JP2003169234A - Assembling method for on-vehicle small-sized camera and its assembling tool - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an assembling method for an on-vehicle small-sized camera that prevents water and dust from being intruded therein without losing the design property. <P>SOLUTION: Rod shaped projections 22a vertically arisen are provided to four corners of an upper edge being a connection positions with a rear case 21 at a side of a front case 22 in a resin forming stage. The projections 22a at the four corners of the front case 22 are inserted to thread through-holes 21a at a side of the rear case 21 by utilizing 'thread through-holes 21a' for screw fastening as they are, after matching mount opposed edges of the front case 22 and the rear case 21, each heated pressing rod is inserted to each screw through-hole 21a of the rear case 21, the projection 22a in the inside of the screw through-hole 21a is heated by the pressing rod and pressed while being softened to shape the projection 22a to be a head 22a' of a small round screw, the spread of the head shape covers the circumferential edge of a bottom face of the screw through-hole 21a to couple both the cases 21, 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for assembling a vehicle-mounted compact camera by covering a front case made of resin with a rear case made of metal, and a jig therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 shows an example of the vehicle-mounted compact camera 30. FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the same as seen from the light receiving window Cw side, FIG. 7B shows its usage state, and FIG. Shows one step (final step) of the assembly.

As shown in (a), the small camera 30 has a rear case 31 formed by die-casting aluminum.
The lens L, the prism P, and the circuit board E are mounted therein, and the rear case 31 is mounted with the front case 32 formed of transparent resin. In the front case 32, a light receiving window Cw is formed on a left-right symmetrical inclined surface corresponding to the prism P in the rear case 31.

Then, as shown in FIG.
It is attached to the bumper 41, etc. of the vehicle and captures a landscape at an angle where the driver has a bad view. The captured image can be visually recognized by the driver via a monitor in the vehicle.

At the final stage of the process of assembling the small camera, as shown in (c), the rear case 31 and the front case 32 are assembled by connecting the corresponding four corners with screws (screws 33). . In the figure, 31a is a screw insertion hole, and 32a is a screw hole.

[0006]

By the way, the vehicle-mounted compact camera 30 as described above does not have the precision of the optical function and the mechanical performance such as the durability as one product, and the appearance design thereof. Sex is also required. That is, when the front case 32 is attached to the rear case 31 by screwing, the design is lost if the screw 33 is noticeable.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent the above design from being impaired when the front case is mounted on the rear case of the vehicle-mounted compact camera.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, instead of fastening with screws, the front case rises from the mounting surface to the screw hole portion of the mounting surface with the rear case. Providing a protrusion, with the protrusion inserted into the insertion hole of the screw of the rear case, the pressing body heated by the heating means is inserted from the insertion hole,
The pressing means heats and presses the projection, crushes the projection while softening it by heat, and the crushed and spread parts are engaged with the peripheral edge of the bottom surface of the insertion hole of the screw to join. I did it.

By doing so, the screw does not appear on the surface of the rear case, so that the designability is not impaired, and the screw portion is different from the case where the screw is attached by screwing. If water enters the inside, the screws will corrode and the connection between the rear case and front case will become loose,
There is no fear that the generated rust will mix with water and flow to the precision parts such as the lens or prism, or the circuit board, and adversely affect them.

As a jig for carrying out the above method, a small vehicle-mounted camera in a state where the front case is temporarily assembled by covering the rear case while inserting the protrusion into the through hole on a base plate. Since the pedestal for mounting the above and the pedestal above the pedestal, which is attached to the elevating mechanism to move up and down and is heated by the heating means, are provided. is there.

In the above device configuration, the pedestal can be horizontally moved along the surface of the base plate, and
A guide plate of the pedestal is erected on the base plate, and the guide plate is placed on the pedestal by bringing the side surface of the pedestal into contact with the side surface of the pedestal. Further, the center of the insertion hole of each screw of the rear case of the vehicle-mounted small-sized camera in the temporarily assembled state can be formed in a path that can be moved directly below the pressing center of the pressing body. When the pedestal is moved along the guide, the work of aligning the axis of the protrusion of the front case with the axis of the pressing body (pressing center) becomes smooth.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As described above, the present invention eliminates the conventional "screw fastening" for mounting the front case to the rear case.
4 illustrates a new assembly method according to the present invention. The camera 20 shown in FIG. 1 has a rear case 21 having a slightly different shape from the conventional camera 30 shown in FIG. 7, but the other basic structure is the same. is there.

As shown in FIG. 1A, in the present invention,
On the front case 22 side, bar-shaped projections 22 that stand upright at the four corners of the upper edge, which is the connection part with the rear case 21, are formed.
a is provided. The protrusion 22a is provided from the beginning on the front case 22 on which it rises, at the stage of resin molding.

On the other hand, on the rear case 21 side, in the case of screwing, the holes 21a which were the screw insertion holes 21a are used as they are, and the screw insertion holes 21a are inserted into the four corners of the front case 22. The protrusion 22a is inserted.

