JP7067575B2 - Vehicle cleaning system and its cleaning method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle cleaning system for removing foreign substances by spraying a fluid onto a vehicle cleaning target and a cleaning method thereof.

In recent years, advanced driving support and automatic driving techniques for vehicles have been advancing, and the number of sensors for grasping the surrounding conditions of vehicles is increasing (see, for example, Patent Document 1). As one of them, for example, LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), which is a distance measuring system using an optical sensor, is known, and distance measurement is performed between a vehicle and an object by projection and reception. Will be.

The sensor for grasping the surrounding condition of the vehicle has a mode in which the sensing surface (for example, the outer surface of a lens, a cover glass, etc.) is exposed to the outside of the vehicle. Therefore, there is a concern that foreign matter such as raindrops adheres to the sensing surface of the sensor, and the foreign matter is located on the optical path of the optical sensor in the distance measuring system or the like, so that the distance measuring accuracy is lowered.

Therefore, there is a study on the development of a technique for removing and cleaning foreign matter adhering to the sensing surface by spraying, for example, a gas-liquid mixed fluid in which air (air) and a cleaning liquid are mixed on the sensing surface of the sensor (see, for example, Patent Document 2). It is done.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-37100 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-22274

By the way, in order to more reliably remove and clean foreign matter adhering to the sensing surface of the sensor, a large pump is used to blow air or cleaning liquid onto the sensing surface, and air or cleaning liquid is strongly blown to the sensing surface. It is sufficient to attach it, but when it comes to vehicles, it is necessary to fully consider the mounting space and driving power. Therefore, as a developer, it was an issue to be examined to improve the removal and cleaning performance of foreign matter without increasing the size of the pump and to improve the stability of the cleaning power of this removal and cleaning.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention has made it possible to remove foreign matter adhering to a vehicle to be cleaned, improve the cleaning property, and secure the stability of the cleaning force. The purpose is to provide a vehicle cleaning system and a cleaning method thereof.

The vehicle cleaning system that solves the above problems includes injection air (CA1, CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and cleaning liquid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b). The gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) mixed with the above is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target. A cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) for a vehicle that performs cleaning, which stores the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side and can be derived when the stored cleaning liquid is mixed with the injection air. ) And the mixing output unit (22c) having a configuration in which the gas-liquid mixed fluid obtained by mixing the injection air and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit is sprayed from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target. The cleaning liquid storage unit includes a chamber (29) for storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side, and has a configuration in which the cleaning liquid stored in the chamber can be derived when mixed with the injection air. The chamber is partitioned by the case member (29a), the piston (29b) movably arranged in the case member, and the piston in the case member to store the cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid storage unit includes the urging member (29c) that urges the storage chamber (29y) in a direction of contraction, and the cleaning liquid storage unit of the urging member in the chamber based on the supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side. The piston is retracted against the urging force to store the cleaning liquid in the storage chamber, and the piston is stored by the urging force of the urging member in the chamber based on the stop supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side. Was extruded and the cleaning liquid stored in the storage chamber was led out to the mixing output unit .
The vehicle cleaning system that solves the above problems includes injection air (CA1, CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and cleaning liquid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b). The gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) mixed with the above is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target. A cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) for a vehicle that performs cleaning, which stores the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side and can be derived when the stored cleaning liquid is mixed with the injection air. ) And the mixing output unit (22c) having a configuration in which the gas-liquid mixed fluid obtained by mixing the injection air and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit is sprayed from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target. The cleaning liquid storage unit includes a chamber (29) for storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side, and has a configuration in which the cleaning liquid stored in the chamber can be derived when mixed with the injection air. The chamber includes a case member (29a) and a piston (29b) movably arranged in the case member, which is partitioned by the piston in the case member to store the cleaning liquid. The storage chamber (29y) for the purpose is configured to operate in a direction of shrinking by the compressed air supplied from the air pump side, and the cleaning liquid storage unit is based on the supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side. The piston is retracted in the chamber to store the cleaning liquid in the storage chamber, and based on the supply of the compressed air supplied from the air pump side, the piston is pushed out in the chamber to store the cleaning liquid in the storage chamber. It was configured to be derived to the mixed output unit.
The vehicle cleaning system that solves the above problems includes injection air (CA1, CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and cleaning fluid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b). The gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) mixed with the above is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target. A cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) for a vehicle that performs cleaning, which stores the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side and can be derived when the stored cleaning liquid is mixed with the injection air. ) And the mixing output unit (22c) having a configuration in which the gas-liquid mixed fluid obtained by mixing the injection air and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit is sprayed from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target. The cleaning liquid storage unit includes a chamber for storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side and a flow path switching unit (26, 27), and the washer is based on the supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side. The washer is based on the fact that the flow path between the pump side and the chamber is open and the flow path between the chamber and the mixing output unit is closed, and the supply of the cleaning fluid from the washer pump side is stopped. The flow path between the pump side and the chamber is closed, and the flow path between the chamber and the mixing output unit can be switched to be open based on the derivation of the cleaning fluid from the chamber. It was configured.
The vehicle cleaning system that solves the above problems includes injection air (CA1, CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and cleaning fluid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b). The gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) mixed with the above is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target. A cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) for a vehicle that performs cleaning, which stores the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side and can be derived when the stored cleaning liquid is mixed with the injection air. ) And the mixing output unit (22c) having a configuration in which the gas-liquid mixed fluid obtained by mixing the injection air and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit is sprayed from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target. The cleaning liquid storage unit is a unit of a cleaning liquid storage device (60a, 60b) having a function of storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side and deriving the stored cleaning liquid when it is mixed with the injection air. , 60c), the cleaning fluid storage device includes an opening (61b, 63b, 61e) of an introduction flow path (61X, 63x) from the washer pump side and a discharge flow path to the mixing output section side. It comprises a single valve body (66,75a, 80b) displaceable from the opening (62c) of (62x), the valve body being pumped with the cleaning fluid by the drive of the washer pump. Then, the opening (61b, 63b, 61e) of the introduction flow path (61X, 63x) is displaced so as to be in an open state, and the opening (62c) of the discharge flow path (62x) is in a closed state. When the drive of the washer pump is stopped, the opening (61b, 63b, 61e) of the introduction flow path (61X, 63x) is closed and the opening (62c) of the discharge flow path (62x) is open. It was configured to be displaced so as to.
The vehicle cleaning system that solves the above problems includes injection air (CA1, CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and cleaning liquid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b). The gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) mixed with the above is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target. A vehicle cleaning system (20) for cleaning that includes the air pump and valve device (24) and is higher than the discharge pressure (P0) of the air pump using compressed air (CA1) supplied from the air pump. It is supplied from the washer pump side and the injection air generation unit (22a) having a configuration that generates the injection air in the form of a pulse at high pressure based on the operation of the valve device that accumulates pressure up to the pressure and discharges to the downstream side after the accumulation. The cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) having a structure that stores the cleaning liquid and can be derived when the stored cleaning liquid is mixed with the injection air is mixed with the injection air and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit. It is provided with a mixing output unit (22c) having a configuration in which the gas-liquid mixed fluid is sprayed from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target, and the cleaning liquid storage unit receives the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side. The flow path between the washer pump side and the storage flow path is opened based on the supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side, including the storage flow path and the flow path switching portion (26, 27) for storage. Further, the flow path between the storage flow path and the injection nozzle side is closed, and the flow path between the washer pump side and the storage flow path is based on the suspension of supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side. Is in a closed state, and based on the derivation of the cleaning liquid from the storage flow path, the flow path between the storage flow path and the injection nozzle side can be switched to open state, and the storage flow path is configured to be open. The flow path is configured so that the injection air from the valve device also flows, and the storage flow path is also used in the cleaning liquid storage section and the mixing output section.

According to the above-mentioned cleaning system for each vehicle, a cleaning liquid storage unit and a mixing output unit are provided to mix the cleaning liquid with the injection air, so that the gas-liquid mixed fluid in which the injection air and the cleaning liquid are mixed is sprayed toward the cleaning target. Be done. This makes it possible to improve the removal and cleaning of foreign matter adhering to the object to be cleaned with a small amount of cleaning liquid. In addition, since the cleaning liquid to be mixed with the jet air is temporarily stored and supplied in the cleaning liquid storage unit, a small amount of cleaning liquid required for cleaning can be stably supplied compared to the direct supply by the washer pump. It is possible.

The vehicle cleaning system that solves the above problems mixes the injection air (CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and the cleaning fluid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b). The gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove and clean the foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target. A vehicle cleaning system (20) that includes the air pump and valve device (24) and uses compressed air (CA1) supplied from the air pump to a pressure higher than the discharge pressure (P0) of the air pump. The injection air generation unit (22a) having a configuration for generating the injection air in the form of a pulse at high pressure based on the operation of the valve device that accumulates the pressure and discharges the pressure to the downstream side after the accumulation, and the washer pump side supplying the pressure. A cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) including a chamber (29) for storing the cleaning liquid and having a configuration in which the cleaning liquid stored in the chamber can be derived when mixed with the injection air, and a high pressure generated by the injection air generation unit. Mixing output unit (22c) having a configuration in which the gas-liquid mixed fluid obtained by mixing the pulsed injection air and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit is blown from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target. And equipped.

According to the vehicle cleaning system, the valve device operates so that the compressed air supplied from the air pump is used to store pressure up to a pressure higher than the discharge pressure of the air pump and then discharged to the downstream side after the pressure is accumulated in the injection air generation unit. By doing so, pulsed injection air is generated at high pressure. That is, it is possible to generate injection air with improved foreign matter removal performance without increasing the size of the pump. Further, by providing a cleaning liquid storage unit and a mixing output unit and mixing the cleaning liquid with the high-pressure pulsed injection air generated by the injection air generation unit, the cleaning liquid is separated into a high-pressure pulsed injection air and a small particle size. The gas-liquid mixed fluid mixed with the cleaning liquid is sprayed toward the cleaning target. As a result, it is possible to improve the removal and cleaning of foreign matter adhering to the object to be cleaned with a small amount of cleaning liquid. In addition, since the cleaning liquid to be mixed with the jet air is temporarily stored and supplied in the cleaning liquid storage unit, a small amount of cleaning liquid required for cleaning can be stably supplied compared to the direct supply by the washer pump. It is possible. The above-mentioned "discharge pressure of the air pump" is the pressure in the flow path when the air pump and the injection nozzle are directly connected by a hose to drive the air pump.

The cleaning method of the vehicle cleaning system for solving the above problems is the injection air (CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and the cleaning fluid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b). The gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) mixed with and is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10), and the foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target A cleaning method for a vehicle cleaning system (20) that performs removal cleaning, in which a compressed air (CA1) supplied from the air pump is used in an injection air generation unit (22a) including the air pump and a valve device (24). Based on the operation of the valve device that accumulates pressure higher than the discharge pressure (P0) of the air pump and discharges it to the downstream side after the accumulation, a pulsed injection air is generated at high pressure from the washer pump side. In the cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) including the chamber (29) for storing the supplied cleaning liquid, the cleaning liquid stored in the chamber is led out at the time of mixing with the injection air, and in the mixing output unit (22c), the cleaning liquid is taken out. The gas-liquid mixed fluid, which is a mixture of the high-pressure pulsed jet air generated by the jet air generation unit and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage section, is sprayed from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target. I did it.

