WO2022268553A1

WO2022268553A1 - Device to clean an optical surface of a motor vehicle such as an optical surface of sensor of a detection system

Info

Publication number: WO2022268553A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/065985
Authority: WO
Inventors: Radu-George BUTE
Original assignee: Valeo Systèmes d'Essuyage
Priority date: 2021-06-25
Filing date: 2022-06-13
Publication date: 2022-12-29
Also published as: FR3124460B1; FR3124460A1

Abstract

The present invention related to a device (100) to clean an optical surface (150, 310) of a motor vehicle. The device (100) comprising: a housing (105,305) having an air inlet passage (110) and at least one discharge opening (115); a rotating component (120) having a hub (125), a circumferential periphery wall (135) and a plurality of circumferentially spaced curved blades and at least two air guide channels (140) configured to generate at least one air flow beam (155a, 155b). The circumferential periphery wall (135) comprises at least two apertures (145) along a perimeter of the periphery wall (135), wherein each aperture (145) aligns with each air guide channel (140) at its output end (140b) and configured to discharge the at least one air flow beam (155a, 155b) over the optical surface (150, 310) to swipe the optical surface (150, 310) when each aperture (145) aligns with the at least one opening (115) during the rotation of the rotating component (120).

Description

DEVICE TO CLEAN AN OPTICAL SURFACE OF A MOTOR VEHICLE SUCH AS AN OPTICAL SURFACE OF SENSOR OF A DETECTION SYSTEM

The present invention relates to the field of the detection systems intended for a motor vehicle, in particular for their application in driving assistance devices. It relates more particularly to a device for cleaning such detection systems.

STATE OF THE ART

Motor vehicles are equipped with detection systems to collect information on the environment of the motor vehicle, in particular in order to provide the driver with assistance in the driving and/or the maneuvering of this vehicle. For instance, cameras or other sensors, such as infrared image sensors, are increasingly incorporated into modern vehicles to provide additional information to the driver.

To this end, the detection system is commonly installed on the vehicle in such a way as to collect information on the environment in front, on the environment to the rear and on the environment to the sides of the vehicle. The detection system is therefore generally installed on the front face and/or on the rear face and/or on a rearview mirror of the vehicle.

The detection systems are exposed to the fouling as from dirty water, dust or other types of sprays. Now, such fouling forms an obstacle to the emission and the reception of the information and can disrupt the operation of the detection system, or even render this operation impossible. In some cases, it can result in a deterioration in the efficacy of the detection system or possibly rendering it unusable, or providing an undesirable appearance. Accordingly, it is desirable to periodically clean these optical surfaces of detection systems to reduce or eliminate the build-up of obstructive debris.

Some classical techniques to clean the optical surfaces include ejecting a stream of fluid (water or compressed air) over the surface to be cleaned through a nozzle. Existing nozzles are static nozzles, which covers the complete surface area to be cleaned, and it may affect the cleaning efficiency as the stream of fluid needs to be focused on the complete surface to be cleaned. For instance, the static nozzles may be required to focus on the entire height or length of a LIDAR screen to be cleaned.

Further, in some classical techniques, movement of the nozzle(s) may be controlled by a motor or the like. Hence, existing techniques may employ controllers and motor(s), for example electronic servomotors, to control the movement of the nozzle. Thus, classical cleaning devices are complex and costly. It would be desirable to devise a cleaning technique without the use of the motor and other electronic controllers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to alleviate the problems raised by the prior arts. To be more precise, an object of the invention is to provide a cleaning device that can effectively clean an optical surface of a sensor of a detection system by using a single energy source and without employing components like motors and controllers, i.e., flow guidance is mechanical.

The wording “cleaning” here refers actually to a process to remove the water drops, the dust or dirt particles located on a defined surface.

Another object of the present invention is to provide the cleaning device, which can improve the efficiency of cleaning an optical surface of a sensor of a detecting system by focusing the air flow energy on a portion of the optical surface.

