Autonomous vehicle lidar cooling system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cooling system for sensors on a vehicle having an automated driving system.

[0002] In autonomous vehicles, sensors are necessary to determine the environment within which the vehicle is operating. Autonomous vehicle sensors require cooling to prevent damage due to over-heating conditions. The sensors are often mounted in sealed encasements which prevent the flow of air and limit external effects from the environment; however such sealed conditions may exacerbate heat issues in the mounted sensors.

[0003] Since heat is introduce into the mounted sensors either due to environmental situations (e.g., hot weather conditions) or the operations of the sensors themselves, a cooling system to force better environmental conditions is necessary. Accordingly, an ideal cooling system will force introduction of cool air as well as draw out heated air from the sensor mounting system. Additionally, a cooling system may ideally be tied directly to the cooling system of the vehicle itself to limit further addition of parts which may fail or heat which may be introduced.

[0004] Therefore, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a cooling system for sensors on a vehicle having an automated driving system.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-described object, the cooling system for sensors on a vehicle having an automated driving system according to a first aspect of the present invention is a sensor mounting systems retrofitted to a production line vehicle and using the existing HVAC system of the vehicle to cool the sensors in the sensor mount. The sensors mounted in the system may include light detection and ranging sensor (lidar) and radio detection and ranging sensor (radar) sensor s which generate more heat while under operation.

[0013] The description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various embodiments of the disclosed subject matter and is not necessarily intended to represent the only embodiment(s). In certain instances, the description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the disclosed subject matter. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components may be shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the disclosed subject matter.

[0014] Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, operation, or function described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter. Thus, any appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in the specification is not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, the particular features, structures, characteristics, operations, or functions may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Further, it is intended that embodiments of the disclosed subject matter can and do cover modifications and variations of the described embodiments.

[0015] It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. That is, unless clearly specified otherwise, as used herein the words “a” and “an” and the like carry the meaning of “one or more.” Additionally, it is to be understood that terms such as “left,” “right,” “top,” “front,” “side,” “height,” “width,” and the like that may be used herein, merely describe points of reference and do not necessarily limit embodiments of the disclosed subject matter to any particular orientation or configuration. Furthermore, terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., merely identify one of a number of portions, components, points of reference, operations and/or functions as described herein, and likewise do not necessarily limit embodiments of the disclosed subject matter to any particular configuration or orientation.

[0016] Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views.

[0017] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail based on the drawings. Unless specifically stated otherwise, if simple up-down, front-rear, or left-right directions are used in the following description, then these refer respectively to the up-down direction of the vehicle body, the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and the left-right direction of the vehicle body (i.e., the vehicle transverse direction).

[0018] In a first embodiment, a sensor mounting system 100 is mounted to a vehicle is described. As is shown in FIG. 1A, a perspective view showing a cover over the sensor mounting system with a cover on the vehicle, according to a first exemplary embodiment. Although, in the first exemplary embodiment, the vehicle is a sedan type vehicle platform, vehicles for attaching the mounting structure may include any transportation method which could be converted to autonomous vehicles. The transportation methods may include any automobiles, vans, buses, trucks, sport utility vehicles, motorcycles, etc. Further, in other exemplary embodiments, the sensor mounting system 100 cover is shaped differently based on the number of sensors, sensor shapes/sizes, directionality of the sensors, and vehicle type and mounting location. Further, the cover may be made of different materials to protect the sensor mounting system 100 from different environmental elements. For example, the side and front facing portions may be made from thicker and light or shiny colored materials to disperse heat and clear materials for sensors to collect information through. Additionally, the cover may include portions made from a membrane material that is hydrophobic to the exterior environment but is hydrophilic or permeable by water and air from the sensor mounting system interior. The cover may be attached to the rooftop of the vehicle or other portions of the sensor mounting system 100.

[0019] As is shown in FIG. 1B, a perspective view showing an exploded version of part of a sensor mounting system with sensors and vehicle chassis parts, according to the first exemplary embodiment. In the first exemplary embodiment the sensor mounting base 101 and sensors 103 are mounted to the rooftop 110 of the vehicle. The sensors 103 are mounted to the sensor mounting base 101 to easily remove the entire sensor mounting system 100 from the vehicle for repair or updates. The sensors 103 may include large sensors such as lidar and radar sensors, and small sensors including cameras, thermometers, and barometers. However, in the first exemplary embodiment, the large sensors 103 seen in FIG. 1B generate greater amounts of heat which have a greater effect on the interior operating environment of the sensor mounting system 100. The rooftop 110 has reinforcing vehicle chassis structures 120 which reinforce the roof of the vehicle. Not shown is the cover seen in FIG. 1A which protects the sensor mounting system 100 and the sensors 103 from the environment elements (e.g., water, dirt, dust, etc.).

