Patent Application
20220135005
This document describes methods and systems that are directed to diverting ram air to clean and/or cool the vehicle sensors.
Most vehicles come equipped with user selectable features, such as convenience features, which when activated, affect the operation of the vehicle to improve the comfort and convenience of driving. For example, a vehicle may include automated cruise control feature. The automated cruise control feature may be provisioned by an automated cruise control radar installed on the vehicle which can be activated at the driver's preference, such as while driving along a highway. In the event that the automated cruise control radar fails, the driver is still able to drive and navigate the vehicle as they would normally but without the added convenience of cruise control feature.
Vehicles are provided with various cameras for providing additionally convenience features to assist a driver, such as for backup assistance or lane changing assistance. However, in the event of failure or deterioration of performance by any of these cameras, the driver is still able to drive and navigate the vehicle as they would normally but without the added convenience of backup assistance or lane-changing assistance. A vehicle may include lane keeping cameras. The lane keeping cameras may utilize the windshield wiper to keep the lens clean. Failure or deterioration of performance by convenience sensors affect the convenience features and not the vehicle's driving performance while driven by a human.
Cameras, radar systems and other sensors are even more important in autonomous vehicles, in which the vehicle's motion planning system must use sensor data to plan a path and operating speed for the vehicle. Failure of an autonomous vehicle's sensors may require the vehicle to exit an autonomous mode and have a human operator take control, or it may require the vehicle to stop in a safe location until the sensor can be addressed.
This document describes a ram air diverting system that helps address these issues.
Some embodiments include a sensor cooling and cleaning system for a vehicle that may include an inlet that is coupled to an air intake of a vehicle body and positioned to receive ram air when the vehicle is in forward motion. The system may include a passive air conditioning device that is configured to remove moisture from the ram air received through the inlet to produce conditioned air. An outlet is positioned adjacent to and upstream of sensor mounted to the vehicle body to direct the conditioned air from the passive air conditioning device into a stagnation point, and which may thus divert road spray from the stagnation point. The directed conditioned air diverts the road spray from a stagnation point upstream of the sensor, during the forward motion of the vehicle.
In various embodiments, the passive air conditioning device may include a duct that has a structure to separate droplets from the ram air. The structure may include a bend or a filter.
In various embodiments, the system may further include a duct that includes a first conduit portion that has a first end positioned at the air intake and a second end coupled to the passive air conditioning device and a second conduit portion that has a first end coupled to the passive air conditioning device and a second end coupled to the outlet.
In various embodiments, the system may include a mesh or filter coupled to the second end of the duct or to the air intake.
In various embodiments, the vehicle body may include front wheel wells and rear wheel wells, each wheel well houses a wheel that produces the road spray during the forward motion of the vehicle. The sensor may be positioned downstream a respective one wheel well. The stagnation point may be downstream a respective one wheel well and upstream the sensor.
In various embodiments, the outlet may include a diffuser, a nozzle, or a combination of both.
Some embodiments include an autonomous vehicle including an onboard computing system containing programming instructions that are configured to control navigation of the vehicle. The vehicle may include a vehicle body and a sensor that is on or extending from the vehicle body to collect data and deliver the data to the onboard computing system for use in controlling navigation of the vehicle. The vehicle may include a sensor cooling and cleaning system. The sensor cooling and cleaning system may include an inlet that is coupled to an air intake of the vehicle body and positioned to receive an amount of ram air when the vehicle is in forward motion. The sensor cooling and cleaning system may include a passive air conditioning device that is configured to remove moisture from the ram air received through the inlet to produce conditioned air, and an outlet that is positioned adjacent to and upstream of sensor to direct the conditioned air from the passive air conditioning device into a path of road spray to divert the road spray from a stagnation point upstream of the sensor, during forward motion of the vehicle.
In various embodiments, the vehicle body may include front wheel wells and rear wheel wells. Each wheel well may house a wheel. The vehicle body may include a front fender and the sensor may be mounted in proximity to the front fender and upstream a respective one front wheel well. The stagnation point may be downstream the front fender and upstream the sensor. The road spray during the forward motion of the vehicle may be from another vehicle upstream the front fender or in an adjacent lane.
