A housing, an environmental perception module or a robot

Abstract

The application provides a shell, an environment sensing module and a robot, and is applied to the environment sensing module, and has the characteristics that a side plate is arranged; the shell has an inner cavity; an airflow channel is arranged in the side plate; the outer surface of the side plate is recessed to form a flow guide groove to the inner cavity of the shell, the flow guide groove is communicated with the airflow channel and the outer space of the shell; a heat dissipation partition plate is arranged in the flow guide groove, and the extension direction of the heat dissipation partition plate is the same as the extension direction of the airflow channel. The flow guide groove recessed to the inner cavity of the shell is arranged on the outer surface of the side plate, on one hand, the airflow is guided to flow in the channel in an organized manner through the flow guide groove, the cooling effect of the shell is significantly enhanced, so that the overall temperature is effectively reduced; on the other hand, the heat dissipation partition plate is additionally arranged in the flow guide groove, the partition plate is protruded upward from the bottom wall of the flow guide groove, and the contact area with the airflow is further increased. Compared with the traditional design without the heat dissipation partition plate, the heat dissipation capacity of the system is significantly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of heat dissipation structure technology, and in particular to a housing, an environmental sensing module, or a robot. Background Technology

[0002] Existing mechanical or hybrid solid-state LiDAR systems rely on motors and other drive components to scan the laser beam. Their continuous operation generates significant heat, easily leading to module overheating and disrupting normal operation. Image sensors in vision cameras also generate heat during operation; if infrared or night vision capabilities are included, the high-power infrared LEDs will further exacerbate the temperature rise, posing a significant challenge to the device's thermal management. Current heat dissipation methods rely solely on heat exchange between the module and the air, resulting in limited cooling efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a housing, an environmental sensing module, or a robot, designed to improve the limited heat dissipation efficiency of existing heat dissipation methods.

[0004] On one hand, embodiments of this application provide a housing for an environmental sensing module, including a side plate; the housing has an internal cavity; The side plate has an airflow channel inside; The outer surface of the side plate is recessed into the inner cavity of the shell to form a guide groove, which connects the gas flow channel and the external space of the shell. A heat dissipation baffle is provided inside the flow guide groove, and the extension direction of the heat dissipation baffle is the same as the extension direction of the airflow channel.

[0005] Optionally, the side plate is a metal side plate.

[0006] Optionally, the heat dissipation partition and the side plate are integrally formed.

[0007] Optionally, one side surface of the guide channel is configured as an inclined surface, which is used to guide the airflow into the guide channel and flow towards the air inlet.

[0008] Optionally, the side surface of the guide groove away from the airflow channel forms the inclined surface, and the two sides of the inclined surface are respectively connected to the bottom wall of the guide groove and the outer surface of the side plate.

[0009] Optionally, one end of the heat dissipation baffle is connected to the inclined surface, and the other end extends to the outlet of the airflow channel, so that the airflow channel is divided into two sub-channels.

[0010] Optionally, multiple heat dissipation partitions are provided, and the multiple heat dissipation partitions are spaced apart.

[0011] Optionally, a plurality of spaced-apart heat dissipation fins are fixed on the side plate, and the plurality of heat dissipation fins protrude from the outer surface of the side plate.

[0012] On the other hand, embodiments of this application also provide an environmental perception module, including the aforementioned housing, and further including a radar module disposed within the housing and / or a vision module disposed within the housing.

[0013] Furthermore, embodiments of this application also provide a robot, including the aforementioned environmental perception module.

[0014] This application features a guide channel at the inlet of the flow channel. After entering the guide channel, the airflow generally flows within it, thus increasing the probability of it exiting the airflow channel. Its core function is to effectively guide and pre-organize the airflow before it enters the channel, ensuring a smoother and more concentrated flow into the channel. This design offers dual advantages: firstly, by guiding the airflow in an organized manner within the channel, it significantly enhances the cooling effect on the casing, effectively reducing the overall temperature; secondly, a heat dissipation baffle is added inside the guide channel, protruding upwards from the bottom wall, further increasing the contact area with the airflow. Compared to traditional designs without heat dissipation baffles, this significantly improves the system's heat dissipation capacity. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is an overall schematic diagram of an environmental perception module provided in one embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a side view of an environmental perception module provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of an environmental perception module provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0016] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 1. Side panel; 2. Airflow channel; 21. Sub-air duct; 3. Guide groove; 4. sloping surface; 5. Heat dissipation baffle; 6. Heat dissipation fins. Detailed Implementation

[0017] To make the technical problems, technical solutions, and beneficial effects solved by this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0018] Reference Figures 1 to 3This application provides a housing for an environmental sensing module, including a side plate 1; the housing has an inner cavity; an airflow channel 2 is provided inside the side plate 1; the outer surface of the side plate 1 is recessed into the inner cavity of the housing to form a guide groove 3, the guide groove 3 connecting the gas flow channel and the external space of the housing; a heat dissipation baffle 5 is provided inside the guide groove 3, the extension direction of the heat dissipation baffle 5 is the same as the extension direction of the airflow channel 2.

