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US-20260126647-A1 - Suspended Camera Cover Glass For Ultrasonic Cleaning

US20260126647A1US 20260126647 A1US20260126647 A1US 20260126647A1US-20260126647-A1

Abstract

A sensor assembly that includes a housing that defines a cavity therein, a lens disposed in the cavity, an image sensor disposed in the cavity, a cover glass movably coupled to the housing, and a piezoelectric device coupled to the cover glass. The image sensor is aligned with the lens along an optical axis of the sensor assembly. The cover glass is positioned outward from the lens and the image sensor such that the image sensor is configured to capture images within a field of view of the lens through the cover glass. The piezoelectric device is configured to oscillate the cover glass to clean one or more surfaces of the cover glass.

Inventors

  • Jason Grodahl
  • ZACHARY T. BONEFAS
  • Joseph J. Ellerbach
  • Jason Phillip Brown

Assignees

  • DEERE & COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20250923

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A sensor assembly, comprising: a housing that defines a cavity therein; a lens disposed in the cavity; an image sensor disposed in the cavity and aligned with the lens along an optical axis of the sensor assembly; a cover glass movably coupled to the housing and positioned outward from the lens and the image sensor such that the image sensor is configured to capture images within a field of view of the lens through the cover glass; and a piezoelectric device coupled to the cover glass and configured to oscillate the cover glass to clean one or more surfaces of the cover glass.
  2. 2 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the cover glass is movably coupled to the housing in a suspended state such that the cover glass is free of direct contact with the housing.
  3. 3 . The sensor assembly of claim 2 , wherein the cover glass is movably coupled to the housing by a cover glass seal disposed therebetween.
  4. 4 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the cover glass includes a front surface that is configured to be exposed to environmental elements and an opposing rear surface that faces the lens.
  5. 5 . The sensor assembly of claim 4 , wherein the piezoelectric device is coupled to the opposing rear surface of the cover glass and laterally positioned between the housing and the optical axis with respect to the optical axis.
  6. 6 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the piezoelectric device is configured to vibrate the cover glass.
  7. 7 . The sensor assembly of claim 6 , wherein at least a portion of the piezoelectric device is configured to expand and contract in response to application of an electrical voltage to the piezoelectric device to vibrate the cover glass at a frequency of about 20 kHz to about 400 kHz.
  8. 8 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing includes: a main housing, wherein the cover glass is movably coupled to the main housing; a front housing coupled to the main housing and positioned outward from the cover glass; and a rear housing coupled to the main housing and positioned inward from the main housing and the front housing.
  9. 9 . The sensor assembly of claim 8 , wherein the front housing extends towards the optical axis beyond a peripheral edge of the cover glass such that the peripheral edge of the cover glass is obstructed from view from a viewpoint external to the sensor assembly.
  10. 10 . The sensor assembly of claim 8 , wherein a front seal is disposed between the front housing and the main housing, and a rear seal is disposed between the rear housing and the main housing.
  11. 11 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the piezoelectric device is configured to be electrically connected to a control module, and wherein the control module is configured to operate the piezoelectric device to oscillate the cover glass.
  12. 12 . A sensor assembly for an agriculture machine, comprising: a housing; a lens disposed in the housing along an optical axis of the sensor assembly; an image sensor disposed in the housing and positioned inward from the lens along the optical axis; a cover glass movably coupled to the housing by a cover glass seal, wherein the image sensor is configured to capture images within a field of view of the lens through the cover glass; and a piezoelectric device coupled to a surface of the cover glass and configured to vibrate the cover glass to clean the cover glass, wherein the cover glass seal is configured to maintain a seal between the cover glass and the housing when the cover glass is vibrated by the piezoelectric device.
  13. 13 . The sensor assembly of claim 12 , wherein the cover glass seal is made of a flexible material that allows for vibration of the cover glass while still maintaining the seal between the cover glass and the housing.
  14. 14 . The sensor assembly of claim 12 , wherein the piezoelectric device is configured to vibrate at different frequencies to remove at least one of debris, moisture, frost, or ice from the cover glass.
  15. 15 . The sensor assembly of claim 14 , wherein the piezoelectric device is configured to selectively vibrate at ultrasonic frequencies.
  16. 16 . The sensor assembly of claim 12 , wherein the piezoelectric device is configured to selectively vibrate at different frequencies based upon detection of a particular contaminant disposed on one or more surfaces of the cover glass.
  17. 17 . A sensor assembly, comprising: a housing that defines a cavity therein, wherein the housing includes a main housing and a front housing coupled to the main housing; a sensor disposed in the cavity; a cover glass coupled to the main housing by a cover glass seal, wherein the cover glass seal is compressed between the front housing and the main housing to form a waterproof seal therebetween and to couple the cover glass to the main housing in a suspended state that allows movement of the cover glass with respect to the housing while maintaining the waterproof seal; and a piezoelectric device coupled to the cover glass and configured to vibrate the cover glass with respect to the housing to clean the cover glass.
