JP2006103533A - Mounting structure of stereoscopic camera for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mounting structure of a stereoscopic camera for a vehicle for setting the camera in a front grille part without causing lowering of cooling performance of a radiator and adverse influence on the camera by heat of the radiator. <P>SOLUTION: In this structure, a lateral stay 9 for mutually connecting the plurality of cameras 8 is provided, and the lateral stay 9 and the cameras 8 are fixed to a lower cross member 6 via brackets 10 and 11. Each of the cameras 8 is arranged so that at least a part may be located in a region A1 between a side inclined part 6b of the lower cross member 6 and the radiator 5. Each of the cameras 8 is arranged so that at least a part may be located in a region A2 in the vicinity of a side frame 4 at the outside of the side inclined part 6b of the lower cross member 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle camera mounting structure, and more particularly to a stereo camera mounting structure in which a plurality of cameras for recognizing a stereoscopic image are mounted on a vehicle body.

  A technology has been developed in which a driving environment around a vehicle is photographed with a camera and this image information is used for driving support and the like. As a typical example, a technique is known in which a pair of cameras for recognizing a stereoscopic image is mounted on a vehicle and the front and rear positions of an object are recognized from images taken by the two cameras.

As such a stereo camera mounting structure, for example, a structure described in Patent Document 1 is known.
In this mounting structure, a pair of cameras are attached to both ends of a lateral lateral stay, and only the central part of the lateral stay is attached to a fixing member in the vehicle interior, so that the optical axes of both cameras are displaced due to vibrations and distortion of the vehicle body. Is to prevent.
JP 2001-88623 A

    Incidentally, in recent years, when an infrared camera that handles light that is difficult to transmit through the windshield is used as a stereo camera, it has been studied to arrange the camera in a front grill portion in front of the engine room. However, since the radiator is arranged in the front grille part, if the camera is arranged in the front grille part, the camera may alienate the intake of air from the radiator and be susceptible to the heat of the radiator. Is done.

  Accordingly, the present invention is intended to provide a vehicle stereo camera mounting structure in which a camera can be set on the front grille portion without causing deterioration of the cooling performance of the radiator or adverse effects on the camera due to the heat of the radiator. Is.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a vehicle in which a plurality of cameras (for example, a camera 8 in an embodiment described later) for recognizing a traveling environment around the vehicle as a stereoscopic image is attached to a vehicle body frame. A stereo camera mounting structure for a cross member (for example, in an embodiment described later) having both ends bent upward at the front end of a side frame (for example, a side frame 4 in an embodiment described later) on both sides of the engine room. A lateral cross member 6) is connected to a terminal portion thereof, and a radiator (for example, a radiator 5 in an embodiment described later) is supported at the center of the cross member. A stay (for example, a lateral stay 9 in an embodiment described later) is provided, and this lateral Alternatively, the camera is fixed to the cross member via brackets (for example, an upper bracket 10 and a lower bracket 11 in the embodiments described later), and each camera is bent at least partially by the cross member. It arrange | positioned so that it might be located in the area | region between a both-ends edge (for example, side inclination part 6b in embodiment mentioned later) and a radiator.

  The invention according to claim 2 is a mounting structure for a vehicle stereo camera in which a plurality of cameras for recognizing a traveling environment around the vehicle as a stereoscopic image is mounted on a vehicle body frame. The front end portion is connected to the end portion of the cross member whose both edges are bent upward, and a radiator is supported at the center of the cross member, and a lateral stay for connecting the plurality of cameras to each other is provided. In addition, the lateral stay or the camera is fixed to the cross member via a bracket, and each camera is positioned in a region near the side frame outside the both ends where the cross member is bent. Arranged to be.

  In any of these inventions, at least a part of the camera is disposed at a position offset from the front of the radiator, and is fixed to the cross member at a position in the vicinity of the side frame that is a main skeleton member of the vehicle body.

  According to the first and second aspects of the invention, since at least a part of the camera is arranged at an offset position from the front of the radiator, it is possible to prevent the cooling performance of the radiator from being lowered by the camera. At the same time, the camera is hardly affected by the heat of the radiator, and the camera can be supported by the cross member at a position close to the highly rigid side frame.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a skeleton part from which a body panel, a bumper and the like of the vehicle body front part A of the vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 2 are removed, FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the skeleton part, and FIGS. FIG. 4 is a schematic front view and a schematic side view of the skeleton part, respectively. In these drawings, 2 is an engine, 4 is a pair of side frames extending in the vehicle body front-rear direction on both sides of the engine room 3, and 5 is a radiator for cooling the engine coolant.

  The front end portions of the side frames 4 on both sides are coupled by a bulkhead lower cross member 6 (hereinafter referred to as “lower cross member 6”) and a bulkhead upper frame 7 (hereinafter referred to as “upper frame 7”). The lower cross member 6 and the central portion of the upper frame 7 support the lower end and the upper end of the radiator 5, respectively. Both the lower cross member 6 and the upper frame 7 have a closed cross section, and the respective central portions in the longitudinal direction are curved downward and upward, respectively, and an air intake space in front of the radiator is secured between them. Specifically, for example, in the lower cross member 6, both edges of the member base portion 6a are bent obliquely upward toward the side frame 4 with respect to the member base portion 6a extending horizontally in the vehicle width direction (hereinafter, this portion). Are called “side inclined portions 6 b”), and each terminal portion of the side inclined portion 6 b is further bent outward in the vehicle width direction and coupled to the lower surface of the side frame 4.

