Movable Vehicle Surroundings Sensor for Cover Damage Bypass
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sensor systems in motor vehicles fail to automatically restore functionality when contamination or damage affects the sensor protection cover, leading to signal failures and increased safety risks in autonomous driving, as current solutions only address signal loss without correcting the underlying cause.
Innovation Solution
A sensor system with a movable sensor holder and control device that reorients the sensor to bypass areas with reduced signal transmissivity, allowing the sensor to operate outside the damaged region, using a measuring device to detect and adjust the position of the sensor to maintain functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the sensor is fixed in position behind the protection cover, then the device structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the sensor cannot adapt to damaged or contaminated areas of the cover
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor holder is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing the sensor to dynamically adjust its position based on the condition of the protection cover. The control device monitors signal quality and actuates the holder to relocate the sensor away from contaminated or damaged areas, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and structural simplicity.
2Reliability
If cleaning measures are applied to the protection cover, then signal transmissivity is improved, but the underlying damage or contamination cannot be permanently resolved and requires continuous maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of reacting to signal degradation by cleaning the cover, the system performs preliminary detection of cover damage or contamination and proactively relocates the sensor to a suitable position before complete signal failure occurs. This eliminates the need for continuous cleaning maintenance.
3Reliability
If the sensor detection area matches the full extent of the signal-transmissive cover, then the coverage is maximized, but the sensor cannot bypass damaged regions without losing detection capability
Solution Approach 1:
The protection cover is effectively segmented into functional zones through sensor relocation. The control device identifies contaminated or damaged segments and moves the sensor to operate only over clean, undamaged segments of the cover, maintaining full detection capability while bypassing harmful areas.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a sensor system (200, 300, 400) for a motor vehicle, comprising a sensor housing and an active or passive sensor (102) arranged therein and held on a movable sensor holder (201, 401), having a sensor technology based on radiation detection and a measurement apparatus assigned to the sensor (102) and a control apparatus, coupled to said measurement apparatus, for the sensor holder (201, 401), wherein the sensor housing has a cover (106, 301) that is signal-transmissive for the sensor (102) on its side located in the detection direction of the sensor (102), and wherein the detection range (108, 109) of the sensor (102) in the region of the signal-transmissive cover (106, 301) has a lower extent than the signal-transmissive cover (106, 301), wherein the sensor system (200, 300, 400) is characterized in that the measurement apparatus is designed such that it is suitable for checking, in the detection range of the sensor (102), whether and in which section the signal-transmissive cover (106, 301) has a region with reduced signal transmissivity (202), wherein the measurement apparatus interacts with the control apparatus in such a way that the control apparatus is able to change the position of the sensor (102) in such a way that the region with reduced signal transmissivity (202) lies outside the detection range (108, 109) of the sensor (102). The invention furthermore relates to a method for operating such a sensor system (200, 300, 400) and to a motor vehicle that is equipped with such a sensor system (200, 300, 400).