ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 5 -- United States Patent no. 12,276,756, issued on April 15, was assigned to Zoox Inc. (Foster City, Calif.).
"Sensor cover with trough" was invented by Christopher William Labadie (San Francisco), Rajith Jayaratne (Castro Valley, Calif.) and Mohammad Umar Piracha (Union City, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Techniques for protecting a sensor from an obstruction such as liquid are discussed herein. For instance, a sensor cover assembly can include a cover to protect a sensor from precipitation, contaminants, or other obstructions. The cover of the sensor cover assembly can be configured to direct an obstruction (e.g., a liquid) away from a lens of the sensor (e.g....