JP2018069878A - On-vehicle camera device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-vehicle camera device which is made compact.SOLUTION: An on-vehicle camera device 1 comprises: a camera 10; a connector 20 connected to a component associated with a camera through a communication line 40; and a bracket 30 for holding the camera and the connector. The bracket has a guide part 32 parallel to an end surface, on the end surface 11 side of the component associated with the camera from which the communication line is pulled and in a vehicle width direction of the held camera, the connector has a rail part which is fitted to the guide part, by inserting and fitting the rail part along the guide part, the connector is held to the bracket, and the connector is arranged on a position on the end surface side of the component associated with the camera from which the communication line is pulled, and on a position where a lower end of the connector from which the communication line is pulled is overlapped to the camera in viewing from a vehicle width direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle camera device mounted on a vehicle.

  Various in-vehicle camera devices that capture an image of a predetermined range in front of the vehicle have been developed. See, for example, US Pat.

JP 2005-112051 A

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, there is an in-vehicle camera device 101 that is mounted at a position in consideration of the arrangement of a rear confirmation mirror (room mirror) 103 on the vehicle interior side of a windshield glass 102 of a vehicle. . In the conventional in-vehicle camera device 101 illustrated in FIG. 4, the camera 110 is mounted on the rear confirmation mirror 103 along the windshield glass 102 as shown in FIG. It is attached to the lower side (vehicle front side) of the pedestal via a bracket 130.

  In addition, the conventional in-vehicle camera device 101 has a structure in which the connector 120 is fixed to the bracket 130 by using a cassette clamp mechanism 150 as shown in FIG. In this structure, the position of the connector 120 fixed to the bracket 130 is separated from the camera 110 in order to secure a space necessary for the structure such as a position where the cassette clamp mechanism 150 is formed and a place where the communication line 140 is routed.

  The conventional in-vehicle camera device 101 mounted at such a position has a predetermined regulation in any vehicle in which the windshield glass 102 has a large inclination angle or the distance from the driver's seat to the windshield glass 102 is long. There may be a problem that the camera 110 does not fit in the range (exclusion range) defined by the UN European Economic Commission Regulation UN-R43 or Article 29 of Road Transport Vehicle Safety Standards.

  In order to place the camera 110 within the range defined by a predetermined law in any of the above-described vehicles, the camera 110 is not placed under the rear confirmation mirror 103 but on the upper edge of the windshield glass 102 (vehicle ceiling). It is possible to attach it to a position as close as possible.

  However, even if the conventional vehicle-mounted camera device 101 is applied to the above-described arbitrary vehicle with this structure, the position of the camera 110 does not change and the above problem may not be solved. Therefore, it is desirable to review the structure of the in-vehicle camera device and further reduce the size of the device.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle-mounted camera device that is reduced in size.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an aspect of the present invention provides a vehicle-mounted camera device including a camera, a connector connected to a component attached to the camera via a communication line, and a bracket that holds the camera and the connector. The bracket is provided with a guide portion in parallel with the end face on the end face side of the part attached to the camera in which the communication line is drawn out in the vehicle width direction of the held camera. It has a rail part that fits with the guide part, the connector is held by the bracket by inserting the rail part along the guide part, and on the end face side of the part attached to the camera from which the communication line is drawn In addition, the connector is arranged at a position where the lower end of the connector from which the communication line is drawn is overlapped with the camera when viewed from the vehicle width direction.

  In the in-vehicle camera device of the present invention, the connector is held on the bracket by a mechanism (guide / rail mechanism) for fitting the guide portion provided on the bracket and the rail portion provided on the connector, and the camera held on the bracket. On the other hand, a connector is arranged on the end face side of a part associated with a camera from which a communication line in the vehicle width direction is drawn. The arrangement of the connector is set so that the lower end of the connector from which the communication line is drawn is positioned so as to overlap the camera when viewed from the vehicle width direction.

  With this structure, since the distance between the camera and the connector held by the bracket is shortened, the in-vehicle camera device can be downsized in the vehicle front-rear direction (or vehicle vertical direction). Further, if the distance between the camera and the connector is shortened, the communication line (harness) can be shortened, so that a reduction in wiring cost in the in-vehicle camera device can be expected.