According to the cleaning method of the vehicle cleaning system, it is possible to generate pulsed injection air at high pressure with improved foreign matter removal performance without increasing the size of the pump, as in the vehicle cleaning system. By spraying a gas-liquid mixed fluid, which is a mixture of air and a cleaning liquid dispersed in a small particle size, toward the cleaning target, it is possible to improve the removal and cleaning of foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target with a small amount of cleaning liquid. In addition, since the cleaning liquid to be mixed with the jet air is temporarily stored and supplied in the cleaning liquid storage unit, a small amount of cleaning liquid required for cleaning can be stably supplied compared to the direct supply by the washer pump. It is possible.

The schematic block diagram of the vehicle cleaning system in 1st and 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the cleaning apparatus used for the vehicle cleaning system of 1st Embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the valve device used for the cleaning device of 1st and 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the valve device of 1st and 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram used for the operation explanation of the valve device of 1st and 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram used for the operation explanation of the valve device of 1st and 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram used for the operation explanation of the cleaning apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The schematic block diagram used for the operation explanation of the cleaning apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The schematic block diagram used for the operation explanation of the cleaning apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The schematic block diagram used for the operation explanation of the cleaning apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The waveform diagram for demonstrating the operation of the cleaning apparatus of 1st and 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the cleaning apparatus used for the vehicle cleaning system of 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram used for the operation explanation of the cleaning apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram used for the operation explanation of the cleaning apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram used for the operation explanation of the cleaning apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram used for the operation explanation of the cleaning apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the cleaning apparatus used for the vehicle cleaning system of 3rd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the cleaning liquid storage apparatus used in 3rd Embodiment. (A) and (b) are schematic block diagrams used for explaining the operation of the cleaning liquid storage device of the third embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the cleaning liquid storage apparatus used in 4th Embodiment. (A) and (b) are schematic block diagrams used for explaining the operation of the cleaning liquid storage device of the fourth embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the cleaning liquid storage apparatus used in 5th Embodiment. (A) and (b) are schematic block diagrams used for explaining the operation of the cleaning liquid storage device of the fifth embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cleaning device used in the vehicle cleaning system of the sixth embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cleaning device used in the vehicle cleaning system of the sixth embodiment.

(First Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the vehicle cleaning system and the cleaning method will be described.
In the vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 1, a first distance measuring sensor 11 is installed at the center of the front end, and a second distance measuring sensor 12 is installed at the center of the rear end. The first and second ranging sensors 11 and 12 are configured by using optical sensors that emit and receive light having a predetermined wavelength toward the front and rear of the vehicle 10, respectively. The first and second distance measuring sensors 11 and 12 are used in a distance measuring system (LIDAR, etc.) that measures the distance between the own vehicle and the front object and the rear object, respectively, and are used for advanced driving support and automatic driving of the vehicle 10. It is used in the system to carry out such things.

The first and second ranging sensors 11 and 12 have a mode in which their own sensing surfaces (for example, outer surfaces such as a lens and a cover glass) 11a and 12a are exposed to the outside of the vehicle 10. That is, foreign matter such as raindrops, which may reduce the distance measurement accuracy, may adhere to the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a. Therefore, the vehicle 10 is a vehicle cleaning system that removes and cleans the foreign matter adhering to the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a. 20 is installed.

The vehicle cleaning system 20 includes first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b. The first cleaning device 21a targets the first ranging sensor 11 installed at the center of the front end of the vehicle 10, and the second cleaning device 21b is the second ranging sensor 12 installed at the center of the rear end of the vehicle 10. Is targeted for cleaning.

Here, the first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b of the present embodiment are configured to cooperate with the washer device 13 generally mounted on the vehicle 10. The washer device 13 supplies the cleaning liquid Ws stored in the tank 13a to the windshield or the like by driving the washer pump 13b, and the cleaning liquid Ws is also supplied to the first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b of the present embodiment. It is configured so that it can be supplied.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b include an injection air generation unit 22a, a cleaning liquid storage unit 22b, and a mixing output unit 22c, respectively. The injection air generation unit 22a includes an air pump 23, a valve device 24, and a check valve 25. The injection air generation unit 22a generates the pulsed injection air CA2 at high pressure by operating the valve device 24 and the check valve 25, which will be described later, for the compressed air CA1 supplied from the air pump 23. The cleaning liquid storage unit 22b has a flow path switching valve 26, a check valve 27, a storage unit joint 28, and a chamber 29, and is juxtaposed with the injection air generation unit 22a. The cleaning liquid storage unit 22b stores a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid Ws pumped from the washer pump 13b in the chamber 29 via the flow path switching valve 26 and the check valve 27. The mixing output unit 22c has a mixing unit joint 30 and an injection nozzle 31. The mixing output unit 22c is to be cleaned from the injection nozzle 31 by mixing the injection air CA2 generated by the injection air generation unit 22a and the cleaning liquid Ws introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b at the mixing unit joint 30. Spray toward the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a. The first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b have the same configuration. Therefore, in the following, the specific configurations of the first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b will be described in common.

In the injection air generation unit 22a, the air pump 23 and the valve device 24 are connected to each other by a connecting hose 32a, and the valve device 24 and the check valve 25 are connected to each other by a connecting hose 32b. The connecting hoses 32a and 32b are made of a flexible material such as a rubber hose. The connection hoses 32c to 32j, which will be described later, are also made of the same material. The air pump 23 is composed of an electric air pump capable of generating compressed air CA1. The valve device 24 further converts the compressed air CA1 continuously supplied from the air pump 23 into a high pressure and pulse shape (intermittent shape), and outputs the pulsed injection air CA2 at this high pressure to the check valve 25 side, that is, The output is output to the mixing output unit 22c side via the check valve 25.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the valve device 24 includes a base member 41, a cover member 42, a diaphragm 43, and an urging spring 44. Among these components, the valve main body 40 is composed of a part of the base member 41, the cover member 42, the diaphragm 43, and the urging spring 44. Hereinafter, the base member 41 will be described as the lower side and the cover member 42 as the upper side, but the orientation of the valve device 24 when used is not limited to this.

The base member 41 is made of resin and has a base portion 41a in an upper portion and a connecting portion 41b in a lower portion. The base portion 41a constitutes a lower portion of the housing of the valve main body portion 40, and is an annular shape that is erected upward from the peripheral portion of the circular bottom wall portion 41c and the bottom wall portion 41c. It has a side wall portion 41d. On the other hand, the cover member 42 constitutes the upper portion of the housing of the valve main body portion 40, and is an annular shape extending downward from the peripheral portion of the circular upper wall portion 42a and the upper wall portion 42a. It has a side wall portion 42b of. The base member 41 and the cover member 42 are assembled so that the upper end surface of the side wall portion 41d and the lower end surface of the side wall portion 42b face each other. At that time, the peripheral edge portion 43x of the diaphragm 43 is sandwiched between the members 41 and 42, and the diaphragm 43 is held and the seal between the members 41 and 42 is achieved. The diaphragm 43 has a valve chamber 45 as a space formed by itself, a bottom wall portion 41c of the base portion 41a, and a side wall portion 41d, and a space formed by the upper wall portion 42a and the side wall portion 42b of the cover member 42. It is partitioned as a back pressure chamber 46.

The connecting portion 41b is provided on the lower surface side of the base portion 41a, and has an inverted T shape that extends downward from the bottom wall portion 41c of the base portion 41a and then extends bifurcated from the bottom wall portion 41c. The connection portion 41b has a bifurcated air pump 23 side as an introduction side connection portion 41e and a bifurcated check valve 25 side as a discharge side connection portion 41f. The introduction side connection portion 41e is connected to the air pump 23 by using the connection hose 32a. The introduction flow path 47 formed inside the introduction side connection portion 41e and the discharge flow path 48 formed inside the discharge side connection portion 41f are independent of each other, and in the bottom wall portion 41c of the base portion 41a. The openings 47a and 48a of the introduction flow path 47 and the discharge flow path 48 are formed, respectively. The opening 47a of the introduction flow path 47 is located at a substantially central portion of the bottom wall portion 41c of the base portion 41a of the base member 41 and protrudes in a cylindrical shape. On the other hand, the opening 48a of the discharge flow path 48 is located at the peripheral edge of the bottom wall portion 41c and is set at a position lower than the opening 47a. Further, the opening area of the opening 48a is configured to be larger than the opening area of the opening 47a.

The diaphragm 43 is formed of a flexible material in a substantially disk shape, and has a substantially columnar valve body 43a at a position facing the opening 47a of the introduction flow path 47 in a substantially central portion. The valve body 43a is set to have a diameter slightly larger than the opening 47a of the introduction flow path 47. The diaphragm 43 is configured as a thin portion 43b thinner than the valve body 43a and the peripheral edge portion 43x between the valve body 43a and the peripheral edge portion 43x while both the valve body 43a and the peripheral edge portion 43x have a predetermined thickness. .. That is, the diaphragm 43 is configured such that the valve body 43a connected to the fixed peripheral edge portion 43x via the thin wall portion 43b can be displaced. Due to such a displacement operation of the valve body 43a, the valve body 43a abuts or separates from the opening 47a of the introduction flow path 47, and opens and closes the flow path between the air pump 23 side and the valve chamber 45.

The cover member 42 is made of resin and has a protruding portion 42c at a position facing the central portion of the upper wall portion 42a, that is, the valve body 43a. The projecting portion 42c is a projecting portion for restricting the position of the urging spring 44 made of a compression coil spring, and the upper side of the urging spring 44 is inserted into each of the projecting portions 42c. The upper end portion of the urging spring 44 abuts on the upper wall portion 42a. On the other hand, the lower end portion of the urging spring 44 comes into contact with the valve body 43a. That is, the urging spring 44 is urged downward by guiding the valve body 43a to the protruding portion 42c starting from the upper wall portion 42a, that is, urging the valve body 43a toward the opening 47a side of the introduction flow path 47. Momentum. Further, the upper wall portion 42a is located outside the protruding portion 42c and is located outside the back pressure chamber 46 and the cover member 42 so that the displacement operation of the valve body 43a is not affected by the pressure inside the back pressure chamber 46. It has, for example, two communication holes 42d that communicate and are open to the atmosphere. As described above, the valve device 24 including the valve portion 40a that opens and closes the opening 47a of the introduction flow path 47 by the valve body 43a is configured.

As shown in FIG. 2, the check valve 25 includes a valve case 25a, a valve body 25b, an urging spring 25c, and a seal ring 25d. The valve case 25a has an introduction side connection portion 25e and a discharge side connection portion 25f, and the introduction flow path 25x inside the introduction side connection portion 25e and the discharge flow path 25y inside the discharge side connection portion 25f are valves, respectively. It is configured to communicate with the valve chamber 25z in the case 25a. The introduction side connection portion 25e is connected to each other by using the discharge side connection portion 41f of the valve device 24 and the connection hose 32b. The discharge side connection portion 25f is connected to each other by using the connection hose 32c with the first introduction side connection portion 30a of the mixing portion joint 30.

