one end of the hollow body (2) opposite the flange (14), and on the other hand around the guide rod (20), the axis d elongation (A) being parallel to the longitudinal axis (X). According to the invention, the guide rod (20) has, in the vicinity of the flange plate (14), a softening portion (50).

WFR2702

Cleaning device, intended to project at least one fluid towards a surface to be cleaned of a motor vehicle, such as an optical surface of a sensor of an optical detection system

The present invention relates to the field of driving assistance devices and, more particularly, to the field of optical detection systems used for this purpose. The invention relates more particularly to cleaning devices intended to project at least one fluid towards a surface to be cleaned of a motor vehicle, such as an optical sensor of an optical detection system, and in particular to deployment cleaning devices. telescopic.

An optical detection system is any system comprising optical sensors such as cameras, laser sensors (commonly called LIDAR) or other sensors based on the emission and / or detection of light in the visible or invisible spectrum for the Man, especially infrared.

Such optical detection systems are fitted to an increasing number of motor vehicles in order to assist the driver of the vehicle in certain driving situations, one of which, well known, is the parking aid. For this aid to be as effective as possible, the data provided by the optical detection system must be of the best possible quality, and it is therefore essential to have clean optics to carry out these data acquisitions. To do this, a device for cleaning a sensor of the optical detection system (for example the lens of a camera) can be ordered to inject, onto said sensor, a cleaning fluid just before the detection (for example shooting). In order not to interfere with the operation of the optical sensor when it is in operation and to take a cleaning position facing the optical sensor when a cleaning operation is ordered, it is known to use deployment cleaning devices telescopic, in which a movable carrier element

WFR2702 a free end of the fluid spray nozzles is actuated to move between a retracted position inside a hollow body of the cleaning device and an extreme extended position in which the cleaning operation is carried out. Document FR2796866 is particularly known, in which there is disclosed a movable element sliding in a hollow body of the cleaning device, under the pressure effect of a washing fluid injected on demand into the hollow body of the cleaning device, the movable member being hollow to be traversed by this washing fluid pushed towards the spray nozzles. The hollow body is closed at one end by an inlet flange through which the cleaning fluid arrives from a storage tank and has at the second opposite end an opening to allow passage to the movable element.

The movable element is guided in translation in several zones of the hollow body, and in particular on the one hand inside a sleeve produced by the wall of the hollow body in the vicinity of the second open end, and on the other hand around a rod extending inside the hollow body from the internal face of the intake flange. The rod and the mobile element are in particular arranged so that beyond a certain position of the mobile element pushed by the cleaning fluid, a part of this fluid can be inserted between the rod and the mobile element to penetrate inside of it in the direction of the projection nozzles.

In this configuration, the guidance of the movable element forming the piston with respect to the sleeve of the housing, of the guide type in slide connection, and the guidance of the flange rod with respect to the movable element makes the system hyperstatic, which involves operation and assembly under stress causing significant risk of blockage and premature wear.

In this context of a telescopic cleaning device, the present invention aims to propose an alternative to existing devices which in particular makes it possible to resolve the drawback mentioned above.

WFR2702

The cleaning device according to the invention, intended to project at least one fluid towards a surface to be cleaned of a motor vehicle, such as an optical surface of a sensor of an optical detection system, comprises at least:

- a hollow body closed at one end by a projecting flange from which is arranged a guide rod which extends inside the hollow body, having an elongation axis, and

- a movable element sliding along a longitudinal axis in the hollow body while being guided on the one hand inside a sleeve located at one end of the hollow body opposite to the flange, and on the other hand around of the guide rod, the elongation axis being parallel to the longitudinal axis.

According to the invention, the guide rod has, in the vicinity of the flange, a softening portion.

