CN217879783U - Image pickup apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides a camera device. The lens barrel can be moved in the optical axis direction by a compact structure. An imaging device (1) is provided with: a front case (2) in which a barrel housing section (24) having an internal thread section (24A) is formed; and a lens barrel (20) that can be mounted inside the barrel housing section (24). The lens barrel (20) has a lens barrel (23) that holds a lens (22). The imaging device (1) further comprises an imaging element (32) that receives light that has passed through the lens (22) of the lens barrel (20). The lens barrel (23) includes a male screw portion (81) that is screwed into a female screw portion (24A) of the barrel housing portion (24), and a flange portion (82) having an operation portion (25) formed on a part of the outer peripheral portion. A notch (24C) is formed in the front case (2) to expose the flange (82) located inside the barrel housing section (24) upward.

Description

Image pickup apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, and more particularly to an image pickup apparatus capable of moving a position of a lens barrel holding a lens in an optical axis direction.

Background

In recent years, in order to prevent accidents of automobiles and the like, a Driver Monitoring System (DMS) that monitors a state of a driver (such as a decrease in attention and a symptom of drowsiness) has been developed. As such a DMS, an imaging device that images a driver while illuminating the driver with light such as near-infrared light is known (for example, see patent document 1). Such an image pickup device is often embedded in a decorative part such as an instrument panel or an instrument panel of an automobile, but it is required to be as compact as possible so as not to affect the design of a vehicle interior.

In such an imaging device, a male screw formed in a lens barrel that holds a lens is screwed into a female screw formed in a housing, whereby the position of the lens barrel can be moved in the optical axis direction to adjust the focal position. For example, the lens barrel is moved in the optical axis direction by gripping the lens barrel from the outer peripheral side with a jig and rotating the lens barrel. In this case, since the lens barrel needs to be held by the jig from the outer peripheral side, a space for inserting the jig needs to be secured around the lens barrel. Therefore, the size of the housing, particularly the size in the height direction, tends to increase. From such a viewpoint, a technique capable of effectively reducing the size of the housing of the imaging apparatus is required.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2019-95541

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup apparatus capable of moving a lens barrel in an optical axis direction with a compact structure.

The utility model discloses a first mode provides a camera device, its characterized in that, this camera device has: a housing formed with a lens barrel housing section having an internal thread section; a lens barrel which is mountable inside the barrel housing portion of the housing and which has at least one lens and a lens barrel that holds the at least one lens; and an image pickup element that receives light that has passed through the at least one lens of the lens barrel, the lens barrel of the lens barrel including: an external thread part screwed with the internal thread part of the lens barrel housing part of the housing; and a flange portion located in front of the male screw portion, the flange portion having an operating portion formed at least in part of an outer peripheral portion thereof, the housing having a cutout portion formed therein for exposing the flange portion located inside the barrel housing portion upward.

A second aspect of the present invention is the imaging device of the first aspect, wherein an upper concave portion is formed at a front edge of an upper surface of the housing, and a part of the lens barrel housing portion of the housing and the upper concave portion communicate with each other through the notch portion.

A third aspect of the present invention is the imaging device of the second aspect, further comprising a cover member attached to the housing so as to cover the lens barrel housing portion of the housing, the cover member having a first cover piece disposed in the upper concave portion of the housing.

The imaging device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the imaging device according to the third aspect, wherein an avoiding concave portion is formed in the first cover piece of the cover member, and the avoiding concave portion is used for avoiding interference with the lens barrel at the flange portion of the lens barrel.

An imaging device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the imaging device according to the third or fourth aspect, wherein a front concave portion is formed on an upper edge of a front surface of the housing, and the cover member has a second cover piece disposed in the front concave portion of the housing.

An imaging device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the imaging device according to the third or fourth aspect, wherein the cover member is configured to suppress light transmission of a specific wavelength.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is the image pickup apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein a gap is formed between the inner peripheral wall of the barrel housing portion of the housing and the operation portion of the flange portion.

The present invention provides an image pickup apparatus according to an eighth aspect, wherein in the image pickup apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the lens barrel has a central axis that is larger than a position of the lower surface of the housing that is close to the upper surface.

The image pickup device according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the image pickup device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, further comprising at least one light source that emits light through a window formed in the housing.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an image pickup apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the image pickup apparatus shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the image pickup apparatus shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 isbase:Sub>A sectional view taken along linebase:Sub>A-base:Sub>A of fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing an example in which the image pickup device shown in fig. 1 is incorporated into a vehicle interior of an automobile.

