Rotary wiper system
AssigneeWaymo LLC
InventorsSeth Gilbertson, Felix Jose Alvarez Rivera, Roger Best
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The disclosure provides for a wiper system for cleaning a surface of a sensor housing, such as a sensor housing positioned on top of a vehicle. The wiper system includes a plurality of windows spaced around a sensor housing, and a plurality of wipers positioned around the sensor housing, each of the wipers includes a wiper blade configured to clean a corresponding window of the plurality of windows. The wiper system further includes a drive system including a moveable part coupled to a motor. The motor is configured to drive the drive system to simultaneously rotate the plurality of wipers around the sensor housing such that the plurality of wipers remove debris from the plurality of windows.
Claims21
A method of cleaning a plurality of windows of a sensor housing, the method comprising:
- controlling, by one or more processors, a motor to move a plurality of wipers back and forth against the plurality of windows while maintaining the plurality of wipers in an upright position with respect to a base plate of the sensor housing in order to remove debris from the plurality of windows, wherein the plurality of wipers are moved back and forth by:
- (i) simultaneously moving the plurality of wipers against the plurality of windows in a first direction such that each given one of the plurality of wipers moves to a first edge of a respective pair of opposing edges of a corresponding window of the plurality of wipers;
- (ii) simultaneously moving the plurality of wipers against the plurality of windows in a second direction such that each given one of the plurality of wipers moves to a second edge of the respective pair of opposing edges of the corresponding window of the plurality of windows;
- and
- (iii) repeating (i) and (ii) one or more times.
The method of claim I, wherein the plurality of windows are spaced apart and around a circumference of the sensor housing.
A method of cleaning a plurality of windows of a sensor housing, the method comprising:
- (i) controlling, by one or more processors, a motor to rotate a wiper ring in a clockwise direction;
- (ii) controlling, by the one or more processors, the motor to rotate the wiper ring in a counterclockwise direction;
- and
- (iii) repeating (i) and (ii) one or more times, wherein a plurality of wipers that are fixedly attached to the wiper ring move back and forth against the plurality of windows in order to remove debris from the plurality of windows.
A system for cleaning a plurality of windows of a sensor housing, the system comprising:
- a wiper ring including a plurality of wipers fixedly attached to the wiper ring;
- a drive system coupled to the wiper ring;
- a motor coupled to the drive system;
- and
- one or more processors coupled to the motor, the one or more processors configured to control the motor to drive the drive system to rotate the wiper ring, wherein a direction of rotating the wiper ring is repeatedly changed between a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction, causing the plurality of wipers to move back and forth against the plurality of windows in order to remove debris from the plurality of windows.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.