Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60S—SERVICING, CLEANING, REPAIRING, SUPPORTING, LIFTING, OR MANOEUVRING OF VEHICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60S1/00—Cleaning of vehicles
  • B60S1/02—Cleaning windscreens, windows or optical devices
  • B60S1/56—Cleaning windscreens, windows or optical devices specially adapted for cleaning other parts or devices than front windows or windscreens
  • B60S1/566—Cleaning windscreens, windows or optical devices specially adapted for cleaning other parts or devices than front windows or windscreens including wiping devices
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60S—SERVICING, CLEANING, REPAIRING, SUPPORTING, LIFTING, OR MANOEUVRING OF VEHICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60S1/00—Cleaning of vehicles
  • B60S1/02—Cleaning windscreens, windows or optical devices
  • B60S1/04—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers
  • B60S1/06—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers characterised by the drive
  • B60S1/16—Means for transmitting drive
  • B60S1/18—Means for transmitting drive mechanically
  • B60S1/20—Means for transmitting drive mechanically by cable drives; by flexible shafts
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60S—SERVICING, CLEANING, REPAIRING, SUPPORTING, LIFTING, OR MANOEUVRING OF VEHICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60S1/00—Cleaning of vehicles
  • B60S1/02—Cleaning windscreens, windows or optical devices
  • B60S1/04—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers
  • B60S1/32—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers characterised by constructional features of wiper blade arms or blades
  • B60S1/34—Wiper arms; Mountings therefor
  • B60S1/3402—Wiper arms; Mountings therefor with means for obtaining particular wiping patterns
  • B60S1/3404—Wiper arms; Mountings therefor with means for obtaining particular wiping patterns the wiper blades being moved substantially parallel with themselves
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60S—SERVICING, CLEANING, REPAIRING, SUPPORTING, LIFTING, OR MANOEUVRING OF VEHICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60S1/00—Cleaning of vehicles
  • B60S1/02—Cleaning windscreens, windows or optical devices
  • B60S1/04—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers
  • B60S1/32—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers characterised by constructional features of wiper blade arms or blades
  • B60S1/34—Wiper arms; Mountings therefor
  • B60S1/3425—Constructional aspects of the arm
  • B60S1/3427—Arm piece, link piece and mounting head formed as one element

