RAIN SENSOR SYSTEM AND VEHICLE

Abstract

A rain sensor system for measuring a quantity of rain on a window of a vehicle is provided. The rain sensor system comprises a camera device configured to capture images of an area surrounding the vehicle using camera optics; and a rain sensor including a transmitter and a receiver, the transmitter being configured to emit or transmit light and the receiver being configured to receive measurement light that is emitted or transmitted by the transmitter and guided to the receiver by the window. The transmitter and the receiver are arranged at a distance (d) from each another, and the receiver and the camera optics of the camera device are different components.

Claims

1. A rain sensor system for measuring a quantity of rain on a window of a vehicle, the rain sensor system comprising: a camera device configured to capture images of an area surrounding the vehicle using camera optics; and a rain sensor including a transmitter and a receiver, the transmitter being configured to emit or transmit light and the receiver being configured to receive measurement light that is emitted or transmitted by the transmitter and guided to the receiver by the window, wherein the transmitter and the receiver are arranged at a distance from each another, and the receiver and the camera optics of the camera device are different components.

2. The rain sensor system according to claim 1, further including an analysis unit which is configured to analyze the received measurement light to determine the quantity of rain on the window.

3. The rain sensor system according to claim 2, wherein the transmitter and the receiver are arranged on the window such that the light that is emitted or transmitted by the transmitter is reflected by total reflection at least once on an outer surface of the window and at least once on an inner surface of the window.

4. The rain sensor system according to claim 3, wherein the transmitter and the receiver are mechanically independent elements, and/or the transmitter and the receiver are not attached to each other and/or the transmitter and the receiver are not housed in the same housing.

5. The rain sensor system according to claim 4, wherein the transmitter and the receiver are arranged along different sides of the camera device.

6. The rain sensor system according to claim 1, further comprising a camera cover configured to at least partially cover the camera device, wherein the transmitter and/or the receiver is arranged in, on or along the camera cover.

7. The rain sensor system according to claim 6, wherein the transmitter and the receiver are arranged along one or several edges of the camera cover or in one or several openings in the camera cover.

8. The rain sensor system according to claim 7, wherein the transmitter and the receiver are arranged on opposite edges of the camera cover or on different extremities of the same edge.

9. The rain sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter and/or the receiver are configured to be moved independently of the camera cover and/or the camera device.

10. The rain sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter includes a light emitting diode, for emitting the light and/or an optical element for collimating the emitted light; and/or the receiver includes an optical element for bundling the received measurement light.

11. The rain sensor system according to claim 10, wherein the light emitted by the transmitter has a divergence between 3 and 6 degrees.

12. The rain sensor system according to claim 1, further including a processor unit for electrically powering and/or controlling the transmitter and/or the receiver and the camera device.

13. The rain sensor system according to claim 1, wherein: the camera device includes a light emitting element configured to emit light and/or a light receiving element configured to receive light; and the light emitting element is connected to the transmitter through a first optical fiber configured to transmit the light emitted by the light emitting element to the transmitter and/or the light receiving element is connected to the receiver through a second optical fiber configured to transmit the measurement light received by the receiver to the light receiving element.

14. The rain sensor system according to claim 12, wherein the processor unit further includes a determination element for determining an amount of rain of the window based on the light received by the light receiving element, and/or wherein the light emitting element and/or the light receiving element are part of the processor unit.

15. A vehicle comprising the rain sensor system according to claim 1.

Description

[0064] Further embodiments or aspects of the invention are subject to the dependent claims and the examples which are described in the following with reference to the figures.

[0065] FIG. 1 shows a view of a vehicle;

[0066] FIG. 2 shows a rain sensor system according to a first embodiment;

[0067] FIG. 3 shows a first example of light propagating in the window without rain;

[0068] FIG. 4 shows light propagating in the window with rain;

[0069] FIG. 5 shows a second example of light propagating in the window without rain;

[0070] FIG. 6 shows a rain sensor system according to a second embodiment;

[0071] FIG. 7 shows a camera device for the rain sensor system of FIG. 6;

[0072] FIG. 8 shows a detailed view of an optical connection in the camera device of FIG. 7; and

[0073] FIG. 9 shows an example of a connection on a transmitter side of the rain sensor system of FIG. 6.

[0074] In the figures, like elements are denoted with the same reference numerals unless otherwise indicated.

[0075] FIG. 1 shows a view of a vehicle 100, which is a car. On its front 107, the car 100 has a window 101, which is a windscreen. On an interior of the car 100, a rain sensor system 1 is mounted to the window 101. The rain sensor system 1 is mounted at or near a rear-view mirror (not shown) of the car 100.

