Rotating blade mechanism for cleaning cylindrical sensors

Abstract

The subject disclosure relates to features that facilitate the automatic cleaning of optical sensors and in particular Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors used in autonomous vehicle deployments. In some aspects, the disclosed technology includes a sensor cleaning apparatus having a housing, wherein the housing is configured to be rotatably coupled to an optical sensor, a wiper blade coupled to the housing, wherein the wiper blade is disposed at a downward angle relative to a top-surface of the optical sensor, and one or more nozzles disposed within the wiper blade, wherein the nozzles are configured to apply compressed gas to a surface of the optical sensor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sensor cleaning apparatus, comprising:
 a wiper housing, wherein the wiper housing is affixed to a first surface of an optical sensor housing and is configured to rotate around a radial axis of the optical sensor housing;   a wiper blade coupled to the wiper housing, wherein the wiper blade is disposed on a circumferential surface of the optical sensor housing, each support extending from a location on the wiper housing to an attachment point along the wiper blade; and   nozzles disposed within the wiper blade and configured to apply a force to helically displace debris along the radial axis.   
     
     
         2 . The sensor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor cleaning apparatus is configured to be attached to a supporting structure using the first surface. 
     
     
         3 . The sensor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the wiper housing is coupled to a motor that rotates a sensor on the radial axis. 
     
     
         4 . The sensor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the wiper housing is coupled to a first motor, and a second motor rotates a sensor around the radial axis. 
     
     
         5 . The sensor cleaning apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein, when not actuated, the wiper blade is parked in a fixed portion of the circumferential surface. 
     
     
         6 . The sensor cleaning apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the sensor is configured to omit the fixed portion of the circumferential surface from detection. 
     
     
         7 . The sensor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the wiper blade is displaced from the circumferential surface by an offset distance, and wherein the nozzles are configured to output material to helically displace the debris along the radial axis. 
     
     
         8 . The sensor cleaning apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the output material comprises at least one of compressed air and gas. 
     
     
         9 . The sensor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the wiper blade is configured to displace the debris based on a predetermined time interval. 
     
     
         10 . The sensor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the wiper blade is configured to displace the debris based on at least one sensor detecting an environmental state. 
     
     
         11 . An autonomous vehicle (AV), comprising:
 A propulsion system configured to displace the AV; and   at least one self-cleaning sensor comprising:
 an optical sensor disposed in an optical sensor housing; 
 a wiper housing, wherein the wiper housing is affixed to a first surface of the optical sensor housing and is configured to rotate around a radial axis of the optical sensor housing; 
 a wiper blade coupled to the wiper housing, wherein the wiper blade is disposed on a circumferential surface of the optical sensor housing, each support extending from a location on the wiper housing to an attachment point along the wiper blade; and 
 nozzles disposed within the wiper blade and configured to apply a force to helically displace debris along the radial axis. 
   
     
     
         12 . The AV of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one self-cleaning sensor is configured to be attached to a supporting structure using the first surface. 
     
     
         13 . The AV of  claim 11 , wherein the wiper housing is coupled to a motor that rotates the optical sensor on the radial axis. 
     
     
         14 . The AV of  claim 11 , wherein the wiper housing is coupled to a first motor, and a second motor rotates the optical sensor around the radial axis. 
     
     
         15 . The AV of  claim 14 , wherein, when not actuated, the wiper blade is parked in a fixed portion of the circumferential surface. 
     
     
         16 . The AV of  claim 15 , wherein the optical sensor is configured to omit the fixed portion of the circumferential surface from detection. 
     
     
         17 . The AV of  claim 11 , wherein the wiper blade is displaced from the circumferential surface by an offset distance, and wherein the nozzles are configured to output material to helically displace the debris along the radial axis. 
     
     
         18 . The AV of  claim 17 , wherein the output material comprises at least one of compressed air and gas. 
     
     
         19 . The AV of  claim 11 , wherein the wiper blade is configured to displace the debris based on a predetermined time interval. 
     
     
         20 . The AV of  claim 11 , wherein the wiper blade is configured to displace the debris based on at least one sensor detecting an environmental state.