Thin Profile Windshield LiDAR Coplanar Component Arrangement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automotive LiDAR systems are bulky, interfering with passenger space when mounted behind a windshield, and require custom windows and significant design and maintenance efforts, necessitating a thinner profile and more integrated mounting solution.
Innovation Solution
A thin profile windshield-mounted LiDAR system featuring a rotating polygon mirror with reflective facets that directs light pulses through a top surface opening, allowing the transmitter, mirror, and receiver to be coplanar, minimizing protrusion and eliminating the need for custom windows and extensive maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional LiDAR systems are mounted externally onto the vehicle, then the system can be easily installed and maintained, but it requires custom windows and a large amount of design and maintenance efforts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the LiDAR system into the vehicle's existing windshield structure, merging the LiDAR housing with the windshield assembly. This eliminates the need for separate custom windows and reduces the number of separate components that require installation and maintenance, directly addressing the contradiction between ease of installation and design complexity
2Ease of manufacture
If LiDAR systems are mounted from the bottom, then they can be easily installed, but they interfere with passenger space and cause inconveniences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the mounting location from the bottom (vertical dimension) to the top surface of the windshield (horizontal dimension). By placing the LiDAR system on the top surface of the windshield and directing light downward through a transmission region, the system eliminates protrusion into the passenger compartment while maintaining ease of installation on the vehicle structure
3Volume of moving object
If LiDAR systems are designed with a thin profile, then they minimize interference with passenger space, but they require coplanar configuration of components which increases design complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the optical path into distinct segments: a transmission region in the windshield that allows light passage, a coplanar arrangement of transmitter/mirror/receiver components on the top surface, and a downward-directed beam path. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining the overall thin profile, managing the design complexity through modular organization
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
This configuration reduces the system's thickness, minimizes interference with passenger space, and simplifies mounting and maintenance by allowing integration behind a conventional windshield, enhancing usability and reducing design complexities.
Implementation Method 1
A rotating polygon mirror may have a plurality of reflective facets. The rotating polygon mirror may direct the one or more light pulses from the transmitter through an opening at a top surface of the LiDAR system toward an external field of view (FOV) and receives reflected light from the external field of view illuminated by the one or more light pulses
Data Source
AI summary
A system for light ranging and detection (LiDAR) is disclosed herein. The system comprises a laser transmitter transmitting one or more channels of light pulses. A rotating polygon mirror having a plurality of reflective facets directs the one or more channels of light pulses from the laser transmitter through a transmission region at a top surface of the system toward an external field of view and receives reflected light from the external field of view illuminated by the one or more channels of light pulses. A receiver detects the reflected light from channels corresponding to the one or more channels of light pulses. The laser transmitter, the rotating polygon mirror, and the receiver are substantially coplanar on a plane parallel to the top surface.