[0019] In this embodiment, a guide groove 3 is specially provided at the inlet of the airflow channel 2. After the airflow enters the guide groove 3, it generally flows within the guide groove 3, thus having a higher probability of flowing out of the airflow channel 2. Its core function is to effectively guide and pre-organize the airflow before it enters the airflow channel 2, making the airflow flow into the channel more smoothly and concentratedly. This design has a dual advantage: on the one hand, by guiding the airflow to flow in an organized manner within the channel, the cooling effect on the shell is significantly enhanced, thereby effectively reducing the overall temperature; on the other hand, a heat dissipation baffle 5 is also added inside the guide groove 3. This baffle protrudes upward from the bottom wall of the guide groove 3, further increasing the contact area with the airflow. Compared with the traditional design without the heat dissipation baffle 5, the heat dissipation capacity of the system is significantly improved.

[0020] It is worth emphasizing that this solution integrates the airflow channel 3 and airflow passage 2 into the side plate 1, eliminating the need to increase the thickness of the side plate 1. Therefore, while achieving efficient heat dissipation, it completely avoids increasing the external dimensions of the casing. This compact thermal management design is particularly suitable for space-constrained applications, significantly improving heat dissipation performance within a limited casing size, achieving an optimized balance between structural design and heat dissipation efficiency.

[0021] In one embodiment, the side plate 1 is made of metal. Compared to engineering plastics, metal materials (such as aluminum alloys, galvanized steel sheets, etc.) have significantly higher rigidity and strength, which can effectively improve the overall structural stability and impact and deformation resistance of the equipment, ensuring the mechanical reliability of the equipment during transportation, installation, and long-term operation. At the same time, metal is a good conductor of heat, and its excellent thermal conductivity can quickly transfer the heat generated by the internal core components (such as CPUs, power chips, etc.) to the surface of the side plate 1, and dissipate it efficiently through natural convection with the air or a forced air cooling system, thereby significantly improving the heat dissipation performance of the whole machine, ensuring stable operation of the equipment at a suitable temperature, and extending its service life.

[0022] In one embodiment, the heat dissipation partition 5 and the metal side plate 1 are manufactured using an integral molding process. Based on the metal material of the side plate 1, the heat dissipation partition 5 naturally inherits all the advantages of high structural strength and excellent heat dissipation capacity, which will not be elaborated further here. Furthermore, the integral molding design brings two significant benefits: firstly, it eliminates the need for additional materials and fasteners to connect the two independent components, thereby saving material costs; secondly, it simplifies the manufacturing process, reducing processing and assembly steps through one-time molding, greatly improving production efficiency and facilitating quality control.

[0023] In one embodiment, one side surface of the guide channel 3 is configured as an inclined surface 4, which guides the airflow into the guide channel 3 and towards the air inlet. Specifically, the inclined surface 4 is formed on the side surface of the guide channel 3 away from the airflow channel 2, and the two sides of the inclined surface 4 are respectively connected to the bottom wall of the guide channel 3 and the outer surface of the side plate 1.

[0024] In this embodiment, since the guide groove 3 is recessed towards the inner cavity of the shell, it is difficult for the airflow to enter the guide groove 3 after flowing over the surface of the shell. Therefore, one side of the guide groove 3 is made into a slope 4 to guide the gas into the guide groove 3.

[0025] In this embodiment, one end of the heat dissipation baffle 5 is connected to the guide slope 4, and the other end extends to the outlet of the airflow channel 2, thereby dividing the original single airflow channel 2 into two parallel sub-channels 21. This design achieves a multi-dimensional improvement in heat dissipation efficiency while maintaining the overall volume of the equipment. First, the heat dissipation baffle 5 itself acts as a new heat dissipation wall, significantly increasing the total effective heat dissipation area. More importantly, according to the principles of fluid mechanics, dividing a large channel into multiple smaller channels while keeping the total flow rate essentially constant means that the fluid hydraulic diameter of each sub-channel 21 is reduced. For forced convection heat dissipation, the reduced flow cross-section will correspondingly increase the gas velocity, which not only breaks down the thermal boundary layer generated by the plate surface but also enhances the convective heat transfer intensity between the gas and the channel wall. The increase in heat dissipation area and the increase in gas velocity create a synergistic effect, jointly driving the overall heat dissipation efficiency to surpass that of a single wide airflow channel.

[0026] In this embodiment, the cross-section of the sub-duct 21 is designed as a non-uniform shape that expands and then contracts along the airflow direction. This structure optimizes the airflow in two stages: when the gas enters the expansion section, the flow cross-sectional area increases, and according to the fluid continuity theorem, the gas velocity decreases, and the dynamic pressure is converted into static pressure. This reduces the airflow resistance and creates conditions for the flow regime change. The decrease in velocity and the expansion of the channel easily lead to streamline separation, thereby generating strong turbulence. The core function of turbulence lies in its strong mixing characteristics, which can effectively destroy the laminar thermal boundary layer on the inner wall surface of the sub-duct 21 that hinders heat transfer, greatly enhancing the convective heat transfer efficiency between the gas and the inner wall of the duct. The subsequent contraction section accelerates and straightens the airflow, ensuring that the gas is smoothly discharged.

