Sensor Window Airflow Fins for Cooling and Debris Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle sensing systems face performance degradation due to environmental conditions such as heat, debris, and condensation, which are not effectively mitigated by existing cooling and heating solutions that require complex engineering for routing cooling pipes.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a housing with a window, a fan, and contoured fins to direct airflow for both cooling and cleaning the sensor window, eliminating the need for additional parts and complex engineering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pressurized air or liquid cooling systems are used to mitigate environmental conditions, then sensor performance is maintained, but system complexity increases and additional engineering is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the cooling function and cleaning function into a single integrated system. The housing structure integrates the window, fan, and contoured fins into one unified component that performs both thermal management and debris removal, eliminating the need for separate cooling pipes and reducing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The contoured fins serve multiple functions: they direct airflow for cooling the sensor electronics and simultaneously direct conditioned air onto the window for cleaning. This multi-functional design allows a single component to address both thermal management and optical surface maintenance
2Temperature
If cooling pipes are routed throughout the platform, then heat dissipation is achieved, but engineering complexity and installation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cooling function from the traditional pipe-based system and implements it directly within the housing structure itself. The contoured fins are integrated into the housing, eliminating the need for external cooling pipes and simplifying manufacturing and installation
Solution Approach 2:
The housing structure serves itself by incorporating the cooling fins directly into its design. The housing provides its own thermal management solution through the integrated contoured fins that direct airflow over the sensor electronics, eliminating the need for separate cooling infrastructure
3Object-affected harmful factors
If airflow velocity is increased to improve debris removal, then cleaning effectiveness improves, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The contoured fins feature curved surfaces that efficiently direct airflow onto the window at optimal angles. This curved geometry maximizes the cleaning effectiveness of the airflow while maintaining reasonable fan power requirements, as the contours naturally guide the air across the surface rather than requiring high-velocity direct impact
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 and cleans the sensor window while maintaining performance, enhancing airflow speed and uniformity for improved debris removal and temperature management.
Implementation Method 1
a fan arranged on the housing to provide airflow through the housing
Implementation Method 2
a conditioning element having a plurality of contoured fins defining a first portion configured to receive the airflow from the fan. The contoured fins have a second portion curved relative to the first portion and direct the airflow onto the window
Implementation Method 3
The conditioned air can be a cooled air to cool the sensor window or warmed air to warm the sensor window in colder environments
Data Source
AI summary
An optical apparatus including a housing having a window, the housing configured to accommodate a laser emitting device configured to emit laser pulses to an outside of the optical apparatus through the window; a fan configured to generate an airflow; and a conditioning element having a plurality of fins defining a first portion configured to receive the airflow from the fan, the contoured fins having a second portion curved relative to the first portion.