Description of the reference symbols

1: a camera device; 2: a front housing; 2A: an upper surface; 2B: a front surface; 2C: a lower surface; 3: a rear housing; 4: a housing; 11: an upper recess; 12: a front side concave portion; 20: a lens barrel; 22: a lens; 23: a lens barrel; 24: a lens barrel housing section; 24A: an internal thread portion; 24B: an inner peripheral wall; 24C: a notch portion; 25: an operation unit; 26: a window portion; 30: a circuit board; 31: an LED (light source); 32: an image pickup element; 60: a cover member; 61: a first cover sheet; 61A: avoiding the concave part; 62: a second cover sheet; 81: an external threaded portion; 82: a flange portion; g: a gap.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the imaging device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to fig. 1 to 5. In fig. 1 to 5, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping description thereof is omitted. In fig. 1 to 5, the scale and size of each component may be exaggerated, and some components may be omitted. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish constituent elements from each other, and do not indicate a specific order or sequence.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an image pickup apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the image pickup apparatus 1. The case where the imaging device 1 in the present embodiment is an imaging device used in the Driver Monitoring System (DMS) as described above will be described, but the imaging device of the present invention can of course be used for other applications.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the image pickup apparatus 1 includes a housing 4 including a front housing 2 and a rear housing 3, and 2 LEDs (light emitting diodes) 31 as a light source for emitting near infrared light and a lens barrel 20 holding at least one lens 22 therein are accommodated in the housing 4. In fig. 1, the cover member 60 to be described later is not shown for easy understanding. In the present embodiment, for convenience, the + Y direction in fig. 1 is referred to as "front" or "front", and the-Y direction is referred to as "rear" or "rear". In addition, the + Z direction in fig. 1 is referred to as "upper" or "upper", and the-Z direction is referred to as "lower" or "lower".

A circuit board 30 is housed between the front case 2 and the rear case 3 of the imaging apparatus 1, the LED 31 and the imaging element 32 are mounted on the circuit board 30, and a shield member 45 for reducing signal noise is disposed inside the rear case 3. The circuit board 30 extends entirely in the X direction (width direction), and an LED connector 41 and a camera connector 42 are mounted on the rear surface of the circuit board 30. The circuit board 30 and the rear case 3 are fixed to the front case 2 by screws 52.

The rear case 3 has a cylindrical portion 51 extending rearward (-Y direction), and the camera connector 42 is inserted and housed in the cylindrical portion 51. A counterpart connector (not shown) can be connected to the camera connector 42 from the rear of the rear case 3, and a signal obtained by the image pickup device 32 can be output to the outside through the camera connector 42. A rear end portion of the LED connector 41 protrudes from the rear case 3 to be exposed to the outside, and a counterpart connector (not shown) can be connected to the LED connector 41 from the rear of the rear case 3. Thereby, a control signal is input to the LED 31 via the LED connector 41.

As shown in fig. 2, a recessed portion 11 (upper recessed portion) recessed in the-Z direction is formed on the front edge of the upper surface 2A of the front case 2, and a recessed portion 12 (front recessed portion) recessed in the-Y direction is formed on the upper edge of the front surface 2B of the front case 2. A barrel housing section 24 for housing the lens barrel 20 is formed substantially at the center in the width direction of the front recess 12, and window sections (openings) 26 are formed on both sides in the width direction with the barrel housing section 24 interposed therebetween. The barrel housing 24 has a female screw portion 24A therein. As described above, in the present embodiment, the lens barrel housing sections 24 and the window sections 26 are formed in the front concave section 12 of the front case 2 so as to be aligned in the width direction.

A cover member 60 that covers the front of the lens barrel housing 24 and the window 26 of the front housing 2 is attached to the front of the front housing 2. The cover member 60 is attached to the front case 2 by an adhesive material, a double-sided tape, or the like, not shown. In addition, the cover member 60 is formed of a material that transmits light emitted from the LED 31. In the present embodiment, since the near-infrared light is emitted from the LED 31 and the image of the near-infrared light is acquired by the image pickup device 32, a visible light cut filter that cuts light in a visible light wavelength band can be used as the cover member 60 to reduce the influence of visible light on the image acquired by the image pickup device 32.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the image pickup apparatus 1. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the cover member 60 includes a first cover piece 61 disposed in the upper recess 11 of the front housing 2 and a second cover piece 62 disposed in the front recess 12 of the front housing 2. The first mask sheet 61 extends along the XY plane, the second mask sheet 62 extends along the XZ plane, and the first mask sheet 61 and the second mask sheet 62 intersect each other at right angles.

