Scan sensors on the exterior surfaces of a vehicle

• US 10,502,831 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2018
• Issued: 12/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Luminar Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Luminar Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Eichenholz, Jason M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hulka, James R
• Application Number:
  US16/046,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20190154803A1
• Time in Patent Office: 502 Days
• Field of Search: 356 501
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/08 for measuring distance only indirect measurement G01S17/46; active triangulation systems G01S17/48
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S17/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/87 Combinations of systems using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4813 Housing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4817 relating to scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/101 with both horizontal and vertical deflecting means, e.g. raster or XY scanners colour television using laser beams scanning a display screen H04N9/3129
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/105 with one or more pivoting mirrors or galvano-mirrors G02B26/101 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/123 Multibeam scanners, e.g. using multiple light sources or beam splitters
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/125 Details of the optical system between the polygonal mirror and the image plane G02B26/123, G02B26/127 take precedence; F-Theta lenses G02B13/0005
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0955 Lenses lenses per se G02B3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0977 Reflective elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/1086 operating by diffraction only
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/30 Collimators
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0841 comprising organic materials, e.g. polymers
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/09 Multifaceted or polygonal mirrors , e.g. polygonal scanning mirrors; Fresnel mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1857 using exposure or etching means, e.g. holography, photolithography, exposure to electron or ion beams
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/22 Absorbing filters G02B5/201 - G02B5/208 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/1821 for rotating or oscillating mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/167 comprising optoelectronic devices, e.g. LED, photodiodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14643 : Photodiode arrays; MOS imagers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14647 : Multicolour imagers having a stacked pixel-element structure, e.g. npn, npnpn or MQW elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14694 : The active layers comprising only AIIIBV compounds, e.g. GaAs, InP

Abstract

A vehicle includes a body with multiple interior and exterior surfaces and a lidar system including a set of one or more sensor units. Each sensor unit includes a light source configured to emit light, a scanner configured to direct the emitted light to scan a field of regard of the sensor unit according to a scan pattern, a receiver configured to detect the light scattered by one or more remote targets, and a housing enclosing the light source, the scanner, and the receiver. The housing of each sensor unit is embedded in one of the interior or exterior surfaces, so that a first portion of the housing projects out of the body and a second portion of the housing is inside the body.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a body including a roof having an exterior surface; and

a lidar sensor unit including;

a light source configured to emit light,

a scanner configured to direct the emitted light to scan a field of regard of the sensor unit according to a scan pattern,

a receiver configured to detect a portion of the emitted light that is scattered by one or more remote targets, and

a housing enclosing the light source, the scanner, and the receiver, wherein the housing includes (i) a first portion comprising a window and (ii) a second portion;

wherein the housing of the sensor unit is embedded in the exterior surface of the roof, wherein;

the first portion of the housing projects out of the exterior surface, wherein the emitted light and the light scattered by the one or more remote targets travel through the window of the first portion; and

the second portion of the housing is located inside the body, under the exterior surface of the roof.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the window through which the emitted light and the light scattered by the one or more remote targets travel includes a dielectric coating that is anti-reflecting at one or more operating wavelengths of the light source.

3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the dielectric coating further has a high-reflectivity at one or more wavelengths away from the operating wavelengths of the light source.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the window is sloped or curved.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the scanner includes:

a rotatable polygon mirror having a block having a first wall, a second wall, and a plurality of reflective surfaces extending between the first and second walls, the reflective surfaces being angularly offset from one another along a periphery of the block, and

a polygon mirror axle extending into the block through at least one of the first and second walls, about which the block rotates.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the scanner further includes a planar mirror pivotable along an axis orthogonal to the polygon mirror axle to scan the field of regard along a vertical dimension, and wherein a size of the window corresponds to a size of the planar mirror.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the scanner includes:

a rotatable polygon mirror having a block having a first wall, a second wall, and a plurality of reflective surfaces extending between the first and second walls, the reflective surfaces being angularly offset from one another along a periphery of the block,

a polygon mirror axle extending into the block through at least one of the first and second walls, about which the block rotates, and

a planar mirror pivotable along an axis orthogonal to the polygon mirror axle,

wherein at least a portion of the planar mirror extends above the rotatable polygon mirror, and the first portion of the housing projecting out of the exterior surface of the roof includes a region extending from a lower edge of the planar mirror to a top of the housing.

8. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein the lidar sensor unit further includes a controller configured to control motion of at least the planar mirror to modify the scan pattern.

9. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein the polygon mirror axle is in line with a forward orientation of the vehicle.

10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein a size of the second portion of the housing is larger than a size of the first portion of the housing.

11. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the housing is sloped or curved to reduce aerodynamic drag.

12. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein an exterior surface of the window includes an oleophobic coating configured to repel non-polar material from the exterior surface of the window.

13. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein an exterior surface of the window includes a hydrophobic coating configured to repel water from the exterior surface of the window.

14. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein an exterior surface of the window includes a hydrophilic coating configured to attract water so that water on the exterior surface of the window forms a film.

15. A lidar system configured to operate in a vehicle that has a vehicle body with a roof having an exterior surface, the lidar system comprising:

a laser disposed inside the vehicle;

a sensor unit embedded in the exterior surface of the roof of the vehicle body; and

a laser-sensor link via which the laser provides light to the sensor unit;

wherein the sensor unit includes;

a scanner configured to direct the light from the laser to scan a field of regard of the sensor unit according to a scan pattern,

a receiver configured to detect a portion of the light from the laser that is scattered by one or more remote targets, and

a housing enclosing the scanner and the receiver, the housing including (i) a first portion comprising a window and (ii) a second portion, wherein;

the first portion projects out of the exterior surface, wherein the light from the laser and the light scattered by the one or more remote targets travel through the window of the first portion; and

the second portion is located inside the vehicle body, under the exterior surface of the roof.

16. The lidar system of claim 15, wherein the laser-sensor link includes one or more optical links.

17. The lidar system of claim 15, wherein the laser-sensor link includes one or more electrical links.

18. The lidar system of claim 15, wherein the window through which the light from the laser and the light scattered by the one or more remote targets travel includes a coating that is anti-reflecting at one or more operating wavelengths of the laser.

19. The lidar system of claim 15, wherein the scanner includes a planar mirror pivotable to scan the field of regard along a vertical dimension, and wherein a size of the window corresponds to a size of the planar mirror.

20. The lidar system of claim 15, wherein the scanner includes:

a rotatable polygon mirror having a block having a first wall, a second wall, and a plurality of reflective surfaces extending between the first and second walls, the reflective surfaces being angularly offset from one another along a periphery of the block, and

a polygon mirror axle extending into the block through at least one of the first and second walls, about which the block rotates.