In the valve chamber 25z in the valve case 25a, the seal ring 25d is fixed around the opening of the introduction flow path 25x, and the spherical valve body 25b is urged by the urging spring 25c so as to be in close contact with the seal ring 25d. .. That is, in the check valve 25, when the inflow pressure of the fluid from the introduction flow path 25x side becomes a predetermined pressure or more, the valve body 25b operates against the urging force of the urging spring 25c and switches from the closed valve to the open state. The injection air CA2 of the valve device 24 is output to the mixing section joint 30 side of the mixing output section 22c.

The flow path switching valve 26 used for the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b includes a first case member 51, a second case member 52, and a diaphragm 53. The first case member 51 is made of resin, and the first introduction side connection portion 51b extends from the bottom side of the substantially bottomed cylindrical first tubular main body portion 51a, and the first discharge side connection portion 51c extends from the peripheral wall portion side. Is extended and configured. The first introduction side connection portion 51b is connected to the connection hose 32d extending from the washer pump 13b. A first valve chamber 51x is provided inside the first tubular main body portion 51a, and is connected to the first introduction flow path 51y inside the first introduction side connection portion 51b via the first valve chamber 51x. It is possible to communicate with the first discharge flow path 51z inside the portion 51c. The opening 51d of the first introduction flow path 51y in the first valve chamber 51x projects cylindrically from the bottom side of the first tubular main body portion 51a. The second case member 52 is made of resin, and the second introduction side connection portion 52b extends from the peripheral wall portion side of the substantially bottomed cylindrical second tubular main body portion 52a, and the second discharge side connection portion 52c extends from the bottom side. Is extended and configured. A second valve chamber 52x is provided inside the second tubular main body portion 52a, and is connected to the second introduction flow path 52y inside the second introduction side connection portion 52b via the second valve chamber 52x. It is possible to communicate with the second discharge flow path 52z inside the portion 52c. The opening 52d of the second discharge flow path 52z in the second valve chamber 52x projects cylindrically from the bottom side of the second tubular main body portion 52a. The first and second case members 51 and 52 have the same shape as each other, although the fluid introduction and discharge settings are reversed.

Then, the first and second case members 51 and 52 are assembled to each other so that the open end faces of the cylindrical main body portions 51a and 52a face each other. In this case, the first introduction side connection portion 51b and the second discharge side connection portion 52c provided on the bottom side of each of the cylindrical main body portions 51a and 52a are aligned in a straight line and face each other in opposite directions. The first discharge side connection portion 51c and the second introduction side connection portion 52b provided on the peripheral wall side of each of the tubular main body portions 51a and 52a are arranged in parallel with each other and face in the same direction. Further, when assembling the first and second case members 51 and 52, the peripheral edge portion 53x of the diaphragm 53 is sandwiched between the open end faces of the tubular main body portions 51a and 52a, and the diaphragm 53 is held and the respective members 51 and 52 are held. A seal is provided between them, and the first and second valve chambers 51x and 52x are further partitioned.

The diaphragm 53 is formed of a flexible material in a substantially disk shape, and is substantially cylindrical at positions facing the openings 51d and 52d of the first introduction flow path 51y and the second discharge flow path 52z in the substantially central portion. It has a valve body 53a of. The valve body 53a is set to have a diameter slightly larger than the openings 51d and 52d, respectively. The diaphragm 53 is configured as a thin portion 53b thinner than the valve body 53a and the peripheral edge portion 53x between the valve body 53a and the peripheral edge portion 53x while both the valve body 53a and the peripheral edge portion 53x have a predetermined thickness. .. That is, the diaphragm 53 is configured such that the valve body 53a connected to the fixed peripheral edge portion 53x via the thin wall portion 53b can be displaced. The valve body 53a abuts on the opening 52d of the second discharge flow path 52z from a neutral position separated from the openings 51d and 52d of the first introduction flow path 51y and the second discharge flow path 52z, and is first introduced. It is displaced to a position where only the opening 51d of the flow path 51y is separated, or a position where only the opening 52d of the second discharge flow path 52z is abutted against the opening 51d of the first introduction flow path 51y and is separated.

That is, in the primary side valve open state (secondary side valve closed state) in which the valve body 53a closes the opening 52d of the second discharge flow path 52z and opens the opening 51d of the first introduction flow path 51y. The 1 introduction flow path 51y and the first discharge flow path 51z communicate with each other via the first valve chamber 51x. Further, in the secondary side valve open state (primary side valve closed state) in which the valve body 53a closes the opening 51d of the first introduction flow path 51y and opens the opening 52d of the second discharge flow path 52z, the first side valve is closed. 2 The introduction flow path 52y and the second discharge flow path 52z communicate with each other via the second valve chamber 52x. The diaphragm 53 operates so as to complementarily open and close the primary side flow path and the secondary side flow path.

The check valve 27 is the same as the check valve 25 of the injection air generation unit 22a. That is, the check valve 27 includes a valve case 27a, a valve body 27b, an urging spring 27c, and a seal ring 27d, and has an introduction flow path 27x inside the introduction side connection portion 27e and a discharge flow path inside the discharge side connection portion 27f. The 27y is configured to communicate with the valve chamber 27z in the valve case 27a, respectively. The introduction side connection portion 27e is connected to each other by using the connection hose 32e with the first discharge side connection portion 51c of the flow path switching valve 26. The discharge side connection portion 27f is connected to each other by using the introduction side connection portion 28a of the storage portion joint 28 and the connection hose 32f. In the check valve 27, when the inflow pressure of the fluid from the introduction flow path 27x side exceeds a predetermined pressure, the valve body 27b operates against the urging force of the urging spring 27c to switch from the closed valve to the open state, and the washer pump. The cleaning liquid Ws pumped from 13b via the flow path switching valve 26 is output to the storage portion joint 28 side.

The storage portion joint 28 is, for example, a Y-shaped joint, and includes an introduction side connection portion 28a, a discharge side connection portion 28b, and a relay connection portion 28c. In the storage portion joint 28, the discharge side connection portion 28b and the relay connection portion 28c are provided in a straight line, and the introduction side connection portion 28a is provided diagonally toward the discharge side connection portion 28b. The introduction flow path 28x, the discharge flow path 28y, and the relay flow path 28z inside the introduction side connection portion 28a, the discharge side connection portion 28b, and the relay connection portion 28c communicate with each other. The relay connection portion 28c is interconnected with the input / output connection portion 29e of the chamber 29 using a connection hose 32g, and the discharge side connection portion 28b uses the second introduction side connection portion 52b of the flow path switching valve 26 and the connection hose 32h. To be connected to each other.

The chamber 29 includes a storage case 29a, a piston 29b, and an urging spring 29c, and further includes an annular packing 29d on the outer peripheral portion of the piston 29b. The storage case 29a has a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape, and has an input / output connection portion 29e on one end face side. Inside the storage case 29a, the piston 29b is housed so as to be movable in the axial direction of the storage case 29a. Further, the piston 29b is movable while being in liquidtight contact with the inner peripheral surface of the storage case 29a by the packing 29d. That is, the piston 29b is configured to partition the storage chamber 29y inside the storage case 29a communicating with the input / output flow path 29x inside the input / output connection portion 29e and increase or decrease the volume thereof. A communication hole 29f that releases the back pressure of the piston 29b to the atmosphere is provided on the other end surface side of the storage case 29a.

In such a chamber 29, the piston 29b retracts against the urging force of the urging spring 29c by the cleaning liquid Ws from the washer pump 13b that is pressure-fed from the first discharge side connection portion 51c side of the flow path switching valve 26. The volume of the storage chamber 29y is expanded. That is, the chamber 29 stores a predetermined amount of the cleaning liquid Ws in the storage chamber 29y. After that, when the pumping of the cleaning liquid Ws is stopped, the piston 29b is pushed out by the urging force of the urging spring 29c in the chamber 29, and the volume of the storage chamber 29y is reduced. Then, the cleaning liquid Ws stored in the storage chamber 29y is discharged to the second introduction side connection portion 52b side of the flow path switching valve 26, and is used for injection from the injection nozzle 31 after that. The more detailed operation of the chamber 29 will be described later together with the operation of the flow path switching valve 26.

The mixing section joint 30 used for the mixing output section 22c is, for example, a T-shaped joint, provided with a first introduction side connection section 30a and a second introduction side connection section 30b on the introduction side, and a discharge side connection section 30c on the discharge side. To prepare for. The mixing portion joint 30 is provided so that the first introduction side connection portion 30a and the discharge side connection portion 30c are provided in a straight line, and the second introduction side connection portion 30b is orthogonal to the respective connection portions 30a and 30c. It has been. The first and second introduction flow paths 30x and 30y inside the first and second introduction side connection portions 30a and 30b and the discharge flow path 30z inside the discharge side connection portion 30c communicate with each other. The first introduction side connection portion 30a is connected to the injection air generation portion 22a as described above. The second introduction-side connection portion 30b is interconnected with the second discharge-side connection portion 52c of the flow path switching valve 26 of the cleaning liquid storage portion 22b by using the connection hose 32i. The discharge side connection portion 30c is connected to each other by using the injection nozzle 31 and the connection hose 32j.

Then, the injection nozzles 31 provided in the first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b have their own injection ports 31a directed toward the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a of the first and second ranging sensors 11 and 12, respectively shown in FIG. And placed. From the injection nozzle 31, a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid Ws supplied from the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b to the mixing output unit 22c is injected together with the high-pressure pulsed injection air CA2 generated on the valve device 24 and the air pump 23 side, and the gas and liquid. As the mixed fluid X, it is sprayed on a suitable range of each of the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air pumps 23 of the first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b and the washer pump 13b of the washer device 13 are various ECUs (Electronic Control Units) mounted on the vehicle 10, that is, the upper ECU 100. It is controlled by the front side ECU 101 and the rear side ECU 102. The upper ECU 100, the front ECU 101, and the rear ECU 102 are included in the cleaning system 20 as a control device for the vehicle cleaning system 20. The front side ECU 101 includes a function of controlling the air pump 23 and the washer pump 13b of the first cleaning device 21a, and the rear side ECU 102 includes a function of controlling the air pump 23 of the second cleaning device 21b. The upper ECU 100 performs integrated control of the front side ECU 101 and the rear side ECU 102. As the vehicle cleaning system 20, the first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b and the washer device 13 are controlled in cooperation with each other.

The operation and operation of this embodiment will be described.
[About the operation of the valve device 24 alone]
As shown in FIG. 4, in the non-operating state of the valve device 24, the valve portion 40a is in a completely closed state, that is, the valve body 43a of the diaphragm 43 closes the opening 47a of the introduction flow path 47.

When the compressed air CA1 is continuously supplied by driving the air pump 23, the valve body 43a is maintained in the closed state by the urging of the urging spring 44, so that the introduction flow path 47 and the connecting hose of the valve device 24 are maintained. The pressure P1 on the introduction side including 32a rises (see FIG. 11). As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure P1 on the introduction side acts on a portion having an area S1 acting on the valve body 43a, that is, a portion having a relatively narrow area equal to the area of the opening 47a. The pushing force F1 acting on the valve body 43a is the product of the pressure P1 on the introduction side and the area S1 and F1 = P1 × S1. Then, the pressure P1 in the valve closed state on the introduction side is increased to a pressure sufficiently higher than the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23. Here, the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23 is not the discharge pressure when the discharge port of the air pump 23 itself is closed (the discharge flow rate from the air pump 23 is zero), but is not the discharge pressure when the air pump 23 and the injection nozzle 31 are connected to each other. This is the pressure in the connection hose 32a when the air pump 23 is driven when the air pump 23 is directly connected (hereinafter, simply referred to as “discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23”).

