JP2018184023A - In-vehicle camera cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-vehicle camera cleaning device having a simple configuration that performs cleaning well by spouting cleaning liquid and air.SOLUTION: An in-vehicle camera cleaning device A comprises a cleaning liquid supply unit L having a cleaning liquid storage part 24 and a cleaning liquid pump 26, a compressed air supply unit M that stores air compressed by an air pump 31 in an air storage part 32a and that can send the air by opening an on-off valve 33, and a control unit 20. The control unit 20 fills a cleaning liquid duct 21 with cleaning liquid using drive of the cleaning liquid pump 26, stores compressed air in the air storage part 32a by closing the on-off valve 33 and driving the air pump 31, and afterward opens the on-off valve 33. This causes the cleaning liquid filling the cleaning liquid duct 21 to spout from a plurality of jet nozzles 22 of the cleaning liquid duct 21 to a camera C using compressed air.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle camera cleaning device.

  The technique of Patent Document 1 performs cleaning by spraying compressed air or spraying high-pressure water on a glass portion of an in-vehicle camera.

  In this Patent Document 1, judging from the description of the specification and the drawings, although the specific configuration of the compressed air generating unit is unknown, the compressed air generated by the compressed air generating unit is directly ejected or the compressed air is compressed. It can be imagined that water is injected with the pressure of the compressed air generated by the air generation unit.

  In the technique of Patent Document 2, the cleaning liquid and the compressed air are sent to the vicinity of the lens through different paths, and these are merged and ejected onto the lens for cleaning.

  In this patent document 2, a secondary tank that temporarily stores a cleaning liquid is provided as a specific configuration, and the cleaning liquid in the secondary tank is sucked and ejected by a negative pressure generated when air is ejected. As a result, the cleaning liquid is sprayed together with the compressed air in the form of a mist.

  The technique of Patent Document 3 is a technique in which high-pressure air and a cleaning liquid are merged and ejected from a spray nozzle onto a camera lens.

  In this patent document 3, as a specific configuration, when the high pressure air generated by the air pump is jetted from the nozzle toward the lens, the washing water of the tank is merged into the high pressure air passage by opening the electromagnetic valve. Washing water is atomized and sprayed from the spray port.

  Moreover, in this patent document 3, the structure which sends out wash water irrespective of the position of a tank by supplying the high pressure air generated with the air pump to a tank, and the high pressure air storage means which stores the high pressure air generated with the air pump A configuration with the is also described.

JP 2001-171491 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-214199 JP 2014-37239 A

  Taking a camera that captures an image to be displayed on a back monitor in a passenger car as an example, this camera is often provided at a relatively low position, and mud or the like may adhere to the lens portion. In order to remove the adhering mud and the like, it is effective to inject water.

  For this reason, any of the techniques of Patent Documents 1 to 3 is configured to realize cleaning by combining a cleaning liquid and compressed air.

  However, considering a configuration in which air and cleaning liquid are simultaneously injected at the required timing, a powerful pump that compresses air, a powerful pump that applies pressure to the cleaning liquid, and a solenoid valve that can withstand the pressure are required. Therefore, it is complicated mechanically. In particular, considering the mechanism that pumps out the cleaning liquid, it requires an accumulator to enable pressure accumulation and a solenoid valve that can withstand pressure, rather than a powerful pump. There is room for improvement from the viewpoint.

  For these reasons, there is a need for an in-vehicle camera cleaning device that performs cleaning well by jetting cleaning liquid and air while having a simple configuration.

A feature of the present invention is that a cleaning liquid supply unit that supplies the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage unit to a plurality of cleaning liquid pipes by a cleaning liquid pump;
Compressed air supply unit that stores air compressed by an air pump in an air storage unit, and sends compressed air stored in the air storage unit to the plurality of cleaning liquid conduits by opening an on-off valve;
A controller for controlling each of the cleaning liquid pump, the air pump, and the on-off valve;
The plurality of cleaning liquid conduits communicate with an injection nozzle that sets an injection direction on the camera,
The controller fills the cleaning liquid pipe with the cleaning liquid by driving the cleaning liquid pump, stores the compressed air in the air storage section by driving the air pump with the on-off valve closed, and thereafter The opening and closing valve is opened to control that the cleaning liquid filled in the cleaning liquid pipe is jetted from the plurality of jet nozzles to the camera by compressed air.