[0076] The rain sensor system 1 of the car 100 is for example a rain sensor system 1 according to a first embodiment, which is shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows the side of the rain sensor system 1 which is positioned against and/or towards the window 101 on an interior of the car 100. In other words, FIG. 2 shows the rain sensor system 1 as it is visible from outside the car 100, through the window 101.

[0077] As shown in FIG. 2, the rain sensor system 1 includes a camera device 2 and a rain sensor 6. The camera device 2 includes camera optics 3 including a lens and the like. The camera optics 3 are positioned such that their field of view 103 extends to the front 107 of the car 100. Using the camera optics 3, the camera device 2 can monitor an area 102 surrounding the vehicle 100 (see FIG. 1). The area 102 is delimited by the field of view 103 of the camera optics 3.

[0078] The camera optics 3 are visible from outside the vehicle 100. However, a camera cover 20 hides the remaining elements of the camera device 2. These hidden elements for example include control units for the camera optics 3 and the like.

[0079] The rain sensor 6 comprises a transmitter 4 and a receiver 5. The transmitter 4 and the receiver 5 are two separate optical elements, which can be moved independently with respect to each other. The transmitter 4 and the receiver 5 can further be moved independently with respect to the camera device 2 (for example during a positioning and/or mounting of the transmitter 4 and receiver 5 on the window 101). In the rain sensor system 1 of the first embodiment, the transmitter 4, the receiver 5 and the camera device 2 are entirely independent and uncoupled units, which do not share any resources (optical, electrical or the like) at all. In detail, the receiver 5 and the camera optics 3 are different components.

[0080] The transmitter 4 and the receiver 5 are mechanically fixed to the window 101 with a silicone gel for refractive index matching placed between the transmitter 4 and the window 101 and between the receiver 5 and the window 101.

[0081] The transmitter 4 and the receiver 5 are arranged at a distance d from each other with the camera device 2 being arranged between the transmitter 4 and the receiver 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the transmitter 4 and the receiver 5 are arranged along opposite sides (edges) 21 of the camera cover 20. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the rain sensor system 1 is symmetric about a central vertical axis of the camera cover 20.

[0082] The operating principle of the rain sensor 6 is explained in view of FIGS. 3 and 4. The interior 104 and the exterior 105 of the car 100 are separated by the window 101. The transmitter 4 includes an LED 4a for emitting light and a lens 4b arranged between the LED 4a and the window 101 for collimating the light emitted by the LED 4a. As a result, the transmitter 4 injects collimated light beams 7 into the window 101. The transmitter 4 and the receiver 5 are located sufficiently far from each other that the light beams 7 can be totally reflected by the window 101 multiple times at total reflection points 8 (only some are indicated in FIG. 3 to 5) before reaching the receiver 5.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 3, the receiver 5 of the rain sensor system 1 of FIG. 2 includes a lens 5a and a photodiode 5b which converts the received measurement light into an electric current. Thus, an output of the receiver 5 is an electric signal proportional to the intensity of the received light. The electric signal output by the receiver 5 is forwarded to an analysis unit 22, which determines the quantity of rain on the window 101 based on the received electric signal.

[0084] In FIG. 3, there is no rain on the window 101. As a result, the light beams 7 are all totally reflected multiple times and the light intensity received at the receiver 5 is substantially equal to the intensity emitted by the transmitter 4. On the other hand, when there are raindrops 106 on the window 101, the raindrops 106 change the reflection of the light beams 7. As a result, depending on the amount of water (or equivalently on the number of raindrops 106) on the window, some or all of the light beams 7 get partially reflected along their trajectories towards the receiver 5. As indicated in FIG. 4, at the partial reflection points 9, some of the light is not reflected and instead the light leaves the window 101. This lost light is then missing from the light detected by the receiver 5. Therefore, a light intensity detected at the receiver 5 decreases as the rain quantity increases, allowing the analysis unit 22 to determine how much water there is on the window 101.

[0085] The multiple reflections of the light beams 7 in the window 101 increases the accuracy of the rain sensor system 1.

[0086] An optical alignment of the transmitter 4 with respect to the receiver 5 does not need to be performed very accurately. Indeed, as shown in FIG. 5, a slight divergence (a few degrees, preferably less than 6?) in the injected light result in a constant shift in some of the light beams 7. Although the light intensity received at the receiver 5 is reduced in such a case, this can be compensated by increasing the emitted light intensity on the transmitter's 4 side. The detection of the amount of rain on the window 101 can be performed along the same lines as described in view of FIGS. 3 and 4 above in case of the slight divergence of FIG. 5.

[0087] Although FIGS. 4 and 5 do not explicitly show the LED 4a, the lens 4b, the lens 5a, the photodiode 5b and the analysis unit 22, the transmitter 4, the receiver 5 and the analysis unit 22 are actually identical with those of FIG. 3.