[0027] In other embodiments, multiple heat dissipation baffles 5 are provided, and the multiple heat dissipation baffles 5 are spaced apart. The number of heat dissipation baffles 5 is reasonably arranged according to the size of the airflow channel 3, and the multiple heat dissipation baffles 5 can divide the airflow channel 2 into multiple sub-air channels 21.

[0028] In one embodiment, a plurality of spaced heat dissipation fins 6 are fixed on the side plate 1, and the plurality of heat dissipation fins 6 protrude from the outer surface of the side plate 1.

[0029] In this embodiment, in order to improve the overall heat dissipation efficiency of the housing, multiple heat dissipation fins 6 are added to the outer surface of the housing. The heat dissipation fins 6 increase the contact area between the housing and the external air, thereby increasing the heat dissipation area and improving the heat dissipation rate.

[0030] On the other hand, embodiments of this application also provide an environmental perception module, including the aforementioned housing, radar module, and / or vision module. Embodiments of this application also provide an environmental perception module whose core components include the housing as described above, and optionally integrate a radar module and / or vision module. Specifically, the environmental perception module can be configured in three forms: a single vision module, a single radar module (especially a lidar module), or a fusion module in which the vision module and radar module are integrated within the same housing.

[0031] All of the above configurations face significant thermal management challenges. The vision module generates considerable heat during high-speed image processing, while the radar module is the primary heat source when emitting laser beams. This heat not only affects the operational stability of each module individually (e.g., increased thermal noise in the image sensor of the vision module and thermal drift of the optical components in the radar module), but the cumulative effect of heat is even more pronounced when the two are integrated, leading to a sharp increase in the internal temperature of the housing and thus causing a combined negative impact on the performance and reliability of both modules.

[0032] The airflow channels are positioned on both sides of the radar and vision modules. This layout allows the airflow channels to efficiently dissipate heat from both critical heat sources simultaneously. This not only significantly improves the thermal stability and operational reliability of the equipment during long-term operation, but also allows for a more compact physical layout of the vision and radar modules, as it eliminates the need for complex heat dissipation mechanisms for each module. This achieves a balance between high-density integration and efficient heat dissipation.

[0033] Furthermore, this application also provides a robot, including the aforementioned environmental perception module. In this embodiment, the environmental perception module is applied to a lawnmower robot.

[0034] In this application, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0035] In this application, unless otherwise expressly defined, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0036] The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” etc., in this application (if any) are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0037] In this application, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, "shell and / or B" can represent: the shell existing alone, the shell and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, in this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0038] Unless otherwise specified, all steps in this application may be performed sequentially or randomly. For example, the method includes step shell and step B, indicating that the method may include step shell and step B performed sequentially, or it may include step B and step shell performed sequentially. For example, the method may also include step C, indicating that step C may be added to the method in any order. For example, the method may include step shell, step B, and step C, or it may include step shell, step C, and step B, or it may include step C, step shell, and step B, etc.

[0039] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A housing for use in an environmental sensing module, characterized in that, Includes side plates; the housing has an internal cavity; The side plate has an airflow channel inside; The outer surface of the side plate is recessed into the inner cavity of the shell to form a guide groove, which connects the gas flow channel and the external space of the shell. A heat dissipation baffle is provided inside the flow guide groove, and the extension direction of the heat dissipation baffle is the same as the extension direction of the airflow channel.

2. The housing according to claim 1, characterized in that, The side plate is a metal side plate.

3. The housing according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heat dissipation baffle and the side plate are integrally formed.

4. The housing according to claim 1, characterized in that, One side surface of the guide channel is formed as an inclined surface, which is used to guide the airflow into the guide channel and flow towards the air inlet.

5. The housing according to claim 4, characterized in that, The inclined surface is formed on the side of the guide channel away from the airflow channel, and the two sides of the inclined surface are respectively connected to the bottom wall of the guide channel and the outer surface of the side plate.

6. The housing according to claim 5, characterized in that, One end of the heat dissipation baffle is connected to the inclined surface, and the other end extends to the outlet of the airflow channel, so that the airflow channel is divided into two sub-channels.

7. The housing according to claim 1, characterized in that, Multiple heat dissipation baffles are provided, and the multiple heat dissipation baffles are spaced apart.

8. The housing according to claim 1, characterized in that, Multiple heat dissipation fins are fixed on the side plate at intervals, and the multiple heat dissipation fins protrude from the outer surface of the side plate.

9. An environmental sensing module, characterized in that, The housing includes the housing as described in any one of claims 1-8, and further includes a radar module disposed within the housing and / or a vision module disposed within the housing.

10. A robot, characterized in that, Includes the environmental perception module as described in claim 9.

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