According to this characteristic configuration, the cleaning liquid is filled in the cleaning liquid conduit, and the compressed air is stored in the air storage unit with the on-off valve set to the closed position. Thereafter, the on / off valve is switched to the open position, and the cleaning liquid filled in the cleaning liquid pipe is ejected from the plurality of ejection nozzles to the camera by the pressure of the compressed air. As a result, the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the plurality of spray nozzles to the camera in a pressurized state, and cleaning is realized even when the mud adheres to the camera. In particular, in this configuration, the air pump, the air reservoir, and the on-off valve are provided only in the pipeline for supplying the cleaning liquid, so the pump for supplying the cleaning liquid at a high pressure and the pipe for supplying the cleaning liquid have a high pressure. There is no need for durable pipes.
Therefore, an in-vehicle camera cleaning device that performs cleaning well by jetting cleaning liquid and air while having a simple configuration has been configured.

  As another configuration, the air storage unit may be configured by a pipe line between the air pump and the on-off valve.

  According to this, a mechanism for storing compressed air, such as an accumulator or an accumulator tank, is not required, and the cost is reduced without complicating the configuration.

  As another configuration, the cleaning liquid reservoir may be configured by a plurality of the cleaning liquid pipes.

  According to this, by using the cleaning liquid conduit for the cleaning liquid storage section, it is not necessary to use a tank as the cleaning liquid storage section, or a small tank may be used.

It is a top view of a passenger car. It is a perspective view of the rear part of a passenger car. It is a block diagram of a vehicle-mounted camera cleaning apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between the lens of a vehicle-mounted camera, and an injection nozzle. It is a timing chart which shows the control form in a control part.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Basic configuration]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a rear camera C as an in-vehicle camera is provided at the rear end of a vehicle body B of a passenger car as an example of a vehicle. The back camera C is disposed above the rear license plate P (license plate) for photographing the rear of the vehicle body and in parallel with the pair of lamps 15 that illuminate the license plate P. The back camera C captures a moving image, but may capture a still image at a set interval.

  This passenger car is configured so that the driver can visually confirm the road surface behind the vehicle body B by displaying a captured image taken by the back camera C when the vehicle body B is moving backward on the monitor 7 shown in FIG. ing. The vehicle body B includes an in-vehicle camera cleaning device A that cleans the lens 16 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) of the back camera C.

  As a specific configuration, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the passenger car includes wheels 1 at the front and rear positions of the vehicle body B, and a hatchback-type back door 2 at the rear end position of the vehicle body B. A front glass 3 is provided at the front position of the vehicle body B, a rear glass 4 is provided at the back door 2, and a steering wheel 6 and a monitor 7 are disposed in front of the driver seat 5 in the vehicle.

  The vehicle body B includes a pair of front wipers 8 and a pair of front washer nozzles 9 corresponding to the windshield 3. Similarly, a rear wiper 10 is provided corresponding to the rear glass 4, and a rear washer nozzle 11 is provided at an upper position thereof.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the back camera C is configured to include a lens 16 having a shooting area set in the rear and lower side, and a camera body 17 incorporating an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS. In particular, the lens 16 uses a fish-eye lens having a shape in which a central portion protrudes outward in order to enable photographing of a wide area.

[Cleaning equipment]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the in-vehicle camera cleaning apparatus A includes a pair of injection nozzles 22 that set the injection direction toward the lens 16 of the camera. In the in-vehicle camera cleaning apparatus A, the washer liquid supplied to the front washer nozzle 9 and the rear washer nozzle 11 is sprayed from the spray nozzle 22 as a cleaning liquid so as to remove mud and the like adhering to the lens 16. It is configured.

  The injection nozzle 22 is disposed on the side (left and right positions) of the lens 16 so as not to be reflected in the back camera C (FIG. 4), but the vehicle height of the lens 16 is not reflected in the back camera C. You may arrange | position in the side part (up-down position) of a direction. In addition, since the central portion of the lens 16 protrudes as described above, the pair of injection nozzles 22 are arranged at positions facing each other with the lens 16 interposed therebetween so that the entire surface of the lens 16 can be cleaned.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the in-vehicle camera cleaning apparatus A includes a cleaning liquid supply unit L, a compressed air supply unit M, a pair of cleaning liquid conduits 21 to which cleaning liquid and compressed air are supplied, and these cleaning liquid conduits 21. The spray nozzle 22 provided in the communicating state and the control unit 20 are provided.

  The cleaning liquid supply unit L includes a washer liquid tank 24 (an example of a cleaning liquid storage unit), a washer liquid supply pipe 25, a fluid pump 26 (an example of a cleaning liquid pump), a switching valve 27, a cleaning liquid supply pipe 28, and a check valve. 29.

  The check valve 29 includes a backflow preventing valve body so as to prevent the backflow of the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply pipe 28 to the cleaning liquid pipe 21.

  In the cleaning liquid supply unit L, the fluid pump 26 sends out the washer liquid in the washer liquid tank 24 to the washer liquid supply pipe 25 by the driving force of the electric actuator. The switching valve 27 has a structure for switching the flow path like a rotary valve, and the cleaning liquid (washer liquid) from the washer liquid supply pipe 25 is supplied to the front washer nozzle 9, the rear washer nozzle 11, and the cleaning liquid by the driving force of the electric actuator. Supply to any one of the supply pipes 28 is enabled.

