Rotating LIDAR Fanless Cooling With Horizontal Fins
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Solution Overview
Problem
LIDAR systems face challenges in maintaining electronics within tight temperature limits due to power dissipation without the use of fans for airflow, which is necessary for effective cooling.
Innovation Solution
A fanless design incorporating a cooling element with horizontal fins that leverages external airflow for heat dissipation, allowing natural airflow to pass through and around the system, even during rotation, without the need for dedicated fans.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If fans are used to generate airflow for cooling, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and reliability are worsened due to moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the fan component entirely from the cooling system, extracting the problematic moving part that caused reliability issues. Instead, it relies on natural convection and conduction through heat sinks with optimized fin structures to achieve cooling without mechanical actuators.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system serves itself by utilizing natural airflow patterns and thermal convection currents generated by the temperature differential between the heated electronics and the surrounding environment. The heat sink fins automatically promote airflow through their geometric structure without requiring external mechanical forcing.
2Temperature
If fans are used to generate airflow for cooling, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but reliability is worsened due to fan failure risks
Solution Approach 1:
The fan component is completely removed from the system, eliminating the reliability risks associated with motor failures, bearing wear, and blade damage. The passive cooling system has no moving parts that can fail mechanically.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system operates autonomously using natural physical phenomena (convection, conduction, radiation) without requiring active control or mechanical components. This self-service approach dramatically improves reliability by eliminating failure points.
3Device complexity
If horizontal fins are used for passive cooling, then device simplicity is improved, but cooling effectiveness must be maintained without fan assistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from vertical fin arrangements to horizontal fin configurations, changing the spatial dimension of heat dissipation. This dimensional change allows the fins to effectively interact with horizontal airflow patterns, improving passive cooling efficiency without requiring fan assistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The fin geometry parameters (horizontal orientation, spacing, height, and surface area) are optimized to maximize natural convection and conduction efficiency. By adjusting these physical parameters, the system achieves effective cooling through passive mechanisms alone.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively cools LIDAR electronics by utilizing external airflow, maintaining temperature within acceptable limits and preventing contamination of signal windows, while eliminating the need for fans.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling element that may be capable of cooling the LIDAR system, and/or some or all of the electronics included within the LIDAR system
Implementation Method 2
the cooling element may instead take advantage of the free-flowing air that may be provided by an environment external to the LIDAR system. As the vehicle traverses the environment, air may flow across the vehicle and the LIDAR system, and correspondingly may also flow across and/or through the cooling element
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are disclosed for a fanless design of a rotating LIDAR system with integrated cleaning and cooling. An example system may include an enclosure including one or more electronics. The example system may also include a cooling element provided externally to the enclosure, the cooling element comprising one or more horizontal fins.