A laser radar short-distance lens module

Abstract

The application discloses a laser radar short-distance lens module, which comprises a radar base and a heat dissipation mechanism, wherein the upper end of the radar base is provided with an upper cover, the front side of the upper cover is provided with a protective window, the heat dissipation mechanism comprises a heat-conducting lens holder, a flow guide base, a lens frame, a blowing box and a flow guide assembly, the flow guide base is arranged in the middle part of the bottom wall of the radar base, the heat-conducting lens holder is arranged at the upper end of the flow guide base, the lens frame is arranged at the front side of the upper end of the heat-conducting lens holder, the lower end of the lens frame is in communication with the inside of the heat-conducting lens holder, the blowing box is arranged at the front side of the upper end of the upper cover, and the blowing box is arranged in cooperation with the protective window. The laser radar short-distance lens module integrates the cleaning and heat dissipation functions, realizes the self-cleaning of the protective window and the heat dissipation of the equipment by using the same air source, greatly saves the space, improves the energy utilization efficiency, and realizes the comprehensive utilization of one air for two purposes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of short-range lidar technology, specifically to a lidar short-range lens module. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of intelligent driving technology, LiDAR, as a core sensor for environmental perception, plays an irreplaceable role in scenarios such as automatic parking, low-speed urban road conditions, and complex intersection passage, primarily responsible for detecting obstacles within a short range around the vehicle using its close-range lens module. Existing close-range lens modules typically include a square housing, a protective window at the front of the housing, and optical and electrical components such as a lens barrel, lens group, and circuit board housed inside the housing. During operation, the protective window is susceptible to the adhesion of mud, water, and dust, severely affecting laser transmittance and detection accuracy. Therefore, some modules are equipped with independent cleaning devices, such as miniature wipers or external nozzles, to clean the window by spraying cleaning fluid or high-pressure gas. Simultaneously, the laser emitter and drive circuitry inside the module also play a crucial role in operation. The cleaning system generates a large amount of heat. To ensure its stability and lifespan in high-temperature environments, an independent heat dissipation structure, such as a metal heat sink, a heat-conducting bracket, or an external fan, is usually required to remove the heat from the module through heat conduction or forced convection. However, existing technologies have obvious functional separation problems: the cleaning system and the heat dissipation system are independent of each other, each occupying valuable internal space of the module, resulting in a bulky overall structure that is not conducive to miniaturization and integration. The air source used for cleaning is often only used for blowing through the viewing window, and the compression heat and kinetic energy it carries are not fully utilized. On the other hand, the heat dissipation system requires additional energy consumption or space to remove the heat. The two lack coordinated design. In addition, the heat dissipation structure is often inefficient due to space constraints, making it difficult to meet increasingly stringent heat dissipation requirements. Therefore, we propose a LiDAR close-range lens module. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the existing defects and provide a lidar close-range lens module that combines cleaning and heat dissipation functions through an integrated air path design. It uses the same air source to achieve both self-cleaning of the protective window and heat dissipation of the device itself, which greatly saves space and improves energy utilization efficiency. It realizes the comprehensive energy utilization of one air source for two purposes and can effectively solve the problems in the background technology.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a lidar close-range lens module, comprising a lidar base and a heat dissipation mechanism;

[0005] Radar base: It has a top cover, and a protective window is provided on the front side of the top cover;

[0006] The heat dissipation mechanism includes a heat-conducting lens holder, a flow guide seat, a lens frame, a blower box, and a flow guide assembly. The flow guide seat is located in the middle of the bottom wall of the radar base, the heat-conducting lens holder is located at the upper end of the flow guide seat, the lens frame is located at the upper front side of the heat-conducting lens holder, and the lower end of the lens frame is connected to the interior of the heat-conducting lens holder. The blower box is located at the upper front side of the top cover and is designed in conjunction with the protective window. Through an integrated air path design, the cleaning and heat dissipation functions are combined into one. The same air source is used to simultaneously achieve self-cleaning of the protective window and heat dissipation of the equipment itself, which greatly saves space and improves energy utilization efficiency, realizing the comprehensive energy utilization of one air source for two purposes.

[0007] Furthermore, the flow guiding assembly includes a flow guiding plate, a partition, and an air inlet connector. The flow guiding plate is evenly arranged on the upper end of the flow guiding seat, and the partition is arranged in the middle of the upper end of the flow guiding seat. Both the flow guiding plate and the partition are configured to cooperate with the heat-conducting lens bracket. The air inlet connector is arranged in the middle of the upper rear side of the flow guiding plate, which can form a heat dissipation channel in the lower part of the equipment.

