The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 16, 2021
Filed:
Jun. 18, 2018
Zoox, Inc., Foster City, CA (US);
Ryan McMichael, Mountain View, CA (US);
Daniel Elliot Schabb, San Francisco, CA (US);
Anubhav Thakur, San Francisco, CA (US);
Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Stanford, CA (US);
Jon Robert Torrey, Redwood City, CA (US);
Zoox, Inc., Foster City, CA (US);
Abstract
A system for detecting and/or mitigating the effects of an obstruction on a surface of a sensor may include a surface configured to receive the sensor, and comprising a sensor window configured to provide a path through which the sensor senses the environment. The system may also include a vibratory actuator configured to facilitate vibration of the sensor window and a heating element configured to heat the sensor window. The system may further include an obstruction detection system configured to detect an obstruction, such as moisture, and an obstruction mitigation controller configured to initiate activation of the vibratory actuator and/or the heating element to mitigate the obstruction. The obstruction detection system may be configured to receive a signal from one or more sensors and detect the obstruction based at least in part on the signal.