Patent Publication Number: US-2018037171-A1

Title: Concealed mounting for autonomous vehicle sensor

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §371 of published PCT Patent Application Number PCT/US2016/16045, filed 2 Feb. 2016 and published as WO2016/126626 11 Aug. 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/112,783, filed Feb. 6, 2015, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF INVENTION 
     This disclosure relates generally to mountings for autonomous vehicle sensors, and specifically to a mounting in which a sensor is environmentally protected, aerodynamic, and visually unobtrusive. 
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     Typically, in autonomous vehicles, the large number of necessary sensors needed around the perimeter of the vehicle are mounted on exterior brackets located wherever the optimal sensor location may be, without considering aerodynamics, environmental protection, or visual unobtrusiveness. It would be desirable to accommodate all three of these concerns if it could be done so while maintaining a near optimal location of the sensor or sensors. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In a preferred embodiment described herein, a sensor located on the side of a vehicle is mounted behind and within a vehicle body exterior panel that visually blends in with the exterior of the vehicle, but which has at least a portion that is sufficiently transparent to the sensing medium of the sensor (laser light, radar, etc) to allow it to operate. Specifically, a rear side window is replaced with a panel that has a central, transparent subportion, behind which the sensor is mounted, and an opaque border matching that typically found in a window. The sensor is contained between the front panel and a rear cover that protects and covers it from the vehicle interior, and which also helps mask the sensor from the outside and helps to maintain its unobtrusive visual impact. 
     Further features and advantages will appear more clearly on a reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is given by way of non-limiting example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a rear side perspective view of a vehicle; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of a rear side window opening on the same vehicle, with a sensor installed but uncovered; 
         FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 2 , showing the sensor covered; 
         FIG. 4  is a view of the cover panel alone, showing the sensor location in a dotted line. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a typical cross over style vehicle  10 , although that is a non limiting example and other body styles are possible. A rear side window  12  is present, behind the rear passenger window  14 , but is typically more to provide some illumination to the rear cargo space than a view out for a passenger. Window  12  is often tinted to match or blend well with the basic color of the vehicle, and serves an aesthetic purpose as much as a utilitarian one, as an uninterrupted metal panel in that location would give the vehicle more of a commercial appearance, undesirable in a personal vehicle. Window  12  is weather tight, of course, and its inner surface perimeter is often provided with an inch or two wide band of paint or “frit” to mask the metal body frame to which it is installed, typically by an adhesive bead. The outer surface of window  12 , as well as all of the other widows and body panels may be said to define a vehicle outer surface in general, which it is desirable to maintain as uninterrupted as possible by any sensor mounting arrangements, for both aerodynamic and aesthetic reasons. 
     Referring next to  FIG. 2 , a rear window opening  16  in the vehicle body comprises a perimeter flange of whatever vehicle body material is used in the particular vehicle, typically stamped metal. Conventionally, the window  12  would simply be mounted to it, as described above. But, here, it is used as a convenient location for a sensor, specifically a lidar sensor  18 . While the invention is not limited to such a sensor, it is a typical one in the location indicated for autonomous vehicles. LIDAR is not an acronym, as is commonly believed, but is shorthand for Light Detection and Ranging, an amalgam of Light and Radar. In effect, it is a ranging radar that uses laser light instead of radio waves. LIDAR uses ultraviolet, visible or near infrared light to image objects, and is capable of doing so with a very high level of resolution. Two types of pulse models are available, micropulse, and high energy, with the lower energy, “eye safe” systems being preferable for mobile sensing applications, as here. The particular LIDAR device  18  used here, though the invention is not limited to such, is an ibeo LUX 2010 Laserscanner. It is of the general type described above, and is defined by a rectangular prism, with a length L of approximately 150 mm, a width W of approximately 90 millimeters (at the front) and a depth D of approximately 90 mm. To work properly, it needs a solid mounting and must be able to emit and receive its light signal. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 2 , a structurally solid and opaque inner panel  20 , of rigid formed plastic or the like, and preferably black or dark, is fixed solidly in or to the window opening  16  so as to substantially fill it and prevent the transmission of light in or out of vehicle  10 , but for a central opening  22  within which the lidar may be fixed. A concave depression  24  formed around opening  22  allows the lidar unit  18  to be mounted further back within the vehicle interior while still being unobstructed in terms of emitting and receiving its light signal. 
     Referring next to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , The mounting for lidar unit  18  is completed by an exterior panel, indicated generally at  26  which, at least in the embodiment disclosed, may be essentially identical to the rear side window  12  that it replaces. Fundamentally, exterior panel  26  serves the function of sealing the window opening  16  weather tight, while matching the pre existing exterior surface contour to maintain aerodynamics and appearance. The central area  28  of panel  26  is transmissive to whatever signal the enclosed sensor emits and receives, in this case, light, and so is sufficiently transparent to light in the case of a lidar unit  18 . Central area  28  could be tinted so as to help match the existing color scheme of the vehicle exterior, and still be sufficiently transparent. In the case of a radar unit or the like panel  26  could be completely opaque, and formed of any suitable material for the passing of the signal involved. In the case of a nearly transparent central area  28 , an opaque or nearly opaque border  30  is formed around the inner surface perimeter, which serves to mask the window opening  16  to which the panel  26  is attached, typically by an adhesive bead. Especially in the case where the central  28  area is nearly transparent, the opaque inner panel  20  helps to maintain the visual unobtrusiveness of the mounting by preventing the passage of light into or out of the exterior of the vehicle interior. Even in the case where the sensor enclosed did not rely on visible light, a transparent central area  28  could help to maintain the original visible appearance of the vehicle  10  in conjunction with the opaque inner panel  20 . 
     While this invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiments thereof, it is not intended to be so limited, but rather only to the extent set forth in the claims that follow.