[0008] Furthermore, the flow guiding assembly also includes a heat-conducting sheet, which is uniformly disposed on the rear side of the central protrusion of the heat-conducting lens holder, providing a basis for heat conduction inside the device.

[0009] Furthermore, the flow guiding assembly also includes a heat-conducting lens barrel and a heat-conducting ring. A flow guiding cavity is opened inside the lens frame. The heat-conducting lens barrel is respectively disposed on the left and right sides of the upper end of the flow guiding cavity. The heat-conducting ring is evenly disposed in the middle of the outer surface of the heat-conducting lens barrel. The outer edge of the heat-conducting ring is in contact with the inner wall of the vertically adjacent flow guiding cavity, which can form a gas passage inside the lens frame.

[0010] Furthermore, the flow guiding component also includes a grille, which is evenly distributed on the lower front side of the blow-off box. The left and right ends of the lens frame are both attached to the lower ends of the adjacent blow-off box. The flow guiding cavity is connected to the interior of the blow-off box, which facilitates the self-cleaning of the protective window surface.

[0011] Furthermore, the heat dissipation mechanism also includes a phase change box, which is located at the upper center of the cover. The interior of the phase change box is filled with paraffin-based phase change material to provide phase change heat dissipation for the device.

[0012] Furthermore, it also includes a DOE lens, a VCSEL chip, a wide-angle lens, a SPAD array chip, and a processing chip. The DOE lens is located inside the right-side heat-conducting lens barrel, the VCSEL chip is located on the right-side front protrusion of the heat-conducting lens holder, the wide-angle lens is located inside the left-side heat-conducting lens barrel, the SPAD array chip is located on the left-side front protrusion of the heat-conducting lens holder, and the processing chip is located in the middle of the rear side wall of the heat-conducting lens holder. Both the VCSEL chip and the SPAD array chip are bidirectionally electrically connected to the processing chip, and the processing chip is bidirectionally electrically connected to an external controller, providing a foundation for the laser detection of the device.

[0013] Furthermore, the heat-conducting lens holder, flow guide seat, flow guide plate, partition plate and lens frame are all welded from aluminum plates, and the heat-conducting sheet is stamped from a copper-aluminum composite plate with a gradient transition layer. The aluminum plate and copper-aluminum composite plate have good thermal conductivity, which can improve the heat dissipation effect of the equipment.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: This laser radar close-range lens module has the following advantages:

[0015] 1. The cleaning air path and the heat dissipation air path are organically integrated through the air guide component. The same air source flows through the heat source areas such as the processing chip, VCSEL chip, SPAD array chip and lens barrel in sequence, and finally sprays out the cleaning and protective window from the grille. This greatly saves the internal space of the module and solves the problem of the independent cleaning and heat dissipation systems and the bulky structure in the existing technology.

[0016] 2. Through a multi-stage heat-conducting structure consisting of a heat-conducting lens holder, a flow guide seat, a heat-conducting sheet, a heat-conducting lens barrel, and a heat-conducting ring, combined with aluminum plate welding and copper-aluminum composite plate stamping processes, a high-efficiency heat-conducting network is formed. This allows compressed air to fully absorb heat as it flows through the multi-stage heat-conducting structure and is then sprayed out of the cleaning window as hot air. This not only enhances the heat dissipation effect by utilizing high-pressure, high-speed airflow, but also improves cleaning efficiency by leveraging the evaporation and viscosity reduction effects of hot air. At the same time, the phase change box provides instantaneous thermal buffering, ensuring the temperature stability and long-term reliability of the module under harsh operating conditions, thus achieving comprehensive energy utilization. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the heat dissipation mechanism of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the upper cover of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the lens frame structure of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the lens frame of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the guide plate of the present invention;

[0023] In the diagram: 1 Radar base, 2 Top cover, 3 Protective window, 4 Heat dissipation mechanism, 41 Thermal lens holder, 42 Air guide seat, 43 Lens frame, 44 Blower box, 45 Air guide assembly, 451 Air guide plate, 452 Partition plate, 453 Heat conduction sheet, 454 Air inlet connector, 455 Thermal lens barrel, 456 Heat conduction ring, 457 Grille, 46 Phase change box, 5 DOE lens, 6 VCSEL chip, 7 Wide-angle lens, 8 SPAD array chip, 9 Processing chip. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0025] Please see Figure 1-6 This embodiment provides a technical solution: a lidar close-range lens module, including a lidar base 1 and a heat dissipation mechanism 4;

[0026] Radar base 1: It has a top cover 2 at its upper end. The radar base 1 is the basic support structure of the entire module. It is made of die-cast aluminum alloy. The top cover 2 and the radar base 1 together form the sealed shell of the module, protecting the internal optical and electrical components from the influence of the external environment. Bolt holes are opened on both the left and right sides of the radar base 1. The front of the top cover 2 is provided with a protective window 3. The protective window 3 is made of high light transmittance optical glass or plastic sheet. The surface is usually coated with an anti-reflection film to reduce reflection loss. It also has the characteristics of scratch resistance and weather resistance, protecting the internal optical components while allowing the laser beam to pass through smoothly.

