Heavy Vehicle Sunvisor Sensor Layout for Protected ADAS Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sensor arrangements in commercial vehicles, particularly heavy-duty vehicles like trucks, face issues such as the need for multiple housings and wirings, vulnerability to damage, and high maintenance costs due to their placement on the vehicular perimeter, which complicates installation and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
Integrating sensors into a sunvisor system that includes a spoiler with integrated sensors and fixing brackets, allowing for optimized mounting and wiring, reducing exposure to damage, and facilitating maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sensors are placed on the vehicular perimeter, then sensor coverage and detection capability are improved, but vulnerability to damage and maintenance complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensors (camera, LIDAR, radar) that were previously distributed across different vehicular locations into a single integrated sensor unit mounted on the sunvisor. This consolidation maintains comprehensive detection coverage while protecting sensors from damage by relocating them from vulnerable perimeter positions to a more protected central location.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent relocates sensors from the traditional horizontal perimeter arrangement to a vertical mounting position on the sunvisor above the windshield. This dimensional change allows sensors to maintain their detection coverage while being positioned in a more protected area less exposed to external damage risks.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensor housings are provided along the vehicular perimeter, then sensor detection coverage is improved, but device complexity and wiring requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple sensor types (camera, LIDAR, radar) into a single unified sensor housing mounted on the sunvisor, eliminating the need for multiple separate housings and their associated wiring runs to different locations around the vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The sunvisor structure serves multiple functions: it provides sun protection for the driver and simultaneously acts as a mounting platform for the integrated sensor unit, consolidating what would otherwise be separate systems into a single multi-functional component.
3Measurement precision
If sensors are mounted on the vehicular perimeter, then detection coverage is improved, but ease of maintenance deteriorates due to removal of multiple vehicular parts
Solution Approach 1:
By consolidating all sensors into a single integrated unit mounted on the sunvisor, the patent enables maintenance personnel to access and service all sensors through a single location rather than having to remove and access multiple distributed sensors across different vehicular components.
Solution Approach 2:
The sunvisor is designed to be removable or accessible as a first step before sensor maintenance, allowing technicians to quickly access the integrated sensor unit without having to disassemble multiple permanent vehicular structures, thereby simplifying the maintenance process.
Data Source
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AI summary
Sunvisor (3) for a cabin (2) of a vehicle (1) extending along a longitudinal axis (A), the sunvisor (3) comprising a spoiler (4) configured to be fixed to the cabin (2), the sunvisor (3) comprising a plurality of sensor means (7, 8) carried by the spoiler (4).