Definitions

• the invention relates to a cleaning device for an environment recognition device of a vehicle, as is provided in particular in an autonomously driving vehicle in order to keep the field of view of a camera, for example, clear in the event of contamination with dirt, rain or the like, in order that error-free detection of the environment around the vehicle can be made possible.
• the applicant's subsequently published DE 10 2019 121 910 A1 has disclosed a cleaning device for an environment recognition device of a vehicle having the features of the preamble of claim 1 .
• the known cleaning device is distinguished by a wiper blade which is coupled via a wiper arm to an electric motor.
• the drive shaft of the electric motor which is coupled to the wiper arm, runs with a constant spacing to a vision window which is curved in the shape of a circular segment and along which the wiper blade is moved.
• the cleaning device according to the invention for an environment recognition device of a vehicle having the features of claim 1 has the advantage that it allows a relatively compact construction and an advantageous arrangement of the components required for the cleaning device.
• the wiper arm is at least indirectly connected, at a connection point, to an endless drive means which is guided around two deflection elements which are rotatable about a respective axis of rotation, in that the drive means is movable by an electric motor, that the electric motor is configured as a reversible electric motor, and that the electric motor is configured to move the connection point on the drive means back and forth between two reversal positions, which are arranged preferably in the region of the deflection elements.
• the invention is thus substantially distinguished by the fact that the wiper arm is coupled to an endless drive means, which is in turn driven by the electric motor.
• An endless drive means is typically to be understood here in the context of the invention to mean a belt or a chain.
• connection of the electric motor to the drive means connected thereto provides that the electric motor is coupled to one of the deflection elements for the purposes of moving the drive means. It is thus possible in particular for the electric motor to be arranged at a marginal region of the drive means, which may in turn also be a marginal region within or outside a housing of the cleaning device. Furthermore, no complex clutches, connecting elements or the like are required between the electric motor and the drive means.
• the drive means is configured as a toothed belt
• the deflection elements are configured as toothed-belt pulleys which interact with the toothed belt. In this way, in particular, slippage between the drive means and the electric motor is prevented, which allows positionally accurate determination of the location of the wiper blade or of the wiper arm on the vision field of the vision window if, for example, the angle of rotation of the drive shaft of the electric motor is detected for this purpose.
• the wiper arm is coupled to a guide rail which forms a linear guide for the wiper arm.
• the guide rail is arranged parallel to a rectilinear section of the drive means, wherein the connection point of the wiper arm to the drive means is situated in the region of the rectilinear section of the guide rail.
• the region of the connection point is, during the movement of the drive means, always situated at the same (height) level, whereby the design can be of relatively simple construction and the wear and the material loading in the region of the connection point are minimized.
• the drive mechanism of the cleaning device is arranged at least partially within a protective housing which is connectable to a housing of the environment recognition device, or within the housing of the environment recognition device itself, and that the wiper arm projects in regions out of the protective housing or out of the housing of the environment recognition device.
• At least one, preferably two, sealing elements are provided which are arranged on opposite sides of the wiper arm in the region of an entry region of the wiper arm into the protective housing or of the housing and which are configured to seal off the interior space of the protective housing or of the housing with respect to the wiper arm.
• the at least one sealing element is configured as a sealing strip which is composed of rubber or a similar elastic material and which is arranged so as to be in abutting contact with the wiper arm.
• the wiper arm is configured as a punched/bent part with a flat cross section, wherein a wide side of the cross section, at least in the region of the wiper blade, is arranged perpendicular to a wiper blade plane.
• said wiper blade is arranged exchangeably on the wiper arm.
• Figure 1 shows, in a perspective illustration, a cleaning device according to the invention for an environment recognition device of a vehicle
• Figure 2 is an exploded illustration of the main components of the cleaning device of Figure 1 ,
• Figure 3 shows the constituent parts of the cleaning device as per Figure 2 in the assembled state in a perspective illustration
• Figure 4 is a perspective illustration of constituent parts of a drive mechanism of the cleaning device.
• Figure 5 shows a longitudinal section through a subregion of the cleaning device as per Figure 1 .
• Figure 1 illustrates the main components of an environment recognition device 100.
• the environment recognition device 100 is arranged for example in the roof region of a vehicle and serves, in the case of an at least partially autonomously, preferably fully autonomously driving vehicle, to detect the environment around the vehicle in order to allow driving operation and, for example in the event of hazard situations being identified, to initiate corresponding countermeasures (for example braking of the vehicle).