Further, as the pressure P1 on the introduction side rises, in the valve portion 40a, as shown in FIG. 5, a slight gap is created between the valve body 43a and the opening 47a, and compressed air is generated in the valve chamber 45. A part of CA1 is leaked as a leaked CAx and is slightly leaked. That is, since the valve chamber 45 has the check valve 25 at the tip of the discharge flow path 48 and the connecting hose 32b on the downstream side, the pressure P2 in the valve chamber 45 also gradually increases. As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure P2 in the valve chamber 45 is a portion of the area S2 acting on the thin-walled portion 43b of the diaphragm 43, that is, the entire thin-walled portion 43b excluding the area of the opening 47a (strictly speaking, the valve body 43a). It acts on a relatively large area of the area (including the peripheral part of). The pushing force F2 acting on the thin portion 43b is the product of the pressure P2 in the valve chamber 45 and the area S2, F2 = P2 × S2. Since the area S2 of the thin-walled portion 43b on which the pressure P2 acts is wider than the area S1 of the valve body 43a on which the pressure P1 acts, even if the pressure P2 is lower than the pressure P1, the influence as the pushing force F2 is large.

Then, when both the pressure P1 on the introduction side and the pressure P2 in the valve chamber 45 increase to a predetermined pressure sufficiently higher than the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23, the push-up force F1 on the valve body 43a side and the push-up force on the thin-walled portion 43b side are pushed up. The pushing force "F1 + F2" of the diaphragm 43, which is the sum of the forces F2, exceeds the predetermined pushing force based on the urging force of the urging spring 44. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the entire diaphragm 43 is largely displaced, and the valve portion 40a is opened. That is, the valve body 43a is separated from the opening 47a, and the introduction flow path 47, the valve chamber 45, and the discharge flow path 48 are in a conductive state. The pressure P1 on the introduction side immediately before the valve opening is sufficiently higher than the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23, and the high-pressure compressed air CA1 on the introduction flow path 47 side at once passes through the valve chamber 45 and the discharge flow path due to the valve opening. Flow to 48. The pressure P3 on the discharge side rapidly increases (see FIG. 11), and high-pressure injection air CA2 is output from the discharge flow path 48 toward the check valve 25 and further toward the injection nozzle 31 of the mixing output unit 22c on the downstream side of the check valve 25. ..

On the other hand, the pressure P1 on the introduction side suddenly decreases (see FIG. 11), and the diaphragm 43 eventually switches from valve opening to valve closing. That is, the pressure P2 in the valve chamber 45 also decreases, and the predetermined pushing force based on the urging force of the urging spring 44 is superior to the pushing force "F1 + F2" of the diaphragm 43 based on both pressures P1 and P2, and the valve portion 40a The valve body 43a closes the opening 47a of the introduction flow path 47. The pressure P3 on the discharge side becomes sufficiently low, and the pressure P1 on the introduction side starts to rise again. The pressure P1 on the introduction side is increased again by the leak CAx until the diaphragm 43 is opened. Then, by repeating the above, a high-pressure pulsed injection air CA2 is generated in the injection air generation unit 22a including the valve device 24 (see FIG. 11).

[About the operation of the vehicle cleaning system 20]
As shown in FIG. 2, in the non-operating state of the first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b of the vehicle cleaning system 20, the valve device 24 of the injection air generation unit 22a has the valve unit 40a closed. The valve body 43a blocks the introduction flow path 47 (see FIG. 4). Further, the check valve 25 of the injection air generation unit 22a and the check valve 27 of the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b are also closed. Further, in the flow path switching valve 26 of the cleaning liquid storage portion 22b, the valve body 53a is in a neutral position. In the chamber 29, the piston 29b is in the most extruded state, and the cleaning liquid Ws is not stored in the storage chamber 29y.

Then, in the upper ECU 100, the corresponding first is based on the adhesion of foreign matter such as raindrops to the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a of the first and second ranging sensors 11 and 12, or at predetermined time intervals regardless of the presence or absence of foreign matter. When a cleaning command is issued to the second cleaning devices 21a and 21b, the air pump 23 of the cleaning devices 21a and 21b and the washer pump 13b of the washer device 13 are sequentially driven through the front and rear ECUs 101 and 102.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the present embodiment, for example, the washer pump 13b is first driven for a predetermined period T1, and then the washer pump 13b is stopped, and then the air pump 23 is driven for a predetermined period T2.

That is, first, the washer pump 13b is driven for a predetermined period T1 from the time t1 to the time t2 based on the cleaning command. When the cleaning liquid Ws is pumped from the washer pump 13b based on the drive of the washer pump 13b, the diaphragm 53 of the flow path switching valve 26 of the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b bends to the secondary side, and the first introduction flow. The valve body 53a is displaced so as to open the opening 51d of the path 51y and close the opening 52d of the second discharge flow path 52z, and the flow path switching valve 26 is in the primary side valve open state. The cleaning liquid Ws that has passed through the flow path switching valve 26 is then opened of the check valve 27, and is further introduced into the chamber 29 via the introduction flow path 28x and the relay flow path 28z of the storage portion joint 28. Further, the cleaning liquid Ws that has passed through the check valve 27 is also introduced from the discharge flow path 28y side of the storage portion joint 28 to the second introduction flow path 52y of the flow path switching valve 26.

Here, in the flow path switching valve 26, the cleaning liquid Ws flows into the secondary side as well as the primary side, but in the diaphragm 53, the supply pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws acts on the valve body 53a and the thin portion 53b. The valve open state on the primary side is maintained by the pressure balance with the secondary side on which the supply pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws acts only on the thin portion 53b. That is, in order to maintain the secondary side valve closed state, in the chamber 29, a retracting operation is performed against the urging force of the urging spring 29c of the piston 29b by the cleaning liquid Ws, and the storage chamber 29y and the connection hose 32h around it are performed. , 32g, 32f, and sufficient cleaning liquid Ws is stored in the second valve chamber 52x of the flow path switching valve 26. Further, since the secondary side valve closed state is maintained, even if the washer pump 13b continues to be driven with sufficient cleaning liquid Ws stored in the above-mentioned flow path including the chamber 29, more cleaning liquid is used. The storage of Ws can be suppressed. In other words, if the washer pump 13b is extra-driven in consideration of changes in the ambient temperature, the driving voltage, the viscosity of the cleaning liquid Ws, etc., the same amount of cleaning liquid Ws can be stored each time.

Then, based on the stop of the washer pump 13b, when the pumping of the cleaning liquid Ws is stopped as shown in FIG. 8, the check valve 27 is closed. That is, when viewed from the chamber 29 side, both the primary side and the secondary side of the flow path switching valve 26 are open, but the flow path on the primary side of the flow path switching valve 26 is blocked. It switches to the state where only the flow path on the secondary side is opened. In the chamber 29, the piston 29b that receives the urging force of the urging spring 29c starts the extrusion operation. In the flow path switching valve 26, the supply pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws disappears on the primary side, while the supply pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws based on the extrusion operation of the piston 29b from the chamber 29 acts on the secondary side. The valve is switched to the next valve open state. That is, in the flow path switching valve 26, the diaphragm 53 bends to the primary side, the opening 51d of the first introduction flow path 51y is closed, and the opening 52d of the second discharge flow path 52z is opened. Is displaced, and the secondary side valve is open and the primary side is closed.

By these operations, the cleaning liquid Ws extruded from the chamber 29 does not return to the primary side of the flow path switching valve 26 by the check valve 27, but goes to the mixing output unit 22c via the secondary side of the flow path switching valve 26. Derived. In this case, a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid Ws is filled in the mixing flow path 33 including the introduction flow path 30x and the discharge flow path 30z of the joint 30 for the mixing section, and the supply of the injection air CA2 from the injection air generation section 22a is awaited. The drive of the washer pump 13b of the present embodiment, which is the starting point for filling the mixing flow path 33 with the cleaning liquid Ws, has a general purpose of injecting the cleaning liquid Ws directly from the injection nozzle 31 to remove and clean foreign matter. Unlike this, it is possible to suppress the driving period, driving power, and the like, and it is possible to suppress the cleaning liquid Ws used to a very small amount. The amount of the cleaning liquid Ws filled in the mixing flow path 33 can be easily set by changing the size of the storage chamber 29y of the chamber 29 or the like.

Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the air pump 23 is driven during a predetermined period T2 from the time t3 to the time t4 after the washer pump 13b is stopped. When the compressed air CA1 is supplied from the air pump 23 based on the drive of the air pump 23, the operations shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 of the valve device 24 described above are performed, and a pulse-like injection is performed at a pressure higher than the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23. Air CA2 is generated. In the state shown in FIG. 9, the valve device 24 raises the pressure of the compressed air CA1 to a pressure sufficiently higher than the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23 based on the drive of the air pump 23. It is the previous state. The state shown in FIG. 10 is a state in which the valve device 24 is in the fully open state shown in FIG. 6 and outputs air having a pressure sufficiently higher than the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23 as the injection air CA2. .. Then, the high-pressure pulsed injection air CA2 generated by the valve device 24 by repeating these operations is introduced into the mixing output unit 22c via the check valve 25.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, since the mixing flow path 33 of the mixing output unit 22c is filled with the cleaning liquid Ws, when the high-pressure pulsed injection air CA2 is introduced into the mixing flow path 33, this The gas-liquid mixed fluid X in which the injection air CA2 and the cleaning liquid Ws dispersed in a small particle size by the injection air CA2 are mixed is injected from the injection port 31a of the injection nozzle 31. The gas-liquid mixed fluid X in which the cleaning liquid Ws and the jet air CA2 are mixed is sprayed onto the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a of the first and second ranging sensors 11 and 12 shown in FIG.

That is, in the present embodiment, unlike the embodiment in which only the cleaning liquid Ws and only the injection air CA2 are sprayed, the high-pressure injection air CA2 itself and the cleaning liquid Ws dispersed in a small particle size by the injection air CA2 are each sprayed at a high speed. It is possible to spray on the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a. As a result, foreign matter such as raindrops that may adhere to the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a can be effectively removed and cleaned, which contributes to good maintenance of distance measurement accuracy. Moreover, since the injection air CA2 having a pressure sufficiently higher than the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23 can be generated, it can be realized by using a small air pump 23.