[0027] Heat dissipation mechanism 4: It includes a heat-conducting lens holder 41, a flow guide seat 42, a lens frame 43, a blower box 44, and a flow guide assembly 45. The flow guide seat 42 is located in the middle of the bottom wall of the radar base 1. The heat-conducting lens holder 41 is located at the upper end of the flow guide seat 42. The lens frame 43 is located at the upper front side of the heat-conducting lens holder 41. The lower end of the lens frame 43 is connected to the interior of the heat-conducting lens holder 41. The blower box 44 is located at the upper front side of the upper cover 2. The blower box 44 is configured in conjunction with the protective window 3. The blower box 44 is located directly above the protective window 3 and can provide a cleaning effect for the surface of the protective window 3. The cleaning and heat dissipation functions are combined into one through the integrated air circuit design. The same air source is used to achieve self-cleaning of the protective window 3 and heat dissipation of the equipment itself, which greatly saves space and improves the energy utilization efficiency, realizing the comprehensive energy utilization of one air source for two purposes.

[0028] The airflow guiding assembly 45 includes a guide plate 451, a partition 452, and an air inlet connector 454. The guide plates 451 are evenly distributed on the upper end of the airflow guide seat 42, and the partition 452 is disposed in the middle of the upper end of the airflow guide seat 42. Both the guide plates 451 and the partition 452 are configured to cooperate with the heat-conducting lens holder 41. From the rear side of the upper end of the airflow guide seat 42 to the front side of the lower end of the airflow guide seat 42, the right ends of the odd-numbered guide plates 451 and the side near the middle of the upper cover 2 are in contact with the inner wall of the heat-conducting lens holder 41, and the left ends of the even-numbered guide plates 451 and the side near the middle of the upper cover 2 are in contact with the inner wall of the heat-conducting lens holder 41. The left and right sides of the partition 452 are in contact with the adjacent ends of the heat-conducting lens holder 41, which can form A U-shaped heat dissipation channel extends the airflow path to increase heat exchange time and guides the airflow direction. An air inlet connector 454 is located at the upper rear center of the guide plate 451. The air inlet connector 454 is a standard pneumatic quick-connect connector used to connect to an external compressed air source, introducing compressed air into the module. This creates a heat dissipation channel at the bottom of the device. The guide assembly 45 also includes heat-conducting plates 453, which are evenly distributed on the rear side of the raised section in the middle of the heat-conducting lens holder 41, providing a foundation for heat conduction inside the device. The guide assembly 45 also includes heat-conducting lens barrels 455 and heat-conducting rings 456. A guide cavity is formed inside the lens frame 43, and the heat-conducting lens barrels 455 are respectively located on the left and right sides of the upper end of the guide cavity. On both sides, heat-conducting rings 456 are evenly distributed in the middle of the outer surface of the heat-conducting lens barrel 455. The outer edge of the heat-conducting rings 456 is in contact with the inner wall of the vertically adjacent flow guide cavity. The lens frame 43 and the heat-conducting rings 456 are made of aluminum alloy. The heat-conducting rings 456 can increase the heat exchange area between the heat-conducting lens barrel 455 and the airflow, and efficiently transfer the generated heat to the flowing airflow. It can form a gas passage inside the lens frame 43. The flow guide assembly 45 also includes grilles 457. The grilles 457 are evenly opened on the lower front side of the blow box 44. The grilles 457 are a row of evenly distributed micro-through holes with a diameter between 0.3-0.8mm, used to spray the airflow at high speed to form an air curtain. Both ends of the lens frame 43 are... The lower end of the heat-conducting lens holder 41 is attached to the adjacent end of the blow-out box 44. The flow guide cavity is connected to the interior of the blow-out box 44, which facilitates the self-cleaning of the surface of the protective window 3. The heat-conducting lens holder 41, the flow guide seat 42, the flow guide plate 451, the partition plate 452 and the lens frame 43 are all welded from aluminum plates. The heat-conducting sheet 453 is stamped from a copper-aluminum composite plate with a gradient transition layer. The gradient transition layer is a multi-layer intermetallic compound gradient structure, which ensures heat transfer while avoiding the formation of a galvanic cell effect. The aluminum side of the copper-aluminum composite plate is attached to the surface of the heat-conducting lens holder 41, and the copper side is in contact with the airflow. The high thermal conductivity of copper is used to quickly conduct heat and achieve efficient heat exchange. The aluminum plate and the copper-aluminum composite plate have good thermal conductivity, which can improve the heat dissipation effect of the equipment.

