CN218272695U

CN218272695U - Laser radar

Info

Publication number: CN218272695U
Application number: CN202222343750.1U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 尹逊帅; 雷健; 王敬; 车凯
Original assignee: Iray Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Iray Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-09-02
Filing date: 2022-09-02
Publication date: 2023-01-10
Anticipated expiration: 2032-09-02

Abstract

The application discloses laser radar, including shell, galvanometer module, a plurality of laser transceiver module and reflection module. The housing has a housing front end and a housing rear end spaced apart in a first direction, the housing having a window at the housing front end and a wall at the housing rear end. A connecting portion is provided between the wall portion and the base of the housing, and the connecting portion protrudes from an inner surface of the wall portion in a direction toward a front end of the housing. Each laser transceiver module has an opposing transceiver module front end and transceiver module back end. The distance between the rear end of the laser transceiver module corresponding to the connecting part in the first direction and the inner surface is greater than the distance of the connecting part protruding from the inner surface, and the distance between the rear end of the other laser transceiver module completely staggered from the connecting part in the first direction and the inner surface is less than the distance of the connecting part protruding from the inner surface. Through the reasonable compact arrangement of the modules, the miniaturized design is realized.

Description

Laser radar

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of radars, in particular to a laser radar.

Background

The lidar is a radar system for emitting laser beams to detect characteristic quantities such as distance, direction, speed and the like of a target object, and the demand for the lidar is increasing along with the vigorous development of the market of unmanned vehicles (including automatic guided vehicles, AGVs, UAVs and the like) in recent years.

With the increasing application of laser radars, the miniaturization of the whole laser radar machine in the industry puts forward higher and higher requirements. For the miniaturization design, two methods are generally adopted in the industry, one is to minimize the volume of each component module, but the method is also limited. Secondly, the layout of the element modules is changed by optimizing the light path design, so that the miniaturization of the whole machine is realized. Often, however, a developer may not wish to change the already established optical path design basis during the product optimization process.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In view of this, the present application provides a laser radar which can reduce the overall size without changing the design basis of the optical path.

The application provides a laser radar, including shell, galvanometer module, a plurality of laser transceiver module and reflection module. The housing has a housing front end and a housing rear end spaced apart in a first direction, the housing having a window at the housing front end and a wall at the housing rear end. A connecting portion is arranged between the wall portion and the base of the shell, the wall portion is fixedly connected to the base through the connecting portion, the wall portion is provided with an inner surface facing the front end of the shell, and the connecting portion protrudes out of the inner surface of the wall portion in the direction facing the front end of the shell. The galvanometer module is fixed in the shell and comprises an MEMS galvanometer facing the window. A plurality of laser transceiver modules are secured within the housing, each laser transceiver module having an opposing transceiver module front end and a transceiver module rear end. The front end of the transceiver module faces the front end of the shell, the rear end of the transceiver module faces the rear end of the shell, the rear end of at least one laser transceiver module corresponds to the connecting part in the first direction, the distance between the rear end of at least one laser transceiver module and the inner surface in the first direction is larger than the distance between the connecting part and the inner surface, the rear end of at least one laser transceiver module is completely staggered with the connecting part in the first direction, and the distance between the rear end of at least one laser transceiver module and the inner surface in the first direction is smaller than the distance between the connecting part and the inner surface. The reflector module is fixed in the housing and includes a reflector. The reflecting mirror is arranged facing the plurality of laser transceiving modules and the MEMS galvanometer. The laser transceiving module is used for transmitting laser beams to the reflecting mirror, the reflecting mirror is used for reflecting the laser beams to the MEMS vibrating mirror, and the MEMS vibrating mirror is used for converting single-line laser beams into multi-line laser beams and emitting the multi-line laser beams to the outside through the window.

According to the above design concept, in some of the laser transceiver modules, the rear end of the laser transceiver module corresponds to the connecting part in the first direction, that is, if the rear end of the laser transceiver module is arranged flush with the rear ends of the other laser transceiver modules, the rear end of the laser transceiver module interferes with the connecting part; the rear end of the laser transceiver module does not correspond to the connecting part in the first direction, i.e., is completely staggered from the connecting part. The laser transceiver module corresponding to the connecting part in the first direction moves forwards relative to the rest laser transceiver modules, so that the laser transceiver module can be safely arranged without increasing the size of the front and back directions of the shell, and the size of the front and back directions of the whole laser radar can be reduced on the premise of keeping the design of a light path unchanged. Therefore, the design approach realizes the miniaturization design through the reasonable and compact arrangement of the module pieces.

In some embodiments, the plurality of laser transceiver modules includes a first laser transceiver module, a second laser transceiver module, and at least one third laser transceiver module located between the first laser transceiver module and the second laser transceiver module, the first laser transceiver module, the second laser transceiver module, and the third laser transceiver module are fixedly mounted with respect to the base and arranged along a second direction, the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction and parallel to the base, wherein the at least one laser transceiver module includes the first laser transceiver module and/or the second laser transceiver module.

In some embodiments, a plurality of the connecting portions are disposed between the wall portion and the base of the housing, wherein one of the connecting portions is located between the first laser transceiver module and the third laser transceiver module, and the other connecting portion is located between the second laser transceiver module and the third laser transceiver module in the second direction.

In some embodiments, the connecting portion includes a mounting protrusion provided on an inner surface of the wall portion, the mounting protrusion protruding from the inner surface in a direction toward the front end of the housing, the mounting protrusion having a mounting hole, the base having a threaded hole aligned with the mounting hole, and a fastener passing through the mounting hole and being threadedly coupled to the threaded hole.

