US 12,379,470 B2
Sensor unit with rotating housing and spoiler for enhanced airflow
Rutvik Acharya, San Jose, CA (US); Simon Ellgas, San Jose, CA (US); Justin Andrade, San Jose, CA (US); Jun Hou, Shanghai (CN); Andreas Bauer, San Jose, CA (US); and Zhaokun Wang, Mountain View, CA (US)
Assigned to Waymo LLC, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed by Waymo LLC, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed on Feb. 18, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/651,732.
Prior Publication US 2023/0266440 A1, Aug. 24, 2023
Int. Cl. G01S 7/481 (2006.01); G01S 17/931 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 7/4813 (2013.01) [G01S 17/931 (2020.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A device comprising:
one or more sensors configured to sense one or more aspects of an environment surrounding the device;
a housing that at least partially surrounds the one or more sensors, wherein the housing and the one or more sensors are configured to rotate about a shared axis, wherein the housing comprises an inlet configured to act as an air intake for an airflow through the housing, and wherein the airflow is configured to cool the one or more sensors while the one or more sensors are operating; and
a spoiler positioned on or near the inlet, wherein the spoiler is configured to increase an air pressure near the inlet or promote laminar flow near the inlet in order to promote the airflow through the housing.