To achieve these objectives, the present invention provides a device to clean an optical surface of a motor vehicle, such as an optical surface of at least one sensor of a detection system.

The device comprises a housing having an air inlet passage to receive incoming air and at least one discharge opening, a rotating component enclosed within the housing, and at least two air guide channels. The rotating component includes a hub, a circumferential periphery wall and a plurality of circumferentially spaced curved blades attached between the hub and the circumferential periphery wall, and extending radially from the hub to the circumferential periphery wall. At least two air guide channels each air guide channel has an input end and an output end. Each air guide channel is defined by two adjacent circumferentially spaced curved blades and configured to generate at least one concentrated air flow beam during the rotation of the rotating component.

Further, the circumferential periphery wall comprises at least two apertures along a perimeter of the periphery wall. Each aperture aligns with each air guide channel at its output end and is configured to discharge the at least one air flow beam over the optical surface to swipe the optical surface when each aperture aligns with the at least one opening during the rotation of the rotating component.

Thus, the discharged air flow beam contributes to clean the optical surface during the rotation of the rotating component.

Advantageously, by using the air flow beam to clean the optical surface, the air source energy can be focused on different portions of the optical surface when the concentrated air flow beam swipes the complete surface during the rotation of the rotating component. This would result in enhancing the efficiency of cleaning compared to the existing cleaning devices.

More advantageously, the present invention would use a single energy source, i.e., the air flow energy to rotate the rotating component and thereby to generate the concentrated air flow beams to swipe the optical surface, without using any motors, controllers, and any additional components. Further, the arrangement of the air guide channel within the rotation component may reduce the turbulence in the air, which results in reducing air flow losses.

In addition, according to the present invention, the movement of the nozzle is directly powered by the incoming air source energy unlike the existing cleaning devices, which employ the motors to control the movement of the nozzle to clean the surface. Thus, no extra power source or control is needed.

According to one characteristic of the present invention, the input end of the each air guide channel is at the vicinity of the hub and the output end is at the vicinity of the circumferential periphery wall.

This arrangement of the air guide channels would advantageously allow the input end to receive the air from the hub and guide the air from the hub to the output end through the air guide channels to discharge out from the circumferential periphery wall. The air guide channels may act as the paddles that pushes the volume of the air to the circumferential periphery wall. This would create rotational movement of the rotating component, and thereby the rotating movement of the at least one aperture.

According to one characteristic of the present invention, the pitch between the blades of each air guide channel is substantially the same.

This would ensure a uniform cleaning across the optical surface. It would be advantageous to have substantially the same pitch between the blades of each air guide channel to minimize the air flow losses and to reduce the turbulence in the air flow to ensure smooth air flow, thereby resulting in low noise and high efficiency.

According to one characteristic of the present invention, at least two air guide channels are distributed circumferentially around the hub.

In an example, two air guide channels may be distributed circumferentially around the hub. In another example, three air guide channels may be distributed circumferentially around the hub. Yet in another example, more than three air guide channels may be distributed circumferentially around the hub. The number of air guide channels may depend on at least one of: perimeter of the rotating component, surface area to be cleaned, distance between the blades in each air guide channel, and a length of the discharge opening. The distance between the blades of each air guide channel may have to be increased with the decreasing number of air guide channels to ensure that the complete area of the surface is cleaned during one rotation of the rotating component.

According to one characteristic of the present invention, a circumferential distance between adjacent air guide channels is substantially the same.

In one embodiment, the circumferential distance between adjacent air guide channels is the same. In another embodiment, the circumferential distance between adjacent air guide channels may be different. However, it would be advantageous to have the same distance between the adjacent air guide channels to effectively use the incoming air flow energy to rotate the rotating component and to generate concentrated air flow beams to swipe the optical surface to be cleaned.

According to one characteristic of the present invention, the width of each air guide channel is substantially the same as the radial length of each aperture.