  18. 18 . The sensor assembly of claim 17 , wherein the piezoelectric device is configured to vibrate the cover glass at one or more frequencies to clean one or more surfaces of the cover glass.
  19. 19 . The sensor assembly of claim 18 , wherein the piezoelectric device includes: a first electrode; a second electrode; and a piezoelectric material disposed between and coupled to the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are configured to receive an electrical voltage to expand and contract the piezoelectric material to thereby vibrate the cover glass.
  20. 20 . The sensor assembly of claim 17 , wherein the cover glass seal includes a front portion and a rear portion coupled to the front portion, and wherein the front portion and the rear portion are made of dissimilar materials such that a hardness of the front portion is different than a hardness of the rear portion.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/715,925, filed on November 4, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to a sensor system, and more particularly, to ultrasonic cleaning of cover glass of a sensor system. BACKGROUND Sensor systems may be used in various agriculture, construction, automotive, forestry, mining, and maintenance operations to capture images for analysis of different parameters to determine overall performance of the various operations. Such sensor systems may be connected to machinery to capture images during operation of the machinery and analyze the captured images to enhance performance of the machinery. SUMMARY In one aspect of the present disclosure, a sensor assembly is disclosed. The sensor assembly includes a housing that defines a cavity therein, a lens disposed in the cavity, an image sensor disposed in the cavity, a cover glass movably coupled to the housing, and a piezoelectric device coupled to the cover glass. The image sensor is aligned with the lens along an optical axis of the sensor assembly. The cover glass is positioned outward from the lens and the image sensor such that the image sensor is configured to capture images within a field of view of the lens through the cover glass. The piezoelectric device is configured to oscillate the cover glass to clean one or more surfaces of the cover glass. In some implementations, the cover glass may be movably coupled to the housing in a suspended state such that the cover glass is free of direct contact with the housing. The cover glass may be movably coupled to the housing by a cover glass seal disposed therebetween. In some implementations, the cover glass may include a front surface that is configured to be exposed to environmental elements and an opposing rear surface that faces the lens. The piezoelectric device may be coupled to the opposing rear surface of the cover glass and laterally positioned between the housing and the optical axis with respect to the optical axis. In some implementations, the piezoelectric device may be configured to vibrate the cover glass. At least a portion of the piezoelectric device may be configured to expand and contract in response to application of an electrical voltage to the piezoelectric device to vibrate the cover glass at a frequency of about 20 kHz to about 400 kHz. In some implementations, the housing may include a main housing, a front housing coupled to the main housing and positioned outward from the cover glass, and a rear housing coupled to the main housing and positioned inward from the main housing and the front housing. The cover glass may be movably coupled to the main housing. The front housing may extend towards the optical axis beyond a peripheral edge of the cover glass such that the peripheral edge of the cover glass is obstructed from view from a viewpoint external to the sensor assembly. A front seal may be disposed between the front housing and the main housing. A rear seal may be disposed between the rear housing and the main housing. In some implementations, the piezoelectric device may be configured to be electrically connected to a control module. The control module may be configured to operate the piezoelectric device to oscillate the cover glass. In another aspect of the present disclosure, a sensor assembly for an agriculture machine is disclosed. The sensor assembly includes a housing, a lens disposed in the housing along an optical axis of the sensor assembly, an image sensor disposed in the housing and positioned inward from the lens along the optical axis, a cover glass movably coupled to the housing by a cover glass seal, and a piezoelectric device coupled to a surface of the cover glass. The image sensor is configured to capture images within a field of view of the lens through the cover glass. The piezoelectric device is configured to vibrate the cover glass to clean the cover glass. The cover glass seal is configured to maintain a seal between the cover glass and the housing when the cover glass is vibrated by the piezoelectric device. In some implementations, the cover glass seal may be made of a flexible material that allows for vibration of the cover glass while still maintaining the seal between the cover glass and the housing. In some implementations, the piezoelectric device may be configured to vibrate at different frequencies to remove at least one of debris, moisture, frost, or ice from the cover glass. The piezoelectric device may be configured to selectively vibrate at ultrasonic frequencies. In some implementations, the piezoelectric device may be configured to selectively vibrate at different frequencies based upon detection of a particular contaminant disposed on one or more surfaces of the cover glass. In another aspect of the present disclosure, a sensor asse