  In addition, since the in-vehicle camera device can be downsized in the vehicle front-rear direction (or the vehicle up-down direction), the versatility of the in-vehicle camera device layout on the windshield glass surface is improved. For example, in any vehicle in which the inclination angle of the windshield glass is large or the distance from the driver's seat to the windshield glass is long, the in-vehicle camera device can be easily mounted in a range defined by a predetermined law.

  As described above, according to the structure of the in-vehicle camera device of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of the device.

The figure which shows the example of mounting to the vehicle of the vehicle-mounted camera apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structural example of the vehicle-mounted camera apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of part A of the in-vehicle camera device in FIG. The figure which shows the example of mounting the conventional vehicle-mounted camera apparatus on the vehicle The figure which shows the structural example of the conventional vehicle-mounted camera apparatus FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion C of the conventional in-vehicle camera device in FIG.

[Overview]
The in-vehicle camera device of the present invention uses a mechanism for fitting a rail provided on the connector and a guide provided on the bracket, and arranges the connector on the end face side from which the communication lines of the components attached to the camera are drawn. . With this structure, since the distance between the camera and the connector held by the bracket is shortened, the in-vehicle camera device can be reduced in size.

[Configuration of in-vehicle camera device]
The in-vehicle camera device 1 according to this embodiment is mounted on a vehicle. More specifically, as shown in the schematic perspective view when the windshield glass 2 is viewed from the vehicle interior side in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle camera device 1 is provided on the vehicle interior side of the vehicle windshield glass 2. It is mounted on the surface at a position that does not hinder the driving operation of the driver.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the in-vehicle camera device 1 is attached to the right of the rear confirmation mirror 3, but may be attached to the left of the rear confirmation mirror 3.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a structure example of the in-vehicle camera device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the figure which removed the housing | casing cover of the vehicle-mounted camera apparatus 1 is shown. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion A of the in-vehicle camera device in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle camera device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a camera 10, a connector 20, a bracket 30, and a communication line 40.

  The camera 10 is, for example, a CCD (Charged Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor, or a camera provided with an optical lens. As will be described later, the camera 10 is fixed to the windshield glass 2 via a bracket 30 as will be described later together with components (not shown) attached to the camera 10 so that an image of a predetermined range in front of the vehicle can be taken. .

  The connector 20 includes one or more connection terminals (not shown) and a housing that houses the connection terminals. The connection terminal is formed of, for example, a conductive metal member, and is electrically connected to a signal output terminal (not shown) of the camera 10 via a communication line 40 such as a harness. The connector 20 is made of, for example, an insulating resin material. On one side surface of the connector 20, a rail portion 22 that fits with a guide portion 32 provided on a bracket 30 described later is formed.

  The connector 20 is fitted and electrically connected to another connector (not shown) wired on the ceiling of the vehicle or the like, so that a video signal output from the camera 10 is transmitted to the electronic control unit ECU (not shown). )).

  The bracket 30 is a substantially flat plate member made of, for example, an insulating resin material. The bracket 30 detachably holds the camera 10 and the connector 20 on one plane side. The camera 10 is held by a first holding part 31 formed on one plane side of the bracket 30. The connector 20 is held by a guide portion 32 that is a second holding portion formed on one plane side of the bracket 30.

  In the state where the camera 10 is held by the bracket 30 by the first holding part 31, the guide part 32 is located on the end surface 11 of the part associated with the camera 10 that is in the vehicle width direction of the camera 10 and from which the communication line 40 is drawn. It is provided on the side in parallel with the end face 11. The guide portion 32 is formed as a pair with the rail portion 22 provided in the connector 20 and is configured so that the rail portion 22 can be slidably fitted in the vehicle front-rear direction.

  Due to the relative positional relationship between the first holding portion 31 and the guide portion (second holding portion) 32, the connector 20 in which the rail portion 22 and the guide portion 32 are fitted and held by the bracket 30 is connected to the first holding portion 31 and the guide portion (second holding portion) 32. The camera 10 held by the holding unit 31 can be disposed on the side of the end face 11 of the part associated with the camera 10 in which the communication line 40 is drawn out in the vehicle width direction. See FIG.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the arrangement of the connector 20 is set so that the lower end of the connector 20 from which the communication line 40 is drawn overlaps the camera 10 (the upper end thereof) when viewed from the vehicle width direction. See distance B in FIG.