As shown in fig. 3, the thickness of the first cover piece 61 of the cover member 60 in the Z direction is substantially the same as the depth of the upper recess 11 of the front case 2 in the Z direction. The thickness of the second cover piece 62 of the cover member 60 in the Y direction is substantially the same as the depth of the front recess 12 of the front case 2 in the Y direction. Therefore, in a state where cover member 60 is attached to front case 2, upper surface 2A of front case 2 is substantially flush with the surface of first cover piece 61. Therefore, the front surface 2B of the front case 2 and the surface of the second cover sheet 62 are substantially flush with each other, and the image pickup apparatus 1 is improved in the sense of unity.

As shown in fig. 3, the lens barrel 20 includes 1 or more lenses 22 and a lens barrel 23 that holds the lenses 22. In the cross-sectional view of fig. 3, the plurality of lenses are collectively referred to as 1 lens 22 for simplicity.

The lens barrel 23 includes: an external thread portion 81 screwed with the internal thread portion 24A of the barrel housing portion 24 of the front housing 2; and a flange portion 82 located forward of the male screw portion 81. The flange portion 82 has a diameter larger than that of the male screw portion 81. The lens barrel 20 is mounted inside the barrel housing 24 of the front housing 2 by screwing the male screw portion 81 of the lens barrel 20 into the female screw portion 24A of the barrel housing 24 of the front housing 2.

As shown in fig. 3, the image pickup device 32 is disposed on a surface on which light passing through the lens 22 of the lens barrel 20 is focused, and is configured to receive the light passing through the lens 22. As shown in fig. 3, the central axis (optical axis) P of the lens barrel 20 is located above the center between the upper surface 2A and the lower surface 2C of the front case 2. That is, the central axis P of the lens barrel 20 is located closer to the upper surface 2A than the lower surface 2C of the front case 2. When the image pickup apparatus 1 is embedded in a decorative portion such as an instrument panel or an instrument panel in a vehicle, a portion other than the lens barrel 20 can be embedded in the decorative portion. Therefore, by disposing the lens barrel 20 in the front housing 2 so as to be close to the upper side, the height of the image pickup device 1 protruding from the decorative portion can be reduced. This can reduce the influence of the imaging device 1 on the design of the vehicle interior.

Fig. 4 isbase:Sub>A sectional view taken along linebase:Sub>A-base:Sub>A of fig. 3, but components other than the lens barrel 20 are shown in section for easy understanding. Fig. 3 described above corresponds to the cross section along line B-B of fig. 4. As shown in fig. 4, the LED 31 mounted on the circuit board 30 is located behind the window portion 26 of the front case 2. With such a configuration, light (illumination light) from the LED 31 can be emitted through the window portion 26 of the front case 2 to illuminate an imaging object (for example, a driver). As described above, in the present embodiment, the image can be captured by the image pickup device 32 while being illuminated by the light from the LED 31, and therefore, a higher quality image can be obtained.

As shown in fig. 4, in the present embodiment, the operation portion 25 which can be gripped by a jig (not shown) is formed by cutting off a part of the cylindrical outer peripheral portion of the flange portion 82 of the lens barrel 23. Further, a gap G is formed between the inner peripheral wall 24B of the barrel housing portion 24 of the front housing 2 and the operating portion 25 of the flange portion 82 to such an extent that the jig can be inserted.

Returning to fig. 1, a notch 24C that communicates the lens barrel housing portion 24 with the upper recess 11 is formed in the upper recess 11 of the front housing 2. The flange portion 82 located inside the lens barrel housing portion 24 is exposed upward through the cutout portion 24C. According to such a configuration, the upper portion of the flange portion 82 of the lens barrel 20 can be exposed through the notch portion 24C of the front housing 2 before the cover member 60 is attached to the front housing 2. Therefore, a space for gripping the operation portion 25 can be secured above the flange portion 82, and the lens barrel 20 can be easily rotated by gripping the operation portion 25 with the jig. Thus, the position of the lens barrel 20 can be adjusted by moving the lens barrel 20 in the Y direction (optical axis direction) through the screwing of the male screw portion 81 of the lens barrel 23 and the female screw portion 24A of the barrel housing portion 24. By moving the lens barrel 20 in the Y direction in this way, the focal position of the image obtained by the imaging device 32 can be adjusted.