The effect of this embodiment will be described.
(1) Each of the cleaning devices 21a and 21b of the vehicle cleaning system 20 of the present embodiment has a pressure higher than the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23 by using the compressed air CA1 supplied from the air pump 23 in the injection air generation unit 22a. By operating the valve device 24 so as to accumulate the pressure up to the pressure and then discharge the pressure to the downstream side, the pulsed injection air CA2 at high pressure is generated. That is, it is possible to generate the injected air CA2 with improved foreign matter removing performance without increasing the size of the air pump 23. Further, the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b and the mixing output unit 22c are provided, and the cleaning liquid Ws is mixed with the high-pressure pulsed injection air CA2 generated by the injection air generation unit 22a to form a high-pressure pulsed injection air CA2. The gas-liquid mixed fluid X mixed with the cleaning liquid Ws dispersed in a small particle size is sprayed at high pressure and high speed toward the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a of the distance measuring sensors 11 and 12. As a result, the removal and cleaning of foreign matter adhering to the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a can be improved with a small amount of cleaning liquid Ws. Further, since the cleaning liquid Ws to be mixed with the jet air CA2 is temporarily stored and supplied in the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b, a small amount of the cleaning liquid Ws required for cleaning is supplied as compared with the direct supply by the washer pump 13b. It can be stably supplied. In other words, since a small amount of cleaning liquid Ws is required, only a small drive (short-time drive) of the washer pump 13b can be used to stabilize the cleaning liquid Ws due to changes in the ambient temperature, drive voltage, viscosity of the cleaning liquid Ws, etc. each time. Although there is concern about the supply, it is possible to absorb the change each time by setting the structure to temporarily store the battery in the chamber 29 as in the present embodiment. Therefore, the same amount of cleaning liquid Ws can be supplied each time, which can contribute to the improvement of the stability of the cleaning power.

(2) In the injection air generation unit 22a, the valve unit 40a of the valve device 24 closes the introduction flow path 47 of the compressed air CA1 by the valve body 43a, and discharges the compressed air CA1 supplied from the air pump 23 to the air pump 23. Accumulates to a pressure higher than the pressure P0. Further, the valve portion 40a and the check valve 25 also function as auxiliary mechanisms, and at the time of the above-mentioned accumulating pressure, the leaked CAx of the compressed air CA1 is generated from the introduction flow path 47 side, and the accumulating pressure is generated on the leaking side (valve chamber 45 or the like). conduct. Next, the valve body 43a is opened based on both pressures P1 and P2 accumulated in the introduction flow path 47 side and the leakage side (valve chamber 45, etc.), and the compressed air CA1 accumulated in the introduction flow path 47 side is used. Output to the discharge flow path 48. Then, after that, the valve body 43a is configured to be closed and returned so that the pressure can be accumulated again on the introduction flow path 47 side. With such an air pump 23, a valve device 24, and a check valve 25, pulsed injection air CA2 can be generated at high pressure.

(3) The chamber 29 constituting the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b can be realized by a simple configuration using the storage case 29a, the piston 29b, and the urging spring 29c. Further, since the storage of the stored cleaning liquid Ws is derived by using the urging force of the urging spring 29c provided in the chamber 29 itself, the chamber 29 is highly independent except for the flow path of the cleaning liquid Ws, and the chamber 29 can be freely arranged. You can expect effects such as increasing the degree.

(4) The flow path switching valve 26 constituting the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b has a common primary side flow path between the washer pump 13b and the chamber 29 and a secondary side flow path between the chamber 29 and the mixing output unit 22c. It can be opened and closed complementarily by the diaphragm 53, and is configured as one valve. Then, the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b checks the flow path switching valve 26 and checks the flow path at times such as when the cleaning liquid Ws is supplied from the washer pump 13b side, when the supply is stopped, and when the cleaning liquid Ws is taken out from the chamber 29. It can be realized by a simple configuration using two valves of the valve 27.

(5) By providing the check valve 25 on the downstream side of the valve device 24 in the injection air generation unit 22a, it is possible to more reliably accumulate pressure (increase in pressure P2) on the downstream side of the valve unit 40a.

(6) Control is performed so that the end of the period T2 for driving the air pump 23 is later than the end of the period T1 for driving the washer pump 13b. That is, if the cleaning liquid Ws remains on each of the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a, it may become a foreign substance. Therefore, by stopping the driving of the air pump 23 after the driving of the washer pump 13b, only the injection air CA2 is used later on each sensing surface 11a. , 12a can be sprayed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid Ws from remaining on the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the vehicle cleaning system and the cleaning method will be described. In the present embodiment, the configuration of the chambers 29 of the first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b and the operation related thereto are slightly different from those of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the differences will be mainly described.

As shown in FIG. 12, in the chamber 29 of the present embodiment, the urging spring 29c is omitted, while the air introduction connecting portion 29g is provided on the other end surface side of the storage case 29a, and the urging force of the urging spring 29c is provided. The operation is changed from the operation by the pressure of the compressed air CA1 from the air pump 23. The introduction flow path 29z inside the air introduction connection portion 29g communicates with the space on the back surface side of the piston 29b, that is, the space on the opposite side of the piston 29b itself from the storage chamber 29y for storing the cleaning liquid Ws.

Further, the flow path of the compressed air CA1 between the air pump 23 and the valve device 24 and the chamber 29 are connected to each other by using, for example, an air branch joint 34 made of a T-shaped joint. The air branch joint 34 includes an introduction side connection portion 34a and first and second discharge side connection portions 34b, 34c, and the introduction side connection portion 34a and the first discharge side connection portion 34b are aligned with each other. The second discharge side connection portion 34c is orthogonal to each other. The introduction flow path 34x inside the introduction side connection portion 34a and the first and second discharge flow paths 34y and 34z inside the first and second discharge side connection portions 34b and 34c communicate with each other. The connection hose 32a used in the first embodiment connecting the air pump 23 and the valve device 24 is divided into two parts, the connection hoses 32a1 and 32a2, and the introduction side connection portion 34a uses the connection hose 32a1. In addition, the first discharge side connection portion 34b is connected to the valve device 24 by using the connection hose 32a2. The second discharge side connection portion 34c is connected to the air introduction connection portion 29g of the chamber 29 by using the connection hose 32k. The connecting hoses 32a1, 32a2, 32k are also made of a flexible material such as a rubber hose as described above.

The operation and operation of this embodiment will be described.
[About the operation of the vehicle cleaning system 20]
As shown in FIG. 11, in the present embodiment as well, for example, the washer pump 13b is first driven for a predetermined period T1, and then the washer pump 13b is stopped, and then the air pump 23 is driven for a predetermined period T2.

First, based on the drive of the washer pump 13b, when the cleaning liquid Ws is pumped from the washer pump 13b as shown in FIG. 13, the diaphragm 53 of the flow path switching valve 26 of the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b bends to the secondary side, and the flow path. The switching valve 26 is maintained in the primary side valve open state and the secondary side valve closed state as in the first embodiment. The cleaning liquid Ws that has passed through the flow path switching valve 26 is introduced into the chamber 29 via the check valve 27 and the storage portion joint 28. In the chamber 29, the piston 29b is retracted by the cleaning liquid Ws, and sufficient cleaning liquid Ws is stored in the storage chamber 29y, the connecting hoses 32h, 32g, 32f around the storage chamber 29y, the second valve chamber 52x of the flow path switching valve 26, and the like. Will be done. Since the storage chamber 29y of the chamber 29 can be configured to be larger by omitting the urging spring 29c, when the storage amount of the cleaning liquid Ws is increased or the storage amount is the same as that of the first embodiment, the chamber 29 It can be miniaturized. Further, since the urging force of the urging spring 29c does not act on the retreat of the piston 29b, the pressure required for the retreat can be small.

Next, when the pumping of the cleaning liquid Ws is stopped based on the stop of the washer pump 13b, the check valve 27 is closed as in the first embodiment. On the other hand, as a different operation, the chamber 29 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the urging spring 29c is omitted and the piston 29b is extruded by receiving the pressure of the compressed air CA1 from the air pump 23 later. The piston 29b is not extruded. Further, in the flow path switching valve 26, although the supply pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws disappears on the primary side, the supply pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws from the chamber 29 does not act on the secondary side, so that the diaphragm 53, for example, returns to bending. , The valve body 53a is in the neutral position. In this case, although a slight gap is generated between the valve body 53a and the opening 52d of the second discharge flow path 52z, the cleaning liquid Ws does not leak significantly from the second valve chamber 52x to the second discharge flow path 52z side. not.

Next, when the compressed air CA1 is supplied from the air pump 23 based on the drive of the air pump 23, the operations shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 of the valve device 24 described above are performed, and the valve device 24 is pulsed at a pressure higher than the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23. The injection air CA2 of the above is generated in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In the state shown in FIG. 15, the valve device 24 raises the pressure of the compressed air CA1 to a pressure sufficiently higher than the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23 based on the drive of the air pump 23. It is the previous state. The state shown in FIG. 16 is a state in which the valve device 24 is in the fully open state shown in FIG. 6 and outputs air having a pressure sufficiently higher than the discharge pressure P0 of the air pump 23 as the injection air CA2. .. Then, the high-pressure pulsed injection air CA2 generated by the valve device 24 by repeating these operations is introduced into the mixing output unit 22c via the check valve 25.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, a part of the compressed air CA1 from the air pump 23 is also supplied to the chamber 29 and used for the pressing operation of the piston 29b. When the pressing operation of the piston 29b is started, the flow path switching valve 26 is switched to the secondary side valve open state by the supply pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws based on the extrusion operation, and a predetermined amount of the cleaning liquid Ws is supplied to the flow path switching valve 26. It is led out to and filled in the mixing flow path 33 of the mixing output unit 22c via the secondary side of the above.

Then, as shown in FIG. 16, when the high-pressure pulsed injection air CA2 is introduced into the mixing flow path 33, small particles are formed by the injection air CA2 and the injection air CA2 as in the first embodiment. The gas-liquid mixed fluid X in which the cleaning liquid Ws dispersed in the diameter is mixed is injected from the injection nozzle 31. As a result, also in this embodiment, the foreign matter that may adhere to the sensing surfaces 11a and 12a of the distance measuring sensors 11 and 12 shown in FIG. 1 is effectively removed and cleaned.

The effect of this embodiment will be described.
(1) Also in this embodiment, the same effects as those of the above-mentioned first embodiment (1), (2), (4) to (6) can be obtained.

(2) The chamber 29 of the present embodiment constituting the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b uses a storage case 29a and a piston 29b, and uses a part of the compressed air CA1 from the air pump 23 to derive the stored cleaning liquid Ws. Therefore, it can be realized with a simple configuration in which the urging spring 29c is omitted.

(Third Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the vehicle cleaning system will be described. In the present embodiment, the configuration of the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b of the first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b and the operation related thereto are different from those of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the differences will be mainly described.

In the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, individual parts of the flow path switching valve 26, the check valve 27, the storage unit joint 28, and the chamber 29 are connected to the connecting hoses 32e, 32f, 32g, 32h. It was configured by connecting with. On the other hand, the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b of the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 has the same function as the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b of the first embodiment, and is configured as one unit of the cleaning liquid storage device 60a.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, the cleaning liquid storage device 60a of the present embodiment includes a case body 61 having a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape and a lid member 62 that closes the opening of the case body 61. The introduction side connection portion 61a is provided at the center of the bottom of the main body 61, and the discharge side connection portion 62a is provided at the center of the lid member 62. The introduction side connection portion 61a and the discharge side connection portion 62a extend in opposite directions along the axial direction of the case body 61. The introduction side connection portion 61a is connected to the connection hose 32d extending from the washer pump 13b, and the discharge side connection portion 62a is connected to the second introduction side connection portion 30b of the mixing portion joint 30.

The introduction flow path 61x inside the introduction side connection portion 61a communicates with the storage chamber 65 partitioned by the piston 70 described later in the case body 61, and the discharge flow path 62x inside the discharge side connection portion 62a is a lid. It communicates with the storage chamber 65 through the inner cylinder portion 62b extending in the axial direction from the inner center of the member 62 to near the bottom of the case body 61. Between the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b (discharge flow path 62x) and the opening 61b of the introduction flow path 61x, a valve body 66 made of a substantially disk-shaped rubber sheet or the like is formed between the openings 62c and 61b. It is arranged so that it can be displaced.