Then, the projection 2 of the front case 22
2a is inserted into the screw insertion hole 21a of the rear case 21 to align the mounting facing edges of the front case 22 and the rear case 21, and then the heated pressing rod is inserted from the screw insertion hole 21a of the rear case 21. Then, the screw insertion hole 2
The protrusion 22a inside 1a is heated by the pressing rod to be softened and pressed to form a shape like a round head screw head 22a 'as shown in FIGS. 1 (b) and (c). Then, due to the expansion of the head shape, the screw insertion hole 21a
The cases 21 and 22 are to be joined together by covering the periphery of the bottom surface of the case. 2 to 4 show a jig for carrying out the method. 2 is an overall perspective view of the jig, FIG. 3 is a front view, and FIG. 4 is a side view. The structure and operation of this jig will be described below with reference to these drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, this jig has a front case 22 and a rear case 21 in front of the base plate B in the drawing.
The pedestal 10 on which the camera 20 in the temporarily assembled state is placed, and the heating that acts on the pedestal 10 behind the camera 20 in the temporarily assembled state to combine them by the method shown in FIG. -A pressing means is provided. The detailed structure of the pedestal 10 will be described later. First, the pedestal 10
The heating and pressing means behind is described.

A stand S is provided upright behind the pedestal 10 of the camera 20, and the stand S is provided with a lifting mechanism having a commercially available "hot iron". In this elevating mechanism, an elevating plate 11 is attached to a linear guide L ₁ arranged vertically on the front surface of the stand S, and the elevating plate 11 can be moved up and down along the front surface of the stand S. .

Operation lever 1 for raising and lowering the lifting plate 11
2, one end 12a of the rotating shaft 13 is attached to a rotating shaft 13 protruding from the rear surface of the stand S.
Is connected to the side surface of an intermediate member 14a provided on the lower front surface of the elevating plate 11 in an elongated hole 12h provided between the operation portion 12b at the other end. While the shaft 15 is engaged via the bearing 15b,
The operating portion 12b is biased upward by a spring 16 connected between the end portion on the side of the mounting end 12a with respect to the rotating shaft 13 and the side of the stand S, and the operating lever 12 is rotated to move up and down. The plate 11 is adapted to move up and down.

A heater member 17 improved from a commercially available "heat gote" is attached to the upper front surface of the lift plate 11 with its heating end 17a facing downward. A pressing rod 18 that directly abuts the rod-shaped projections 22a at the four corners of the front case 22 and presses the abutting portions is replaceably mounted.

The lower end 18a of the pressing rod 18 is recessed upward in a hemispherical shape, and while heating the rod-shaped projection 22a,
When pressed, the rod-shaped projection 22a has a shape 22a 'just like the head of a round screw.

FIG. 4B shows the heated push rod 18
The rod-shaped protrusion 22a is softened by being pressed by the lower end of the rod, and is pressed to form a shape 22a 'like the head of a round machine screw.
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the front case 22 and the rear case 21 are formed by molding, and the head portion covers and engages with the peripheral edge of the bottom surface of the screw insertion hole 21a, and the front case 22 and the rear case 21 are coupled.

Next, the cradle 10 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 2, the pedestal 10 includes a stand S provided with heating / pressing means attached to the lifting mechanism.
It is placed inside a rectangular guide frame G arranged in front of. FIG. 5 shows only the pedestal 10 taken out, and FIG. 5A shows a state in which the camera 20 in which the rear case 21 and the front case 22 are temporarily assembled is set on the pedestal 10. (B) shows a state where the setting is completed.

As shown in FIG. 3A, this pedestal 10 is for receiving a front case 22 formed on the slide plate 1 by combining the front and rear split members 2f and 2b into a "B" cross section. The member 2 is fixed, and the part of the front case 22 is inserted into the inside of the "B" shape to support it in a standing state. A horizontal support member 3 that supports the front case 22 in the front-rear direction is fixed to the front surface of the member 2f that is in front of the receiving member 2. Since all of these members come into contact with the front case 22 made of resin, they are made of resin so as not to damage the surface thereof.

Above the receiving member 2 as described above is the pressing member 4 which covers the camera 20 mounted on the receiving member 2 and supports the camera 20 vertically and horizontally. As shown in the figure, the pressing member 4 is in the form of a gate, and is fixed to the upper surface of the lower receiving member 2 by screws 5 inserted on the left and right of the upper surface.
The pressing member 4 also faces the camera 20, and is therefore made of resin.

On the upper surface of the pressing member 4, in addition to the left and right screws 5 for fixing to the receiving member 2, the hole 6 for the pressing rod 18 to pass through, and the upper surface of the rear case 21 of the camera 20. An escape hole 7 for the protrusion 21b and an escape groove 8 for the cable 21c are formed. Both ends of the escape groove 8 of the cable 21c also serve as the passage holes 6 of the pressing rod 18. By the receiving member 2, the horizontal supporting member 3, and the pressing member 4 as described above, as shown in FIG. 5B, the camera 20 is vertically sandwiched and supported.