According to different characteristics of the invention, taken alone or in combination, it can be provided that:

- The mobile element is carrying at a first end of a cleaning fluid distribution element;

- The mobile element moves between a first retracted extreme position and a second deployed extreme position;

- the softening portion is produced by removing material;

- The flange has a projecting closure plate from which the guide rod is arranged;

- The guide rod extends projecting from the plate of the flange from an internal face of this plate, and the softening portion is formed by removal of material in the thickness of the plate, from the external face opposite to said internal face, in the longitudinal extension of the guide rod;

- The softening portion is centered on the extension axis of the guide rod;

- the softening portion produced by removing material comprises

WFR2702 a well dug in the thickness of the closure plate and which has a depth greater than the thickness of the closure plate, so that the well extends beyond the junction plane of the guide rod and of the closure plate, inside the guide rod;

- The guide rod has a peripheral groove, which forms the softening portion by removing material;

- The peripheral groove is arranged in half of the guide rod arranged near the plate of the flange;

- The guide rod has cutouts arranged on the peripheral periphery of the rod, being regularly distributed around the periphery of the rod, and which form the softening portion by removal of material;

- The softening portion is produced by the superposition of layers of different materials in the vicinity of the junction plane of the guide rod and the closure plate;

- The guide rod and the closure plate are made of the same first material, and are separated by a layer of a second material of greater flexibility than that of the first material, this layer of second material forming a buffer zone configured for provide the desired flexibility at the junction between the guide rod and the closure plate;

- The flange has on its outer face an inlet nozzle pierced with a fluid passage channel, the inlet nozzle being eccentric relative to the guide rod;

- The cleaning device comprises means for conveying cleaning fluid through the hollow body, from the fluid inlet nozzle to a distribution element formed at the end of the hollow movable element, comprising at least an inlet chamber whose volume varies as a function of the displacement of the movable element and a distribution conduit formed in this movable element, the movable element and / or the rod being configured to provide between them passage grooves which block the flow of cleaning fluid when the movable element is within a range of displacement, and in particular

WFR2702 when it is in the first retracted extreme position, and which allow the flow of cleaning fluid from the inlet chamber to the dispensing element when the movable element is in a position relative to the rod in which the end of the passage grooves is released.

The invention also relates to an optical detection system comprising a sensor, the optical surface of which is to be cleaned, and a cleaning device as it has just been described above.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly with the aid of the description and the drawings, among which:

Figure 1 is a side sectional view of a cleaning device according to a first embodiment of the invention, the cleaning device being in a rest position with the movable element which composes it in a position retracted to l 'interior of a hollow body;

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the cleaning device of Figure 1 in cleaning operation, at the start of it with the movable member still in the retracted position (Figure 2), and during this with the element mobile partially deployed under the effect of the injection of cleaning fluid into the hollow body;

Figure 4 is a schematic representation of the kinematic connections of a cleaning device according to the invention;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a flange as illustrated in Figure 1, with the rod which extends and which has, according to the invention, a softening portion at the junction with the flange ;

Figures 6 and 7 are sectional views similar to that of Figure 5 illustrating alternative embodiments of the flange and the associated rod; and FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of an optical detection system in which an optical sensor is arranged in the vicinity of an associated cleaning device, the two elements being housed in a support housing.

Referring to Figure 1, a cleaning device 1 according to the invention

WFR2702 comprises at least one hollow body 1 for admission of a cleaning fluid and a movable element 3 arranged to move inside the hollow body and having a distribution duct 4 through which the cleaning fluid is able to pass an inlet chamber 6 formed in the hollow body to a distribution element 8 disposed at the free end of the movable element, the hollow body being arranged to present means for guiding in translation of the movable element.

As will be described below, the mobile element 3 is caused to slide inside the hollow body, driven in translation between two extreme positions due to the elastic return force of a spring 9 placed in the hollow body on the one hand and the pressure of the cleaning fluid injected into the hollow body.