  On the other hand, a stereo camera mounted on the vehicle employs a far-infrared camera 8 (hereinafter referred to as “camera 8”) as a camera body. A pair of cameras 8 are provided, and these cameras 8 are connected to each other by a lateral stay 9 extending in the vehicle width direction, and are attached to the lower cross member 6 via the upper bracket 10 and the lower bracket 11. It has become.

  The lateral stay 9 is formed by a square pipe made of a metal such as aluminum or iron as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, and the front wall and the lower wall on both side edges are cut out, and the front side of the remaining rear wall The upper edge of the back of each camera 8 is fixed. A bundle 12 of signal cables connected to both cameras 8 is attached to the middle portion of the lateral stay 9 in the longitudinal direction by clip fastening.

  The upper bracket 10 and the lower bracket 11 are formed of a metal plate such as aluminum as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and the upper bracket 10 has the upper edge of each camera 8 along with the lateral stay 9 and the lower cross member 6. The lower bracket 11 is configured to fix the lower back edge of each camera 8 to the member base portion 6a and the side inclined portion 6b of the lower cross member 6. The lower bracket 11 is fixed to the side inclined portion 6b (see FIG. 4). Yes. These brackets 10 and 11 are set so that at least a part thereof has rigidity lower than the bending rigidity of the lateral stay 9.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the upper bracket 10 has a band-like metal plate bent in a plurality of stages in the thickness direction, the front surface of the edge on one end side is the camera mounting surface 10a, and the rear surface of the other end side is the vehicle body mounting surface. It is set as the surface 10b. As shown in FIG. 6, one end side of the upper bracket 10 with the camera mounting surface 10a is fastened together with the bolt 13 to the upper edge of the camera 8 together with the end of the lateral stay 9, and the other end side with the vehicle body mounting surface 10b. Is fixed by a bolt 14 in the vicinity of the upper end of the side inclined portion 6b (see FIG. 4) of the lower cross member 6. In the case of this embodiment, the upper bracket 10 is bent in three stages, and these are bent portions 10c that increase the deformation allowance of the upper bracket 10. A reinforcing flange 16 is bent at one side edge along the longitudinal direction of the upper bracket 10 so as to straddle the edge of the camera mounting surface 10a and a part of the bent portion 10c, and at the other side edge. A reinforcing bead 17 is formed so as to straddle the edge of the vehicle body mounting surface 10b and a part of the bent portion 10c. In the case of this embodiment, the entire upper bracket 10 is formed by press molding.

  On the other hand, the lower bracket 11 is formed by connecting two press-molded metal plates, and the bracket body 11A formed by a large metal plate is formed so as to form a substantially arc shape when viewed from the front. The rear surface of one end side of the bracket main body 11A is a first vehicle body attachment surface 11a, and one end side of the first vehicle body attachment portion 11a is fixed to the member base portion 6a of the lower cross member 6 with bolts 14 as shown in FIG. Has been. Further, the other end of the bracket body 11A has a front surface as a camera mounting surface 11b, and a distal end portion thereof is bent at a substantially right angle, and an L-shaped sub bracket 11B is coupled thereto. The lower edge of the camera 8 is fixed to the camera mounting surface 11b with bolts 13, the bottom rear surface of the sub bracket 11B is a second vehicle body mounting surface 11c, and the bottom portion with the second vehicle body mounting surface 11c is the bottom. The lower cross member 6 is fixed by a bolt 14 at a substantially middle position of the side inclined portion 6b. A reinforcing flange 18 and a reinforcing bead 19 are appropriately formed on the bracket body 11A of the lower bracket 11.

  By the way, the pair of cameras 8 fixed to the lower cross member 6 via the lateral stay 9 and the brackets 10 and 11 as described above has the camera center o at the side of the lower cross member 6 as shown in FIG. It is located in a substantially V-shaped region A1 between the side inclined portion 6b and the radiator 5. This region A1 is a region that is offset laterally from the front surface of the radiator 5 and is close to the side frame 4 that is a main skeleton member of the vehicle and has sufficient strength and rigidity.

  In the above configuration, for example, when the side frame 4 receives heat from the engine 2 and opens and deforms outward in the vehicle width direction, both end portions of the lower cross member 6 are pulled by the side frame 4 and the side slopes on both sides It tries to deform | transform so that the part 6b may open outward. At this time, a load is input to the upper bracket 10 and the lower bracket 11 that fix the camera 8 and the lateral stay 9 to the lower cross member 6, and the load is deformed by deforming both the brackets 10 and 11 having low rigidity. It is absorbed and is not input to the lateral stay 9 as a large bending load. In particular, the upper bracket 10 coupled to the vicinity of the upper end of the side inclined portion 6b of the lower cross member 6 is deformed with a large bending allowance because the low-rigidity portion centering around the plurality of bending portions 10c is deformed. The large input load from 6 can be absorbed effectively.