In some embodiments, the galvanometer module is supported within the housing with a galvanometer bracket, a leading edge of the bottom side of the galvanometer module in the first direction being in contact with and supported by the galvanometer bracket. Therefore, besides being fixed to the two mounting plates in a proper mode, the mounting part also supports the front edge of the bottom side of the galvanometer module, supports are formed on multiple points of the outer contour of the galvanometer module, and the support stability of the galvanometer module is effectively improved.

In some embodiments, the galvanometer bracket comprises a supporting portion and an installation portion, the supporting portion is fixedly arranged relative to the base, the installation portion is fixedly connected with the supporting portion and is located above the supporting portion, the galvanometer module is installed on the installation portion, the installation portion is provided with a supporting surface contacted with the bottom side of the galvanometer module, and in the first direction, the supporting surface at least extends to be flush with the front edge of the bottom side of the galvanometer module. The support surface at least extends to be flush with the front edge of the bottom side of the galvanometer module, so that the support of the galvanometer bracket on the front edge of the bottom side of the galvanometer module can be effectively ensured.

In some embodiments, the mounting portion includes two mounting plates spaced apart from each other in the second direction, the galvanometer module is sandwiched and fixed between the two mounting plates, the bottom side of the galvanometer module has two bottom side edges in the second direction, the mounting portion is correspondingly provided with two supporting surfaces, each supporting surface is disposed near the bottom of one of the mounting plates and inside the one of the mounting plates, and supports the bottom side edge of the galvanometer module near the one of the mounting plates upward. The two supporting surfaces support two edges of the bottom side of the galvanometer module in the transverse direction, so that the support of the galvanometer module by the galvanometer bracket is more balanced.

In some embodiments, the mirror vibration module is supported in the housing by a mirror vibration bracket, the mirror vibration bracket comprises a supporting portion and an installation portion, the supporting portion is fixedly arranged relative to the base, the installation portion is fixedly connected with the supporting portion and is located above the supporting portion, the mirror vibration module is installed on the installation portion, the supporting portion comprises a plurality of partition plates, and the partition plates are used for separating light beams transmitted and received by the corresponding laser transmitting and receiving module. Therefore, the physical isolation mode of the partition plate can effectively reduce the interference between the light beams of the laser transceiver modules.

In some embodiments, the laser radar includes a circuit board support, and a main control circuit board, an ADC circuit board, an MEMS drive board, and a detector drive board supported on the circuit board support, where the main control circuit board is electrically connected to the ADC circuit board, the MEMS drive board, and the detector drive board, respectively, to control the operation of the entire laser radar, the circuit board support is located in the housing and fixed relative to the base, and the upper portion of the galvanometer support is fixedly connected to the circuit board support.

In some embodiments, the lidar further includes a fan module disposed outside the rear end of the housing, and the outer surface of the wall of the rear end of the housing is provided with cooling fins. Therefore, the heat dissipation capacity of the laser radar can be increased, and the harsher high-temperature working environment can be met.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a lidar according to the present application.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the lidar of fig. 1 from another angle.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cover according to an embodiment of the lidar of the present application.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the lidar of FIG. 1 with the fan module and cover removed.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lidar of fig. 4 from another angle.

Fig. 6 illustrates a layout of the laser transceiver module according to an embodiment of the lidar of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a layout of a laser transceiver module according to an embodiment of the lidar of the present application.

Fig. 8 illustrates a structural diagram of a laser transceiver module.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a reflection module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a holder according to an embodiment of the lidar of the present application.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a galvanometer holder of the holder of fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a galvanometer module according to an embodiment of the lidar of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the lidar of fig. 2.

Element number description:

housing 10, laser transceiver module 12, reflection module 14, and galvanometer module 16

The housing 10: housing front end 18, housing rear end 20, window 22, base 24, connector 25, cover 26, top wall 28, front wall 30, rear wall 32, side walls 34, inner surface 36, mounting tabs 38, mounting holes 40, threaded holes 42, aerial module 44, aerial adapter plate 46, aerial interface 48, cover plate 50, internal mounting plate 52

Laser transceiver module 12: a first laser transceiver module 12A, a second laser transceiver module 12B, a third laser transceiver module 12C, a transceiver module front end 54, a transceiver module rear end 56, a transceiver body 58, a laser source module 60, a detector module 62

The reflection module 14: mirror fixing base 64, mirror movable base 66, mirror 68, mirror mounting hoop 70

The galvanometer module 16: MEMS galvanometer 72 and outer frame 74

The circuit board support 76, the galvanometer support 78, the main control circuit board 80, the ADC circuit board 82, the MEMS drive board 84, the detector drive board 86, the side plate 88, the top plate 90, the support part 92, the mounting part 94, the base plate 96, the support plate 98, the fixing hole 100, the mounting plate 102, the mounting hole 104, the mounting lug 106, the through hole 108, the back plate 110, the front edge 112, the support surface 114, the bottom side edge 116 and the connecting protrusion 118;

fan module 120, heat sink 122, power interface 124

Detailed Description

The present application is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and the detailed description, and it should be noted that, in the present application, the embodiments or technical features described below may be arbitrarily combined to form a new embodiment without conflict.

It should be noted that all directional indicators (such as upper, lower, left, right, front, back, inner, outer, top, bottom … …) in the present embodiment are only used to explain the relative position relationship between the components in a specific posture (as shown in the figure), and if the specific posture is changed, the directional indicator is changed accordingly.

It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured" or "disposed" to another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present.