In the example illustrated by the figures, the hollow body 1 has the shape of a substantially cylindrical housing, of circular section and it extends along a longitudinal axis X which defines the longitudinal axis of the cleaning device. The hollow body housing has a peripheral wall 10 which delimits a cavity 12 defining the internal volume of the hollow body, with a first end 10a which is closed by a flange also called intake flange 14 and a second end 10b, opposite to the inlet flange, which has a bottom wall 15 open at its center to allow passage to a movable element.

The intake flange 14 closes the cavity 12 and the hollow body 1 upstream, relative to the direction of circulation of the fluid inside the cleaning device. To this end, it comprises at least one closure plate 16 which is tightly fixed at its periphery to the peripheral wall 10 of the hollow body and which extends perpendicular to this peripheral wall 10 of the hollow body 1, and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X.

The closure plate 16 has an internal face 16a, facing the cavity 12 inside the hollow body, and an opposite external face 16b.

The intake flange 14 further comprises an intake nozzle 18 of a

WFR2702 cleaning fluid, which extends towards the outside of the hollow body, projecting from the closure plate in the extension of its external face 16b, and a guide rod 20 which extends towards the inside of the hollow body , projecting from the closure plate in the extension of its internal face 16a.

The inlet nozzle 18 has a substantially cylindrical shape and is pierced right through, from upstream to downstream, with an inlet channel 22 for the cleaning fluid, this channel also passing through the plate closure to open into the cavity 12 inside the hollow body. As will be specified below, the arrival of cleaning fluid in the cavity, arriving through the intake channel 22, participates in exerting pressure on the movable element 3 inside the hollow body 1 and in force it to slide along the rod 20 secured to the closure plate 16 of the intake flange 14.

The guide rod 20 extends parallel, or substantially parallel, to the intake nozzle 18. The guide rod 20 is centered on the elongation axis of the device, while the intake nozzle 18 is eccentric.

As will be described below, the guide rod 20 and the movable member 3 are arranged so that the free end of the guide rod enters the hollow part of the movable member, with a dimensioning specific so as to achieve a short centering participating in guiding in translation of the movable element.

Furthermore, a peripheral groove 24 is arranged in the outer wall of the guide rod 20, in the vicinity of the downstream end of the latter, that is to say the end opposite to the intake flange, to accommodate a seal 26, for example an O-ring, the role of which will be explained later.

According to the invention, the junction between the guide rod 20 and the closure plate 16 of the intake flange 14 is particular in that it has softening portions 50 of this junction, that is to say say that it has means for generating a zone of less rigidity near the junction plane P between the guide rod 20 and the closure plate 16. This generates a

WFR2702 ball joint equivalent, as can be illustrated in the kinematic diagram in Figure 4 illustrating the kinematic connections between the main components of the cleaning device.

The movable element 3 has a first kinematic link L1 with the hollow body box 2 and a second kinematic link L2 with the guide rod 20, and a third kinematic link L3 is formed between the hollow body case 2, by the intermediate of the closing plate 16, and the guide rod 20.

More specifically, the mobile element is guided during its translation into two distinct zones, namely a first zone Z1 located in the vicinity of the second end 10b of the hollow body (at least when it is in the first rest position) , and a second zone Z2 located in contact with the rod, at least at its downstream end.

In the first zone Z1, the mobile element is guided in translation in a connection L1 inside a sleeve 30 which will be defined later and which has a determined longitudinal range for carrying out long guidance of the mobile element. The connection range is constant during the entire movement of the movable element between the first position, called the rest position, where no fluid is ejected towards the optical sensor, and the second position and in particular the extreme deployed position.

In the second zone Z2, the movable element is in linear / annular type contact in a connection L2 with the guide rod and it can be seen, in particular with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, that the range of this connection will decreasing as the deployment to the cleaning position (s), and increasing when the movable member is retracted.

We will now describe embodiments according to the invention of the third kinematic link L3, namely the ball joint implemented specifically according to the invention between the movable element 3 and the guide rod 20.