  Further, in the case of this stereo camera mounting structure, basically both ends of the lateral stay 9 are fixed to the lower cross member 6 which is the vehicle body frame by the brackets 10 and 11, so that the camera 8 is not loose or shakes. It can be surely lost. Therefore, in the mounting structure of this embodiment, although the distance between the cameras 8 must be separated and the two cameras 8 must be connected by the long lateral stay 9 because the far-infrared camera having a long focal length is adopted, There will be no defects due to looseness or wobbling. Further, even if the camera 8 is arranged in front of the engine room 3 where a large vibration is input, problems due to backlash and shake do not occur.

  Furthermore, in this stereo camera mounting structure, each camera 8 is arranged such that the camera center o is located in a substantially V-shaped region A1 between the side inclined portion 6b of the lower cross member 6 and the radiator 5. Therefore, the camera 8 does not alienate the inflow of air to the radiator 5, and conversely, the camera 8 is not affected by the heat of the radiator 5, and in the vicinity of the side frame 4 that is the main skeleton member. There is an advantage that the camera 8 can be securely supported and fixed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the camera 8 can be installed on the front grill portion of the vehicle without any problem.

  In the above embodiment, the camera 8 is installed so that the camera center o is located in the substantially V-shaped region A1 between the side inclined portion 6b of the lower cross member 6 and the radiator 5, but in FIG. As shown by a two-dot chain line, the camera center o may be arranged so as to be in a region A2 directly below the side frame 4 outside the side inclined portion 6b of the lower cross member 6. In this case, the camera 8 does not further alienate the air inflow of the radiator 5, the camera 8 is not further affected by the heat of the radiator 5, and the camera 8 is located in the vicinity of the side frame 4 as in the above embodiment. It becomes possible to securely support and fix.

  FIG. 8 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. The basic configuration of this embodiment is substantially the same as that of the above-described embodiment, but the shape of the lower cross member 106 that connects the side members 4 on both sides is slightly different. That is, the lower cross member 106 has a central member base portion 106 a extending to a position almost directly below the side frame 4, and both end edges 106 b extending vertically upward from the member base portion 106 a toward the side frame 4. Therefore, in this embodiment, the shape of the area A1 between the end edge 106b of the lower cross member 106 and the radiator 5 is a square shape, but each camera 8 has the camera center o within the area A1 as in the above embodiment. It is arranged to be located in. In the case of this embodiment, the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained. Each camera 8 may be arranged in the vicinity area A2 of the side frame 4 outside the end edge 106b of the lower cross member 106, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the camera center o is the region A1 between the bent ends of the cross member 6 (side inclined portion 6b, end edge 106b) and the radiator 5, or the bent ends of the cross member 6. Although the camera 8 is arranged so as to be located in the area A2 near the side frame 4 outside the part, it is sufficient that at least a part of the camera 8 is located in the area A1 or A2. In the above description, the far infrared camera is used as the stereo camera. However, the present invention is not limited to the far infrared camera, and a camera that handles visible light may be used.

The perspective view of the vehicle frame | skeleton part corresponding to the A section of FIG. 2 which shows one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an overview perspective view of the vehicle showing the embodiment. The schematic plan view of the vehicle frame | skeleton part which shows the embodiment. The schematic front view of the vehicle frame | skeleton part which shows the same embodiment and other embodiment collectively. 1 is a schematic side view of a vehicle skeleton showing an embodiment of the present invention. The disassembled perspective view which shows the same embodiment. The perspective view which expanded the one part component of FIG. 6 which shows the same embodiment. The schematic front view of the vehicle frame | skeleton part which shows another embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

4 Side frame 5 Radiator 6,106 Lower cross member (body frame)
8 Camera 9 Lateral stay 10 Upper bracket (bracket)
11 Lower bracket (bracket)

Claims (2)

A vehicle stereo camera mounting structure in which a plurality of cameras for recognizing a traveling environment around a vehicle as a stereoscopic image is mounted on a vehicle body frame,
In the front end of the side frame on both sides of the engine room, the end portion of the cross member whose both edges are bent upward is coupled, and the radiator is supported at the center of the cross member.
A lateral stay for connecting the plurality of cameras to each other is provided, and the lateral stay or the camera is fixed to the cross member via a bracket,
A mounting structure for a vehicular stereo camera, wherein each of the cameras is arranged such that at least a part of the cameras is positioned in a region between the bent both ends of the cross member and a radiator. A vehicle stereo camera mounting structure in which a plurality of cameras for recognizing a traveling environment around a vehicle as a stereoscopic image is mounted on a vehicle body frame,
In the front end of the side frame on both sides of the engine room, the end portion of the cross member whose both edges are bent upward is coupled, and the radiator is supported at the center of the cross member.
A lateral stay for connecting the plurality of cameras to each other is provided, and the lateral stay or the camera is fixed to the cross member via a bracket,
A mounting structure of a vehicular stereo camera, wherein each of the cameras is arranged such that at least a part of the cameras is positioned in a region near a side frame outside both bent ends of the cross member.

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