Patent ID: 11936845
Assignee: WAYMO LLC
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC B  H  G | IPC B  G  H

Claim 15:
16. A vehicle comprising:
an optical element;
a sensor optically coupled to the optical element, wherein the sensor is configured to obtain information indicative of a field of view by way of the optical element;
an optical coupler, affixed to a first surface of the optical element, configured to couple light into and/or out of the optical element;
a plurality of light-emitter devices configured to emit emission light toward the optical coupler, wherein the optical coupler and the optical element are configured to guide the emission light by total internal reflections; and
a plurality of detector devices configured to:
detect at least apportion of the emission light by way of the optical element and the optical coupler; and
provide detector signal indicative of a presence of a contaminant on the second surface of the optical element, wherein the optical coupler comprises:
a plurality of lensed portions, wherein each lensed portion is configured to be optically coupled to a corresponding region of the optical element and at least one of: a light-emitter device of the plurality of light-emitter devices, or a detector device of the plurality of detector devices.