Generally speaking, embodiments of the present application provide a lidar that can be widely applied to a variety of fields, including but not limited to, fields such as mapping, meteorological monitoring, security protection, autopilot. The laser radar comprises a shell, a galvanometer module, a plurality of laser transceiving modules and a reflection module. The shell is provided with a shell front end and a shell rear end which are spaced in a first direction, the shell is provided with a window in the shell front end, the shell is provided with a wall part in the shell rear end, a connecting part is arranged between the wall part and a base of the shell, the wall part is fixedly connected to the base through the connecting part, the wall part is provided with an inner surface facing the shell front end, and the connecting part protrudes out of the inner surface of the wall part in the direction facing the shell front end. The mirror vibration module is fixed in the shell and comprises an MEMS mirror vibration facing the window. The plurality of laser transceiver modules are fixed in the shell, each laser transceiver module is provided with a transceiver module front end and a transceiver module rear end which are opposite, the transceiver module front end faces the shell front end, the transceiver module rear end faces the shell rear end, the rear end of at least one laser transceiver module corresponds to the connecting part in the first direction, the distance between the rear end of at least one laser transceiver module and the inner surface in the first direction is larger than the distance between the connecting part and the inner surface, the rear end of at least one laser transceiver module is completely staggered with the connecting part in the first direction, and the distance between the rear end of at least one laser transceiver module and the inner surface in the first direction is smaller than the distance between the connecting part and the inner surface. The reflection module is fixed in the shell and comprises a reflector, and the reflector is arranged towards the laser transceiving modules and the MEMS vibrating mirror. The laser transceiving module is used for transmitting laser beams to the reflecting mirror, the reflecting mirror is used for reflecting the laser beams to the MEMS vibrating mirror, and the MEMS vibrating mirror is used for converting single-line laser beams into multi-line laser beams and emitting the multi-line laser beams to the outside through the window.

According to the above design concept, in some of the laser transceiver modules, the rear end of the laser transceiver module corresponds to the connecting part in the first direction, that is, if the rear end of the laser transceiver module is arranged flush with the rear ends of the other laser transceiver modules, the rear end of the laser transceiver module interferes with the connecting part; the rear end of the laser transceiver module does not correspond to the connecting part in the first direction, namely, the rear end of the laser transceiver module is completely staggered with the connecting part. By moving the laser transceiver module corresponding to the connecting part in the first direction forwards relative to the rest laser transceiver modules, the laser transceiver module can be safely arranged without increasing the size of the shell in the front-back direction, so that the size of the whole laser radar in the front-back direction can be reduced on the premise of keeping the design of a light path unchanged. Therefore, the design approach realizes the miniaturization design through the reasonable and compact arrangement of the module pieces.

The specific structure of the laser radar will be described in detail below by way of example.

Fig. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of a lidar according to the present disclosure, which includes a housing 10, and a plurality of laser transceiver modules 12, a reflection module 14, and a mirror module 16 fixedly disposed in the housing 10.

The housing 10 has a housing front end 18 and a housing rear end 20 spaced apart in a first direction. As used herein, the "front end" refers to the end of the laser radar that emits the detection light during normal use, and correspondingly, the end away from the "front end" is the "rear end". The direction of extension of the line between the housing front end 18 and the housing rear end 20 is defined as the first direction.

The housing 10 has a window 22 at the front housing end 18 and a wall portion at the rear housing end 20. The laser beam emitted from the laser radar is emitted to the external target object through the window 22, and the echo beam reflected by the external target object enters the housing through the window 22. A connecting portion 25 is provided between the wall portion and the base 24, and the wall portion is fixedly connected to the base 24 through the connecting portion 25. The wall portion has an inner surface 36 facing the housing front end 18, the connecting portion 25 protruding over the inner surface 36 of the wall portion in a direction towards the housing front end 18.

In the illustrated embodiment, the housing 10 includes a base 24 and a cover 26, the cover 26 being disposed over the base 24 and cooperating therewith to define an enclosed space within which the laser transceiver module 12, the reflector module 14, and the galvanometer module 16 are mounted.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the cover 26 includes a top wall 28, a front wall 30, a rear wall 32, and two side walls 34. A front wall 30 extends from the front edge of the top wall 28 towards the base 24, and the window 22 is arranged in the front wall 30, for example fixed by gluing, in a sealed connection. A rear wall 32 extends from the rear edge of the top wall 28 towards the base 24, opposite the front wall 30, the rear wall 32 being one of the specific realisations of the walls described above. Each side wall 34 extends from one of the side edges of the top wall 28 toward the base 24 and connects the front wall 30 and the rear wall 32.

In the illustrated embodiment, the connection portion 25 is implemented as a screw fastening structure. Specifically, the connecting portion 25 includes a mounting lug 38 disposed on the inner surface 36 of the rear wall 32, the mounting lug 38 projecting from the inner surface 36 in a direction toward the housing front end 18. The mounting bosses 38 have mounting holes 40, and the base 24 has threaded holes 42 aligned with the mounting holes 40. Fasteners, such as screws, are threaded through the mounting holes 40 and into the threaded holes 42. In this manner, the rear wall 32 is fixedly attached to the base 24. The remaining walls of the cover 26 may be connected to the base 24 at the same or different connections.

An aerial module 44 is disposed on one of the side walls 34 of the cover 26, and the aerial module 44 includes an aerial adapter plate 46, and an aerial interface 48 is formed on the aerial adapter plate 46 for electrically connecting the lidar to other equipment. Preferably, the seal rating of the aerial interface 48 is not low-level IP68. The other side wall 34 of the cover 26 is provided with a removable cover 50, and removal of the cover 50 leaves an opening in the side wall 34 to provide an access window for the adjustment/viewing of the components within the housing 10. Sealing elements, such as O-ring seals, are arranged between the aviation plug adapter plate 46 and the side wall 34, between the side wall 34 and the cover plate 50, and between the cover cap 26 and the base 24, so that the whole machine has a sealing and waterproof function, and electrical safety is guaranteed.