When the rear case 21 and the front case 22 are assembled, as shown in FIG. 2, the rectangular guide frame G on the surface of the base plate B is used to mount the pedestal 10 on which the temporary camera 20 is set as described above. It is set inside, and the pedestal 10 is moved within the guide frame G, and the joining portions at the four corners of the camera 20 are sequentially pushed by the heating and pushing rods 18 to be joined. FIG. 6 schematically shows the movement of the pedestal 10 within the guide frame G. Hereinafter, the outline of the movement of the pedestal 10 will be described with reference to this figure. The figure shows only the pedestal 10, the camera 20 and the guide frame G mounted thereon.

First, in the state shown in FIG.
It is an arrangement state when the lower right position of 0 in the figure is combined. The center shown by the one-dot chain line in the figure is the axial center of the pressing rod 18. From this state, the slide plate 1 of the pedestal 10 is then placed along the inner surface of the left side of the guide frame G, and the pedestal 10
Move to the bottom of the figure.

Then, as shown in FIG.
The coupling site at the upper right position of is located immediately below the pressing rod 18. Then, this site is bound. After that, the slide plate 1 of the pedestal 10 is placed along the inner surface of the lower side of the guide frame G, and the pedestal 10 is moved rightward in the drawing.

Then, this time, as shown in (c), the coupling portion at the upper left position of the camera 20 is located immediately below the pressing rod 18. Then, this site is bound. Thereafter, in the same manner, the slide plate 1 of the pedestal 10 is placed along the inner surface of the right side of the guide frame G, the pedestal 10 is moved upward in the drawing, and as shown in FIG. The coupling portion at that position is located directly below the pressing rod 18. Thus
By moving the pedestal 10 along the guide frame G,
The binding sites at the four corners of the camera 20 can be joined.
The order of moving the pedestal 10 is, of course, arbitrary.

[0030]

As described above, the present invention is configured as described above, and therefore, in a small vehicle-mounted camera,
Since the screw for mounting the front case on the rear case does not appear on the surface, it does not impair the design and since the screw is abolished, it is not possible to screw it with water droplets due to condensation etc. as when using it. The effect is that there is no fear that the joints between the two cases will be loosened or that the rust that has occurred will adversely affect the precision components such as the lens, prism, and circuit board in the rear case.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 (a) and 1 (b) show an assembly method of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (c) is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part after assembly is completed.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a jig of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the jig of the embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a right side view of the jig of the embodiment,
The details of the heat-sealed portion are shown in (b).

FIG. 5A shows a state where the camera is set on the pedestal, and FIG. 5B shows a state where the setting is completed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a usage pattern of a cradle.

FIG. 7 (a) shows an example of a small vehicle-mounted camera,
The state of use is shown in (b), and the conventional assembling method is shown in (c).

[Explanation of symbols]

1 slide plate 2 Receiving member 3 Horizontal support members 4 Holding member 10 stand 17 Heater member 18 Push rod 20, 30 In-vehicle small camera 21 rear case 21a Screw insertion hole 22 front case 22a bar-shaped projection 22a 'Head shape of circular screw G guide frame

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Toshiaki Suzuki             1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi Stock Association             Auto Network Technology Laboratory F-term (reference) 3D020 BA20 BC17 BD01 BD05                 5C022 AA04 AC61 AC78

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Optical optics for lenses, prisms, circuit boards, etc.
In a vehicle-mounted small-sized camera in which a front case made of transparent resin is mounted on a metal rear case on which control components are mounted, the front case side is located at the peripheral edges of the mounting surfaces of the rear case and the front case. A screw hole is provided in the rear case, a screw insertion hole is provided in a portion corresponding to the screw hole of the rear case, and the mounting surfaces of the rear case and the front case are made to face each other, and the screw of the rear case is inserted. In a method for assembling a vehicle-mounted small camera in which a screw is inserted through a hole and screwed into the screw hole of the front case to be fastened, in place of fastening by the screw, a mounting surface of the front case with a rear case is replaced. The screw hole of is abolished, and a protrusion rising from that portion is provided at that portion, and the protrusion is inserted into the screw insertion hole of the rear case, The pressing body heated by the heating means is inserted from the insertion hole, and the pressing body is pressed while heating the projection, and the projection is crushed while being softened by heat, and the crushed and spread part is spread. A method for assembling a vehicle-mounted small-sized camera, characterized in that the screw is engaged with a peripheral edge of a bottom surface of the screw to be coupled. 2. A jig for performing the method according to claim 1, wherein the projection is inserted into the insertion hole of the screw on the base plate, and the rear case is attached to the front case. A pedestal for mounting a vehicle-mounted small camera in a state of being covered and temporarily assembled, and above the pedestal, the pressing unit attached to an elevating mechanism to ascend and descend and heated by a heating means. An assembly jig for a small vehicle-mounted camera characterized by having a body. 3. The pedestal is horizontally movable along the surface of the base plate, and the pedestal guide plate is erected on the base plate. , The center of each through hole of the rear case of the vehicle-mounted small-sized camera mounted on the pedestal is moved by bringing the side surface of the pedestal into contact with the side surface of the pedestal. The assembly jig for a vehicle-mounted small camera according to claim 2, wherein the assembly jig is formed in a path that can be moved directly below a pressing center of the pressing body.