Roof Module for Forming a Vehicle Roof with a Cooling Feature

Abstract

A roof module for forming a vehicle roof on a motor vehicle may have a panel component whose outer surface at least partially forms a roof skin of the vehicle roof; at least one environment sensor configured to send and/or receive electromagnetic signals for detecting the vehicle environment and disposed at least partially below the roof skin formed by the panel component; and a cooling feature configured to discharge waste heat emitted by the environment sensor and/or externally introduced heat from the environment sensor. The cooling feature may have at least one cooling channel in which at least two cooling fans are disposed, the cooling fans being connected to at least one controller of the cooling feature.

Claims

1. A roof module for forming a vehicle roof on a motor vehicle, the roof module comprising: a panel component whose outer surface at least partially forms a roof skin of the vehicle roof; at least one environment sensor configured to send and/or receive electromagnetic signals for detecting the vehicle environment and disposed at least partially below the roof skin formed by the panel component; and a cooling feature configured to discharge waste heat emitted by the environment sensor and/or externally introduced heat from the environment sensor, wherein the cooling feature comprises at least one cooling channel in which at least two cooling fans are disposed, the cooling fans being connected to at least one controller of the cooling feature.

2. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the at least two cooling fans in the cooling channel are disposed in series one behind the other or in parallel next to each other.

3. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the cooling feature comprises at least one second cooling channel, the at least two cooling fans being disposed in different cooling channels.

4. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the at least two cooling fans each have a different maximum cooling capacity.

5. The roof module according to claim 4 wherein the cooling fan having the higher cooling capacity is disposed downstream of the cooling fan having the lower cooling capacity in the cooling channel.

6. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the at least two cooling fans differ in terms of their respective dimensions, design, blade position, controllability, and/or maximum speed.

7. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the at least two cooling fans in a multi-level manner.

8. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to individually control each of the at least two cooling fans.

9. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the respective speeds of the at least two cooling fans in a closed or open loop as a function of a required cooling capacity of the cooling feature.

10. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the roof module comprises at least one temperature sensor configured to measure the temperature in the roof module in the area of the environment sensor.

11. The roof module according to claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to determine the required cooling capacity from the measured temperature.

12. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the environment sensor is disposed in a dry section of the roof module, the dry section being protected against moisture, the cooling feature being configured to discharge waste heat emitted by the environment sensor from the dry section.

13. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the cooling feature comprises at least one thermally conductive element disposed in the cooling channel, the thermally conductive element being configured to discharge waste heat emitted by the environment sensor.

14. The roof module according to claim 13, wherein the environment sensor has at least one cooling surface, the environment sensor being in contact with the thermally conductive element via the cooling surface.

15. The roof module according to claim 13, wherein the thermally conductive element is formed by a heat pipe or a metal part.

16. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the cooling feature comprises a cooling element and/or a heat exchanger and/or a heat pump.

17. The roof module according to claim 16, wherein cooling element has at least one cooling fin.

18. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the environment sensor is formed by a lidar sensor and/or a radar sensor and/or a camera sensor and/or a multi-camera sensor.

19. The roof module according to claim 1, wherein the roof skin comprises one or more solar cells configured to supply the at least two cooling fans and/or the at least one controller with electrical energy provided by the one or more solar cells.

20. A motor vehicle comprising a roof module according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] An embodiment of the invention is schematically illustrated in the drawing and will be discussed in more detail as an example below.

[0034] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a vehicle roof comprising a roof module according to the invention;

[0035] FIG. 1B is a partial view of a roof module according to the invention in a schematized cross section;

[0036] FIG. 2 shows a cooling channel having cooling fans connected in series;

[0037] FIG. 3 shows two exemplary embodiments of cooling fans;

[0038] FIG. 4 is a detail view of a cooling channel having cooling fans connected in series; and

[0039] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a cooling feature including temperature sensors, heat pipes, and cooling elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] FIG. 1A shows a vehicle roof 100, which comprises a roof module 10. Roof module 10 comprises a panel component 12 for forming the roof skin 14 of the vehicle roof of a vehicle (not shown in full). An environment sensor 16 is disposed below roof skin 14, which is formed by panel component 12, environment sensor 16 being able to send and/or receive electromagnetic signals 18 on the side facing the vehicle front for detecting the vehicle environment (see FIG. 1B). Alternatively, the environment sensor can also be a (multi-)camera, for example, or any other known type of environment sensor. Roof module 10 is preferably inserted into a roof frame 102 of the vehicle or placed on top of transverse rails 104 and longitudinal rails 106, which form roof frame 102, as a structural unit. Roof skin 14 comprises one or more solar cells 108, which preferably supply a cooling feature 24 of roof module 10 with electrical energy (e.g., when the vehicle is stationary and the motor is turned off).