The laser transceiver module 12 is located below and behind the galvanometer module 16, and the reflection module 14 is disposed near the front side of the base 24 and faces the laser transceiver module 12 and the galvanometer module 16. The laser transceiver module 12 is used for transmitting and receiving laser beams, the transmitted laser beams firstly irradiate the reflection module 14, and then irradiate the reflection module 14 to the galvanometer module 16 under the reflection action of the reflection module 14, the galvanometer module 16 converts the single-line laser beams into multi-line laser beams, and the multi-line laser beams irradiate to an external target object through the window 22. According to the principle that the light path is reversible, the multi-line laser beam reflected by the target object passes through the window 22 and then is emitted to the galvanometer module 16, the multi-line laser beam is converted into a single-line laser beam by the galvanometer module 16 and is emitted towards the reflection module 14, and finally the single-line laser beam is reflected back to the laser transceiver module 12 by the reflection module 14.

The laser transceiver module 12, the reflector module 14, and the galvanometer module 16 are positioned within the housing 10 and are fixedly positioned relative to the base 24. In the illustrated embodiment, the laser transceiver module 12, the reflector module 14, and the galvanometer module 16, among other components, are mounted on an internal mounting plate 52, and the internal mounting plate 52 is fixedly mounted to the base 24. Thus, by altering the design of the interior mounting plate 52, the optical path design can be altered, or the module layout can be altered, without having to change the design of the base 24, which improves design and installation flexibility.

Referring to both fig. 6 and 7, an embodiment is shown that includes four laser transceiver modules 12. Each laser transceiver module 12 has opposing transceiver module front 54 and transceiver module rear 56 ends, transceiver module front 54 end facing housing front 18 end and transceiver module rear 56 end facing housing rear 20 end. The rear end 56 of at least one of the laser transceiver modules 12 corresponds to the connecting portion 25 in the first direction, the distance between the rear end 56 of at least one of the laser transceiver modules 12 and the inner surface 36 in the first direction is greater than the distance between the connecting portion 25 and the inner surface 36, and the rear end 56 of at least one of the laser transceiver modules 12 is completely staggered from the connecting portion 25 in the first direction, and the distance between the rear end 56 of at least one of the laser transceiver modules 12 and the inner surface 36 in the first direction is smaller than the distance between the connecting portion 25 and the inner surface 36.

"the rear end 56 is completely offset from the connection portion 25 in the first direction" means that the rear end 56 does not overlap with the connection portion 25 at any portion in the first direction, and therefore the rear end of the laser transceiver module completely offset can be as close to the wall portion of the housing 10 as possible without interfering with the connection portion. In contrast, "the rear end 56 corresponds to the connecting portion 25 in the first direction" means that the rear end 56 at least partially overlaps the connecting portion 25 in the first direction, so that the laser transceiver module corresponding to the connecting portion interferes with the connecting portion 25 when approaching the wall portion.

In order to achieve a compact lidar and, more specifically, a compact size in the front-to-rear direction (first direction), the rear end 56 of each laser transceiver module 12 should strive to reach the shortest distance allowable from the wall. Since the rear end 56 of the laser transceiver module 12 and the connecting portion 25 correspond in the first direction, i.e., at least partially overlap or are not completely offset, and the connecting portion 25 protrudes toward the front end 18 of the housing and thus also toward the rear end 56 of the laser transceiver module 12, if the rear end 56 of the laser transceiver module 12 is flush with the rear ends 56 of the remaining laser transceiver modules 12, the rear end 56 of the laser transceiver module 12 will tend to interfere with the connecting portion 25 when installed. To avoid interference, conventional thinking is to keep the position of the laser transceiver module unchanged, and increase the dimension of the housing 10 in the front-rear direction to avoid interference of the laser transceiver module rear end 56 with the connection portion 25. However, the inventors of the present application contemplate that the laser transceiver module 12 that would cause interference is displaced a distance toward the housing front end 18 relative to the remaining laser transceiver modules 12 to avoid interference with the connection portion 25. In the embodiment of the present application, the idea of forward movement of the laser transceiver module 12 undoubtedly can bring a smaller laser radar size on the premise of keeping the original light path basis unchanged.

In the embodiment of fig. 6 and 7, the four laser transceiver modules 12 include a first laser transceiver module 12A, a second laser transceiver module 12B, and two third laser transceiver modules 12C located between the first laser transceiver module 12A and the second laser transceiver module 12B. The first laser transceiver module 12A, the second laser transceiver module 12B and the third laser transceiver module 12C are fixedly mounted with respect to the base 24 and arranged in a second direction. The second direction is perpendicular to the first direction and parallel to the base 24. That is, the first laser transceiver module 12A and the second laser transceiver module 12B are laser transceiver modules on both sides, and the third laser transceiver module 12C is a laser transceiver module in the middle.

In the particular embodiment shown, the housing rear end 20 is provided with two such connections 25 along a central portion of the rear edge of the base 24. The rear ends 56 of the first laser transceiver module 12A and the second laser transceiver module 12B on both sides correspond to the two connecting portions 25 in the middle of the rear edge of the base 24, respectively. The rear end 56 of the third laser transceiver module 12C is close to the inner surface 36 of the wall, the distance between the rear end 56 of the third laser transceiver module 12C and the inner surface 36 is smaller than the distance that the connecting part 25 protrudes from the inner surface 36 beyond the front end 18 of the housing, and the rear end 56 of the third laser transceiver module 12 is located between the two connecting parts 25; the rear ends 56 of the first laser transceiver module 12A and the second laser transceiver module 12B on both sides move forward toward the front end 18 of the housing relative to the rear end 56 of the third laser transceiver module 12C, so that the distance between the rear ends 56 of the first laser transceiver module 12A and the second laser transceiver module 12B on both sides and the inner surface 36 is greater than the distance that the connecting portion 25 protrudes beyond the front end 18 of the housing from the inner surface 36, thereby avoiding the interference between the rear ends 56 of the first laser transceiver module 12A and the second laser transceiver module 12B on both sides and the two connecting portions 25 in the middle of the rear edge of the base 24.

