Vehicle camera cleaning system
First Claim
1. A vehicle camera cleaning system, comprising:
- an air nozzle arranged proximate to a camera lens, the air nozzle being configured to expel air onto the camera lens; and
a central controller comprising a processing unit including one or more processors, the central controller configured to control the operation of the air nozzle, wherein the central controller is further configured to;
determine whether there are water drops on the camera lens;
in response to determining there are water drops on the camera lens, generate a first instruction to activate the air nozzle to expel air onto the camera lens to remove the water drops;
in response to the air nozzle having expelled air onto the camera lens, determine whether there are residual water drops remaining on the camera lens; and
in response to determining there are residual water drops on the camera lens, performing the following;
determining a temperature of the camera lens;
comparing the temperature of the camera lens with a threshold temperature value;
generating a second instruction to remove the residual water drops using a heated water flow based on a result of the comparison; and
generating a third instruction to activate the air nozzle to expel air onto the camera lens to further remove the residual water drops; and
after the third instruction is generated, determining whether there are residual water residual water drops on the camera lens, and in response to determining there are residual water drops on the camera lens,generating a fourth instruction to remove the residual water drops using the heated water flow; and
generating a fifth instruction to activate the air nozzle to expel air onto the camera lens to further remove the residual water drops.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments provide vehicle camera cleaning systems used for cleaning foreign matter off of a camera lens, including, for example, a water flow nozzle arranged to eject water flow, an air nozzle arranged to eject air, and a central controller used to control the water flow nozzle and air nozzle. In certain embodiments, a plurality of sensing devices are used for sensing the conditions of the camera lens, such as an infrared water drop sensor, a temperature sensor, a camera sensing sensor, and the like. The central controller may determine whether there are water drops, ice, snow, or other foreign matter on the lens based on signals received from the plurality of sensing devices, and may control the air nozzle and the water flow nozzle to clean the camera lens based on the foreign matter present.
75 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A vehicle camera cleaning system, comprising:
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an air nozzle arranged proximate to a camera lens, the air nozzle being configured to expel air onto the camera lens; and a central controller comprising a processing unit including one or more processors, the central controller configured to control the operation of the air nozzle, wherein the central controller is further configured to; determine whether there are water drops on the camera lens; in response to determining there are water drops on the camera lens, generate a first instruction to activate the air nozzle to expel air onto the camera lens to remove the water drops; in response to the air nozzle having expelled air onto the camera lens, determine whether there are residual water drops remaining on the camera lens; and in response to determining there are residual water drops on the camera lens, performing the following; determining a temperature of the camera lens; comparing the temperature of the camera lens with a threshold temperature value; generating a second instruction to remove the residual water drops using a heated water flow based on a result of the comparison; and generating a third instruction to activate the air nozzle to expel air onto the camera lens to further remove the residual water drops; and after the third instruction is generated, determining whether there are residual water residual water drops on the camera lens, and in response to determining there are residual water drops on the camera lens, generating a fourth instruction to remove the residual water drops using the heated water flow; and generating a fifth instruction to activate the air nozzle to expel air onto the camera lens to further remove the residual water drops. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for a clearing a camera lens in a vehicle, the vehicle comprising an air nozzle arranged proximate to the camera lens, the air nozzle being configured to expel air onto the camera lens, the method being implemented by a central controller, the method comprising:
determining whether there are water drops on the camera lens; in response to determining there are water drops on the camera lens, generating a first instruction to activate the air nozzle to expel air onto the camera lens to remove the water drops; in response to the air nozzle having expelled air onto the camera lens, determining whether there are residual water drops remaining on the camera lens; and in response to determining there are residual water drops on the camera lens, performing the following; determining a temperature of the camera lens; comparing the temperature of the camera lens with a threshold temperature value; generating a second instruction to remove the residual water drops using a heated water flow based on a result of the comparison; and generating a third instruction to activate the air nozzle to expel air onto the camera lens to further remove the residual water drops; and after the third instruction is generated, determining whether there are residual water residual water drops on the camera lens, and in response to determining there are residual water drops on the camera lens, generating a fourth instruction to remove the residual water drops using the heated water flow; and generating a fifth instruction to activate the air nozzle to expel air onto the camera lens to further remove the residual water drops. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification