Cleaning device for vehicle-mounted camera and method of cleaning vehicle-mounted camera

摘要

A nozzle for cleaning a lens surface of a camera includes a cleaning liquid path that guides a cleaning liquid to a discharge port and an air passage that guides a compressed air to a discharge port. Furthermore, a distal end portion of the cleaning liquid path and a distal end portion of the air passage are disposed so as to be proximate to each other, or are disposed so as to be merged with each other. Then, at the time of cleaning the lens surface, the compressed air is made intermittently jet from the discharge port, and the cleaning liquid is suctioned with the negative pressure occurring due to the jetting of the compressed air to make the cleaning liquid intermittently jet from the discharge port, thereby cleaning the lens surface.

主权项

1. A cleaning device for a vehicle-mounted camera, which cleans a lens surface of a camera mounted on a vehicle, the cleaning device comprising:
a nozzle having a discharge port; a cleaning-liquid pump configured to deliver a cleaning liquid from a primary tank to a smaller secondary tank configured to store the cleaning liquid delivered by the cleaning-liquid pump and to deliver the cleaning liquid through a cleaning liquid path to the discharge port of the nozzle; an air pump configured to deliver compressed air through an air passage to the discharge port of the nozzle,
wherein the cleaning liquid and the compressed air are discharged from the discharge port, which is disposed so as to face the lens surface, andwherein a distal end portion of the cleaning liquid path and a distal end portion of the air passage are disposed so as to be proximate to each other or merged with each other; and a control unit configured to:
control the cleaning-liquid pump and the air pump, wherein the control unit is configured to include a continuous water supply mode in which the control unit drives the cleaning-liquid pump for a fixed period of time and thereafter intermittently drives the air pump a plurality of times such that the cleaning liquid delivered to and stored in the secondary tank is suctioned along the cleaning liquid path by the compressed air; andwhen in the continuous water supply mode, set a frequency of drops of the cleaning liquid based on a speed of the vehicle.