This would ensure to generate concentrated air flow beams of substantially the same geometry having same air flow parameters. Hence, the complete area of the optical surface can be uniformly cleaned. Further, by having the width of each air guide channel substantially the same as the radial length of each aperture, the air flow losses can be minimized while guiding the air towards the at least one discharge opening.

According to one characteristic of the present invention, the number of apertures and the number of air guide channels are determined in function of the diameter of the rotation component and/or the area of the optical surface to be cleaned.

According to one characteristic of the present invention, the circumferentially spaced curved blades are curved in a direction opposite to the rotation of the rotating component. This type of blades may also be referred to as forward curved blades. This type of forward curved blades may have distinct operating characteristics, which are known to a person skilled in the art, and make them suitable for applications such as cleaning of the surfaces. Further, these curved blades force the air in a downstream direction from the air inlet to the discharge opening.

According to one characteristic of the present invention, the housing includes three discharge openings oriented in different directions to direct three concentrated air flow beams over a single optical surface or over three different optical surfaces.

By having multiple discharge openings, it may be possible to clean different optical surfaces at the same instance. Advantageously, the present invention makes it possible to clean multiple optical surfaces with a single energy source and without using any electronic controllers.

The invention thus proposes a cleaning device, which can effectively clean an optical surface of a sensor of a detection system by using a single energy source and without employing components like motors and controllers.

The present invention also relates to a detection system comprising at least one sensor including an optical surface to be cleaned, a device as has just been described previously.

According to one characteristic of the present invention, the housing of the device includes a single linear discharge opening whose length is substantially the same as the width of the optical surface to be cleaned.

Advantageously, this arrangement ensures to clean the complete optical surface with a single air flow beam when an aperture aligns with the discharge opening during the rotation of the rotating component.

According to one characteristic of the present invention, the present invention is also related to a motor vehicle equipped with a detection system as has just been presented above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To complete the description and to provide a better understanding of the invention, a set of drawings is provided. Said drawings form an integral part of the description and illustrate an embodiment of the invention, which should not be construed as restricting the scope of the invention, but only as an example of how the invention can be carried out. The drawings comprise the following characteristics.

shows a perspective view of a cleaning device for cleaning an optical surface of a detection system of a motor vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

shows a perspective view of a housing of the cleaning device shown in .

shows a perspective view of a rotating component of the cleaning device shown in .

shows a perspective view of a detection system having the cleaning device shown in the and an optical surface to be cleaned, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

shows a perspective view of the detection system shown in the , without the housing of the cleaning device, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

shows a perspective view of a detection system of a motor vehicle, according to other embodiment of the present invention.

shows a perspective view of a detection system of a motor vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

is a front view of a motor vehicle, whose front face is equipped with an optical detection system and an associated cleaning device according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

First of all, it should be noted that while the figures explain the invention in detail for its implementation, they can of course be used to better define the invention as necessary. Likewise, it should be recalled that, for all of the figures, the same elements are designated by the same references.

It should also be noted that, in the following description, the designations “upstream” and “downstream” refer to the direction of flow of the fluids whether they are cleaning or drying fluids, in the cleaning device according to the invention. Thus, the designation “upstream” refers to the side of the device according to the invention through which these fluids are admitted into it, and the designation “downstream” refers to the side of the device according to the invention through which the fluids are dispensed out of it, in particular toward an optical surface of a detection system of a motor vehicle.

Motor vehicles are equipped with detection systems to collect information on the environment of the motor vehicle, in particular in order to provide the driver with assistance in the driving and/or the maneuvering of this vehicle. It will be appreciated that, without departing from the scope of the invention, the motor vehicle may include a number of sensors, devices, and/or systems that are capable of assisting in driving operations. Examples of the various sensors and systems may include one or more of cameras (e.g., independent, stereo, combined image, etc.), infrared (IR) sensors, radio frequency (RF) sensors, ultrasonic sensors (e.g., transducers, transceivers, etc.), RADAR sensors (e.g., object-detection sensors and/or systems), LIDAR systems, odometer sensors and/or devices (e.g., encoders, etc.), orientation sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometer, etc.), navigation sensors and systems (e.g., GPS, etc.), and other ranging, imaging, and/or object-detecting sensors. The sensors may be disposed in an interior space of the vehicle and/or on an outside of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the sensors and systems may be disposed in one or more portions of a vehicle (e.g., the frame, a body panel, a compartment, etc.).

