ON-BOARD VEHICLE VISION AND CLEANING SYSTEM

• US 20170313287A1
• Filed: 10/29/2015
• Published: 11/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kautex Textron GmbH & Company KG (Textron Inc)
• Original Assignee: Kautex Textron GmbH & Company KG (Textron Inc)
• Inventors: DAVIES, Chris, SHIELDS, Steven, WILLIAMS, Aaron
• Granted Patent: US 10,183,653 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/56 specially adapted for cleaning other parts or devices than front windows or windscreens rear-view mirror arrangements mounted on vehicle exterior including cleaning devices B60R1/0602
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0006 with means to keep optical surfaces clean, e.g. by preventing or removing dirt, stains, contamination, condensation G02B1/18 takes precedence; cleaning in general B08B

Abstract

The invention refers to an on-board vision and cleaning system comprising a sensor unit mounted in a vehicle body, a cleaning fluid source, a cleaning fluid pump, a nozzle carrier, at least one cleaning fluid nozzle attached to the nozzle carrier, wherein the nozzle carrier is designed as a swivel arm which upon actuation may be flipped from a tilted back position which is a rest position into an elevated position which is an operating position.

Claims

1-11. -11. (canceled)

12. An on-board vision and cleaning system comprising:

a sensor unit mounted in a vehicle body;

a cleaning fluid source;

a cleaning fluid circuit or a cleaning fluid conduit;

at least a cleaning fluid pump;

a nozzle carrier; and

at least one cleaning fluid nozzle attached to the nozzle carrier, wherein the nozzle carrier is designed as a swivel arm configured to be flipped upon actuation from a tilted back position which is a rest position, into an elevated position which is an operating position, wherein the swivel arm in the rest position at least partially conforms to the sensor unit, wherein the swivel arm is designed such that its contour almost or completely matches an outer contour of an exposed surface of the sensor unit.

13. The on-board vision and cleaning system according to claim 12, wherein the swivel arm in the elevated position is arranged in front of an exposed surface of the sensor unit and interferes with a viewing field of the sensor unit, and, in the elevated position, the nozzle is temporarily arranged in an elevated position above the exposed surface.

14. The on-board vision and cleaning system according to claim 12, wherein the swivel arm is moveable back and forth between the rest position and the operating position.

15. The on-board vision and cleaning system according to claim 12, wherein the swivel arm is moveable between first and second tilted back rest positions and preferably conforms or surrounds the sensor unit in either rest position.

16. The on-board vision and cleaning system according claim 12, wherein the swivel arm is moveable during performance of a cleaning cycle.

17. The on-board vision and cleaning system according claim 12, wherein the swivel arm is hinged to a rotary drive.

18. The on-board vision and cleaning system according to claim 16, wherein the rotary drive is a hydraulic drive operated by fluid pressure of a cleaning fluid.

19. The on-board vision and cleaning system according to claim 12, wherein the swivel arm is in a form of a ring segment or in a form of a bend segment conforming the sensor unit and which may be rotated over the sensor unit or which may be flipped over the sensor unit during a cleaning cycle.

20. The on-board vision and cleaning system according to claim 12, wherein the swivel arm has a bowl-like or a dome-like configuration.

22. The on-board vision and cleaning system according to claim 12, wherein the swivel arm comprises at least one of a cleaning liquid nozzle and an airblast nozzle.