The valve body 66 has a flange portion 66a. A washer 67 is mounted on the valve body 66 so as to abut on the discharge side connecting portion 62a side of the flange portion 66a. A washer 68 is attached to the tip of the inner cylinder portion 62b. The washers 67 and 68 have the same configuration and have an annular shape and have through holes 67a and 68a. The washer 68 comes into contact with the locking portion 62d provided on the outer peripheral surface of the tip end portion of the inner tubular portion 62b on the introduction side connecting portion 61a side. An urging spring 69 is interposed between the washers 67 and 68. The urging spring 69 starts from the washer 68 that is locked to the locking portion 62d of the inner cylinder portion 62b, and urges the valve body 66 through the washer 67.

On the discharge side connection portion 62a side of the washer 68, an annular piston 70 is arranged around the inner cylinder portion 62b. The piston 70 includes an annular rubber packing 71 and a washer 72 arranged on the discharge side connection portion 62a side of the rubber packing 71. The piston 70 has an urging spring 73 arranged around the inner cylinder portion 62b interposed between its washer 72 and the lid member 62. The urging spring 73 urges the piston 70 so as to face the washer 68 side, that is, to face the cleaning liquid Ws (see FIG. 19A) flowing in from the through hole 68a of the washer 68. In the vertical cross section (axial cross section) of the rubber packing 71 constituting the piston 70, the pressure receiving portion 71a, which is a portion that receives the inflow pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws, has an inverted Y shape that is bifurcated toward the washer 68 side. ing. The pressure receiving portion 71a is also in close contact with each of the inner peripheral surface of the case body 61 and the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder portion 62b, and suppresses leakage of the cleaning liquid Ws from between both peripheral surfaces while receiving pressure from the cleaning liquid Ws. are doing.

In a situation where the cleaning liquid Ws does not flow from the opening 61b of the introduction flow path 61x by the washer pump 13b, the valve body 66 receives the urging force of the urging spring 69 and closes the opening 61b of the introduction flow path 61x. At this time, the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b is not blocked by the valve body 66 and is in an open state. Further, the piston 70 is arranged at a position where the pressure receiving portion 71a receives the urging force of the urging spring 73 and abuts on the locking portion 62d of the inner cylinder portion 62b. In this case, the volume of the storage chamber 65 partitioned by the piston 70 is the minimum.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 19A, when the cleaning liquid Ws is pumped by driving the washer pump 13b, the valve body 66 blocking the opening 61b of the introduction flow path 61x causes the urging force of the urging spring 69. It is displaced so as to be pushed up against it, the opening 61b is sufficiently opened, and the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b is closed. The cleaning liquid Ws flowing in from the opening 61b of the introduction flow path 61x proceeds to the inner side through the through hole 67a of the washer 67, and further penetrates the through hole 68a of the washer 68 without leaking from the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b. Proceed to the back side where the piston 70 is located. The piston 70 receives the pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws and retracts against the urging force of the urging spring 73, and the volume of the storage chamber 65 expands as the piston 70 retracts. Then, the piston 70 (washer 72) retracts to a position where it abuts on the regulation wall 62e of the lid member 62, so that the volume of the storage chamber 65 is maximized and a certain amount of cleaning liquid Ws is stored in the cleaning liquid storage device 60a. It has become.

Further, when the drive of the washer pump 13b is stopped while the piston 70 is retracted and a certain amount of the cleaning liquid Ws is stored, the inflow pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws from the opening 61b of the introduction flow path 61x also disappears, and FIG. 19 (b) ), The valve body 66 returns to the state of closing the opening 61b of the introduction flow path 61x, and the backflow of the cleaning liquid Ws from the opening 61b to the introduction flow path 61x side is suppressed. On the other hand, since the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b is opened with the return of the valve body 66, the piston 70 receiving the urging force of the urging spring 73 collects the cleaning liquid Ws stored in the storage chamber 65. Extrude. At this time, since the opening 61b on the introduction flow path 61x side is closed, the cleaning liquid Ws is discharged from the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b via the discharge flow path 62x by the extrusion operation of the piston 70. To. The space on the back surface side of the piston 70 is opened to the atmosphere through the communication hole 62f provided in the lid member 62 so that the pushing operation of the piston 70 and the retracting operation described above can be smoothly performed.

As described above, the cleaning liquid storage device 60a of the present embodiment stores a certain amount of cleaning liquid Ws based on the drive of the washer pump 13b, and discharges a constant amount of the cleaning liquid Ws to the mixing output unit 22c side based on the stop of driving of the washer pump 13b. It works like that. That is, the cleaning liquid storage device 60a of the present embodiment performs the same operation as the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b of the first embodiment, but switches the flow path switching between opening and closing of the flow paths 61x and 62x based on the operation of the valve body 66. One unit has a function as a valve, a function as a check valve for suppressing the backflow of the cleaning liquid Ws to the introduction flow path 61x side, and a function as a chamber for storing and pushing out the cleaning liquid Ws based on the operation of the piston 70. It is composed of.

The effect of this embodiment will be described.
(1) In the present embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment is obtained, but the system is configured by using the cleaning liquid storage device 60a as one unit as the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b, so that the system configuration is simple. be able to.

(2) The cleaning liquid storage device 60a of the present embodiment can be configured by using a disk sheet-shaped valve body 66 that can be easily manufactured.
(Fourth Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the vehicle cleaning system will be described. In the present embodiment, the configuration of the cleaning liquid storage device 60b is slightly different from that of the cleaning liquid storage device 60a of the third embodiment. Hereinafter, the differences will be mainly described.

The substantially disk sheet-shaped valve body 66 and the urging spring 69 used in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 18 are used to have a function as a flow path switching valve and a check valve. On the other hand, in the cleaning liquid storage device 60b of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 20, the valve body 66 and the urging spring 69 are replaced with the diaphragm 75, and the circumference of the piston 70 is similarly configured.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 20, in the cleaning liquid storage device 60b of the present embodiment, the case body 61 first has a cylindrical shape, the lid member 62 used in the third embodiment is on the discharge side, and the lid is on the introduction side. Each member 63 is used. The lid members 62 and 63 close each opening of the case body 61, respectively. The lid member 62 has a discharge side connection portion 62a, a discharge flow path 62x, an inner cylinder portion 62b, and the like, as in the third embodiment. The lid member 63 has an introduction side connecting portion 63a in the central portion, and the inside is an introduction flow path 63x. The opening 63b of the introduction flow path 63x on the inner surface of the lid member 63 projects in a cylindrical shape so as to face the inner cylindrical portion 62b of the lid member 62. Further, on the inner surface of the lid member 63, a cylindrical holding wall portion 63c is provided at an intermediate position between the opening portion 63b and the case main body 61. The holding wall portion 63c holds the peripheral portion 75x of the diaphragm 75 by fitting it into the holding groove 63d provided near the intermediate portion in the axial direction. The diaphragm 75 has a valve body 75a at the center thereof, and a thin portion 75b is formed between the valve body 75a and the peripheral edge portion 75x. The valve body 75a of the diaphragm 75 is displaceably arranged between the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b (discharge flow path 62x) and the opening 63b of the introduction flow path 63x.

Further, a penetrating flow path 76 penetrating in the radial direction is provided in a portion on the base end side of the holding groove 63d (holding portion of the peripheral edge portion 75x of the diaphragm 75) of the holding wall portion 63c, and further, the penetrating flow path 76 is provided. A peripheral flow path 77 is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the holding wall portion 63c and the inner peripheral surface of the case body 61. A movable piece portion 75c projects from the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral edge portion 75x of the diaphragm 75 in the peripheral surface flow path 77. The movable piece portion 75c is inclined so that the tip portion (diameter outer portion) faces the downstream side from the base end portion (diameter inner portion), and the tip portion hits the inner peripheral surface of the case body 61. I'm in contact. The storage chamber 65 for the cleaning liquid Ws in the present embodiment is a space partitioned by the piston 70 and the diaphragm 75 on the downstream side of the movable piece portion 75c protruding into the peripheral flow path 77. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the locking portion 62d (see FIG. 18) of the inner cylinder portion 62b is omitted, and the position regulation on the extrusion side of the piston 70 is such that the pressure receiving portion 71a of the rubber packing 71 constituting the piston 70 holds the holding wall. This is done by contacting the tip of the portion 63c.

In a situation where the cleaning liquid Ws by the washer pump 13b does not flow from the opening 63b of the introduction flow path 63x, the valve body 75a of the diaphragm 75 is between the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b and the opening 63b of the introduction flow path 63x. It is in the middle position of, and is in a state where both openings 62c and 63b are not positively closed. Further, the piston 70 receives the urging force of the urging spring 73 and is arranged at a position where the pressure receiving portion 71a abuts on the tip end portion of the holding wall portion 63c. In this case, the volume of the storage chamber 65 partitioned by the piston 70 is the minimum.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 21A, when the cleaning liquid Ws is pumped by driving the washer pump 13b, the valve body 75a of the diaphragm 75 is displaced so as to be pushed up, and the opening 63b of the introduction flow path 63x is sufficiently opened. The open state is set, and the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b is closed. The cleaning liquid Ws flowing in from the opening 63b of the introduction flow path 63x once goes outward in the radial direction by the diaphragm 75, passes through the through flow path 76 and the peripheral flow path 77, and does not leak from the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b. Proceed to the back side where the piston 70 is located. At that time, when the movable piece portion 75c protruding from the peripheral flow path 77 tries to flow from the introduction flow path 63x side to the piston 70 side, its tip portion flows away from the inner peripheral surface of the case body 61. Open the road. The piston 70 retracts under the pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws, and the volume of the storage chamber 65 expands as the piston 70 retracts. Then, the piston 70 (washer 72) retracts to a position where it abuts on the regulation wall 62e of the lid member 62, so that the volume of the storage chamber 65 is maximized and a certain amount of cleaning liquid Ws is stored in the cleaning liquid storage device 60b. It has become.

Further, when the drive of the washer pump 13b is stopped while the piston 70 is retracted and a certain amount of the cleaning liquid Ws is stored, the inflow pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws from the opening 63b of the introduction flow path 63x also disappears. At this time, the piston 70 receiving the urging force of the urging spring 73 tries to push out the cleaning liquid Ws stored in the storage chamber 65, and displaces the valve body 75a of the diaphragm 75 to the opposite side. Then, as shown in FIG. 21B, the valve body 75a closes the opening 63b of the introduction flow path 63x. At this time, the tip of the movable piece portion 75c protruding from the peripheral flow path 77 comes into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the case body 61, and this flow path is closed. As a result, the backflow of the cleaning liquid Ws from the opening 63b to the introduction flow path 63x side is suppressed. On the other hand, the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b is opened due to the displacement of the valve body 75a of the diaphragm 75, and the cleaning liquid Ws is discharged from the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b by the extrusion operation of the piston 70. It is discharged via 62x.