Referring now to different figures 1a to 1c, shows a perspective view of a cleaning device for cleaning an optical surface of a detection system of a motor vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; shows a perspective view of a housing of the cleaning device shown in ; and shows a perspective view of a rotating component of the cleaning device shown in .

The device 100 (shown in ) comprises a housing 105 (shown in ) having an air inlet passage 110 to receive incoming air, for example, compressed air, from an air source (not shown in Figures) and at least one discharge opening 115, and a rotating component 120 (shown in ) enclosed within the housing 105. For example, the rotating component is an impeller. The air inlet passage 110 is located upstream of the rotating component 120 and the at least one discharge opening 115 is disposed downstream of the rotating component 120. The incoming air is drawn from the air inlet passage 110 along a rotational axis of the rotation component 120 and sent in a direction perpendicular to the rotational axis. Although a single air inlet passage 110 is illustrated in the figures 1a and 1b, it should be noted that more than one air inlet passage might be employed to receive the air from the air source.

As can be seen from the , the rotating component 120 includes a hub 125, a circumferential periphery wall 135 and a plurality of circumferentially spaced curved blades 130 attached between the hub 125 and the circumferential periphery wall 135, and extending radially from the hub 125 to the circumferential periphery wall 135. For instance, the material used to make the rotating component 120 including blades may notably be plastic. As can be seen, the blades 130 may be curved and are inclined in a direction of the rotation of the rotating component 120. In operation, the hub 125 of the rotating component 120 receives the incoming air through the air inlet passage and the curved blades are set in motion by the incoming air flow. The curved blades 130 are configured to induce a tangential direction to the air flow with reference to the center of the rotating component 120. It will therefore be understood that the air flow energy and the tangential direction would create a positive movement and contribute to the rotation of the rotating component 120.

The rotation component 120 further comprises at least two air guide channels 140. Each air guide channel 140 may be defined by two adjacent circumferentially spaced curved blades, and includes an input end 140a and an output end 140b. The input end 140a of each air guide channel 140 is at the vicinity of the hub 125 and the output end 140b is at the vicinity of the circumferential periphery wall 135.

In an example, two air guide channels 140 may be distributed circumferentially around the hub 125. In another example, three air guide channels 140 may be distributed circumferentially around the hub 125. Yet in another example, more than three air guide channels 140 may be distributed circumferentially around the hub 125. The number of air guide channels 140 may depend on at least one of: perimeter of the rotating component 120, surface area to be cleaned, distance between the blades 130 in each air guide channel 140, and a length Lh of the discharge opening 115. The distance between the blades 130 of each air guide channel 140 may have to be increased with the decreasing number of air guide channels 140 to ensure that the complete area of the surface is cleaned. This particular configuration makes it possible to allow the input end 140a to receive the air from the hub 125 to the air guide channels 140 and discharge to the output end 140b at the circumferential periphery wall 135. The air guide channels 140 may act as the paddles that pushes the volume of the air to the circumferential periphery wall 135. In an aspect, a circumferential distance between adjacent air guide channels 140 is substantially the same. In one embodiment, the circumferential distance between adjacent air guide channels 140 is the same. In another embodiment, the circumferential distance between adjacent air guide channels 140 may be different. However, it would be advantageous to have the same distance between the adjacent air guide channels 140 to effectively use the incoming air flow energy to rotate the rotating component 120 and to generate concentrated air flow beams.

The circumferential periphery wall 135 of the cleaning device 100 comprises at least two apertures 145 along a perimeter of the periphery wall 135l. Each aperture 145 aligns with each air guide channel 140 at its output end 140b and is configured to discharge the at least one

air flow beam

155a, 155b over the optical surface 150 to swipe the optical surface 150 when each aperture 145 aligns with the at least one opening 115 during the rotation of the rotating component 120. Thus, the discharged

air flow beam

155a, 155b contributes to clean the optical surface 150 during the rotation of the rotating component 120.