WFR2702

As has been specified above, in order to create this ball joint, the aim is to create a flexible zone at the base of the guide rod, in the vicinity of its connection with the closure plate 16. The aim is thus to create a portion of less rigidity, namely a portion whose rigidity is lower than that of the directly adjacent portions of the rod and if necessary of the closure plate.

In first variants, illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, these softening portions 50 are produced by zones of reduced thickness, that is to say portions of the guide rod or of the closure plate, in the vicinity of their junction, in which material was removed.

FIG. 5 thus illustrates the case where a well 52 is formed from the external face 16b of the closure plate, centered on the longitudinal axis X of the device, and therefore centered on the guide rod 20 which s extends from the internal face 16a of this closure plate. The well is dug over at least the thickness of the closure plate and advantageously extends over a longitudinal dimension greater than this thickness of the closure plate, so that it also extends in the thickness of the rod. . This produces a flexibility zone centered on the point of intersection of the longitudinal axis and the junction plane of the guide rod and the closure plate. The center of the ball joint thus formed corresponds to this point of intersection.

In FIG. 6, the weakening portion is carried out essentially on the rod without modification of the closure plate. A peripheral groove 54 is produced on the periphery of the rod, so that this groove extends around the elongation axis of the guide rod, that is to say substantially the longitudinal axis X of the device when the device is assembled. This produces a flexibility zone centered on the center of the ring formed by the groove and the center of the ball joint thus formed corresponds to this point.

It may be envisaged in this variant embodiment that the weakening portion 50 does not correspond to a continuous peripheral groove but

WFR2702 to imprints distributed regularly over the entire periphery of the guide rod, each imprint forming a bend initiation under stress and therefore participating in the creation of a ball joint between the guide rod 20 and the closure plate 16.

A third variant is illustrated in FIG. 7 and this differs from the first two in that the weakening portion is not produced by removing material, but by using a material with different mechanical properties from the or materials used to make the closure plate and / or the guide rod. In the example illustrated, the guide rod and the closure plate are made with the same first material of determined flexibility, and a buffer zone 56, at the junction of the guide rod and the closure plate, is produced in a second material of greater flexibility than the first material.

The bottom wall 15 of the hollow body 1 is pierced with an orifice whose edges delimiting it extend substantially perpendicularly by a sleeve 30. This results in a longitudinal arrangement of the sleeve, centered on the longitudinal axis of the cleaning device. In the example illustrated in the figures, the sleeve 30 extends the bottom wall 15 downstream, that is to say towards the outside of the hollow body 1, without this arrangement being limiting since the sleeve 30 offers a guide path for the longitudinal movement of the mobile element 3.

The mobile element 3 is of substantially cylindrical shape, of circular section, and its outside diameter is slightly less than the inside diameter of the sleeve 30 of the hollow body 1, so that the mobile element can slide freely within said sleeve while remaining axially aligned with it.

The mobile element 3 is pierced, from upstream to downstream, that is to say over the entire longitudinal dimension of this mobile element, by a cleaning fluid distribution duct 32, which is centered on the longitudinal axis X of the cleaning device. The movable element is arranged in the hollow body so that the rod

WFR2702 guide 20 can be engaged in the distribution duct 32.

From the upstream end of the movable element 3 to its downstream end, the cleaning fluid distribution duct 32 has at least one upstream portion, of a first diameter, and a downstream portion whose diameter is less than that of the upstream portion. An intermediate portion, forming a ramp, can be arranged between the upstream portion and the downstream portion to facilitate the routing of the cleaning fluid through the conduit at the level of the throttling zone formed by the difference in the diameters of a portion to the other.

The diameter of the upstream portion of the cleaning fluid distribution duct 32 is very slightly greater than the outside diameter of the guide rod 20. More specifically, the diameter of the upstream portion of the cleaning fluid distribution duct 32, the diameter outside of the guide rod 20, and the dimensions of the O-ring 26 arranged in the vicinity of the downstream end of this guide rod are defined so that said guide rod 20 can slide in leaktight manner within the upstream portion of the conduit cleaning fluid dispenser 32.