[0029] The heat dissipation mechanism 4 also includes a phase change box 46, which is located at the upper middle part of the upper cover 2. The interior of the phase change box 46 is filled with paraffin-based phase change material. The phase change box 46 is an aluminum alloy sealed cavity structure, and the interior is filled with paraffin-based phase change material. The phase change material can absorb instantaneous thermal shock under extreme working conditions or when the air source is interrupted, ensuring the module temperature is stable and providing phase change heat dissipation effect for the equipment.

[0030] It also includes a DOE lens 5, a VCSEL chip 6, a wide-angle lens 7, a SPAD array chip 8, and a processing chip 9. The DOE lens 5 is located inside the heat-conducting lens barrel 455 on the right side. The VCSEL chip 6 is located on the right side of the protruding front section of the heat-conducting lens holder 41. The VCSEL chip 6, or Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser, is a semiconductor laser emitting device. Its structural feature is that the laser is emitted perpendicular to the chip surface. It consists of two layers of distributed Bragg mirrors and an active region in the middle. The VCSEL chip 6 has advantages such as small size, low power consumption, good beam quality, and easy integration into two-dimensional arrays, making it an ideal light source for lidar. The DOE lens 5, or diffractive optical element, has a surface etched with microscopic stepped or grating structures using micro-nano fabrication technology. It modulates the laser beam using the principle of light diffraction. In this module, the main function of the DOE lens 5 is to shape and split the raw laser beam emitted by the VCSEL chip 6, forming a specific spot pattern that meets the requirements of close-range detection, such as uniform speckle or wide-angle coverage. The wide-angle lens 7 is located inside the heat-conducting lens tube 455 on the left side. The SPAD array chip 8 is located on the front left end of the protruding section in the middle of the heat-conducting lens holder 41. The SPAD array chip 8, or single-photon avalanche diode array, is a high-sensitivity photoelectric detector. The device operates under a reverse bias voltage higher than the breakdown voltage. A single incident photon can trigger an avalanche effect, generating a detectable current pulse. The SPAD array chip 8 integrates tens of thousands of SPAD pixels onto a single chip. Combined with circuits such as a time-to-digital converter, it can accurately measure the flight time of photons, achieving high-precision three-dimensional imaging. The wide-angle lens 7, i.e., a short focal length, large field of view imaging lens, is usually composed of multiple lenses. Its characteristics are a short focal length and a large field of view, which can capture a wide range of echo light at close range and converge it onto the SPAD array chip 8. The processing chip 9 is located on the rear side wall of the heat-conducting lens holder 41. In the middle section, both the VCSEL chip 6 and the SPAD array chip 8 are bidirectionally electrically connected to the processing chip 9. The processing chip 9 is also bidirectionally electrically connected to the external controller. The processing chip 9 is a dedicated SoC chip for LiDAR, which typically adopts a RISC-V or ARM architecture and integrates a microcontroller, digital signal processor, on-chip memory, and various interfaces. The processing chip 9 is responsible for controlling the transmission timing of the VCSEL chip 6, receiving the detection signals from the SPAD array chip 8, performing algorithm processing such as time measurement, point cloud generation, and noise filtering, and sending the processed data to the external controller through the external interface, providing the foundation for the laser detection of the equipment.

[0031] The working principle of the lidar close-range lens module provided by this invention is as follows: When using the lidar close-range lens module, the air inlet connector 454 is first connected to an external compressed air source through an air pipe. The external compressed air source enters the module through the air inlet connector 454. The airflow first flows through the guide plate 451 and the partition plate 452 at the upper end of the guide seat 42. At this time, the airflow forms a uniformly distributed heat dissipation channel under the guidance of the guide plate 451, which performs forced convection heat dissipation on the processing chip 9 on the rear side wall of the heat-conducting lens frame 41. Subsequently, the airflow forms a U-shaped bend at the partition plate 452 and flows through the area of ​​the heat-conducting plate 453, forming a heat dissipation channel at the protrusion in the middle of the heat-conducting lens frame 41. The airflow carries away the heat transferred by the evenly distributed heat-conducting plates 453 and the heat generated by the VCSEL chip 6 and SPAD array chip 8, achieving efficient heat exchange. The heated airflow continues to enter the guide cavity inside the lens frame 43 and flows along the heat-conducting ring 456 on the outer surface of the heat-conducting lens barrel 455. The heat-conducting ring 456 is in contact with the inner wall of the guide cavity. The airflow can carry away the heat from the heat-conducting lens barrel 455, DOE lens 5 and wide-angle lens 7. Finally, the airflow carrying heat enters the blower box 44 and is sprayed downward from the evenly distributed grille openings 457, forming a high-speed hot air curtain on the surface of the protective window 3. This not only blows away the attached dust and dirt, but also uses residual heat to accelerate the evaporation of moisture and prevent fog condensation. At the same time, the phase change box 46 located at the upper end of the top cover 2 is filled with paraffin-based phase change material, which can absorb instantaneous thermal shocks under extreme working conditions or when the air source is interrupted, ensuring the module temperature is stable. This realizes the dual function of air intake cooling and heat dissipation and exhaust cleaning of the window.