According to one characteristic of the present invention, the width W of each air guide channel 140 is substantially the same as the radial length L of each aperture 145. This would ensure to generate concentrated

air flow beams

155a, 155b of substantially the same geometry and same air flow parameters. Hence, the complete area of the optical surface 150 can be uniformly cleaned. Further, by having the width W of each air guide channel 140 substantially the same as the radial length L of each aperture 145, the air flow losses can be minimized while guiding the air towards the discharge opening 115. Further, the number of apertures 145 and the number of air guide channels 140 may be determined in function of the diameter of the rotation component 120 and/or the area of the optical surface 150 to be cleaned.

Advantageously, by using the air flow beam(s) 155a, 155b to clean the optical surface 150, the air source energy can be focused on different portions of the optical surface 150 when the

air flow beam

155a, 155b swipes the complete surface during the rotation of the rotating component 120. This would result in enhancing the efficiency of cleaning compared to the existing cleaning devices. More advantageously, the present invention would use a single energy source, i.e., the incoming air to rotate the rotating component 120 and thereby to swipe the optical surface 150, without using any motors, controllers, and any additional components. Further, the air guide channel 140 arrangement within the rotation component 120 may reduce air turbulence so that sufficient air source energy can be obtained to generate the

air flow beams

155a, 155b that are used to swipe the optical surface 150. In addition, in the present invention, the movement of the aperture 145 is directly powered by the incoming air source unlike the existing cleaning devices, which employ the motors to control the movement of the nozzle or the aperture along the surface 150 to be cleaned.

According to an embodiment, the present invention relates to a detection system 200 comprising at least one sensor including an optical surface 150 to be cleaned, and a cleaning device 100 as has just been described previously. shows a perspective view of a detection system 200 having the cleaning device 100 shown in the and an optical surface 150 to be cleaned, according to an embodiment of the present invention. shows a perspective view of the detection system 200 shown in the , without the housing of the cleaning device 100, according to an embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from the , the housing 105 of the device 100 includes a single linear discharge opening 115 whose length is substantially the same as the width Wo of the optical surface 150 to be cleaned. Advantageously, this arrangement ensures to clean the complete optical surface 150 with a single concentrated air flow beam when an aperture 145 aligns with the discharge opening 115 during the rotation of the rotating component 120.

shows a perspective view of a detection system of a motor vehicle, according to other embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from the , the detection system 300 includes a cleaning device 305 and an optical surface 310 to be cleaned. In this embodiment, the cleaning device 305 includes a housing 307 having three

openings

315a, 315b, and 315c unlike a single opening in the previous embodiment. The three

openings

315a, 315b, and 315c of the housing 307 may be configured to discharge three concentrated

air flow beams

320a, 320b, and 320c over the optical surface 310 to be cleaned when the at least one aperture aligns with the three

openings

315a, 315b, and 315c during the rotation of the rotating component 120. Although the housing 307 with three

openings

315a, 315b, and 315c are described in this embodiment, it should be understood to a person skilled in the art that the number of

openings

315a, 315b, and 315 in the housing 307 are not limited to three. For instance, the housing 307 can be provided with two openings to discharge two concentrated air flow beams over the optical surface 310 to be cleaned when the at least one aperture aligns with the two openings during the rotation of the rotating component 120.

shows a perspective view of a detection system of a motor vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from the , the detection system 400 includes a cleaning device 305 and a plurality of

optical surfaces

420a, 420b and 420c to be cleaned. In this embodiment, the cleaning device 305 includes a housing 307 having three

openings

315a, 315b, and 315c to clean three

optical surfaces

420a, 420b and 420c, unlike a single optical surface in the first embodiments. It is understood to a person skilled in the art that the number of openings in the housing and the number of optical surfaces to be cleaned are not limited to three, and the numbers can vary based on the requirement.