[0088] As an alternative to the rain sensor system 1 of the first embodiment (FIG. 2), a rain sensor system 1 according to a second embodiment can be mounted behind the window 101 of the car 1 of FIG. 1. Such a rain sensor system 1 according to the second embodiment is shown in FIG. 6.

[0089] The difference between the rain sensor system 1 of the first embodiment (FIG. 2) and the rain sensor system 1 of the second embodiment (FIG. 6) is that in the first embodiment, the transmitter 4 emits the light itself and the receiver 5 analyses or emits an electric signal corresponding to the detected intensity itself. On the other hand, in the second embodiment (FIG. 6), the transmitter 4 only transmits light received from the camera device 2 and the receiver 5 only forwards the received measurement light towards the camera device 2 for analysis thereof. The transmitter 4 and the receiver 5 of the second embodiment do not include any electronics, but merely optical components. Like in the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, the receiver 5 and the camera optics 3 are different components.

[0090] In detail, as shown in FIG. 7, the camera device 2 of the rain sensor system 1 of the second embodiment includes a processor unit 10 mounted within a housing 11. The processor unit 10 is a printed circuit board (PCB) configured to control the operation of the camera optics 3 to capture images of the area 102. Further, the processor unit 10 comprises a light emitting element 12, here an LED, and a light receiving element 13, here a photodiode.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 7, the housing 11 includes a first optical fiber interface 14 and a second optical fiber interface 15 for connecting optical fibers 16. In detail, as shown in FIG. 8, an optical fiber connector 17 is insertable into the first optical fiber interface 14. Light emitted by the LED 12 is guided through the optical fiber connector 17 into the optical fiber 16. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the other end of the optical fiber 16 is connected to the transmitter 4. An optical fiber connector 18 is used to couple the optical fiber with the transmitter 4. In the second embodiment, the transmitter 4 includes a prism 19 as a first optical element (see FIG. 9). The light emitted by the LED 12 is thus guided towards the transmitter 4 through the first optical fiber 16, collimated by the prism 19 and injected into the window 101.

[0092] Although not shown in the figures, the connection between the light receiving element 13 and the receiver 5 is equivalent to the connection between the light emitting element 12 and the transmitter 4 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In particular, a second light fiber (not shown) connects the light receiving element 13 and the receiver 5. Connectors similar to the optical fiber connectors 17, 18 are used for the connections between the optical fiber and the light receiving element 13 and between the optical fiber and the receiver 5. The receiver 5 may include a second optical element for bundling the received measurement light. The receiver 5 transmits the received measurement light to the light receiving element 13 through the second optical fiber. The light receiving element 13 generates an electric signal in accordance with the received measurement signal.

[0093] Advantageously, the rain sensor 6 does not need to be electrically powered and does not need to emit the light signal and perform the analysis on the measurement light signal itself. Instead, processor resources are shared with the camera device 2. This reduces the costs, complexity and size of the rain sensor system 1 of the second embodiment.

[0094] The propagation of the light through the window 101 is the same in the second embodiment as in the first embodiment (FIG. 3 to 5).

[0095] While the present technology has been described in connection with several practical examples, it is to be understood that the technology is not to be limited to the disclosed examples, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements. For example, the vehicle may be a train, truck or the like instead of a car. The rain sensor system 1 could be mounted at the back 108 of the vehicle 100 instead of at the front 107 (see FIG. 1). Instead of using a prism 19 as the first optical element, free-form optics or a diffractive optical element can be used. The positioning of the transmitter 4 and receiver 5 can be different than shown in FIG. 2. For example, the transmitter 4 and receiver 5 can be placed above and below the camera device 2. The transmitter 4 and the receiver 5 can further be at least partly incorporated into the camera cover 20. Further, additional features such as ambient light sensing can be performed either using the rain sensor 6 or using the camera device 2.

REFERENCE SIGNS

[0096] 1 rain sensor system [0097] 2 camera device [0098] 3 camera optics [0099] 4 transmitter [0100] 4a LED [0101] 4b lens [0102] 5 receiver [0103] 5a lens [0104] 5b photodiode [0105] 6 rain sensor [0106] 7 light beam [0107] 8 total reflection point [0108] 9 partial reflection point [0109] 10 processor unit [0110] 11 housing [0111] 12 light emitting element [0112] 13 light receiving element [0113] 14 first optical fiber interface [0114] 15 second optical fiber interface [0115] 16 first optical fiber [0116] 17, 18 optical fiber connector [0117] 19 prism [0118] 20 camera cover [0119] 21 side [0120] 22 analysis unit [0121] 100 vehicle [0122] 101 window [0123] 102 surrounding area [0124] 103 camera's field of view [0125] 104 interior [0126] 105 exterior [0127] 106 rain drop [0128] 107 front [0129] 108 back [0130] d distance