Further, after the position of the lens barrel 20 in the optical axis direction is adjusted, the first cover piece 61 of the cover member 60 is disposed in the upper concave portion 11 formed in the upper surface 2A of the front case 2, and therefore the flange portion 82 of the lens barrel 20 exposed as described above can be covered with the first cover piece 61. Since the first cover piece 61 is disposed in the upper recess 11 formed in the upper surface 2A of the front housing 2, the increase in thickness of the housing 4 due to the cover member 60 can be suppressed, and the imaging device 1 can be made compact.

In the present embodiment, since the second cap piece 62 of the cover member 60 is disposed in the front recess 12 of the front case 2, the lens barrel 20 stored in the barrel storage portion 24 of the front case 2 is protected by the second cap piece 62 of the cover member 60. Further, since the second cover piece 62 is disposed in the front recess 12 formed in the front surface 2B of the front case 2, the increase in depth (length in the Y direction) of the case 4 due to the cover member 60 can be suppressed, and the imaging apparatus 1 can be made compact.

As shown in fig. 4, in the first cover piece 61 of the cover member 60 of the present embodiment, a relief recess 61A is formed in a portion facing the flange 82 of the lens barrel 20, and the relief recess 61A is provided to avoid interference with the flange 82 of the lens barrel 20. By forming such relief concave portions 61A, it is possible to avoid interference between the first cover piece 61 and the flange portion 82 of the lens barrel 23 while maintaining the thickness of the first cover piece 61 at the other portions. That is, the thickness of the first cover piece 61 can be minimized while maintaining the strength of the cover member 60, and the imaging device 1 can be further made compact.

Further, although the operation portion 25 in the present embodiment is formed by cutting out a part of the outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical flange portion 82, the operation portion 25 is not limited thereto, and a protrusion protruding from the outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical lens barrel 23 may be used as the operation portion 25.

In the present embodiment, notch 24C is formed in upper recess 11 of front case 2, but notch 24C may be formed in upper surface 2A of front case 2 instead of upper recess 11 in front case 2. In addition, the cover member 60 is not an essential component.

The terms "upper", "lower", "above", "below", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "width direction", "height direction", and other terms indicating positional relationships used in the present specification are used only for specifying relative relationships between elements in relation to the illustrated embodiments, and do not specify absolute positional relationships. Therefore, it should be noted that if the position and orientation of the image pickup apparatus 1 are changed, the directions indicated by these terms are also changed accordingly. For example, as in the imaging device 1A of fig. 5, the imaging device 1 may be embedded in the instrument panel 100 between the driver seat D and the passenger seat Q of the automobile, and in this case, the "up" and the "up" may be vertically upward, and the "down" may be vertically downward. Alternatively, the imaging device 1 may be embedded in the ceiling portion 102 of the automobile as in the imaging device 1B of fig. 5, and in this case, the "upper" and the "upper" may be vertical and the "lower" may be vertical and upper. The LED 31 of the imaging device 1 emits infrared rays, for example, toward the driver's seat D, and the state of the driver is analyzed from the image of the driver captured by the imaging element 32 via the lens 22.

As described above, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging apparatus capable of moving a lens barrel in an optical axis direction with a compact configuration. The imaging device includes: a housing formed with a barrel housing section having an internal thread section; and a lens barrel which can be mounted inside the barrel housing section of the housing. The lens barrel has at least one lens and a lens barrel holding the at least one lens. The imaging device further includes an imaging element that receives light that has passed through the at least one lens of the lens barrel. The lens barrel of the lens barrel includes: an external thread portion screwed with the internal thread portion of the lens barrel housing portion of the housing; and a flange portion located in front of the male screw portion, the flange portion having an operating portion formed on at least a part of an outer peripheral portion thereof. The housing is formed with a cutout portion that exposes the flange portion located inside the lens barrel housing portion upward.

According to such an imaging device, the upper portion of the flange portion of the lens barrel can be exposed through the cutout portion of the housing before the cover member is attached to the housing. Therefore, a space for holding the operation portion can be secured above the flange portion, and the lens barrel can be easily rotated by holding the operation portion with a jig. Thus, the position of the lens barrel can be adjusted by moving the lens barrel in the optical axis direction through the screwing of the male screw portion of the lens barrel and the female screw portion of the barrel housing portion.