[0032] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made based on the content of the present invention specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A lidar close-range lens module, characterized in that: Includes radar base (1) and heat dissipation mechanism (4); Radar base (1): It has a top cover (2) at its upper end, and a protective window (3) is provided on the front side of the top cover (2); Heat dissipation mechanism (4): It includes a heat-conducting lens holder (41), a flow guide seat (42), a lens frame (43), a blower box (44), and a flow guide assembly (45). The flow guide seat (42) is located in the middle of the bottom wall of the radar base (1). The heat-conducting lens holder (41) is located at the upper end of the flow guide seat (42). The lens frame (43) is located at the upper front side of the heat-conducting lens holder (41). The lower end of the lens frame (43) is connected to the interior of the heat-conducting lens holder (41). The blower box (44) is located at the upper front side of the top cover (2). The blower box (44) is configured in conjunction with the protective window (3).

2. The lidar close-range lens module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flow guiding assembly (45) includes a flow guiding plate (451), a partition plate (452), and an air inlet connector (454). The flow guiding plate (451) is evenly arranged on the upper end of the flow guiding seat (42), and the partition plate (452) is arranged in the middle of the upper end of the flow guiding seat (42). The flow guiding plate (451) and the partition plate (452) are both arranged in conjunction with the heat-conducting lens holder (41). The air inlet connector (454) is arranged in the middle of the upper rear side of the flow guiding plate (451).

3. A lidar close-range lens module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flow guiding assembly (45) also includes a heat-conducting sheet (453), which is uniformly disposed on the rear side of the central protrusion of the heat-conducting lens holder (41).

4. A lidar close-range lens module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flow guiding assembly (45) also includes a heat-conducting lens barrel (455) and a heat-conducting ring (456). The lens frame (43) has a flow guiding cavity inside. The heat-conducting lens barrel (455) is respectively located on the left and right sides of the upper end of the flow guiding cavity. The heat-conducting ring (456) is evenly located in the middle of the outer surface of the heat-conducting lens barrel (455). The outer edge of the heat-conducting ring (456) is in contact with the inner wall of the vertically adjacent flow guiding cavity.

5. A lidar close-range lens module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flow guiding component (45) also includes a grille (457), which is evenly opened on the lower front side of the blow-jet box (44). The left and right ends of the lens frame (43) are attached to the lower ends of the adjacent ends of the blow-jet box (44), and the flow guiding cavity is connected to the interior of the blow-jet box (44).

6. A lidar close-range lens module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heat dissipation mechanism (4) also includes a phase change box (46), which is located at the upper middle part of the cover (2), and the interior of the phase change box (46) is filled with paraffin-based phase change material.

7. A lidar close-range lens module according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes a DOE lens (5), a VCSEL chip (6), a wide-angle lens (7), a SPAD array chip (8), and a processing chip (9). The DOE lens (5) is located inside the right side of the heat-conducting lens barrel (455). The VCSEL chip (6) is located on the right side of the protruding front end of the heat-conducting lens holder (41). The wide-angle lens (7) is located inside the left side of the heat-conducting lens barrel (455). The SPAD array chip (8) is located on the left side of the protruding front end of the heat-conducting lens holder (41). The processing chip (9) is located in the middle of the rear side wall of the heat-conducting lens holder (41). The VCSEL chip (6) and the SPAD array chip (8) are bidirectionally electrically connected to the processing chip (9). The processing chip (9) is bidirectionally electrically connected to an external controller.

8. A lidar close-range lens module according to claim 2, characterized in that: The heat-conducting lens holder (41), the flow guide seat (42), the flow guide plate (451), the partition plate (452) and the lens frame (43) are all welded from aluminum plates, and the heat-conducting sheet (453) is stamped from a copper-aluminum composite plate with a gradient transition layer.

Images