As described above, also in the cleaning liquid storage device 60b of the present embodiment, a certain amount of cleaning liquid Ws is stored based on the drive of the washer pump 13b, and a constant amount of the cleaning liquid Ws is stored on the mixing output unit 22c side based on the stop of driving of the washer pump 13b. Similar to the third embodiment, one unit is provided with a flow path switching valve function, a check valve function, and a chamber function while having a function of operating to discharge.

The effect of this embodiment will be described.
(1) Also in the present embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment is obtained, but the cleaning liquid storage device 60b, which is integrated into one unit as the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b, is used to form a simple system configuration. be able to.

(2) In the cleaning liquid storage device 60b of the present embodiment, by using the diaphragm 75, the urging spring for urging the valve body can be omitted.
(Fifth Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment of the vehicle cleaning system will be described. In the present embodiment, the configuration of the cleaning liquid storage device 60c is slightly different from that of the cleaning liquid storage device 60b of the fourth embodiment. Hereinafter, the differences will be mainly described.

The diaphragm 75 used in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 20 was used to have the functions of a flow path switching valve and a check valve. On the other hand, in the cleaning liquid storage device 60c of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 22, the diaphragm 75 is replaced with the umbrella valve 80, and the circumference of the piston 70 is similarly configured.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 22, the cleaning liquid storage device 60c of the present embodiment uses a cylindrical case body 61 and lid members 62 and 63 that close each opening of the case body 61, respectively. On the inner peripheral surface of the case body 61, a plate-shaped holding wall portion 61c is provided along the axis orthogonal direction (diameter direction) for holding the umbrella valve 80. The umbrella valve 80 has a shaft portion 80a and a movable disk portion 80b at one end of the shaft portion 80a. The holding wall portion 61c holds the shaft portion 80a of the umbrella valve 80 by fitting it into the holding hole 61d provided in the central portion. Further, the holding wall portion 61c is provided with an opening 61e around the holding hole 61d (holding portion of the shaft portion 80a of the umbrella valve 80). The opening 61e communicates with the introduction flow path 63x and functions as a substantial opening of the introduction flow path 63x. The movable disk portion 80b of the umbrella valve 80 is displaceably arranged between the opening portion 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b (discharge flow path 62x) and the introduction flow path 63x and the communication opening portion 61e. The displacement of the movable disk portion 80b at this time is such that the central portion of the movable disk portion 80b connected to the shaft portion 80a serves as a fulcrum, and the outer peripheral portion abuts or separates from the holding wall portion 61c. The storage chamber 65 for the cleaning liquid Ws in the present embodiment is a space partitioned by the holding wall portion 61c, the movable disk portion 80b of the umbrella valve 80, and the piston 70.

In a situation where the cleaning liquid Ws by the washer pump 13b does not flow from the opening 61e communicating with the introduction flow path 63x, the movable disk portion 80b of the umbrella valve 80 has the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b and the introduction flow path 63x. Although each of the communication openings 61e is closed, it is not in a positively closed state. Further, the piston 70 receives the urging force of the urging spring 73 and is arranged at the most extruded position. In this case, the volume of the storage chamber 65 partitioned by the piston 70 is the minimum.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 23A, when the cleaning liquid Ws is pumped by driving the washer pump 13b, the outer peripheral portion of the movable disk portion 80b of the umbrella valve 80 is displaced so as to be pushed up, and the introduction flow path 63x The opening 61e that communicates with is opened, and the opening 62c of the inner cylinder 62b is sufficiently closed. The cleaning liquid Ws flowing in from the opening 61e communicating with the introduction flow path 63x proceeds to the inner side where the piston 70 is located without leaking from the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b. The piston 70 retracts under the pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws, and the volume of the storage chamber 65 expands as the piston 70 retracts. Then, the piston 70 (washer 72) retracts to a position where it abuts on the regulation wall 62e of the lid member 62, so that the volume of the storage chamber 65 is maximized and a certain amount of cleaning liquid Ws is stored in the cleaning liquid storage device 60c. It has become.

Further, when the drive of the washer pump 13b is stopped with the piston 70 retracted and a certain amount of the cleaning liquid Ws is stored, the inflow pressure of the cleaning liquid Ws from the opening 61e communicating with the introduction flow path 63x also disappears. At this time, the piston 70 receiving the urging force of the urging spring 73 tries to push out the cleaning liquid Ws stored in the storage chamber 65, and displaces the movable disk portion 80b of the umbrella valve 80 to the opposite side. .. Then, as shown in FIG. 23B, the movable disk portion 80b closes the opening 61e communicating with the introduction flow path 63x, and the backflow of the cleaning liquid Ws from the opening 61e to the introduction flow path 63x side is suppressed. Will be done. On the other hand, when the movable disk portion 80b receives the pressure from the cleaning liquid Ws, the umbrella valve 80 itself is pushed in the axial direction, and the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b is opened. The cleaning liquid Ws is discharged from the opening 62c of the inner cylinder portion 62b via the discharge flow path 62x by the extrusion operation of the piston 70.

As described above, also in the cleaning liquid storage device 60c of the present embodiment, a certain amount of cleaning liquid Ws is stored based on the drive of the washer pump 13b, and a constant amount of the cleaning liquid Ws is stored on the mixing output unit 22c side based on the stop of driving of the washer pump 13b. Similar to the fourth embodiment, one unit is provided with a flow path switching valve function, a check valve function, and a chamber function while having a function of operating to discharge.

The effect of this embodiment will be described.
(1) In the present embodiment as well, the same effect as that of the first embodiment is obtained, but the cleaning liquid storage device 60c, which is integrated into one unit as the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b, is used to form a simple system configuration. can do.

(2) In the cleaning liquid storage device 60c of the present embodiment, by using the umbrella valve 80, the urging spring for urging the valve body can be omitted.
(Sixth Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a sixth embodiment of the vehicle cleaning system will be described. This embodiment is a simplified configuration version of the first or second embodiment in which the connection configuration of the first and second cleaning devices 21a and 21b are changed and the parts used are omitted. Hereinafter, the differences will be mainly described.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 24, the discharge side connection portion 25f of the check valve 25 and the relay connection portion 28c of the storage portion joint 28 are connected by a connection hose 32c, and the flow path switching valve 26 is the second. 2 The discharge side connection portion 52c and the injection nozzle 31 are connected by a connection hose 32i. Therefore, the chamber 29, the mixing portion joint 30, and the connecting hoses 32g and 32j used in the first embodiment can be omitted, and the air branch joint 34 and the connecting hose 32k can be further omitted from the second embodiment. Can be omitted.

With such a configuration, the entire flow path that communicates the flow path switching valve 26, the connection hose 32h, the joint 28 for the storage portion, the connection hose 32c, the check valve 25, etc. functions as a chamber (storage chamber). , A certain amount of cleaning liquid Ws is stored based on the drive of the washer pump 13b. Further, since the injection air CA2 from the valve device 24 also flows through the flow path in which the cleaning liquid Ws is stored, the storage portion joint 28 also functions as a mixing portion joint, and the cleaning liquid Ws and the injection air CA2 are mixed. The gas-liquid mixed fluid X can be injected from the injection nozzle 31. That is, in the present embodiment, the connection portions such as the flow path switching valve 26, the connection hose 32h, the storage portion joint 28, the connection hose 32c, and the check valve 25 are mixed with the cleaning liquid storage portion 22b of the first or second embodiment. It is also used as an output unit 22c and is configured as a simplified version.

When a plurality of sets of the first cleaning device 21a (or the second cleaning device 21b) of the connection mode shown in FIG. 24 are configured, for example, four sets as shown in FIG. 25, the first introduction of the flow path switching valve 26 is performed. It is also possible to collectively connect the connection hose 32d connected to the side connection portion 51b to one washer pump 13b, and to configure the washer pump 13b in common. This is because the timing for injecting the gas-liquid mixing fluid X from the injection nozzle 31 is the drive timing of the air pump 23, and the cleaning liquid Ws can be collectively stored by driving one washer pump 13b.

The effect of this embodiment will be described.
(1) In the present embodiment, the chamber 29, the joint 30 for the mixing portion, and the connecting hoses 32g and 32j used in the first embodiment can be omitted while obtaining the same effect as that of the first embodiment, which is simple. It can be a system configuration.

(2) As shown in FIG. 25, a simple system configuration can be obtained by configuring the connection configuration in which the cleaning liquid Ws is collectively supplied from one washer pump 13b to a plurality of sets of cleaning devices 21a (, 21b).

The above embodiment can be modified and implemented as follows. The above embodiment and the following modified examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically consistent range.
The configurations of the injection air generation unit 22a, the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b, and the mixing output unit 22c may be appropriately changed.

For example, the valve device 24 and the check valve 25 may be integrally configured in the injection air generation unit 22a. Further, if two valve devices 24 are connected in series and the valve device 24 on the downstream side functions as a check valve, the check valve 25 can be omitted. Further, if another valve body is provided in addition to the valve body 43a of the diaphragm 43 of the valve device 24 to open and close the opening 48a of the discharge flow path 48, the newly provided valve body functions as a check valve. Not only the check valve 25 is omitted, but also one valve device 24 is required.

Further, in the injection air generation unit 22a, the valve device 24 is omitted, and the compressed air CA1 generated based on the drive of the air pump 23 is directly used as the injection air CA2 for the injection of the gas-liquid mixed fluid X from the injection nozzle 31. You may. Also in this configuration, it is possible to improve the removal and cleaning of foreign matter adhering to the object to be cleaned by using a small amount of cleaning liquid Ws. Further, since the cleaning liquid Ws to be mixed with the jet air CA2 is temporarily stored and supplied in the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b, a small amount of cleaning liquid Ws required for cleaning is stabilized as compared with the direct supply by the washer pump 13b. Can be supplied.

Further, in the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b, the storage unit joint 28 may be configured integrally with the chamber 29, integrally with the check valve 27, or integrally with the flow path switching valve 26. Further, the flow path switching valve 26 and the check valve 27 may be integrally configured. Further, the flow path switching valve 26 may be composed of two valves or the like in which the functional portion on the primary side and the functional portion on the secondary side are separated.

Further, in the mixing output unit 22c, the injection nozzle 31 and the mixing unit joint 30 may be integrally configured. Further, the joint 30 for the mixing portion may be integrally configured with the check valve 25 of the injection air generation portion 22a or integrally with the flow path switching valve 26 of the cleaning liquid storage portion 22b.

In addition to the above, the configurations of the injection air generation unit 22a, the cleaning liquid storage unit 22b, and the mixing output unit 22c may be appropriately changed.
-For the coordinated control of the washer pump 13b and the air pump 23, the drive timings of the washer pumps 13b and the air pumps 23 may be appropriately changed. In the above embodiment, the washer pump 13b is driven and then the air pump 23 is driven. However, for example, the washer pump 13b may be driven while the air pump 23 is being driven. Even in this case, it is preferable to control the air pump 23 after the end of driving rather than the end of driving of the washer pump 13b.

The distance measuring sensors 11 and 12 were arranged at the center of the front end of the vehicle 10 and the center of the rear end of the vehicle 10, respectively, but even if they are arranged on the left and right sides of the vehicle 10. good.

-The distance measuring sensors 11 and 12 (sensing surfaces 11a and 12a) are targeted for cleaning, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a camera that images the surroundings of the vehicle 10, sensors other than these optical sensors, and other than the sensors, for example, the headlight 15, the tail lamp 16, the mirror 17, and the like shown in FIG. 1 may be targeted for cleaning.