One or more longitudinal extension grooves 34 are formed between on the one hand the wall defining the upstream portion of the cleaning fluid distribution duct 32 and on the other hand the guide rod 20, so that cleaning fluid can circulate freely, via these grooves when the movable element is sufficiently deployed, from the cavity 12 towards the downstream portion of the duct for dispensing the cleaning fluid 32.

The mobile element 3 comprises, in the vicinity of its upstream end, a ring 36 projecting from the periphery of the mobile element 3. This ring 36 has an outside diameter slightly less than the inside diameter of the peripheral wall 10 of the hollow body 1 , that is to say, in other words, to the diameter of the cavity 12 of this same hollow body 1. A peripheral groove 38 is arranged in the outer wall of the crown 36, to receive a seal 40 and, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the outside diameter of the crown 36 of

WFR2702 the movable element 3 and the seal 40 are defined so that the movable element 3, equipped with its seal 40, can slide in leaktight manner within the cavity 12 of the hollow body 1. As illustrated, the seal 40 is a lip seal.

Furthermore, one can provide on the periphery of the movable member 3 a clamp 41 extending radially projecting from the movable member, the clamp being mounted on the outside of the hollow body to form a stop displacement to the movable member in the direction of its retraction inside the hollow body. The stop of the clamp 41 against the free end of the sleeve 30 prevents the return of the movable element under the return effect of the spring 9 beyond the first rest position.

It is necessary to define a fluid intake chamber 6, as it may have been mentioned previously and into which the cleaning fluid opens after it has passed through the intake nozzle 18. The intake chamber 6 is defined laterally by the internal face of the peripheral wall of the hollow body, and longitudinally by the internal face 16b of the closure plate 16 of the intake flange 14 on the one hand and by the crown 36 on the other hand. It is understood that the longitudinal movement of the movable element 3 generates a modification of the dimension of this fluid intake chamber.

The assembly of the device according to the invention can then be carried out in the following manner.

A spring 9 is disposed in the hollow body 1, bearing against the bottom wall 15. The movable element 3, equipped with its seal 40 housed in the crown 36, is then inserted, through the interior of the hollow body, into the sleeve 30, in which it is, by its outside diameter and the inside diameter of said sleeve, adjusted to slide freely while remaining axially aligned with the latter. The seal 40 is then placed under compression against the inner wall of the peripheral wall 10, so that the movable element 3 can slide freely but in a sealed manner within the latter. The crown 36 has a support surface for the spring 9 and its free end opposite the upstream bottom wall,

WFR2702 and the spring 9 thus participates in the positioning of the mobile element 3 relative to the hollow body 1.

The clamp 41 is then placed around the mobile element in the portion located outside the hollow body to form a stop for the movement of the mobile element in the direction of retraction, it being understood that the restoring force of the spring 9 forms a stop for the movement of the movable element in the direction of deployment.

The intake flange 14 is then attached to the first end of the hollow body, by matching the guide rod 20 inside the upstream portion of the movable element.

Once the components have been mounted, the hollow body 1, the movable element 3 which slides inside thereof, the sleeve 30 carried at a downstream end of the hollow body and the guide rod 20 carried at an upstream end of the hollow bodies are arranged with longitudinal axes defining them which are mutually parallel, centered on the longitudinal axis X of the device.