In various embodiments, the vehicle body may include front wheel wells and rear wheel wells with wheels. The vehicle body may include a rear fender and the sensor may be mounted in proximity to the rear fender.
Some embodiments include a method for cleaning and cooling a sensor of a vehicle including, during forward motion of the vehicle, receiving ram air at an inlet of a cleaning and cooling system that is coupled to an air intake of a vehicle body of the vehicle. The method may include, by the cleaning and cooling system, removing moisture from the ram air to produce conditioned air, and both disrupting a path of debris flowing toward a sensor and cooling the sensor by expelling the conditioned air upstream the sensor through an outlet at a location in a stagnation point upstream of and proximate to the sensor.
As used in this document, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. As used in this document, the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.”
The term “vehicle” refers to any moving form of conveyance that is capable of carrying either one or more human occupants and/or cargo and is powered by any form of energy. The term “vehicle” includes, but is not limited to, cars, trucks, vans, buses, trains, autonomous vehicles, aircraft, aerial drones and the like. An “autonomous vehicle” is a vehicle having a processor, programming instructions and drivetrain components that are controllable by the processor without requiring a human operator. An autonomous vehicle may be fully autonomous in that it does not require a human operator for most or all driving conditions and functions, or it may be semi-autonomous in that a human operator may be required in certain conditions or for certain operations, or that a human operator may override the vehicle's autonomous system and may take control of the vehicle. Various components of the vehicle may include automated devices.
This document includes certain terms relating to direction and orientation of a moving vehicle. “Forward” motion refers to motion of a vehicle when its transmission is in a drive mode, as in the direction that a driver would typically face if present in and operating the vehicle. “Downstream” air flow refers to a direction of air flow moving across and/or through a vehicle as the vehicle is moving forward. Thus, a first position is typically “downstream” of a second position if the distance between the first position and the front of the vehicle is greater than the distance between the second position and the front of the vehicle. Conversely, a first position is typically “upstream” of a second position if the distance between the first position and the front of the vehicle is less than the distance between the second position and the front of the vehicle.
Definitions for additional terms that are relevant to this document are included at the end of this Detailed Description.
With specific reference to
The system 100 may include one or more passive air conditioning device 120 configured to remove moisture from the ram air received through the inlet to produce conditioned air. The system 100 may include an outlet 117 that is positioned and configured to direct, denoted by arrows 119 (
The system 100 further includes one or more ducts 130 that connects the inlet 115 to the outlet 117 via the passive air conditioning device 120. Various embodiments may include multiple inlets and/or multiple outlets to increase the amount of airflow or increase the number of sensors that are impacted.
The duct 130 may include a first conduit portion 132 having a first end 133 positioned at an air intake location of the vehicle 102 and a second end 134 coupled to the passive air conditioning device 120. The duct 130 may include a second conduit portion 135 having a first end 136 coupled to the passive air condition device 120 and a second end 138 coupled to the outlet 117. In various embodiments, the ends 134 and 136 may include connectors to bridge the duct 130 with the structure 140. In other embodiments, the duct 130 is integrated with the structure 140.
The passive air conditioning device 120 includes a structure 140 to separate droplets from the ram air. The structure 140 may include a bend or a filter to separate droplets from ram air so that the received ram air is dried to clean the sensor surface 145, such as without limitation a lens, during movement of the vehicle 102. Alternatively, instead of or in addition to serving as a passive air conditioning device 120, the system may employ active air conditioning equipment for removing moisture from (and thus cooling) the air, such as an evaporator, a compressor and a condenser.
A bend with a drain may be used to filter droplets/particles out using their inertia. On the other hand, a filter may be used to reduce the number of droplets, accumulating them into heavier droplets that can be drained away. Optionally, both a bend and a filter may be employed.
The system 100 may further include a mesh or filter 109 coupled to the first end 133 positioned at an air intake location of the vehicle 102. The mesh or filter 109 may be configured to limit the size of particles capable of entering the first conduit portion 132. For example, mesh or filter 109 may remove heavier particles in the ram air prior to the air reaching the structure 140. The outlet 117 may include a diffuser, a nozzle 111 or a combination of both. The diffuser may be positioned in the second conduit portion 135 before the outlet 117. The nozzle 111 may be configured to concentrate air from the diffuser leading to an orifice of the outlet 117. A filter may be provided at the outlet 117.
The system 100 may be configured to reroute the ram air from the front of the vehicle 102 passing through the vehicle grill 123, for example, to the other parts of the vehicle. The rerouted and conditioned ram air is sent to a diffuser and/or nozzle 111 upstream the sensor or sensor surface to improve flow to and over the protruding sensor housing and it's sensor surface, thereby deflecting lighter particles in the airflow associated with arrow 144, such as without limitation, from the adjacent wheel 142 and preventing a buildup in areas adjacent to stagnation points 50. Assume for the sake of discussion, arrow 144 is a path of debris from road spray of wheel 142 and sometimes may be part of road spray from a vehicle that is in an adjacent lane next to wheel 142, for example. The structure 140 is configured to separate droplets from the ram air so that air contacts and cleans the sensor 125 and/or sensor surface 145 during movement or forward motion of the vehicle 102. During motion of the vehicle, the flow of the conditioned ram air may prevent droplets from getting to and/or remaining on the sensor surface, as described in more detail later.
The inlet 115 can be placed anywhere on the front of the vehicle 102, and ram air received via the inlet may be ducted back to a location in proximity of the sensor 125. A second amount of ram air can be rerouted to a part of the wheel well airflow. The first amount of ram air can be rerouted to the structure 140.
A filter could also be used in the structure 140 or at inlet locations, for example. However, the filter may need to be changed for maintenance purposes. The filter may clog and may cause a pressure drop in the duct 130 to the nozzle 111.
The ram air flows in the direction of arrow 127 as the vehicle 102 travels in a forward motion within duct 130. In some variations, the ram air is conditioned by the structure 140 and expelled in proximity to sensor 125 to cool the sensor having at least one sensor surface 145 exposed to the ambient environment. In some variations, the ram air is conditioned by the structure 140 and expelled in proximity to sensor 125 to clean at least one sensor surface 145. For example, the ram air is conditioned by removing or reducing the moisture of the ram air by the bend, for example, of the structure 140. The droplets of moisture may be drained via outlets 147, shown in phantom. The collected droplets can be easily drained out of the bottom of the duct (if separated out or caused to drop by a change in airflow velocity).
The duct 130 may end in a wide nozzle 111, forward (upstream) of the sensor to break up the stagnation point 50 (
Referring now to
As best seen in
Ram air that is directed to vehicle sensors using systems such as those described shown above may help to keep the sensors cool by reducing the temperature of air that is proximate to the sensors. Ram air directed to sensors as described above can also help keep the sensors clean, especially if filters are used in the system, as the clean air will be pressurized due to vehicle motion and can thus help blow dirt and debris away from the sensors.
The stagnation points 50 or stagnation zones do not benefit from airflow to remove droplets or particles. Instead, a sensor or other object downstream the stagnation points 50 benefit from cleaning of a sensor surface or other object surface by diverting a path of debris in the airflow of the road spray farther away from the sensor.
Referring also to
In the example shown, each sensor surface 145 (
The vehicle body 103 may have a known a stagnation point 50 (
Stagnation points may generally form where there is a relatively flat surface perpendicular to the airflow. From an aerodynamic perspective, an example of a stagnation point is downstream of the wheel well where the sensor protrudes into the airflow from a wheel of the vehicle 102. According, a wheel in a wheel well is a potential source of road spray. However, the primary source of road spray can also be from lead vehicles or adjacent vehicles. Weather conditions, such as without limitation, wind may contribute to road spray.
As shown in
In various embodiments, the outlets 117 of
The conditioned air vector being output from outlet 117 prevents/mitigates the number of droplets/particles in road spray, for example, on the sensor lens at any given time. When a sensor 125 is exposed to airflow that contains road spray, the droplets may make contact with the sensor lens; and if the force of the conditioned air vector is high enough, the droplets are blown away by the conditioned air vector. Droplets/particles can also reach stagnation points or zones because droplets/particles have more mass and do not change directly as easily as the airflow. The difference is that without a direct conditioned air vector moving over the surface of the lens in the stagnation zone, the droplets/particles cannot be removed or cleaned away.
In
In various embodiments, system 100 changes the vehicle aerodynamics to 1) remove/minimize stagnation zones, as well as 2) modify the vehicle aerodynamics to direct the less massive particles (lighter particles) away from the sensor or sensor lens.
In various embodiments, an advantage of the system 100 is to minimize the number of droplets/particles on the sensor surface or lens at any given time. When a sensor 125 is exposed to airflow that contains road spray, the droplets make contact with the lens and then are blown away, if the airflow is high enough. Droplets/particles can also reach stagnation zones (areas without the air is stagnant) because droplets/particles have more mass and do not change directly as easily as the airflow containing road spray. The difference is that without direct airflow over the surfaces in the stagnation zone, the droplets/particles may not be removed.
When a vehicle moves along a road, dirt, debris, and moisture will adhere to the wheel and then spray upward toward the vehicle body of the vehicle, as well as toward vehicles behind the vehicle or in adjacent lanes. Road spray tends to accumulate the most in the following locations: the lower grill, the fender, and behind the wheel well. Road spray may accumulate on any object (i.e., sensor 125) that is in the direct path of the airflow around the vehicle or in areas of turbulence, where particles may be lifted from the road surface. The road spray includes, but is not limited to any object that is placed on or protrudes from the side of the vehicle. By way of non-limiting example, road spray may accumulate on the side-view mirrors, door handles, and externally mounted sensors.
The road spray may be caused by wheels 142 rolling along the road whether from vehicle 102 or other vehicles, such as without limitations, vehicles in adjacent lanes or a leading vehicle in the same lane of vehicle 102. However, in various embodiments, the placement of the outlet 117 is configured to cause a change in the aerodynamics of the vehicle 102 to minimize road spray from impacting the sensor 125 or other objects.
When a vehicle moves along a road, air will be received into the vehicle's front end. Most vehicles are equipped with a ram air intake, which specifically uses the air pressure that is generated by the vehicle's motion to direct air to the vehicle's engine intake manifold. However, any air that is forced to enter into an aperture of the vehicle due to the vehicle's motion may be referred to as ram air.
The amount of road spray that a vehicle receives typically increases with speed. The amount of ram air that a vehicle may receive also typically increases with the speed of the vehicle.
The vehicle body 103 includes wheel wells 121, such as front wheel wells and rear wheel wells. A wheel well 121 may have a stagnation point 50 that may be downstream of a respective one wheel well 121 but upstream of a sensor 125. (In this description, “upstream” and “downstream” refer to the direction of airflow while the vehicle is moving forward. Thus, upstream is typically relatively closer to the front of the vehicle, while downstream is typically relatively closer to the rear of the vehicle.)
The description of
According to various embodiments, the vehicle 102 may include an on-board computing device 310 for an autonomous vehicle driving, as shown in
The on-board computing device 310 is configured to carry autonomous driving functions. Some of the components of on-board computing device 310 may include programming instructions to carry out the functions described herein which may be executed by processor 605 (
The vehicle 102 may include a computer vision system 315 incorporated into the vehicle 102 configured to receive a digital image of the environment. The computer vision system 315 may include one or more cameras, such as sensor 125, for capturing digital images of various features of the environment in which the vehicle 102 is traveling. Each camera includes a field of view (FOV).
The vehicle 102 may include a geographic location system (GLS) 360 configured to determine a location and orientation of the vehicle 102. The GLS 360 may include a Global Positioning System (GPS) device. It is noted, however, that other forms of geographic location may additionally, or alternatively, be used. The GLS 360 may be incorporated into the vehicle 102.
The vehicle 102 may further include a transceiver 320 incorporated in the vehicle 102 and being configured to send and receive digital information from a remote server (not shown) via a wired and/or wireless connection such as, for example, through the cloud, where the vehicle 102 and the remote server are in electronic communication with each other.
The vehicle 102 may further include a processor 328. It is noted that the processor 328 may be a standalone processor or the vehicle's processor. Data processed by the processor 328 may be data received from the vehicle 102, received from the remote server, and/or a combination of data from the vehicle 102 and the remote server. However, for the sake of illustration, the processor 328 is represented incorporated in the vehicle 102. The vehicle 102 may include a standalone processor (e.g., processor 328) and/or at least one separate vehicle processor.
