CAMERA WASHING SYSTEM

• US 20140007909A1
• Filed: 09/13/2013
• Published: 01/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (State of Illinois)
• Original Assignee: Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (State of Illinois)
• Inventors: MANAOIS, Arthur C., WAYNE, Michael G., CATOLICO, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,313,379 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 134/18
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/12 responsive to conditions of ambient medium or target, e.g. humidity, temperature position or movement of the target relative to the spray apparatus B05B12/082, B05B12/084 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 7/267 the liquid and the gas being both under pressure
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof

Abstract

A roadway monitoring camera cleaning system includes one or more cameras for capturing images through respective viewing surfaces, which are exposed to outdoor environmental conditions. A controller coupled to the cameras receives the images and determines whether a predetermined wash threshold has been met based on any of various indicia of image degradation. Responsive to the wash threshold being met, the controller operates a supply valve to connect a wash fluid source to a conduit, and operates at least one delivery tube valve to connect the supply conduit to at least one delivery tube. Wash fluid is delivered under pressure to the dirty viewing surface as a result. Subsequently, the controller may disconnect the wash fluid source and connect a pressurized source of inert dry gas, in order to dry the viewing surface and to purge the delivery tube of wash fluid.

Claims

1. A roadway monitoring camera cleaning system comprising:

at least one roadway monitoring camera for capturing images, the camera disposed to capture the images through a viewing surface exposed to outdoor environmental conditions;

a pressurized wash fluid source;

a conduit having an upstream end selectively connected to the wash fluid source through a supply valve and a delivery end disposed to be proximate to the viewing surface of the camera, such that a wash fluid exiting the downstream end of the conduit will impinge on the viewing surface; and

a controller coupled to the camera for automatically determining whether a predetermined wash threshold has been reached, the controller, responsive to determining that the wash threshold has been reached, controlling the supply valve to fluidly connect the wash fluid source to the delivery end of the conduit in order to wash the camera viewing surface.

2. The cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the wash threshold is compared with an opacity value as measured through the viewing surface.

3. The cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the wash threshold is compared with a refractive index measured by a refractometer associated with the camera.

4. The cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the controller compares the wash threshold with an optical character recognition confidence interval derived from images captured by the camera.

5. The cleaning system of claim 1, and further comprising a pressurized dry gas source selectively connectable to the upstream end of the conduit by the supply valve, the controller, after operating the supply valve to connect the wash fluid source to the upstream end of the conduit, controlling the supply valve to disconnect the wash fluid source therefrom and to connect the pressurized dry gas source thereto, to thereby dry the viewing surface.

6. A roadway monitoring camera cleaning system comprising:

a plurality of roadway monitoring cameras for capturing images, each camera disposed to capture images through a respective viewing surface exposed to outdoor environmental conditions;

a pressurized wash fluid source;

a conduit having an upstream end selectively connected to the wash fluid source through a supply valve and a downstream end connected to a delivery tube manifold;

a plurality of delivery tubes, each delivery tube having a supply end in fluid connection with the manifold via a delivery tube valve and a delivery end disposed to be proximate the viewing surface of a respective camera, the delivery tube valve and the supply valve operable to selectively supply wash fluid to at least one of the delivery tubes, such that the wash fluid exits the delivery end of the delivery tube and impinges on the viewing surface of the camera.

7. The cleaning system of claim 6, wherein the delivery tube valve is one of a plurality of delivery tube valves each independently actuable to fluidly connect the downstream end of the conduit to the delivery tube manifold.

8. The cleaning system of claim 6, further comprising a controller coupled to each of the cameras for determining whether each respective viewing surface has reached a predetermined wash threshold, the controller operating at least one of the delivery tube valves to fluidly connect the supply end of the conduit to at least one delivery tube as a function of whether the wash threshold has been reached.

9. The cleaning system of claim 8, wherein the controller is operable to actuate multiple delivery tube valves at once.

10. The cleaning system of claim 6, further comprising a pressurized gas source of dry inert compressed gas, the gas source selectively connected to the supply end of the conduit by the supply valve.

11. The cleaning system of claim 10, wherein the dry inert compressed gas source includes a compressed gas dryer for removing water from a compressed gas.

12. The cleaning system of claim 10, wherein the controller operates the delivery tube valve to connect the downstream end of the conduit to at least a selected one of the delivery tubes to the manifold, and operates at least one of the supply valves to connect the upstream end of the conduit to the wash fluid source, the controller subsequently operating said at least one supply valve and the delivery tube valve to connect the pressurized gas source to the selected one of the delivery tubes to thereby dry a respective one of the viewing surfaces and to dry the conduit and connected delivery tube.

13. The cleaning system of claim 8, wherein the delivery tube valve is one of a plurality of delivery tube valves each operable to connect a respective delivery tube to the manifold, the controller operating the supply valve and at least one of the delivery tube valves to fluidly connect the wash fluid source to at least one delivery tube connected to said at least one delivery tube valve.

14. A method for cleaning a roadway monitoring camera system comprising the steps of

taking an image with at least one camera through a viewing surface exposed to outdoor environmental conditions;

using a controller to automatically determine from the image whether a predetermined wash threshold has been reached;

in response to the wash threshold being reached, flowing a wash fluid from a wash fluid source through a delivery end of at least one delivery tube; and

impinging the wash fluid on the viewing surface.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the steps of

following the step of flowing the wash fluid, flowing a gas from a compressed gas source through a delivery tube;

and

impinging the gas on the viewing surface.

16. The method of claim 15, and further comprising the step of

purging the last said delivery tube of wash fluid during the course of flowing the gas through the delivery tube.