Sensor unit
AssigneeDenso Corporation
InventorHironori Obayashi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sensor unit for a vehicle includes an external sensor, a cleaning nozzle and a housing. The external sensor is configured to obtain information of an external environment, and to have a sensing area being set forward in a travel direction of the vehicle through an exposed surface exposed to the external environment. The cleaning nozzle has an injection port that is located in front of the exposed surface to inject a cleaning fluid to the exposed surface from above of the exposed surface in a yaw axis direction of the vehicle to clean the exposed surface. The housing is provided to hold the external sensor therein. The housing is configured to define a recess that is recessed toward a rearward in the travel direction from the exposed surface below the exposed surface in the yaw axis direction.
Claims12
A sensor unit for a vehicle, comprising:
- an external sensor configured to obtain information of an external environment, and to have a sensing area being set forward in a travel direction of the vehicle through an exposed surface exposed to the external environment;
- a cleaning nozzle having an injection port that is located in front of the exposed surface to inject a cleaning fluid to the exposed surface from above of the exposed surface in a yaw axis direction of the vehicle to clean the exposed surface;
- and
- a housing holding the external sensor therein, the housing being configured to define a recess that is recessed toward a rearward in the travel direction from the exposed surface below the exposed surface in the yaw axis direction, wherein
- the recess is provided with a recessed surface that is inclined more rearward in the travel direction from the exposed surface as toward downward in the yaw axis direction,
- the exposed surface is inclined more rearward in the travel direction as toward downward in the yaw axis direction, the recessed surface extending from a lower end of the exposed surface, and
- an inclination angle of the recessed surface inclined with respect to the yaw axis direction is greater than an inclination angle of the exposed surface inclined with respect to the yaw axis direction.
A sensor unit for a vehicle, comprising:
- an external sensor configured to obtain information of an external environment, and to have a sensing area of the vehicle through an exposed surface exposed to the external environment;
- a cleaning nozzle having an injection port that is located to inject a cleaning fluid to the exposed surface from above of the exposed surface in a yaw axis direction of the vehicle to clean the exposed surface;
- and
- a housing configured to hold the external sensor therein and having a wall portion positioned at an outside, wherein
- the housing is provided with the exposed surface and an inclination wall surface extending from a lower end of the exposed surface below the exposed surface,
- the exposed surface and the inclination wall surface are provided as a part of the wall portion of the housing,
- the inclination wall surface and the exposed surface are respectively inclined with respect to the yaw axis direction to be positioned more inside as toward downward in the yaw axis direction, and
- an inclination angle of the inclination wall surface inclined with respect to the yaw axis direction is greater than an inclination angle of the exposed surface inclined with respect to the yaw axis direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.