In the illustrated embodiment, in the second direction, one of the connections 25 is located between the first laser transceiver module 12A and the third laser transceiver module 12C, and the other connection 25 is located between the second laser transceiver module 12B and the third laser transceiver module 12C. According to the above concept, the

laser transceiver modules

12A, 12B on both sides are moved forward to accommodate the protrusion of the connecting portion 25. In other embodiments, the number and location of the connections 25 may vary and any one or more laser transceiver modules 12 may be advanced accordingly depending on the possible interference situation. For example, if the connection portion 25 is provided right in the middle of the rear edge of the base 24, it may be necessary to advance one or more laser transceiver modules 12C located at the center of the base 24; alternatively, if the connecting portion 25 is provided only between one of the side laser transceiver modules 12A/12B and the middle laser transceiver module 12C, it may be necessary to advance only the side first laser transceiver module 12A or the side second laser transceiver module 12B. In addition, the number of the laser transceiver modules 12 may also be varied, and is not limited to four. For example, there may be two, three, or more than four, depending on the particular design requirements. The forward movement distance of the laser transceiver module 12 may also be determined according to practical requirements, and is not particularly limited herein.

Referring also to fig. 8, each laser transceiver module 12 includes a transceiver body 58, a laser source module 60, and a detector module 62. The transceiver body 58 is secured to the inner mounting plate 52 by fasteners such as screws. The Laser source module 60 provides a light source for the corresponding transmitting/receiving main body 58, for example, an LD (Laser Diode) module on which an LD is provided. The detector module 62 receives the echo light collected by the corresponding transceiver body 58 and converts the optical signal into an electrical signal. Each detector module 62 is bonded to the corresponding transceiver body 58 to minimize heat dissipation paths and improve heat dissipation. The receiving light path adopts a sealed design and is not interfered and influenced by stray light. The detector modules 62 may employ APD modules, siPM modules, or other suitable photodetection modules, as desired. The working principle of the photo-detection modules such as the APD module and the SiPM module can refer to the prior art, and will not be described herein.

Referring to fig. 4, 6 and 9, the reflection module 14 may be constructed and installed in a conventional manner. For example, reflector module 14 may include a reflector mounting bracket 64, a reflector movable bracket 66, a reflector 68, and a reflector mounting collar 70. The mirror mount 64 is fixed to the inner mount plate 52 by screws, pins, or the like. The reflector sliding seat 66 is adjustably mounted on the reflector fixing seat 64, the reflector 68 is fixed on the reflector sliding seat 66, and the angle of the reflector 68 can be obtained by adjusting the reflector sliding seat 66. After being adjusted into position, mirror 68 is angularly fixed using mirror mounting collar 70.

The galvanometer module 16 includes a MEMS galvanometer 72 and a bezel 74 surrounding the MEMS galvanometer 72. The MEMS galvanometer 72 may oscillate within the housing 74 to convert between a single line laser beam and a multi-line laser beam to provide side-to-side and up-and-down scanning of the target object. The reflecting mirror 68 faces the light emitting surface of the transceiver body 58 of the laser transceiver module 12 and the MEMS galvanometer 72 of the galvanometer module 16 and forms a certain included angle therebetween, so that the laser beam can be steered and propagated between the transceiver body 58 and the MEMS galvanometer 72. In the illustrated embodiment, the number of reflector modules 14 is the same as the number of laser transceiver modules 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the reflector modules 14 are distributed along an arc, and the galvanometer module 16 is located at the center of the arc. The laser beam emitted from each laser transceiver module 12 is reflected by the corresponding mirror 68 of the reflector module 14, then emitted to the MEMS mirror 72 in a concentrated manner, and then converted into a multi-line laser beam by the MEMS mirror 72 and emitted to an external target object.

Referring to fig. 4, 5, and 10-12, the lidar includes a mounting bracket disposed within the housing 10 for fixedly mounting various circuit boards and the galvanometer module 16. The mounting bracket is fixedly mounted to the inner mounting plate 52 and is thus fixedly disposed relative to the base 24. In the illustrated embodiment, the mounting bracket includes a circuit board bracket 76 for supporting various circuit boards or circuit modules and a galvanometer bracket 78 for supporting the galvanometer module 16, the bottom portions of the circuit board bracket 76 and the galvanometer bracket 78 being fixedly mounted to the internal mounting plate 52, and the upper portion of the galvanometer bracket 78 being fixedly connected to the circuit board bracket 76. Form good support intensity and installation rigidity to the mirror module 16 that shakes through the installing support, reduce and avoid resonant production even, mirror module 16 that shakes can have bigger size, reflects more laser beams for the lidar of this application can not only survey target object position accurately, monitor moving speed, can also effectively promote the accuracy to target object surface contour recognition, carries out 3D modeling to external environment.