The present invention also relates to a motor vehicle equipped with the detection system as has just been presented. is a front view of a motor vehicle 500, whose front face is equipped with an optical detection system and an associated cleaning device according to the invention. As can be seen from the , the motor vehicle 500 is equipped with a detecting system 200, which includes the cleaning device 100 as discussed in previous embodiments. Although the front face of the motor vehicle shown in the is provided with the detection system 200, it is understood to a person skilled in the art that the detection system 200 can be provided on other faces of the vehicle. For instance, the detection system 200 may be provided on at least one of the following positions: the front of a vehicle, the rear of a vehicle, the roof of a vehicle, at least one side of a vehicle, a vehicle undercarriage, and the interior of a vehicle.

Further, in , although shown in the form of a car, it should be appreciated that the vehicle described herein may include any conveyance or model of a conveyance, where the conveyance was designed for moving one or more tangible objects, such as people, animals, cargo, and the like. The term “vehicle” does not require that a conveyance moves or is capable of movement. Typical vehicles may include but are in no way limited to cars, trucks, motorcycles, busses, automobiles, trains, railed conveyances, boats, ships, marine conveyances, submarine conveyances, airplanes, space craft, flying machines, human-powered conveyances, and the like.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included in the scope of the following claims.

Claims

A device (100) to clean an optical surface (150, 310) of a motor vehicle, such as an optical surface of at least one sensor of an detection system, said device (100) comprising:
a housing (105,305) having an air inlet passage (110) to receive incoming air and at least one discharge opening (115);
a rotating component (120) enclosed within the housing(105, 305), wherein the rotating component (120) includes a hub (125), a circumferential periphery wall (135) and a plurality of circumferentially spaced curved blades (130) attached between the hub (125) and the circumferential periphery wall (135), and extending radially from the hub (125) to the circumferential periphery wall (135);
at least two air guide channels (140) each having an input end (140a) and an output end (140b), wherein each air guide channel (140) is defined by two adjacent circumferentially spaced curved blades and is configured to generate at least one concentrated air flow beam (155a, 155b) during the rotation of the rotating component (120);
characterized in that the circumferential periphery wall (135) comprises at least two apertures (145) along a perimeter of the periphery wall (135), wherein each aperture (145) aligns with each air guide channel (140) at its output end (140b) and is configured to discharge the at least one concentrated air flow beam (155a, 155b) over the optical surface (150, 310) to swipe the optical surface (150, 310) when each aperture (145) aligns with the at least one discharge opening (115) during the rotation of the rotating component (120).
The device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the input end (140a) of the each air guide channel (140) is at the vicinity of the hub (125) and the output end (140b) is at the vicinity of the circumferential periphery wall (135).
The device (100) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the pitch between the blades (130) of each air guide channel (140) is substantially the same.
The device (100) as claimed in any one of preceding claims, wherein the at least two air guide channels (140) is distributed circumferentially around the hub (125).
The device (100) as claimed in any one of preceding claims, wherein a circumferential distance between adjacent air guide channels (140) is substantially the same.
The device (100) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the number of apertures (145) and the number of air guide channels (140) are determined in function of the diameter of the rotation component (120) and/or the area of the optical surface (150, 310) to be cleaned.
The device (100) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the circumferentially spaced curved blades (130) are curved in a direction opposite to the rotation of the rotating component (120).
The device (300, 400) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the housing (105) includes three discharge openings (315a, 315b, 315c) oriented in different directions to direct three air flow beams (320a, 320b, 320c) over a single optical surface (310) or over three different optical surfaces (420a, 420b, 420c)
A detection system (200) comprising at least one sensor including an optical surface to be cleaned, and a device as claimed in any one of preceding claims configured to clean the optical surface.
The detection system (200) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the housing (105) of the device (100) includes a single linear discharge opening (115) whose length (Lh) is substantially the same as the width (Wo) of the optical surface (150) to be cleaned.