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CN-116867690-B - Method for checking the operation of a vehicle surface cleaning device

CN116867690BCN 116867690 BCN116867690 BCN 116867690BCN-116867690-B

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for checking the operation of a vehicle surface cleaning device (2) intended to be mounted on a motor vehicle, comprising at least one step of commanding the activation of a pump (6) to inject cleaning liquid into at least one valve (12) during a determined period of time, commanding the activation of the pump (6) to inject cleaning liquid into the liquid inlet of the valve (12) in conjunction with the maintenance of the one or more valves (12) in a closed state, measuring at least one parameter related to the pressure of the cleaning liquid in a section of the fluid distribution circuit (8) upstream of the one or more valves (12) by means of at least one pressure sensor (16), comparing the measured pressure-related parameter with a predetermined desired value, determining the operating state of the cleaning device (2) from the result of the comparison between the measured pressure-related parameter and the predetermined desired value, and generating an alarm signal in the event of a malfunction of the cleaning device (2).

Inventors

  • G. Grasso

Assignees

  • 法雷奥系统公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20211129
Priority Date
20210126

Claims (9)

  1. 1. A verification method for verifying the operation of a vehicle surface cleaning device (2) intended to be mounted on a motor vehicle, said cleaning device comprising a reservoir with a cleaning liquid, at least one nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid onto a surface to be cleaned, a fluid distribution circuit (8) designed to deliver the cleaning liquid from the reservoir to the cleaning nozzle, and a pump (6) designed to inject the cleaning liquid contained in the reservoir into the fluid distribution circuit (8), said fluid distribution circuit (8) comprising a cleaning fluid distribution block (10) comprising at least one valve (12) and positioned between the outlet orifice and the nozzle of said pump (6), said method being characterized in that it comprises at least one of the following steps: commanding activation of the pump (6) to inject cleaning fluid into the valve (12) during a determined period of time, commanding activation of the pump (6) to inject liquid into the liquid inlet of the valve (12) being coupled with maintaining one or more valves (12) in a closed state, At least one measurement of a parameter related to the pressure of the cleaning liquid in a section of the fluid distribution circuit (8) upstream of the one or more valves (12) is performed using at least one pressure sensor (16), The measured parameter related to the pressure is compared with a predetermined desired value, Determining an operating state of the cleaning device (2) based on a comparison between the pressure-dependent measurement parameter and the predetermined desired value, and Generating an alarm signal in the event of a malfunction of the cleaning device (2), Wherein the valve (12) is opened for a determined period of time after commanding the pump (6) to be activated to inject liquid into the liquid inlet orifice of the valve (12), and the valve (12) is opened before measuring a pressure-related parameter in a section of the fluid distribution circuit (8) upstream of the one or more valves (12).
  2. 2. The checking method according to claim 1, wherein the duration between the commands to activate the pump (6) while maintaining the one or more valves in a closed state is greater than or equal to the duration such that in normal operation the maximum pressure is obtained in the section of the fluid distribution circuit (8) between the outlet orifice of the pump (6) and the valve (12).
  3. 3. A checking method according to any one of the preceding claims, said method steps occurring at the start of the engine of a motor vehicle.
  4. 4. A verification method according to any one of the preceding claims, the method steps occurring at least once during a cycle of cleaning at least one surface of the motor vehicle.
  5. 5. The checking method according to claim 4, wherein the measurement of the parameter related to the pressure in the section of the fluid distribution circuit (8) upstream of the one or more valves (12) occurs before the first opening of the valve (12) or between two openings of the valve (12).
  6. 6. The checking method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cleaning device (2) further comprises at least a flow sensor, the checking method comprising at least once the following steps: Commanding the activation of the pump (6) to inject liquid into the valve (12) during a determined period of time, At least one flow rate of the cleaning liquid is measured, Comparing the measured flow rate with a predetermined desired flow rate, and An operating state of the cleaning device (2) is determined.
  7. 7. The checking method according to claim 6, wherein the flow sensor is connected to the pump (6) in order to measure the flow rate of the liquid leaving the pump (6).
  8. 8. The checking method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein: the dispensing block (10) comprises a valve (12), a flow sensor being connected to the valve (12) for measuring the flow rate of the liquid leaving the valve (12), or The distribution block (10) comprises several valves (12), at least one flow sensor being connected to all valves (12) or to some valves (12) in order to measure the flow rate of the cleaning liquid leaving the valves (12).
  9. 9. The checking method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cleaning device (2) further comprises a measuring device measuring the power consumption of the pump (6), the checking method comprising at least one of the following steps: commanding the activation of said pump (6) during a determined period of time to inject cleaning liquid into the valve (12), Measuring the power consumption of the pump (6), Comparing the power consumption of the pump (6) with a predetermined desired current draw, and An operating state of the cleaning device (2) is determined.