The circuit board bracket 76 and the galvanometer bracket 78 are arranged separately, so that the circuit board bracket 76 and the galvanometer bracket 78 can be designed and manufactured separately, and the support characteristics and requirements of the circuit board and the galvanometer can be optimized and designed respectively. Meanwhile, the bottom of the galvanometer support 78 is fixedly mounted with the internal mounting plate 52, and the upper portion of the galvanometer support is fixedly connected with the circuit board support 76, so that the supporting strength and the mounting rigidity of the galvanometer module are improved, the stability of the galvanometer support 78 for supporting the galvanometer module 16 is enhanced, the generation of resonance is reduced or even avoided, the galvanometer module can have a larger size, more laser beams are reflected, and the accuracy of identifying the surface profile of the target object is effectively improved.

A plurality of circuit boards or modules of the laser radar, for example, a main control circuit board 80, an ADC (analog-to-digital conversion) circuit board 82, an MEMS drive board 84, a detector drive board 86, and an aviation plug module 44, are mounted on the circuit board bracket 76, wherein the main control circuit board 80 is electrically connected to the ADC circuit board 82, the MEMS drive board 84, the detector drive board 86, and the aviation plug module 44, controls the operation of the entire laser radar, and calculates the profile, distance, orientation, speed, and the like of the target object according to the signals received and transmitted by the laser beam. As for the working principle and the electrical connection among the individual modules of the main control circuit board 80, the ADC circuit board 82, the MEMS driver board 84, the detector driver board 86, and the aviation plug module 44, reference may be made to the prior art, and detailed description thereof will not be provided herein.

In the illustrated embodiment, the circuit board support 76 is an integrally formed structure including two side plates 88 oppositely spaced apart in the second direction and a top plate 90 connected between upper edges of the two side plates 88. A plurality of laser transceiver modules 12 are disposed between the two side plates 88 and the top plate 90. In order to obtain better supporting strength and mounting rigidity, the bracket can be made of stainless steel plates with the thickness of more than 1.0 mm. The side plates 88 are vertically disposed and the bottom portion may be fixedly attached to the inner mounting plate 52 in a known manner, such as by screws. The various circuit boards or circuit modules of the lidar may be mounted to the top plate 90 and side plates 88 of the circuit board support 76 in various suitable manners. As an example, the main control circuit board 80 and the ADC circuit board 82 are mounted to the upper side of the top plate 90 of the circuit board bracket 76; the MEMS driver board 84 and the probe driver board 86 are mounted to the outside of one of the side plates 88 of the circuit board support 76, while the avionics module 44 is mounted to the outside of the other side plate 88.

The galvanometer holder 78 is disposed at the front end of the circuit board holder 76, i.e., between the circuit board holder 76 and the reflective module 14. The galvanometer bracket 78 includes a support portion 92 and a mounting portion 94, the support portion 92 being fixedly mounted to the inner mounting plate 52 and thus fixedly disposed relative to the base 24. The mounting portion 94 is fixedly coupled to the support portion 92 and positioned above the support portion 92, and the galvanometer module 16 is mounted to the mounting portion 94.

The support portion 92 includes a base plate 96 and a plurality of support plates 98 extending upwardly from the base plate 96. The base plate 96 may be fixedly mounted to the inner mounting plate 52, and thus fixedly disposed relative to the base 24, in any suitable manner. In the illustrated embodiment, the base plate 96 is provided with a plurality of securing holes 100, and fasteners, such as screws, are used to secure the base plate 96 to the inner mounting plate 52.

In the illustrated embodiment, the support plates 98 extend vertically and are spaced apart in the second direction to divide the space in which the support portion 92 is located into a plurality of space portions, each space portion corresponding to at least one of the laser transceiver modules 12. In this embodiment, four laser transceiver modules 12 and three support plates 98 are provided, and the three support plates 98 divide the space where the support portion 92 is located into four parts, including two parts on both sides of the support plate 98 and two parts formed between the three support plates 98. Each laser transceiver module 12 receives and emits a laser beam via a corresponding one of the four spatial portions. Thus, each support plate 98 may also be referred to as, or form, a spacer for separating the laser beams received by and emitted from the respective laser transceiver modules 12. Each partition plate separates laser beams transmitted and received by two adjacent laser transmitting and receiving modules. That is, the galvanometer holder shown has a baffle for isolating the laser beam. Thus, by means of the physical isolation, interference between the light beams of the laser transceiver modules 12 can be effectively reduced.

In the above embodiment, the supporting plate 98 for supporting simultaneously forms a partition, i.e., has a function of isolating the laser beam. In other embodiments, the spacer may also be a separate element from the support plate.

Although the present embodiment is illustrated with four laser transceiver modules 12 and three partitions, in other embodiments, a different number of laser transceiver modules 12 and a different number of partitions may be provided. The space divided by the partition plate does not necessarily correspond to the number of the laser transceiver modules 12, and in some embodiments, it is also possible that the partition plate only isolates the laser beams transmitted and received by the laser transceiver modules 12. Thus, in those embodiments where a spacer is provided, the spacer serves to isolate the light beams transmitted and received by the corresponding laser transceiver module 12.

The mounting portion 94 includes two mounting plates 102 spaced apart in the second direction, and the galvanometer module 16 is fixedly mounted between the two mounting plates 102. The galvanometer module 16 may be secured to the mounting plates 102 using any suitable fastening means. In the illustrated embodiment, the mounting plates 102 have mounting holes 104 on the front faces thereof, the outer frame 74 of the galvanometer module 16 has mounting lugs 106 projecting outwardly therefrom, the mounting lugs 106 have through holes 108, the through holes 108 of the mounting lugs 106 are aligned with the mounting holes 104 of the mounting plates 102, and the galvanometer module 16 is secured to both mounting plates 102 by screwing fasteners, such as screws, through the through holes 108 and into the mounting holes 104.