[0020] The sensor mounting base 101 may be attached to the rooftop 110 and/or the reinforcing vehicle chassis structures 120. In the first exemplary embodiment, the sensor mounting base 101 is attached to the reinforcing vehicle chassis structure 120 in the sunroof of the vehicle. Further, the sunroof opening may provide further access to the sensor mounting base 101 from the interior of the vehicle.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, a top view showing the cooling system with the sensors mounted, according to a first exemplary embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 2 shows a top view of the sensor mounting system 100 that includes the sensor mounting base 101, four lidar sensors 103, a manifold 105, exhaust port/fan 107, cool air duct 109, and exhaust duct 111. The lidar sensor 103, facing the rear of the vehicle, may be mounted to a separate or same sensor mounting base 101 which is then attached to the roof or reinforcing vehicle chassis structures 120 of the roof of the vehicle. In other exemplary embodiments, the lidar sensor 103, facing the rear of the vehicle, may also be directly mounted to the roof or reinforcing vehicle chassis structures 120 of the roof of the vehicle. The cover of the sensor mounting system 100, which is shown in FIG. 1A, seals the sensor mounting system 100 from the environment. In other exemplary embodiments, the roof 110 and sensor mounting bases 101a and 101b may be replaced with one sensor mounting base 101 which is then attached to the roof 110 of the vehicle.

[0022] The manifold 105 is attached the roof 110, reinforcing vehicle chassis structures 120 of the roof of the vehicle, or same or different sensor mounting base 101. Further, the manifold 105 is attached to the cool air duct 109 through the roof 110 and is further provided with hoses 112 channeling cool air directly to each sensor 103. The manifold 105 include fans to force air through the hoses to the sensors 103. The other end of the cool air duct 109, not connected to the manifold 105, is attached to the HVAC of the vehicle to provide cool air to the manifold 105. The cool air duct 109 connects to a rear auxiliary HVAC duct/unit(s) of the vehicle, however, in other exemplary embodiments may be connected to other parts of the HVAC unit(s) of the vehicle that may be better suited based on the location of the manifold 105. The rear auxiliary HVAC duct/unit(s) may be separately controlled from a console in the rear interior of the vehicle. The sensor mounting system 100 with cooling uses the existing HVAC unit(s) of the vehicle to more easily retrofit the sensor mounting system 100 to production line vehicles. In other exemplary embodiments, the sensor mounting system 100 may have its own air conditioning unit that would require further modification to the vehicle.

[0023] The exhaust port/fan 107 extracts trapped heated hair from within the sensor mounting system 100 directing the heated air out of the sensor mounting system 100 to the exhaust duct 111. The exhaust duct 111 provides an exit for the heated air to an un-cooled body cavity of the vehicle or the exterior of the vehicle directly. In some embodiments, the exhaust duct 111 vents the heated air to the trunk of the vehicle. In other embodiments, the exhaust duct Ill vents the heated air to air gaps between the exterior body panels and interior panels and insulated portions of the vehicle. The air gaps may then exhaust the heated air from the vehicle through openings which are exposed to the outer environment of the vehicle.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3, a perspective view showing the sensor mounting system with the sensors mounted, according to the first exemplary embodiment. As seen, the set of three front-facing and side-facing lidar sensors 103 are mounted above the sunroof and the rear-facing is mounted to a rear mounting system base 101 with a cut out portion of the roof of the vehicle. Additionally, the manifold 105 and exhaust port/fan 107 are mounted directly to the roof panel near the rear of the vehicle, in order to connect to an auxiliary HVAC duct/unit(s) and the trunk respectively via the cool air duct 109 and exhaust duct 111. Additionally, the perspective bottom view (FIG. 4) of showing the mounting sensor system with the sensors mounted, according to the first exemplary embodiment, is shown. However, FIG. 4 shows the sunroof mounted mounting sensor base 101 and the rear-facing mounting sensor base 101 transparently. Further, FIG. 4 shows the connection between the cool air duct 109 through the vehicle roof 110 to the manifold 105. Additionally shown is the connection between the exhaust duct 111 through the vehicle roof 110 to the exhaust port/fan 107. In other exemplary embodiments, the roof 110 and sensor mounting bases 101a and 101b are replaced with a sensor mounting base 101 which is then attached to the roof 110 of the vehicle. The cool air duct 109 and exhaust duct 111 then run through the sensor mounting base 101 or both the sensor mounting base 101 and roof 110 to attach to the manifold 105 and exhaust port/fan 107.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 5, a top view showing a portion of the cooling system including the manifold and a lidar sensor, according to the first exemplary embodiment. The manifold 105 is shown to have a cool air port 113 through which the cool air may exit the manifold 105 into the main cavity of the sensor mounting system 100.

[0026] Having now described embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing is merely illustrative and not limiting, having been presented by way of example only. Thus, although particular configurations have been discussed herein, other configurations can also be employed. Numerous modifications and other exemplary embodiments (e.g., combinations, rearrangements, etc.) are enabled by the present disclosure and are within the scope of one of ordinary skill in the art and are contemplated as falling within the scope of the disclosed subject matter and any equivalents thereto. Features of the disclosed embodiments can be combined, rearranged, omitted, etc., within the scope of the invention to produce additional embodiments. Furthermore, certain features may sometimes be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, Applicant(s) intend(s) to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, equivalents, and variations that are within the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter.