Sensor Mounting for a Distance Sensor

Abstract

The invention relates to a sensor mounting (5) for a distance sensor (6), said sensor mounting (5) having at least the following: a fixing part (12) for attaching to a vehicle (1), and a receiving part (14) that is attached to the fixing part (12) in an adjustable manner in order to receive the distance sensor (6), said receiving part (14) being adjustable into at least two different angular positions on the fixing part (12).

Description

The invention relates to a sensor mounting for a distance sensor, a sensor system with the sensor mounting and a distance sensor as well as a vehicle with such a sensor system.

For detection of distances or separations, various distance sensors can be attached to a vehicle. Thus e.g. ultrasound and radar distance sensors are known, which can detect the separation or distance to other objects within a spatial angle.

For e.g. rear view monitoring systems and ramp approach systems, such distance sensors are attached to the rear of the vehicle. Depending on the application, the sensors are disposed at different angles to the longitudinal axis, in order to be able to cover the necessary monitoring area with the minimum possible number of sensors.

The distance sensors are generally attached to the vehicle by sensor mountings, e.g. to the vehicle chassis or the bumper. Thus in general multiple sensor mountings are necessary for the various angular positions of the sensor, e.g. lateral sensor mountings and a central sensor mounting.

This accordingly increases the number of parts for manufacturers and the costs of the tools for manufacturing the sensor mountings, wherein the various sensor mountings are to be separately tested and released.

An object of the invention is to provide a sensor mounting that can be flexibly or adjustably attached on or in a vehicle.

This object is achieved by a sensor mounting as claimed in claim 1, a sensor system as claimed in claim 12 and a vehicle with such a sensor system as claimed in claim 13. The dependent claims disclose preferred developments.

According to the invention, the sensor mounting is thus designed essentially in two parts, with an attachment part for attachment to the vehicle, e.g. to the vehicle chassis or the bumper, and an accommodating part for accommodating the distance sensor. The attachment part can be a housing that encloses the distance sensor and the accommodating part can be a cover that closes the housing, to which the distance sensor is fixed. Thus the cover with fixed distance sensor can be placed on the housing in the desired angular position and fixed.

The attachment part can be directly and or indirectly attached to the vehicle, e.g. on a mounting plate. The accommodating part can, according to the invention, be fixed onto the attachment part in at least two angular positions, wherein the angular position of the accommodating part defines the angular positions of the distance sensor.

The distance sensor is thus accommodated in the various angular positions of the accommodating part with a different orientation of its sensor axis. The user can thus adjust the orientation of the sensor axis by the angular position of the accommodating part.

The various angular positions of the sensor axis can lie in particular in the horizontal plane, i.e. the XY plane of the vehicle.

According to a preferred design, the accommodating part can be attached to the attachment part in exactly two angular positions, which are rotated relative to each other by 180°, whereby two different orientations of the sensor axis are defined in the horizontal plane.

A first angular position can be such that the sensor axis extends essentially in the vehicle's longitudinal direction (or opposite to the vehicle's x direction).

In this angular position, the sensor mounting can be mounted, for example, centrally at the rear of the vehicle and can detect a distance to the rear. In the other angular position the sensor axis is orientated towards the side in the horizontal plane. Depending on the installation of the entire sensor mounting, this orientation can face to the left or right, so that a total of three sensor systems can be attached with orientations towards the center and to the left and right.

According to the invention, there are some advantages. Thus, the production costs are significantly reduced, because a uniform sensor mounting can be used for the various sensor orientations.

The adjustment can be carried out by the user himself. For this purpose, for example, positive locking of the attachment part to the accommodating part can take place, e.g. using mounting eyes or fixing eyelets, which are formed on the two parts and joined or fixed to each other by fixing bolts. Definite positions can thus be set for the user with relatively little effort.

The sensor mounting according to the invention is characterized moreover by a small parts count and robustness. In principle, only the attachment part and the accommodating part are necessary, possibly with locking means such as fixing bolts or also possibly a seal between their positioning surfaces for mutual contact.

The invention is explained below using the accompanying drawings of an embodiment. The drawings show:

FIG. 1 a vehicle with a sensor system according to the invention;

FIG. 2 the sensor mounting according to the invention in its first angular position;

FIG. 3 the sensor mounting of FIG. 2 in its second angular position.

A vehicle 1 drives on a road 2. The direction of travel of the vehicle 1 is conventionally designated as X, the vertical direction as Z and the direction shown as transverse in FIGS. 2, 3 as Y, which together form a vehicle coordinate system. The horizontal plane is defined by the X direction and the Y direction.

A sensor mounting 5 according to the invention with a distance sensor 6 shown dashed in FIGS. 2, 3 is attached to the vehicle 1, e.g. on its bumper 3 or on a mounting plate 4 fixed to the bumper 3. The sensor mounting 5 with the distance sensor 6 accommodated by it form a sensor system 7 according to the invention. Attachment of the sensor system 7 is not only possible on the bumper 3 or the rear area of the vehicle 1, but in principle also, for example, on the sides for detecting a lateral distance or even on the front of the vehicle 1. This also allows a different height on the vehicle 1 to be selected.

The distance sensor 6 outputs a sensor signal S1, which can be received in the vehicle 1 by a controller 8 for evaluation of a distance d to an obstruction 9 and e.g. to output a warning signal if the distance is less than a minimum distance, as well as possibly also to control vehicle brakes 10 if the distance sensor 6 is part of an automatic vehicle brake control system or vehicle driving dynamics control system. In principle the sensor signals S1 can also be evaluated already within the sensor mounting 5, which then outputs e.g. a warning signal if the distance is less than the minimum distance.

The sensor mounting 5 is according to the invention made in multiple parts; according to the embodiment shown it has two parts, namely a housing 12 as the attachment part, which is attached to the chassis side mounting plate 4, e.g. with its planar rear side 12a, and an accommodating part, which in this instance is in the form of a cover 14. The distance sensor 6 can, for example, be essentially rectangular and is attached to the cover 14. The distance sensor 6 is accommodated in the housing 12 and is covered at the rear by the cover 14. An opening 15 is formed in the cover 14, through which the sensitive area of the distance sensor 6 detects a detection region around the sensor axis A.

The housing 12 is formed with a first positioning surface 12b that is oblique or inclined relative to the vertical YZ plane, and which is formed, for example, by the four front edges of the housing 12, i.e. the edge surfaces of its two side walls and the edge surfaces of the upper wall and the lower wall. Correspondingly, a second positioning surface 14a is formed on the cover 14, e.g. likewise by the edge surfaces of its horizontal upper wall and lower wall and its side walls 14c and 14d. In addition, the second positioning surface 14a is offset relative to the vertical YZ plane. The positioning surfaces 14a and 12b are in contact with each other, e.g. with a seal between them.

According to FIGS. 2, 3, the first positioning surface 12b is inclined relative to the vertical YZ plane at a first inclination angle α1, which thus lies in the horizontal XY plane. For this purpose, e.g. the right side wall 12c of the housing 12 can be somewhat longer than its left side wall 12d.

Correspondingly, the second positioning surface 14a is inclined relative to the vertical YZ plane by a second inclination angle α2, which thus also lies in the horizontal XY plane, for which purpose the side walls 14c and 14d of the cover 14 can be of different lengths.

A bearing eye (fixing eyelet) 18 with a vertical throughway is provided centrally in each case on both side walls 14c and 14d of the cover 14. Correspondingly, two bearing eyes 19 are provided on the side walls 12c and 12d of the housing 12, which align with the bearing eyes 18 when mounting the cover 14 on the housing 12, allowing a fixing bolt 20 shown schematically in FIG. 3 to be placed through the bearing eyes 18, 19, in order to allow the cover 14 to be locked or latched to the housing 12 on both sides.

According to FIGS. 2, 3, the cover 14 can be attached to the housing 12 in two positions, wherein its bearing eyes (fixing eyelets) 18 are each accommodated between the corresponding bearing eyes 19 of the housing 12. In the second positions of FIG. 3 the cover 14 is rotated by 180° relative to the X direction compared to FIG. 2, i.e. its lateral surfaces 14c and 14d are reversed left and right, as can also be seen from the offset position of the hole 15. In both positions or angular positions the positioning surfaces 12b and 14a are in mutual contact.

Because the distance sensor 6 is attached to the cover 14, it is turned with it. The sensor axis A thus extends differently in the XY plane in FIGS. 2 and 3.

As the inclination angles α1=α2 are selected, in FIG. 2 the cover surface 14e extends parallel to the mounting surface or the rear side 12a of the housing 12. The sensor axis A thus extends at the angle α1−α2=0 relative to the vehicle's longitudinal direction (−X direction). In the position of the cover 14 rotated by comparison through 180° according to FIG. 3, the inclination angles α1 and α2 add to a total angle α1+α2=2α1, by which the sensor axis A′ is rotated relative to the X direction in the XY plane.

In principle, even more complex angular positions than those with the simple contact shown of positioning surfaces 12b and 14a are possible. Thus, for example, square designs of the sensor mounting with 4-fold (instead of 2-fold) symmetry are possible.

According to the invention, e.g. three sensor systems 7 can be mounted on the bumper 3: e.g. the sensor system 7 according to FIG. 2 can be mounted in the center of the bumper 3, wherein its sensor axis A thus points rearwards in the −X direction. A sensor system 7 can be mounted laterally outwardly, i.e. on the left and right respectively, for which the sensor mounting 5 is turned outwards in the horizontal XY plane according to FIG. 3. The sensor system shown in FIG. 3 can be mounted on the left as shown. For mounting on the right side, it can be rotated relative to FIG. 3 by a total of 180°, so that the sensor axis A points outwards to the right.

The distance sensor 6 can, for example, be an ultrasound sensor or radar sensor. According to its design, the hole 15 may be closed with a transparent cover (when in the form of a radar sensor).

Claims

1. A sensor mounting (5) for a distance sensor (6), wherein the sensor mounting (5) at least comprises: an attachment part (12) for attachment to a vehicle (1),an accommodating part (14) adjustably attached to the attachment part (12) for accommodating the distance sensor (6),wherein the accommodating part (14) can be adjusted on the attachment part (12) in at least two different angular positions.

2. The sensor mounting (5) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a sensor axis (A) of the distance sensor (6) accommodated by the accommodating part (14) extends in different directions in the two angular positions of the accommodating part (14).

3. The sensor mounting (5) as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the sensor axis (A) lies in a horizontal plane (XY) of the vehicle (1) in each of the different angular positions.

4. The sensor mounting (5) as claimed in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the sensor axis (A) extends in a first angular position essentially parallel to the vehicle's longitudinal direction (X) and in a second angular position (α1+α2) is offset relative to the vehicle's longitudinal direction (X).

5. The sensor mounting (5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the attachment part (12) comprises a first positioning surface (12b) and the accommodating part (14) comprises a second positioning surface (14a), which are in direct or indirect contact respectively with each other in the different angular positions.

6. The sensor mounting (5) as claimed in any one of the claims 1 through 4 and as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the first positioning surface (12b) has a first inclination angle (α1) relative to a vertical plane (YZ) and the second positioning surface (14a) has a second inclination angle (α2) relative to the vertical plane (YZ), the first and second inclination angles (α1, α2) are of approximately equal magnitude, so that the sensor axis (A) of the distance sensor (6) in the second angular position is displaced by approximately double the inclination angle (α1+α2) relative to the first angular position.

7. The sensor mounting (5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the accommodating part (14) can be positively latched to the attachment part (12) in the at least two angular positions.

8. The sensor mounting (5) as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the accommodating part (14) and the attachment part (12) each comprise bearing eyes (18, 19) or fixing eyelets, which can be positively locked by fixing bolts (20) in the respective angular positions.

9. The sensor mounting (5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the attachment part is a housing (12) andthe accommodating part is a cover (14) that closes the housing (12),wherein the distance sensor (6) is attached to the cover (14) and enclosed by the housing (12),wherein the cover is rotated through 180° in each of the two angular positions relative to the other position.

10. The sensor mounting (5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an opening (15) is formed in the accommodating part (14) for the distance sensor (6) for detecting the exterior through the opening (15).

11. The sensor mounting (5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is essentially of rectangular form and the attachment part (12) and the accommodating part (14) each form parts of the rectangular shape, wherein lateral surfaces (12a, 12c, 12d; 14e, 14c, 14d) of the attachment part (12) and the accommodating part (14) are essentially formed parallel to each other or merge together in at least one angular position.

12. A sensor system (7), which comprises at least: a sensor mounting (5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, and a distance sensor (6) accommodated by or in the sensor mounting (5) for the detection of a distance (d) to an object (9).

13. A vehicle (1), which comprises at least one sensor system (7) as claimed in claim 12 and a controller (8) for receiving the sensor signals (S1) of the at least one sensor system (7), wherein the sensor system (7) is attached to the rear of the vehicle (1) and is essentially orientated towards the rear,wherein the sensor system (7) in a first angular position is essentially orientated with its sensor axis (A) towards the rear opposite to the vehicle's longitudinal direction (X) and in at least another angular position is essentially orientated laterally rearwards.

14. The vehicle (1) as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that it comprises at least three sensor systems (7), wherein a central sensor system (7) is set in the first angular position and a left and a right sensor system (7) are each set in the second angular position,wherein the central sensor system (7) is orientated with its sensor axis (A) towards the rear essentially opposite and parallel to the vehicle's longitudinal direction (X),the left sensor system (7) is orientated with its sensor axis (A) in the horizontal plane (xy) outwards to the left,the right sensor system (7) is orientated with its sensor axis (A) in the horizontal plane (xy) outwards to the right,wherein the housings (12) of the left sensor system (7) and the right sensor system (7) are attached to mounting devices (4) of the vehicle (1) in positions that are rotated by 180° relative to each other.