  The compressed air supply unit M includes an air pump 31, an air supply pipe 32, and an on-off valve 33. In particular, an air storage portion 32a is formed by a pipe line communicating with the air pump 31 with respect to the opening / closing valve 33 in the air supply pipe 32, and a flow path region 32b at a portion communicating with the cleaning liquid pipe line 21 with respect to the opening / closing valve 33. Is formed.

  The air pump 31 includes a pump that compresses air by a driving force of an electric actuator and sends the compressed air to an air supply pipe 32 (air storage portion 32a). The on-off valve 33 is configured to include a valve element that closes when the electromagnetic solenoid is in a non-energized state and opens when the electromagnetic solenoid is energized.

  The control unit 20 is provided with a signal system for inputting control signals from the outside and outputting control signals for controlling the fluid pump 26, the switching valve 27, the air pump 31, and the on-off valve 33. Further, the control unit 20 is configured as an ECU that controls the front wiper 8 and the rear wiper 10 and controls the spraying of the washer fluid from the washer nozzle.

  In this in-vehicle camera cleaning apparatus A, the compressed air supplied from the air supply pipe 32 in a state where the cleaning liquid supply pipe 28 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and the pair of cleaning liquid pipes 21 are filled with the cleaning liquid (washer liquid). With this pressure, the control of injecting the cleaning liquid (washer liquid) filled in the cleaning liquid supply pipe 28 and the pair of cleaning liquid pipes 21 from the injection nozzle 22 is realized.

  In order to enable such control, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 28 and the pair of cleaning liquid pipes are prevented so that the cleaning liquid (washer liquid) filled in the cleaning liquid supply pipe 28 and the pair of cleaning liquid conduits 21 does not leak from the injection nozzle 22. Many areas with the passage 21 are arranged at positions lower than the jet outlet of the jet nozzle 22.

[Control form]
When performing control to supply the washer liquid to either the front washer nozzle 9 or the rear washer nozzle 11, the control unit 20 controls the switching valve 27 so that the washer liquid supply pipe 25 communicates with the supply target. Later, control for driving the fluid pump 26 is executed.

  In addition, when cleaning the lens 16 of the back camera C, the control unit 20 executes control according to the timing chart shown in FIG. In this control, the switching valve 27 is set to supply the cleaning liquid (washer liquid) to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 28, and the fluid pump 26 is driven only for the first time T1, whereby the cleaning liquid supply pipe 28 and the pair of cleaning liquid conduits are driven. 21 is filled with a cleaning solution (washer solution). Thus, the first time T1 is set in advance as the drive time necessary for filling the cleaning liquid.

  Next, the compressed air is stored in the air storage part 32a of the air supply pipe 32 by driving the air pump 31 for the second time T2 with the on-off valve 33 closed. The second time T2 for driving the air pump 31 is set in advance as a time required for storing compressed air having a pressure required for the air storage portion 32a of the air supply pipe 32. The control for driving the air pump 31 can be performed in parallel with the driving of the fluid pump 26.

  After the compressed air is stored in the air storage part 32a of the air supply pipe 32 in this way, the on-off valve 33 is opened for the third time T3. With this opening, the cleaning liquid (washer liquid) filled in the pair of cleaning liquid conduits 21 is sprayed from the spray nozzle 22 to the lens 16, and the lens 16 is cleaned. The third time T3 is set in advance to a time necessary for ejecting the cleaning liquid from the ejection nozzle 22.

  In particular, when the cleaning liquid is sprayed, the cleaning liquid is first sprayed from the spray nozzle 22 at a high pressure, and immediately after this, a mist in which fine particles of the cleaning liquid and compressed air are mixed is sprayed from the spray nozzle 22. Thereby, even if the mud adhering to the lens 16 is dried and fixed, the mud can be removed by washing with the pressure of the cleaning liquid and moisture. Further, since the check valve 29 is closed when the pressure of the compressed air acts on the cleaning liquid supply pipe 28, there is no inconvenience that this pressure flows in the direction of the switching valve 27.

  After that, by driving the air pump 31 again for the second time T2 while the on-off valve 33 is closed, compressed air is stored in the air storage portion 32a of the air supply pipe 32, and the on-off valve 33 is held for the third time T3. By performing the control of opening only, the cleaning liquid adhering to the lens 16 is controlled to be blown off by the compressed air.