Description

Method for checking the operation of a vehicle surface cleaning device Technical Field The present invention relates to a device for cleaning the surface of a motor vehicle, for being onboard the motor vehicle. Background Many surfaces, such as driver assistance sensors of motor vehicles, may be affected by various types of soiling. These sensors include, for example, various cameras or distance sensors placed on the vehicle, ultrasonic sensors, radar, lidar sensors or rain sensors. At this time, such fouling may cause some driver assistance devices to malfunction, or cause a user of the vehicle to start to encounter difficulty (low visibility due to fouling on the windshield). It is therefore necessary to provide at least one device for cleaning these surfaces. Conventionally, such cleaning devices include a reservoir in which cleaning liquid is stored and a fluid distribution circuit consisting of various conduits or pipes, which can deliver the cleaning fluid to at least one cleaning nozzle placed in front of the surface in order to spray the cleaning fluid onto the surface (typically, there are a plurality of cleaning nozzles for a plurality of surfaces). Pumps for pushing the cleaning liquid in the fluid distribution circuit to the cleaning nozzles are usually mounted directly on the reservoir. More specifically, the inlet tube of the pump is press-fit into an opening formed in the reservoir (seals are used to ensure that the assembly is leak-proof), and the drain port is connected to the fluid dispensing circuit. It is also known practice to position a cleaning liquid dispensing block on the fluid dispensing circuit, said cleaning liquid dispensing block comprising, for example, a number of valves between the pump and the one or more cleaning nozzles, each of which can be in fluid connection with the one or more cleaning nozzles. The valve block allows, for example, the valves to be selectively opened so that cleaning liquid is sprayed only through those cleaning nozzles facing the surface to be cleaned, while the other cleaning nozzles remain inactive. It is also possible to use the distribution block as a medium grade, achieving a maximum pressurization of the portion of the fluid distribution circuit between the pump and the distribution block, thereby limiting the pressure drop up to the cleaning nozzle. When a malfunction of the driver assistance sensor due to the presence of dust is detected (e.g. automatically), or when a user initiates a cleaning command, the pump draws cleaning liquid from the reservoir, which is at a pressure similar to the atmospheric pressure (which pressure depends on the height of the cleaning liquid in the reservoir), and pushes it into the fluid distribution circuit at a higher pressure (the pressure difference depends on the capacity of the pump). Pressurized cleaning liquid passes through one or more valves in an open position and is sprayed by one or more cleaning nozzles onto one or more sensors (or some other surface to be cleaned). As mentioned before, the cleaning device makes it possible to ensure the cleanliness of the sensors, which is of vital importance for the user of the vehicle, in part to ensure that they are able to operate correctly. It is therefore necessary to be able to check the correct operation of the cleaning device to avoid that this is only found when one or more sensors have failed to operate correctly. This becomes even more important in the case of an autonomous motor vehicle. In particular, it may alert the user of the vehicle while, if possible, switching the operation of the cleaning device or sensor to a degraded mode. For example, defective operation may be due to failure of the pump (no longer functioning or functioning poorly), failure of the tubing (e.g., perforations), or failure of the liquid dispensing block (one or more valves being fully or partially incapable of opening or closing). Disclosure of Invention It is a significant object of the present invention to provide a verification method for verifying the operation of a device for cleaning a vehicle surface to ensure that the cleaning device is operating correctly, in order to predict, where applicable, the defective operation of driver assistance sensors present on the motor vehicle. To this end, one subject of the invention is a verification method for verifying the operation of a vehicle surface cleaning device intended to be mounted on a motor vehicle, the cleaning device comprising a reservoir with a cleaning liquid, at least one nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid onto a surface to be cleaned, a fluid distribution circuit designed to deliver the cleaning liquid from the reservoir to the cleaning nozzle, and a pump designed to inject the cleaning liquid contained in the reservoir into the fluid distribution circuit, the fluid distribution circuit comprising a cleaning liquid distribution block comprising at least one valve and located between the outlet orifice of