An upper recess may be formed in a front edge of the upper surface of the housing. In this case, a part of the lens barrel housing portion of the housing and the upper concave portion may communicate with each other through the notch portion. Preferably, the imaging device further includes a cover member attached to the housing so as to cover the lens barrel housing portion of the housing, the cover member including a first cover piece disposed in the upper recess of the housing.

According to this configuration, after the position of the lens barrel in the optical axis direction is adjusted, the first cap piece is disposed in the upper concave portion formed in the upper surface of the housing, and therefore the flange portion of the lens barrel exposed as described above can be covered with the first cap piece. Since the first cover piece is disposed in the upper recess formed in the upper surface of the housing, the increase in thickness of the housing due to the cover member can be suppressed, and the imaging device can be made compact.

In the lens barrel according to the present invention, the first cover piece of the cover member may be formed with a recess for avoiding interference with the flange portion of the lens barrel. By forming such a relief recess, it is possible to avoid interference between the first cover piece and the flange portion of the lens barrel while maintaining the thickness of the other portion of the first cover piece. That is, the thickness of the first cover piece can be minimized while maintaining the strength of the cover member, and the imaging device can be further made compact.

Preferably, a front recess is formed in an upper edge of the front surface of the housing. Preferably, the cover member includes a second cover piece disposed in the front recess of the housing. In this case, the lens barrel accommodated in the barrel accommodating portion of the housing can be protected by the second cover piece of the cover member. Further, since the second cover piece is disposed in the front recess formed in the front surface of the housing, the increase in depth of the housing due to the cover member can be suppressed, and the imaging device can be made compact.

Preferably, a gap is formed between an inner peripheral wall of the barrel housing portion of the housing and the operation portion of the flange portion. In this case, since the jig can be inserted into the gap between the inner peripheral wall of the barrel housing section and the operation section of the flange section, the lens barrel can be easily rotated.

Preferably, the central axis of the lens barrel is located closer to the upper surface than the lower surface of the housing. For example, when the image pickup device is embedded in a decorative portion such as an instrument panel or an instrument panel in a vehicle, since a portion other than the lens barrel can be embedded in the decorative portion, the height of the image pickup device protruding from the decorative portion can be reduced by disposing the lens barrel in the housing so as to be close to the upper side. Therefore, the influence of the imaging device on the design of the vehicle interior can be reduced.

The imaging device may further include at least one light source that emits light through a window formed in the housing. With this configuration, the image can be captured by the image pickup device while being illuminated with light from the light source, and therefore a higher quality image can be obtained. In this case, in order to improve the quality of an image obtained by the image pickup device, it is preferable that the cover member is configured to suppress the transmission of light having a specific wavelength.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may be implemented in various different forms within the scope of the technical idea.

Claims (9)

1. An image pickup apparatus characterized in that a camera is provided,

the imaging device includes:

a housing formed with a lens barrel housing section having an internal thread section;

a lens barrel which is mountable inside the barrel housing portion of the housing and which has at least one lens and a lens barrel holding the at least one lens; and

an image pickup element that receives light that has passed through the at least one lens of the lens barrel,

the lens barrel of the lens barrel includes:

an external thread part screwed with the internal thread part of the lens barrel housing part of the housing; and

a flange portion located in front of the male screw portion, the flange portion having an operating portion formed on at least a part of an outer peripheral portion thereof,

the housing is formed with a cutout portion that exposes the flange portion located inside the lens barrel housing portion upward.

2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1,

an upper concave portion is formed on a front edge of an upper surface of the housing,

a part of the lens barrel housing portion of the housing and the upper concave portion communicate with each other via the notch portion.

3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 2,

the image pickup apparatus further includes a cover member attached to the housing so as to cover the lens barrel housing section of the housing, the cover member including a first cover piece disposed in the upper recess of the housing.

4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3,

an escape recess for avoiding interference with the flange portion of the lens barrel is formed in the first cover piece of the cover member.

5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,

a front side concave part is formed on the upper edge of the front surface of the shell,

the cover member has a second cover piece disposed in the front recess of the housing.

6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,

the cover member is configured to suppress transmission of light of a specific wavelength.

7. The image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

a gap is formed between an inner peripheral wall of the barrel housing portion of the housing and the operation portion of the flange portion.

8. The image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the central axis of the lens barrel is located closer to the upper surface than the lower surface of the housing.

9. The image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the imaging device further includes at least one light source that emits light through a window portion formed in the housing.

Images