[Effects of Embodiment]
In the configuration in which compressed air is generated by the air pump 31 and this compressed air is supplied directly, the air pump 31 requires a compression ratio and a high-output electric motor. On the other hand, in the configuration described in the embodiment, the compressed air generated by the air pump 31 is stored in the air storage portion 32a of the air supply pipe 32. Therefore, the pressure of the compressed air is set by setting the driving time of the air pump 31. It is possible to arbitrarily set, and it is possible to supply compressed air at an arbitrary timing by opening the on-off valve 33.

  In the on-vehicle camera cleaning apparatus A described in the embodiment, the cleaning liquid (washer liquid) is injected at a high pressure, but a dedicated pump for injecting the cleaning liquid by applying pressure to the cleaning liquid is not required. For this reason, it becomes possible to use the pump for supplying the washer liquid to the front washer nozzle 9 and the rear washer nozzle 11 as the fluid pump 26, and further, pressure is applied to each of the cleaning liquid and air by the dedicated pump. Compared with the structure to be ejected, the structure is simplified and the cost of the apparatus is reduced.

  In this configuration, since a washer solution is used as the cleaning solution, a configuration for storing a dedicated cleaning solution is not required. In addition, since the pair of injection nozzles 22 are arranged in a positional relationship facing each other with the lens 16 interposed therebetween, the entire surface of the lens 16 can be cleaned even if the lens 16 protrudes from the center like a fisheye lens.

[Another embodiment]
In addition to the above-described embodiments, the present invention may be configured as follows (the components having the same functions as those of the embodiments are given the same numbers and symbols as those of the embodiments).

(A) An accumulator that stores compressed air is used. As an accumulator, a space for storing compressed air is formed, so that it is possible to increase the amount of stored air compared to the configuration using the air supply pipe 32, and it is also possible to lengthen the time for ejecting air to the lens 16 during cleaning. It is.

(B) The plurality of cleaning liquid conduits 21 are configured as a cleaning liquid storage unit, and thus the washer liquid tank 24 (cleaning liquid storage unit) is not required. It is also conceivable to adopt a configuration in which a cleaning liquid for cleaning the lens 16 is provided with a supply port for supplying a cleaning liquid or water from the outside to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 28.

(C) In the embodiment, the washer liquid is used as the cleaning liquid. Instead, the in-vehicle camera cleaning apparatus is provided with a fluid pump 26 that stores the cleaning liquid in a dedicated tank and thus sends out the cleaning liquid stored in the tank. A may be configured. With this configuration, it is possible to use the best cleaning liquid for cleaning the mud adhering to the lens 16.

(D) The in-vehicle camera cleaning device A is configured so that the lens 16 of the in-vehicle camera such as a side mirror or a camera provided on the side of the vehicle body B is the object to be cleaned. When configuring the in-vehicle camera cleaning apparatus A in this way, as described in the embodiment, the cleaning liquid supply unit L, the compressed air supply unit M, and a pair that can be sent in a state where the cleaning liquid and the compressed air are mixed. It is possible to employ a configuration including the cleaning liquid pipe 21, the injection nozzle 22 provided in communication with the end of the cleaning liquid pipe 21, and the control unit 20.

(E) Since the cleaning effect can be expected as the number of injection nozzles 22 increases, three or more injection nozzles 22 are provided. When three or more injection nozzles 22 are provided in this way, it is possible to use a number of injection nozzles 22 that do not deteriorate the injection performance by considering the amount of compressed air stored and the pressure. .

  The present invention can be used for an in-vehicle camera cleaning device.

20 Control part 21 Cleaning liquid line 22 Injection nozzle 24 Washer liquid tank (cleaning liquid storage part)
26 Fluid pump (cleaning liquid pump)
31 Air pump 32a Air storage part (pipe)
33 On-off valve A Cleaning device (vehicle camera cleaning device)
C Back camera L Cleaning liquid supply part M Compressed air supply part

Claims (3)

A cleaning liquid supply section that supplies the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage section to a plurality of cleaning liquid conduits by a cleaning liquid pump;
Compressed air supply unit that stores air compressed by an air pump in an air storage unit, and sends compressed air stored in the air storage unit to the plurality of cleaning liquid conduits by opening an on-off valve;
A controller for controlling each of the cleaning liquid pump, the air pump, and the on-off valve;
The plurality of cleaning liquid conduits communicate with an injection nozzle that sets an injection direction on the camera,
The controller fills the cleaning liquid pipe with the cleaning liquid by driving the cleaning liquid pump, stores the compressed air in the air storage section by driving the air pump with the on-off valve closed, and thereafter An on-vehicle camera cleaning device that performs control to open the open / close valve to eject the cleaning liquid filled in the cleaning liquid conduit from the plurality of injection nozzles to the camera by compressed air.   The in-vehicle camera cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the air storage unit is configured by a pipe line between the air pump and the on-off valve.   The in-vehicle camera cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid storage unit is configured by a plurality of the cleaning liquid pipes.

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