10 ... Vehicle, 11, 12 ... 1st and 2nd ranging sensors (cleaning target), 13b ... Washer pump, 15 ... Headlight (cleaning target), 16 ... Tail lamp (cleaning target), 17 ... Mirror (cleaning target) , 20 ... Vehicle cleaning system, 22a ... Injection air generation unit, 22b ... Cleaning liquid storage unit, 22c ... Mixing output unit, 23 ... Air pump, 24 ... Valve device, 25 ... Check valve (auxiliary mechanism), 26 ... Flow path switching Valve (flow path switching part), 27 ... check valve (flow path switching part), 29 ... chamber, 29a ... storage case (case member), 29b ... piston, 29c ... urging spring (urging member), 29y ... storage Chamber, 31 ... Injection nozzle, 40a ... Valve portion (also functions as an auxiliary mechanism), 43a ... Valve body, 47 ... Introduction flow path, 48 ... Discharge flow path, 51y ... First introduction flow path, 51z ... First discharge flow Path, 52y ... Second introduction flow path, 52z ... Second discharge flow path, 53 ... Diaphragm, 60a, 60b, 60c ... Cleaning fluid storage device (cleaning fluid storage unit), CA1 ... Compressed air (injection air), CA2 ... Injection air , CAx ... Leakage, Ws ... Cleaning liquid, X ... Gas-liquid mixed fluid, P0 ... Discharge pressure, P1, P2 ... Pressure.

Claims (11)

A gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) that is a mixture of the injection air (CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and the cleaning liquid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b) is injected. A vehicle cleaning system (20) that sprays a nozzle (31) onto a cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of a vehicle (10) to remove and clean foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target. ,
The air pump and the valve device (24) are included, and the compressed air (CA1) supplied from the air pump is used to accumulate a pressure higher than the discharge pressure (P0) of the air pump, and after the accumulation, the pressure is discharged to the downstream side. An injection air generation unit (22a) having a configuration that generates the pulsed injection air at high pressure based on the operation of the valve device, and the injection air generation unit (22a).
A cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) having a structure including a chamber (29) for storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side and being able to derive the cleaning liquid stored in the chamber when mixed with the injection air.
The gas-liquid mixed fluid, which is a mixture of the high-pressure pulsed injection air generated by the injection air generation unit and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit, is blown from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target. A vehicle cleaning system equipped with a mixed output unit (22c) that is configured to be attached. The injection air generation unit
A valve portion (40a) that closes the compressed air introduction flow path (47) by a valve body (43a) and stores the compressed air supplied from the air pump to a pressure higher than the discharge pressure of the air pump.
It is based on the accumulated pressure on the leak side due to the leakage (CAx) of the compressed air from the introduction flow path side at the time of the accumulator and the accumulated pressure (P1, P2) on the introduction flow path side and the leak side. The valve opening of the valve body, the output of the compressed air accumulated on the introduction flow path side based on the valve opening of the valve body to the discharge flow path (48), and the output of the compressed air to the discharge flow path. The vehicle cleaning system according to claim 1 , further comprising an auxiliary mechanism (25, 40a) configured to allow the valve body to return to the closed valve so as to be able to accumulate pressure on the introduction flow path side. A gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) in which the injection air (CA1, CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and the cleaning liquid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b) are mixed. Is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove and clean the foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target in the vehicle cleaning system (20). There,
A cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) having a configuration in which the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side is stored and the stored cleaning liquid can be derived when mixed with the injection air.
A mixing output unit (22c) having a configuration in which the gas-liquid mixed fluid, which is a mixture of the injection air and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit, is sprayed from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target.
Equipped with
The cleaning liquid storage unit includes a chamber (29) for storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side, and has a configuration that can be derived when the cleaning liquid stored in the chamber is mixed with the injection air. can be,
The chamber includes a case member (29a), a piston (29b) movably arranged in the case member, and a storage chamber (29y) for storing the cleaning liquid, which is partitioned by the piston in the case member. ) Includes an urging member (29c) that urges in the direction of reduction.
Based on the supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side, the cleaning liquid storage unit retracts the piston against the urging force of the urging member in the chamber to store the cleaning liquid in the storage chamber. Based on the suspension of supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side, the piston is pushed out by the urging force of the urging member in the chamber, and the cleaning liquid stored in the storage chamber is led out to the mixing output unit. Also, a cleaning system for vehicles . A gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) in which the injection air (CA1, CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and the cleaning liquid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b) are mixed. Is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove and clean the foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target in the vehicle cleaning system (20). There,
A cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) having a configuration in which the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side is stored and the stored cleaning liquid can be derived when mixed with the injection air.
A mixing output unit (22c) having a configuration in which the gas-liquid mixed fluid, which is a mixture of the injection air and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit, is sprayed from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target.
Equipped with
The cleaning liquid storage unit includes a chamber (29) for storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side, and has a configuration that can be derived when the cleaning liquid stored in the chamber is mixed with the injection air. can be,
The chamber includes a case member (29a) and a piston (29b) movably arranged in the case member, and is partitioned by the piston in the case member to store the cleaning liquid. (29y) is configured to operate in a direction of contraction with compressed air supplied from the air pump side.
Based on the supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side, the cleaning liquid storage unit retracts the piston in the chamber to store the cleaning liquid in the storage chamber, and supplies the compressed air supplied from the air pump side. A vehicle cleaning system configured to push out the piston in the chamber and lead the cleaning liquid stored in the storage chamber to the mixing output unit. A gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) in which the injection air (CA1, CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and the cleaning liquid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b) are mixed. Is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove and clean the foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target in the vehicle cleaning system (20). There,
A cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) having a configuration in which the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side is stored and the stored cleaning liquid can be derived when mixed with the injection air.
A mixing output unit (22c) having a configuration in which the gas-liquid mixed fluid, which is a mixture of the injection air and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit, is sprayed from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target.
Equipped with
The cleaning liquid storage unit includes a chamber for storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side and a flow path switching unit (26, 27), and is based on the supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side to the washer pump side. The flow path between the chamber and the chamber is open, and the flow path between the chamber and the mixing output unit is closed, and the washer pump side is based on the suspension of supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side. It is configured to be switchable so that the flow path between the chamber and the chamber is closed and the flow path between the chamber and the mixing output unit is open based on the derivation of the cleaning liquid from the chamber. Also, a vehicle cleaning system. The flow path switching unit is
A primary side flow path including a first introduction flow path (51y) communicating with the washer pump side and a first discharge flow path (51z) communicating with the chamber, and a second introduction flow path (52y) communicating with the chamber. ) And the secondary side flow path including the second discharge flow path (52z) communicating with the mixing output unit can be complementarily opened and closed by a common diaphragm (53). When,
The vehicle cleaning system according to claim 5 , further comprising a check valve (27) arranged between the first discharge flow path and the chamber. The vehicle cleaning system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the cleaning liquid storage unit is configured to be capable of storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side as a fixed amount each time. .. The cleaning liquid storage unit is a one-unit cleaning liquid storage device (60a, 60b, 60c) having a function of storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side and deriving the stored cleaning liquid when mixing with the injection air. ), The vehicle cleaning system according to any one of claims 1 to 7 . A gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) in which the injection air (CA1, CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and the cleaning liquid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b) are mixed. Is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove and clean the foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target in the vehicle cleaning system (20). There,
A cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) having a configuration in which the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side is stored and the stored cleaning liquid can be derived when mixed with the injection air.
A mixing output unit (22c) having a configuration in which the gas-liquid mixed fluid, which is a mixture of the injection air and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit, is sprayed from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target.
Equipped with
The cleaning liquid storage unit is a one-unit cleaning liquid storage device (60a, 60b, 60c) having a function of storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side and deriving the stored cleaning liquid when mixing with the injection air. ) Is configured as
The cleaning liquid storage device has an opening (61b, 63b, 61e) of an introduction flow path (61X, 63x) from the washer pump side and an opening (62c) of a discharge flow path (62x) to the mixing output section side. Equipped with a single valve body (66,75a, 80b) displaceable from and to
The valve body is
When the cleaning liquid is pumped by driving the washer pump, the openings (61b, 63b, 61e) of the introduction flow path (61X, 63x) are opened and the opening (62c) of the discharge flow path (62x) is opened. ) Is displaced so as to be in a closed state, and
When the washer pump drive is stopped, the opening (61b, 63b, 61e) of the introduction flow path (61X, 63x) is closed and the opening (62c) of the discharge flow path (62x) is open. A vehicle cleaning system configured to be displaced. A gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) in which the injection air (CA1, CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and the cleaning liquid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b) are mixed. Is sprayed from the injection nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove and clean the foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target in the vehicle cleaning system (20). There,
The air pump and the valve device (24) are included, and the compressed air (CA1) supplied from the air pump is used to accumulate a pressure higher than the discharge pressure (P0) of the air pump, and after the accumulation, the pressure is discharged to the downstream side. An injection air generation unit (22a) having a configuration that generates the pulsed injection air at high pressure based on the operation of the valve device, and the injection air generation unit (22a).
A cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) having a configuration in which the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side is stored and the stored cleaning liquid can be derived when mixed with the injection air.
A mixing output unit (22c) having a configuration in which the gas-liquid mixed fluid, which is a mixture of the injection air and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit, is sprayed from the injection nozzle toward the cleaning target.
Equipped with
The cleaning liquid storage unit includes a storage flow path for storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side and a flow path switching unit (26, 27), and the washer is based on the supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side. The flow path between the pump side and the storage flow path is opened, and the flow path between the storage flow path and the injection nozzle side is closed, so that the supply of the cleaning liquid from the washer pump side is stopped. Based on this, the flow path between the washer pump side and the storage flow path is closed, and the flow path between the storage flow path and the injection nozzle side is based on the derivation of the cleaning liquid from the storage flow path. Is configured to be switchable so that it is in the open state.
A vehicle cleaning system in which the storage flow path is configured so that the injection air from the valve device also flows, and the storage flow path is also used in the cleaning liquid storage section and the mixing output section. A gas-liquid mixed fluid (X) that is a mixture of the injection air (CA2) generated based on the drive of the air pump (23) and the cleaning liquid (Ws) supplied based on the drive of the washer pump (13b) is injected. Cleaning method of the vehicle cleaning system (20) that sprays the nozzle (31) onto the cleaning target (11, 12, 15, 16, 17) of the vehicle (10) to remove and clean the foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target. And,
In the injection air generation unit (22a) including the air pump and the valve device (24), compressed air (CA1) supplied from the air pump is used to store pressure up to a pressure higher than the discharge pressure (P0) of the air pump. Based on the operation of the valve device that discharges to the downstream side after accumulating pressure, the pulsed injection air is generated at high pressure.
In the cleaning liquid storage unit (22b) including the chamber (29) for storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the washer pump side, the cleaning liquid stored in the chamber is led out when mixed with the injection air.
In the mixing output unit (22c), the gas-liquid mixed fluid obtained by mixing the high-pressure pulsed injection air generated by the injection air generation unit and the cleaning liquid introduced from the cleaning liquid storage unit is injected into the injection nozzle. A cleaning method for a vehicle cleaning system, which is sprayed toward the cleaning target.

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