Obstruction-removal system and method for vehicle-camera lens
DCFirst Claim
1. A system for removing an obstruction from a protective lens cover of an external camera of a vehicle, the camera having an optical axis and a field of view, the vehicle including a source of compressed gas, the obstruction-removal system comprising:
- a gas line that connects to the compressed-gas source, is routed to adjacent the camera, and includes a discharge nozzle that positions adjacent the camera lens cover to deliver a blast of the compressed gas across the lens cover to remove the obstruction, wherein the nozzle has an airflow axis and in use the nozzle airflow axis is positioned aimed substantially laterally relative to the optical axis, but not parallel to the lens cover, and instead at a descending angle to the lens cover, and wherein the nozzle is positioned outside of the camera field of view so that the nozzle does not obstruct the camera field of view;
a rain shield that is positioned covering the lens cover of the camera from above, that is positioned outside of the camera field of view so that it does not obstruct the camera field of view, and to which the discharge of the gas line is mounted; and
a control valve operable to selectively release the compressed gas from the compressed-gas source through the gas line onto the lens cover.
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Abstract
A clearing system removes water and other obstructions from an external-mounted rear-view camera of a vehicle. The system includes an air line connected to a compressed-air source and routed to the camera, and a control valve operable to selectively release compressed air from the air source through the air line. A discharge nozzle of the air line is positioned adjacent a lens cover of the camera to deliver an air blast across the lens cover to remove adhered water. The nozzle is positioned outside of the field of view of the camera so that it does not obstruct the view of the camera. In various embodiments, the compressed-air source and the camera are preexisting and the clearing system is retrofit onto the vehicle, the compressed-air source and/or the camera are provided with the clearing system as a kit, and/or the clearing system is installed as original equipment on the vehicle.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system for removing an obstruction from a protective lens cover of an external camera of a vehicle, the camera having an optical axis and a field of view, the vehicle including a source of compressed gas, the obstruction-removal system comprising:
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a gas line that connects to the compressed-gas source, is routed to adjacent the camera, and includes a discharge nozzle that positions adjacent the camera lens cover to deliver a blast of the compressed gas across the lens cover to remove the obstruction, wherein the nozzle has an airflow axis and in use the nozzle airflow axis is positioned aimed substantially laterally relative to the optical axis, but not parallel to the lens cover, and instead at a descending angle to the lens cover, and wherein the nozzle is positioned outside of the camera field of view so that the nozzle does not obstruct the camera field of view; a rain shield that is positioned covering the lens cover of the camera from above, that is positioned outside of the camera field of view so that it does not obstruct the camera field of view, and to which the discharge of the gas line is mounted; and a control valve operable to selectively release the compressed gas from the compressed-gas source through the gas line onto the lens cover. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for removing water from a protective lens cover of an external camera of a vehicle, the camera defining an optical axis and a field of view, the vehicle including a source of compressed air, the obstruction-removal system comprising:
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an air line connected to the compressed-air source, routed to adjacent the camera, and including a discharge nozzle positioned adjacent the camera lens cover to deliver a blast of the compressed air across the lens cover to remove the water, wherein the nozzle has an airflow axis that is aimed substantially laterally relative to the optical axis, but not parallel to the lens cover, and instead at a descending angle to the lens cover, to deliver the compressed air against and across the lens cover so that the compressed air is fanned out and spread over substantially an entire width and length of the lens cover, and wherein the nozzle is positioned outside of the camera field of view so that the nozzle does not obstruct the camera field of view; a rain shield that is positioned covering the lens cover of the camera from above, that is positioned outside of the camera field of view so that it does not obstruct the camera field of view, and to which the discharge nozzle of the gas line is mounted, wherein the rain shield includes a top panel extending laterally all the way across the lens cover to cover the lens cover from above and two opposing side panels extending downward from opposing sides of the top panel; a control valve operable to selectively release the compressed air from the compressed-air source through the air line onto the lens cover; and an actuator operably connected to the valve and positioned inside the vehicle for driver operation thereof to remove the water from the lens cover, wherein the air blast removes the water from the lens cover without the use of a cleaning liquid. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for removing an obstruction from a protective lens cover of an external camera of a vehicle, the camera defining an optical axis and a field of view, the vehicle including a source of compressed gas, the obstruction-removal system comprising:
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a gas line connected to the compressed-gas source, routed to adjacent the camera, and including a discharge nozzle positioned adjacent the camera lens cover, wherein the nozzle has an airflow axis that is aimed substantially laterally relative to the lens optical axis, but not parallel to the lens cover, and instead at a descending angle to the lens cover, to deliver a blast of the compressed gas across the lens cover to remove the obstruction, wherein the nozzle is positioned outside of the camera field of view so that the nozzle does not obstruct the camera field of view; and a control valve operable to selectively release the compressed gas from the compressed-gas source through the gas line onto the lens cover, wherein the gas blast removes the obstruction from the lens cover, wherein the vehicle has turn indicators that turn on and off and wherein the control valve is automatically operated to deliver the blast of the compressed gas to the camera lens cover in response to the turn indicators being turned on. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for removing an obstruction from a protective lens cover of an external camera of a vehicle, the camera defining an optical axis and a field of view, the vehicle including a source of compressed gas, the obstruction-removal system comprising:
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a gas line that connects to the compressed-gas source, routes to adjacent the camera, and includes a discharge nozzle that positions adjacent the camera lens cover, wherein the nozzle has an airflow axis and in use the nozzle airflow axis is aimed substantially laterally relative to the lens optical axis, but not parallel to the lens cover, and instead at a descending angle to the lens cover, to deliver a blast of the compressed gas across the lens cover to remove the obstruction, and wherein in use the nozzle is positioned outside of the camera field of view so that the nozzle does not obstruct the camera field of view; and a control valve operable to selectively release the compressed gas from the compressed-gas source through the gas line onto the lens cover, wherein the gas blast removes the obstruction from the lens cover, wherein the vehicle has a gear shifter turn and wherein the control valve is automatically operated to deliver the blast of the compressed gas to the camera lens cover in response to the gear shifter being moved to a reverse-gear position.
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Specification