  On the other hand, the other plane side of the bracket 30 is fixed on the surface of the windshield glass 2 on the vehicle interior side via an adhesive (not shown) or the like. By fixing the bracket 30, the camera 10 and the connector 20 are also fixed to the windshield glass 2, and an image in a predetermined range in front of the vehicle can be taken by the camera 10.

[Operations and effects according to the embodiment]
As described above, according to the in-vehicle camera device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the guide portion 32 and the rail portion 22 are fitted instead of the cassette clamp mechanism as a structure for holding the connector 20 on the bracket 30. A guide / rail mechanism is used. Then, the camera 10 is placed so that the connector 20 is disposed on the side of the end face 11 of the part associated with the camera 10 from which the communication line 40 extending in the vehicle width direction is drawn with respect to the camera 10 held by the bracket 30. The relative positional relationship between the first holding portion 31 for holding and the guide portion (second holding portion) 32 for holding the connector 20 is set. In particular, the relative relationship between the first holding portion 31 and the guide portion 32 is such that the connector 20 is disposed at a position where the lower end of the connector 20 from which the communication line 40 is drawn is overlapped with the camera 10 when viewed from the vehicle width direction. The positional relationship is set.

  With this structure, since the distance between the camera 10 and the connector 20 held by the bracket 30 is shortened, the in-vehicle camera device 1 can be downsized in the vehicle front-rear direction (or vehicle vertical direction). Further, since the communication line (harness) 40 can be shortened as the distance between the camera 10 and the connector 20 is shortened, the wiring cost in the in-vehicle camera device 1 can be reduced as compared with the conventional structure described above. I can expect.

  In addition, since the overall size of the in-vehicle camera device 1 can be reduced in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (or the vertical direction of the vehicle), the versatility of the layout of the in-vehicle camera device 1 on the surface of the windshield glass 2 is improved. . For example, in an arbitrary vehicle in which the inclination angle of the windshield glass 2 is large or the distance from the driver's seat to the windshield glass 2 is long, the vehicle is installed in the range (exclusion range) defined by the above-mentioned predetermined regulations. It becomes easy to mount the camera apparatus 1.

  Moreover, in the vehicle-mounted camera apparatus 1 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, a connector is produced in the vehicle up-down direction which had arisen in the connector fixed using the cassette clamp mechanism by the structure using a guide / rail mechanism. The phenomenon of rotating can be eliminated. Therefore, the durability of the in-vehicle camera device 1 is improved.

  Furthermore, in the vehicle-mounted camera device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the connector 20 slides compared to the structure using the cassette clamp mechanism that engages the claw with the hole by the structure using the guide / rail mechanism. By simply doing, it can be easily attached to / detached from the bracket 30. Therefore, the user can easily replace the in-vehicle camera device 1 at the time of failure or the like.

  The in-vehicle camera device 1 according to the present invention can be used when taking an image of a predetermined range in front of the vehicle, and is particularly useful when it is desired to reduce the size of the in-vehicle camera device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,101 In-vehicle camera apparatus 2,102 Windshield glass 3,103 Rear-view mirror 10,110 Camera 11 End face 20,120 Connector 22 Rail part 30,130 Bracket 31 First holding part 32 Guide part (second holding part )
40, 140 Communication line 150 Cassette clamp mechanism

Claims (1)

A camera,
A connector connected to a part attached to the camera via a communication line;
A bracket for holding the camera and the connector,
An in-vehicle camera device,
The bracket is provided with a guide portion in parallel with the end face on the end face side of a part attached to the camera in which the communication line is drawn out in the vehicle width direction of the held camera.
The connector has a rail portion that fits with the guide portion,
The connector is held by the bracket by inserting the rail portion along the guide portion,
The connector is disposed at an end face side of a part associated with the camera from which the communication line is drawn, and at a position where a lower end of the connector from which the communication line is drawn overlaps the camera as viewed from the vehicle width direction. The
An in-vehicle camera device characterized by the above.

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