Based on the description provided herein, the system 100 is a sensor cleaning and cooling system that employs passive components using one or more duct conduits to divert ram air to different sensor locations to modify the aerodynamics of the vehicle such that the road spray airflow is directed away from the sensor surface and cause a disruption in a path of debris in the airflow flowing from the vehicle's wheel and other vehicles and toward a sensor surface.
As the airflow of arrows 410 intersect with the conditioned air vector from nozzle 111 upstream of sensors 125, the airflow with road spray is diverted around the sensors 125 along representative arrows 415L and 415R. It should be understood, that the number of sensors on any longitudinal side of vehicle 402 is not limited in any way to the operation of system 100 (
In
The nozzle 111 of system 100 (
The vehicle 102 also may include various sensors 625 that operate to gather information about the environment in which the vehicle is traveling. These sensors may include, for example: a location sensor 660 such as GLS 360 or a GPS device; object detection sensors such as one or more cameras 662; a light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) sensor system 664; and/or a radar and/or a sonar system 666. The sensors 625 also may include environmental sensors 668 such as a precipitation sensor and/or ambient temperature sensor. The sensors 625 may be provide data used by the on-board computing device 310 for determining at least one autonomous navigation operation. The object detection sensors may enable the vehicle 102 to detect objects that are within a given distance or range of the vehicle 102 in any direction, while the environmental sensors collect data about environmental conditions within the vehicle's area of travel. The system architecture 600 will also include one or more cameras 662 for capturing images of the environment. As should be understood, one or more of the sensors 625 may be part of the vehicle but still necessary for autonomous control of the navigation of the vehicle. Additionally, it should be understood, that the sensors 625 may include additional sensors that are not disclosed herein. The vehicle may include other sensors (not shown) such as convenience sensors to equipping the vehicle with those convenience features to aid a human driver.
The on-board computing device 310 (
Geographic location information may be communicated from the location sensor 660 to the on-board computing device 310, which may then access a map of the environment that corresponds to the location information to determine known fixed features of the environment such as streets, buildings, stop signs and/or stop/go signals. Captured images from the cameras 662 and/or object detection information captured from sensors such as a LiDAR system 664 is communicated from those sensors) to the on-board computing device 310. The object detection information and/or captured images may be processed and analyzed by the autonomous vehicle navigation controller 620 to detect objects in proximity to the vehicle 102 such as for collision avoidance. In addition or alternatively, the vehicle 102 may transmit any of the data to a remote server system for processing. Any known or to be known technique for making an object detection based on sensor data and/or captured images can be used in the embodiments disclosed in this document. Other sensors may include curb feelers or curb detectors.
The vehicle 102 may need more sensors to improve the autonomous operation of the vehicle. Theses sensors may not be resilient to road debris and mounted in areas that currently do not having a cleaning solution. The system 100 (
The above-disclosed features and functions, as well as alternatives, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various components may be implemented in hardware or software or embedded software. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements may be made by those skilled in the art, each of which is also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments.
Terminology that is relevant to the disclosure provided above is described below.
The terms “processor” and “processing device” refer to a hardware component of an electronic device that is configured to execute programming instructions. Except where specifically stated otherwise, the singular term “processor” or “processing device” is intended to include both single-processing device embodiments and embodiments in which multiple processing devices together or collectively perform a process.
The terms “memory,” “memory device,” “data store,” “data storage facility” and the like each refer to a non-transitory device on which computer-readable data, programming instructions or both are stored. Except where specifically stated otherwise, the terms “memory,” “memory device,” “data store,” “data storage facility” and the like are intended to include single device embodiments, embodiments in which multiple memory devices together or collectively store a set of data or instructions, as well as individual sectors within such devices.
In this document, when terms such “first” and “second” are used to modify a noun, such use is simply intended to distinguish one item from another, and is not intended to require a sequential order unless specifically stated. In addition, terms of relative position such as “vertical” and “horizontal”, or “front” and “rear”, when used, are intended to be relative to each other and need not be absolute, and only refer to one possible position of the device associated with those terms depending on the device's orientation.
The above-disclosed features and functions, as well as alternatives, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various components may be implemented in hardware or software or embedded software. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements may be made by those skilled in the art, each of which is also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments.