A back plate 110 is connected between the rear ends of the two mounting plates 102, the back plate 110 integrally extending upward from the rear end of the support portion 92. Therefore, the rear ends of the mounting plates 102 are also supported by the support portions 92. In the illustrated embodiment, there are two outer support plates 98 and one intermediate support plate 98 between the two outer support plates, and the bottom ends of the two mounting plates 102 are supported on the outer sides of the two outer support plates 98. That is, in the second direction, each outer support plate 98 is located inside the immediately adjacent mounting plate 102.

The bottom side of the galvanometer module 16 has a leading edge 112 in the first direction in contact with the galvanometer bracket 78 and is supported by the galvanometer bracket 78. That is, in addition to the galvanometer module 16 being fixed to the mounting plates 102 in a suitable manner, the mounting portion 94 also supports the front edge 112 of the bottom side of the galvanometer module 16, and supports the galvanometer module 16 at a plurality of points along the outer contour of the galvanometer module 16, which effectively improves the stability of the support of the galvanometer module 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the mounting portion 94 is provided with a support surface 114 that contacts and supports the underside of the galvanometer module 16. In the first direction, the support surface 114 extends at least flush with the front edge 112 of the underside of the galvanometer module 16 to ensure support of the galvanometer module 16 at the location of the front edge 112.

In the embodiment shown, the underside of the galvanometer module 16, i.e. the underside of its housing 74, has two underside edges 116 in the second direction, the mounting portion 94 being provided with two corresponding support surfaces 114, as shown in fig. 12. More specifically, two support surfaces 114 are disposed at the top edges of the two outer support plates 98, respectively, immediately adjacent to the mounting plates 102, each support surface 114 being disposed adjacent to the bottom of one of the mounting plates 102 and within the one of the mounting plates 102 and supporting the galvanometer module 16 upwardly near the bottom edge 116 of the one of the mounting plates 102. The two support surfaces 114 support the two edges of the underside of the galvanometer module 16 in the lateral direction (second direction) to make the support of the galvanometer module 16 by the galvanometer bracket 78 more balanced. In the first orientation, each support surface 114 extends forwardly beyond the front edge 112 of the bottom side edge 116 of the galvanometer module 16 to ensure that upward support can be provided for the galvanometer module 16 at the location of the front edge 112. The above is merely exemplary, and in other embodiments, the support surface 114 may be disposed near the middle to support the bottom side of the galvanometer module 16 at a middle position. Such support surfaces 114 are provided, for example, at the top edge of the intermediate support plate 98.

As previously described, the bottom of the galvanometer bracket 78 is fixed to the internal mounting plate 52 and the top is fixedly connected to the circuit board bracket 76. In the particular embodiment shown, two mounting plates 102 are fixedly attached to the top plate 90 of the circuit board support 76. More specifically, the mounting plates 102 each have a connecting projection 118 projecting outwardly therefrom, and the connecting projections 118 are fixed to the top plate 90 of the circuit board bracket 76 by means of fasteners such as screws. In other embodiments, other suitable connections may be used, as long as the galvanometer bracket 78 is fixedly connected to the circuit board bracket 76.

Referring to fig. 2 and 13, the lidar is further shown with a fan module 120 mounted on the outer side of the rear end thereof. The forced airflow generated by the fan module 120 is used to cool the lidar in a high temperature environment. The addition of fan module 120 may increase the heat dissipation capability of the lidar to meet the more severe high temperature operating environment. The outer surface of the wall of the housing rear end 20 is provided with fins 122. The heat generated by the lidar during operation is transferred to the surface of the housing 10 to dissipate heat to the surrounding environment. The radiating fins increase the radiating area of the surface of the shell. The heat dissipation efficiency can be improved by blowing the heat dissipation fins with the forced airflow of the fan module 120. The fan module 120 has an independent power interface 124 for receiving power required by the operation of the fan module. Fan module 120 may be configured to turn on operation only when the ambient temperature in which the lidar is operating reaches a threshold. In some embodiments, for example, the threshold may be set to a value above 80 degrees.

In summary, embodiments of the present application provide a laser radar, which includes a housing, and a galvanometer module, a plurality of laser transceiver modules, and a reflection module, which are fixedly installed in the housing. The inner surface of the rear end of the housing is provided with a connecting part protruding towards the front end of the housing. If the connecting part is found to interfere with the rear end of a certain laser transceiver module, the laser transceiver module is moved forwards relative to other laser transceiver modules, so that the laser transceiver module can be safely arranged without increasing the size of the shell in the front-rear direction, and the size of the whole laser radar in the front-rear direction can be reduced on the premise of keeping the design of a light path unchanged. Therefore, the design approach realizes the miniaturization design through the reasonable and compact arrangement of the module pieces.

In other embodiments, the circuit board bracket and the galvanometer bracket are arranged separately, so that the circuit board bracket and the galvanometer bracket can be designed and manufactured separately, and the support characteristics and requirements of the circuit board and the galvanometer are respectively optimized and designed. Meanwhile, the lower part of the vibrating mirror support is fixedly installed with the internal installation plate, and the upper part of the vibrating mirror support is fixedly connected with the circuit board support, so that the supporting strength and the installation rigidity of the vibrating mirror module are improved, the stability of the vibrating mirror support for supporting the vibrating mirror module is enhanced, the generation of less or even avoiding resonance is reduced, the vibrating mirror module can be larger in size, more laser beams are reflected, and the accuracy of recognizing the surface profile of the target object is effectively improved.

In other embodiments, a leading edge of the bottom side of the galvanometer module in the first direction is in contact with and supported by the galvanometer holder. That is to say, the mounting portion, in addition to being fixed to the two mounting plates in a suitable manner, also supports the front edge of the bottom side of the galvanometer module, and supports are formed at a plurality of points of the outer contour of the galvanometer module, thereby effectively improving the support stability of the galvanometer module.