It follows from the above that the relative positions of the movable element 3 and of the hollow body 1 are found, within the cavity 12 of this same hollow body 1, defined by the balance which is established between the force of return of the spring 9 pressing on the downstream face of the crown 36 and the force which can be exerted by the cleaning fluid, injected into the hollow body, on the upstream face of the crown 36 of the movable element 3. According to the intensity of the force which will apply to the upstream face of the crown 36 of the movable element, the latter will or may not be driven to slide downstream through the sleeve 30 of the hollow body 1, compressing or not compressing the spring 9. In the absence of any force applied to the upstream face of the crown 36 of the movable element 3, the latter will thus be in a first extreme position, or rest position, in which the spring 9 will be completely relaxed . Conversely, when the spring 9 is compressed to the maximum, the movable element 3 will have reached a second extreme position, or cleaning position, in which it will have slid as much downstream, through the sleeve 30 of the

WFR2702 downstream part of the hollow body 1.

Figures 1 and 2 show the device according to the invention in its rest position as described above, in which only the return force of the spring 9 is exerted on the movable element 3, keeping it in the vicinity of the upstream part of the hollow body 1, so that this spring 9 is completely relaxed. This position corresponds to a situation in which no cleaning fluid is admitted into the hollow body of the cleaning device described above. In this relative position of the movable element 3 and the hollow body 1, the intake chamber has a minimum dimension, the crown 36 being substantially pressed against the intake flange. This intake chamber 6 is sealed thanks to the presence of the seal 40 placed on the periphery of the ring 36 of the movable element 3.

The fluid is distributed by means of a pump between a cleaning fluid storage tank and the cleaning device. The fluid then enters the hollow body via the intake nozzle 18 and fills the intake chamber. When the liquid begins to be injected (Figure 2), it is necessary to wait until the force exerted by the fluid on the crown is greater than the force of the spring acting in the opposite direction.

When a fluid is admitted, in the direction represented by arrow A, through the inlet nozzle 18 of the cleaning fluid, it enters the aforementioned intake chamber, in which it exerts, on the upstream face of the crown 36 of the movable element 3, a force which causes this movable element to slide downstream within the hollow body 1 away from the intake flange and compressing the spring 9, thus increasing the volume of the chamber 4. The sliding downstream of the movable element 3 relative to the hollow body 1 causes relative sliding of the guide rod 20 in the direction of the upstream portion of the cleaning fluid distribution duct 32 within the movable element. It should be understood here that only the mobile element moves, and that it is only the relative positions of its different components with the different components of the hollow body 1 that change.

WFR2702

When the relative position of the guide rod 20 relative to the mobile element 3 has progressed sufficiently, that is to say from a predetermined stroke, the seal 40 forming a valve is found at the grooves and n is no longer able to block the fluid which passes through the grooves along the guide rod, so that cleaning fluid is sent to the dispensing member and the cleaning operation can begin. In this position, illustrated in FIG. 3, the fluid can be projected towards an optical surface 102 of a sensor which comprises an optical detection system 100 shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3. Furthermore, a FIG. support element 101 associated with this optical detection system, configured to receive an optical sensor and a juxtaposed cleaning device, and configured to be fixed in a structural element of the vehicle.

When the intake of cleaning fluid ceases, the return force of the spring 9 leads the latter to relax until it returns to its initial position, by pushing on the downstream face of the crown 36, in the direction opposite to the sleeve 30. In this movement, the movable element 3 then slides, this time upstream of the device according to the invention, and the volume of the intake chamber 6 decreases, the latter being emptied in particular by the nozzle of fluid intake.

The sliding of the mobile element 3 inside the hollow body 1, equivalent to the longitudinal displacement of a piston in a cylinder, is in particular guided along the longitudinal axis X by guiding the mobile element relative to to the hollow body, at the sleeve 30, which forms a sliding connection, and by a short centering between the guide rod and the movable element. According to the invention, the softening portions of the junction between rod and closure plate of the intake flange allow the implementation of a ball joint between this closure plate and this rod and provide flexibility to the longitudinal positioning of the guide rod and therefore that of the movable element inside which it is housed. This configuration makes the system isostatic and cancels the mounting constraints, the risks of significant blockage and premature wear.

