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. 21, 2023
Filed:
Jun. 17, 2022
Waymo Llc, Mountain View, CA (US);
Mingcheng Chen, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Benjamin Pitzer, East Palo Alto, CA (US);
Pierre-Yves Droz, Los Altos, CA (US);
William Grossman, East Palo Alto, CA (US);
Waymo LLC, Mountain View, CA (US);
Abstract
The technology relates to enhancing or extending the field of view of sensors for vehicles configured to operate in an autonomous driving mode. One or more mirrors are used to reflect or redirect beams emitted from onboard sensors that would otherwise be wasted, for instance due to obstruction by a portion of the vehicle or because they are emitted at high pitch angles to the side. The mirrors are also used to redirect incoming beams from the external environment toward one or more of the onboard sensors. Using mirrors for such redirection can reduce or eliminate blind spots around the vehicle. A calibration system may be employed to account for mirror movement due to vibration or wind drag. Each mirror may be a front surface mirror. The mirrors may be positioned on the vehicle body, on a faring, or extending from a sensor housing on the vehicle.