[0041] FIG. 1B shows a partial view of roof module 10 in a schematized cross section. In the partial view of FIG. 1B, only the parts of roof module 10 which are required for understanding the invention are illustrated. So roof module 10 is illustrated in simplified form.

[0042] Environment sensor 16 is disposed in a dry section 20, which is protected against moisture and which is encapsulated in a moisture-proof manner vis-à-vis the outside by means of seals, for example. Dry section 20 preferably comprises a thermally conductive outer casing (see FIG. 5). In this manner, environment sensor 16 is reliably protected against the entry of moisture.

[0043] A wet section 22 is provided behind or to the left of dry section 20 in roof module 10 with respect to FIG. 1B, wet section 22 being secluded from dry section 20 in a liquid-tight manner. Cooling feature 24 for discharging waste heat from roof module 10 and from environment sensor 16 is located in wet section 22. A thermally conductive element 26, which is formed by a heat pipe, extends between cooling feature 24 and environment sensor 16. A cooling surface 28 of environment sensor 16 is attached to the inner side of thermally conductive element 26, which faces dry section 20. In this manner, waste heat emitted by environment sensor 16 can be effectively transferred to thermally conductive element 26.

[0044] Heat flow in thermally conductive element 26 transfers the waste heat to cooling feature 24 in wet section 22. Cooling feature 24 comprises a first cooling channel 25. A cooling element (i.e., a thermally conductive element) 30 comprising a plurality of cooling fins 32 is disposed in first cooling channel 25. Cooling element 30 is fixed to the inner side of thermally conductive element 26, which faces wet section 22, in a thermally conductive manner with its bottom surface with the result that the waste heat led over in thermally conductive element 26 is transferred to cooling element 30 with low thermal resistance. This heats cooling fins 32 of cooling element 30. Cooling feature 24 further comprises two cooling fans 34, of which only one is visible in FIG. 1B. Cooling fans 34 are connected to a controller 35 either via one or more cables or wirelessly so that cooling fans 34 can receive one or more control signals from controller 35. Illustrative examples of cooling fan 34 are shown in FIG. 3. The two cooling fans 34 are connected in parallel or in series and disposed in first cooling channel 25 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). In the example illustrated in FIG. 1B, fresh air can be transported into wet section 22 through inlet openings 36. Cooling fans 34 generate an air flow, causing the fresh air to flow past cooling fins 32 and absorb the waste heat produced by environment sensor 16. The heated fresh air subsequently flows through a second cooling channel 38, which is connected to first cooling channel 25, and leaves wet section 22 through outlet openings 40. In this way, the waste heat can be fully discharged from roof module 10.

[0045] FIG. 5 schematically shows cooling feature 24. Here, cooling feature 24 has multiple cooling channels 25 and three heat pipes (i.e., thermally conductive elements) 26. Cooling fans 34 are only hinted at in FIG. 5 since they are disposed within a pipe section 42 of cooling channel 25 cooling channel 38. Pipe section 42 comprises cooling element 30 as a type of pipe casing or pipe collar of pipe section 42. Moreover, dry section 20 is encased with a cooling element (e.g., on an outer side of a housing of dry section 20) to ensure a heat conduction from dry section 20 to thermally conductive elements 26 as free from resistance as possible.

[0046] Two temperature sensors 44 are disposed in the immediate vicinity of environment sensor 16. Of course, only one temperature sensor 44 may be present in other embodiments. Thus, the temperature of environment sensor 16 can be measured. The capacity of cooling fan 34 can be proportionally increased by means of controller 35 depending on the temperature measured at temperature sensors 44 to effectively cool environment sensor 16. Controller 35 communicates with temperature sensors 44 via one or more cables or wirelessly and can consequently receive at least one or more signals of temperature sensors 44.

[0047] Fans 34 can differ in terms of their respective dimensions, design, blade position, controllability, and/or maximum speed, cooling fans 34 with different designs being schematically illustrated in FIGS. 3.1 and 3.2.