WFR2702

The foregoing description clearly explains how the invention makes it possible to achieve the objectives which it has set itself and in particular to propose a cleaning device for an optical sensor of a motor vehicle which comprises a telescopic mobile element and which is capable , by a particular arrangement of the components of the hollow body inside which the movable element slides, to guide isostatically the movable element in its movement. In this way, the device offers in particular an interesting compromise between the guiding performance and the resistance over time of the mechanical connections. It will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments given by way of nonlimiting examples, and that variants could be provided without departing from the context of the invention, as soon as flexibility zones are provided in the intake flange, substantially at the junction of the guide rod and the closure plate which carries it. In particular, provision could be made for several fluid distribution conduits to be provided in the hollow body, with a distribution conduit for example specific to the distribution of cleaning fluid, in an arrangement similar to that which has been described previously, and another distribution conduit specific to a drying fluid, which extends for example parallel to the first conduit. As before, a mobile element in which one or two distribution conduits will then be produced will be made to slide in long guide in a sliding link formed with a sleeve made in a hollow body case and in short guide around a guide rod. integral with an intake flange, here of the two fluids. And according to the invention, provision will be made to create a ball joint by a weakening portion between the guide rod and the intake flange, to form an isostatic assembly facilitating the translational guidance of the movable element.

WFR2702

Claims (12)

1. Cleaning device (1), intended to project at least one fluid towards a surface to be cleaned of a motor vehicle, such as an optical surface (102) of a sensor of an optical detection system (100) , the cleaning device comprising at least: - a hollow body (2) closed at one end by a projecting flange (14) from which a guide rod (20) is arranged which extends inside the hollow body, having an elongation axis ( AT), - a mobile element (3) sliding along a longitudinal axis (X) in the hollow body (2) being guided on the one hand inside a sleeve (30) located at one end of the body hollow (2) opposite the flange (14), and on the other hand around the guide rod (20), the elongation axis (A) being parallel to the longitudinal axis (X), characterized in that that the guide rod (20) has, in the vicinity of the flange (14), a softening portion (50). 2. Cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that the softening portion (50) is produced by removing material. 3. Cleaning device according to claim 2, wherein the flange (14) has a closure plate (16) projecting from which is arranged the guide rod (20) from an internal face (16a) of this plate, characterized in that the softening portion (50) is formed by removing material in the thickness of the plate (16), from the external face (16b) opposite to said internal face, in the longitudinal extension of the guide rod (20). 4. Cleaning device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the softening portion (50) is centered on the extension axis (A) of the guide rod (20). WFR2702 18 5. Cleaning device according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that the softening portion (50) comprises a well (52) dug in the thickness of the closure plate (16) and which has a depth greater than the thickness of the closure plate, so that the well (52) extends beyond the junction plane (P) of the guide rod (20) and the closure plate (16) , inside the guide rod (20). 6. Cleaning device according to claim 2, characterized in that the guide rod (20) has a peripheral groove (54). 7. Cleaning device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the peripheral groove (54) is arranged in half of the guide rod (20) arranged near the plate (16) of the flange (14). 8. A cleaning device according to claim 2, characterized in that the guide rod (20) has cutouts arranged on the peripheral periphery of the rod, being regularly distributed around the periphery of the rod. 9. Cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that the softening portion (50) is produced by the superposition of layers of different materials in the vicinity of the junction plane (P) of the guide rod (20) and of the flange (14). 10. Cleaning device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the guide rod (20) and the flange (14) are made of the same first material, and are separated by a layer of a second material of greater flexibility. than that of the first material, this layer of second material forming a buffer zone (56) configured to provide the desired flexibility at the junction between the guide rod (20) and the flange (14). WFR2702 19 11. Cleaning device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flange (14) has on its external face an inlet nozzle (18) pierced with a fluid passage channel, the nozzle intake being offset from the guide rod (20). 12. Optical detection system comprising a sensor (100), the optical surface (102) of which is to be cleaned, and a cleaning device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims. 1/3 2/3