In other embodiments, the galvanometer bracket is provided with a partition plate for isolating the light beams transmitted and received by the corresponding laser transmitting and receiving module. Therefore, interference among light beams of the laser transceiver modules can be effectively reduced through the physical isolation mode.

The above embodiments are only exemplary embodiments of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any insubstantial changes and substitutions made by those skilled in the art based on the present application are intended to be covered by the present application.

Claims

1. A lidar, comprising:

a housing (10), the housing (10) having a housing front end (18) and a housing rear end (20) spaced apart in a first direction, the housing (10) having a window (22) at the housing front end (18), the housing (10) having a wall at the housing rear end (20), a connection (25) being provided between the wall and a base (24) of the housing (10), the wall being fixedly connected to the base (24) by the connection (25), the wall having an inner surface (36) facing the housing front end (18), the connection (25) protruding over the inner surface (36) of the wall in a direction towards the housing front end (18);

a galvanometer module (16) fixed within the housing (10), the galvanometer module (16) including a MEMS galvanometer (72) facing the window (22);

a plurality of laser transceiver modules (12) secured within the housing (10), each of the laser transceiver modules (12) having an opposing transceiver module front end (54) and transceiver module rear end (56), the transceiver module front end (54) facing the housing front end (18), the transceiver module rear end (56) facing the housing rear end (20), the rear end (56) of at least one of the laser transceiver modules (12) corresponding to the connecting portion (25) in a first direction, the rear end (56) of at least one of the laser transceiver modules (12) being spaced from the inner surface (36) by a distance greater than the distance the connecting portion (25) protrudes from the inner surface (36) in the first direction, and at least one of the laser transceiver modules (12) having a rear end (56) that is fully offset from the connecting portion (25) in the first direction, the rear end (56) of at least one of the other laser transceiver modules (12) being spaced from the inner surface (36) by a distance less than the distance the connecting portion (25) from the inner surface (36); and

a reflective module (14) secured within the housing (10), the reflective module (14) including a mirror (68), the mirror (68) disposed facing the plurality of laser transceiver modules (12) and the MEMS galvanometer (72);

the laser transceiving module (12) is used for emitting a laser beam to the reflecting mirror (68), the reflecting mirror (68) is used for reflecting the laser beam to the MEMS oscillating mirror (72), and the MEMS oscillating mirror (72) is used for converting a single-line laser beam into a multi-line laser beam and emitting the multi-line laser beam to the outside through the window (22).

2. Lidar according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of laser transceiver modules (12) comprises a first laser transceiver module (12A), a second laser transceiver module (12B), and at least one third laser transceiver module (12C) located between said first laser transceiver module (12A) and said second laser transceiver module (12B), said first laser transceiver module (12A), said second laser transceiver module (12B) and said third laser transceiver module (12C) being fixedly mounted with respect to said base (24) and aligned along a second direction, said second direction being perpendicular to said first direction and parallel to said base (24), wherein said at least one of said laser transceiver modules (12) comprises said first laser transceiver module (12A) and/or said second laser transceiver module (12B).

3. Lidar according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of said connections (25) are provided between said wall and a base (24) of said housing (10), wherein in said second direction one of said connections (25) is located between said first laser transceiver module (12A) and said third laser transceiver module (12C), and wherein another connection (25) is located between said second laser transceiver module (12B) and said third laser transceiver module (12C).

4. Lidar according to claim 3, wherein the rear end (56) of the third laser transceiver module (12C) is located between the one connection (25) and the other connection (25).

5. Lidar according to claim 4, wherein the number of said third laser transceiver modules (12C) is two.

6. Lidar according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein said connecting portion (25) comprises a mounting protrusion (38) provided at an inner surface (36) of said wall portion, said mounting protrusion (38) protruding from said inner surface (36) in a direction towards said front end (18) of said housing, said mounting protrusion (38) being provided with a mounting hole (40), said base (24) being provided with a threaded hole (42) aligned with said mounting hole (40), a fastening member being threaded through said mounting hole (40) and said threaded hole (42).

7. Lidar according to claim 1, wherein the galvanometer module (16) is supported within the housing (10) by a galvanometer bracket (78), a leading edge (112) of a bottom side of the galvanometer module (16) in the first direction being in contact with the galvanometer bracket (78) and being supported by the galvanometer bracket (78).

8. Lidar according to claim 7, wherein the galvanometer holder (78) comprises a support portion (92) and a mounting portion (94), wherein the support portion (92) is fixedly arranged with respect to the base (24), wherein the mounting portion (94) is fixedly connected with the support portion (92) and located above the support portion (92), wherein the galvanometer module (16) is mounted to the mounting portion (94), wherein the mounting portion (94) is provided with a support surface (114) in contact with a bottom side of the galvanometer module (16), wherein in the first direction the support surface (114) extends at least to be flush with the front edge (112) of the bottom side of the galvanometer module (16).

9. Lidar according to claim 8, wherein said mounting portion (94) comprises two mounting plates (102) spaced apart in a second direction, said galvanometer module (16) is sandwiched and fixed between said two mounting plates (102), a bottom side of said galvanometer module (16) has two bottom side edges (116) in said second direction, said mounting portion (94) is correspondingly provided with two said support surfaces (114), each support surface (114) being arranged near a bottom of one of said mounting plates (102) and inside said one of said mounting plates (102) and supporting upward the bottom side edge (116) of said galvanometer module (16) near said one of said mounting plates (102).

10. Lidar according to claim 1, further comprising a fan module (120) disposed outside the housing rear end (20), the outer surface of the wall of the housing rear end (20) being provided with fins (122).