• the environment recognition device 100 has a housing 102 which, in the exemplary embodiment illustrated, is of approximately cuboidal or cubic form. On one vertically oriented side surface of the housing 102, there is arranged a vision window 104 which is of planar form and which is composed for example of glass. Furthermore, within the housing 102, there is situated a sensor device 106 (not illustrated in detail), in particular in the form of a camera or the like which detects visible light and which is configured to detect the environment around the vehicle through a vision field of the vision window 104. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the vision window 104 covers approximately the entirety of the side surface, assigned thereto, of the housing 102, and is therefore substantially likewise of rectangular form.
• the environment recognition device 100 furthermore has a cleaning device 10.
• the cleaning device 10 comprises a wiper blade 12 which is of rectilinear or elongate form and which has a wiper rubber 13 which is situated in abutting contact with the vision window 104 in order to be able to clean the latter.
• the arrangement of the wiper blade 12 is such that its longitudinal side or longitudinal direction extends parallel to the lateral edges 107, 108 of the vision window 104.
• the movement of the wiper blade 12 takes place, in the direction of the double arrow 14, perpendicularly with respect to its longitudinal extent or longitudinal direction between two reversal positions Ui and U2, which are indicated in figure 1 and which are situated close to the edges 107, 108 or to the marginal region of the vision window 104.
• the wiper blade 12 is fastened exchangeably to a wiper arm 16.
• the wiper arm 16 is composed of a punched/bent part which is composed for example of metal or sheet metal and which has a rectangular cross section.
• a section 17 of the wiper arm 16 which runs parallel to the vision window 14 and which forms a wide side of the cross section of the wiper blade 12
• the wiper blade 12 is fastened (exchangeably) to the wiper arm 16 in the region of two connection points 18, 19, wherein a wiper blade plane 1 1 of the wiper blade 12 runs perpendicular to the wide side of the cross section of the wiper blade 12 or perpendicular to the plane of the vision window 104 (figure 3).
• a further section 21 which is situated substantially above the housing 102, of the wiper arm 16 (see Figure 2) is arranged within a protective housing 20 of the cleaning device 10.
• the protective housing 20 is for example likewise composed of metal (alternatively of plastic), is in particular of multi-part form, and has a cuboidal external shape.
• the protective housing 20 covers at least a partial region of the top side of the housing 102.
• the protective housing 20 projects beyond the housing 102 laterally and on the side facing toward the vision window 104, that is to say projects beyond inter alia the two side surfaces 109, 1 10 of the housing 102.
• the protective housing 20 has a bracket plate 22 which serves for the fastening of an electric motor 24 for indirectly driving the wiper blade 12.
• the electric motor 24 is, by way of its output shaft 26, connected via a clutch element 27 to a shaft 28 that projects into the protective housing 20.
• the shaft 28 is coupled rotationally conjointly to a toothed-belt pulley 32 which is arranged by means of two bearing elements 29, 31 in the region of the bracket plate 22 and which is mounted rotatably in a first axis of rotation 30.
• a further toothed-belt pulley 33 which is mounted in a second axis of rotation 37, is arranged within the protective housing 20 by means of two further bearing elements 34, 35 so as to be horizontally spaced apart from the toothed-belt pulley 32.
• the two toothed-belt pulleys 32, 33 are arranged within the protective housing 20 at the marginal regions thereof, that is to say they also terminate approximately flush with the housing 102.
• the two toothed-belt pulleys 32, 33 interact with a toothed belt 36 as a drive means 38 of endless form.
• the above-described components connected to the electric motor 24 are in particular constituent parts of a drive mechanism 40.
• the drive mechanism 40 is furthermore distinguished by the fact that that section 21 of the wiper arm 16 which is arranged within the protective housing 20 is fixedly connected to the toothed belt 36 at a connection point 44 by means of a coupling element 42 and multiple fastening screws 43.
• the coupling element 42 is furthermore arranged so as to be operatively connected to a positionally fixed guide rail 45 which is of elongate form and which is likewise arranged within the protective housing 20.
• the guide rail 45 which is in particular arranged parallel to the lower and the upper strand or section 41 of the toothed belt 36 forms a linear guide for the coupling element 42 and thus also for the wiper arm 16 and the wiper blade 12.
• the guide rail 45 makes it possible for the wiper blade 12 or the wiper arm 16 to be moved rectilinearly back and forth between the two reversal positions Ui and U2.
• Figure 3 illustrates the assembled state of the above-described constituent parts of the drive mechanism 40.
• the arrangement of the guide rail 45 and the fastening of the coupling element 42 to the upper strand of the toothed belt 36 can also be seen.
• the electric motor 24 is moved in different directions of rotation until the wiper blade 12 or the wiper arm 16 has in each case reached the reversal position Ui or U2 respectively.
• the corresponding adjustment is made possible for example by way of a detection of the angle of rotation of the output shaft 26 of the electric motor 24.
• the above-described cleaning device 10 or the environment recognition device 100 may be altered or modified in a wide variety of ways without departing from the concept of the invention.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Camera Bodies And Camera Details Or Accessories (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=77564117

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (1)

Citations (7)

Family Cites Families (1)

• 2020
  • 2020-08-26 DE DE202020104939.9U patent/DE202020104939U1/de active Active
• 2021
  • 2021-08-24 WO PCT/EP2021/073336 patent/WO2022043296A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (7)

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