JP2007062670A - Waterproofing case for car-mounted camera and camera device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproofing case for a car-mounted camera exerting an excellent waterproofing performance. <P>SOLUTION: The waterproofing case for the car-mounted camera to be mounted outside a vehicle has a front case portion 22 and a rear case portion 30, which accommodate an image pickup means including an image pickup element 12, image pickup element 12, etc. A packing member 40 is interposed between the front case portion 22 and the rear case portion 30 for sealing the gap between them. A flange 34 which is the joining part of the rear case portion 30 is furnished with a water stop wall 36 in such a way as protruding at the outer periphery of the packing member 40. At the opening peripheral edge 23a of the joining part of the front case portion 22, a receptacle recess 26 is formed where the water stop wall 36 can be fitted in. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for waterproofing a vehicle-mounted camera installed outside a vehicle compartment.

  There is a technique in which an in-vehicle camera installed outside the vehicle captures a scene around the vehicle, in particular, a blind spot, and displays this on a display device in the vehicle interior.

  Since such an in-vehicle camera is installed outside the vehicle body, it needs to be sufficiently waterproof.

  As a conventional waterproof structure, a structure in which a packing is sandwiched between a front case and a rear case which are outer shells of an in-vehicle camera and both cases are screwed is common.

  However, since the conventional waterproof structure has a structure in which the packing is compressed and interposed between the front case and the rear case, a slight gap is formed at the joint portion between the front case and the rear case. For this reason, a high-pressure jet water may be applied directly to the packing during high-pressure car washing or the like. And the pressure of this water pushed the packing inside, and there existed a possibility that waterproofness might fall.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof case for a vehicle-mounted camera and a camera device that are excellent in waterproofness.

  A waterproof case for a vehicle-mounted camera according to the present invention is a waterproof case for a vehicle-mounted camera installed outside a vehicle, and has a first case portion and a second case portion and accommodates an imaging means. And a packing member that is interposed between the first case portion and the second case portion and waterproofly seals between the first case portion and the second case portion, A portion between the first case portion and the second case portion is provided with a wet prevention means for preventing the packing member from being wet from the outside.

  The water-preventing means is a water blocking wall portion formed so as to protrude from either one of the joint portion of the first case portion and the joint portion of the second case at the outer peripheral position of the packing. And a receiving recess that is formed in either one of the joint portion of the first case portion and the joint portion of the second case, and into which the water blocking wall portion can be fitted. .

  Moreover, you may make it the said water stop wall part fit in with respect to the said receiving recessed part by the aspect which maintains a said 1st case part and the said 2nd case in a fixed positional relationship.

  Furthermore, the camera device may be configured by housing the imaging means in the waterproof case for in-vehicle cameras.

  According to the waterproofing for a vehicle-mounted camera of the present invention, the portion between the first case portion and the second case portion is provided with a water-preventing means for preventing water from being externally applied to the packing member. It is possible to effectively prevent a situation in which high-pressure jet water or the like is directly applied to the packing member during high-pressure car washing. Thereby, the outstanding waterproofness can be acquired.

  In addition, the water prevention means is a water blocking wall portion formed so as to protrude from either one of the joint portion of the first case portion and the joint portion of the second case at the outer peripheral position of the packing. And a receiving recess formed in either one of the joint portion of the first case portion and the joint portion of the second case and capable of fitting the water blocking wall portion, The gap between the joint part of the first case part and the joint part of the second case can be made as small as possible to obtain an excellent waterproof property and a relatively compact configuration.

  Further, when the water blocking wall portion is fitted into the receiving recess in a mode in which the first case portion and the second case are maintained in a certain positional relationship, there is a problem due to a change in the positional relationship between the two cases. For example, fluctuations in the visual field range can be effectively prevented.

  Moreover, according to the camera apparatus which accommodated the imaging means in the said vehicle-mounted camera waterproof case, an internal imaging means can fully be waterproofed.

  Hereinafter, a waterproof case for a vehicle-mounted camera and a camera device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 is a side view showing a waterproof case for a camera device, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view showing the waterproof case, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the waterproof case as seen obliquely from the front. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the waterproof case as viewed obliquely from the rear. For convenience of explanation, the image side (lens side) is assumed to be the front side, and the imaging surface side (imaging element side) is assumed to be the rear side.

  The in-vehicle camera 10 to which the waterproof case 20 is applied is installed outside the vehicle body such as the front, rear, and side portions of the vehicle, for example. Then, a wide area including the left and right sides of the front part of the vehicle, a vehicle rear area, a left side area or a right side area of the vehicle, and the like are imaged.

  The waterproof case 20 includes a case body 21 having a two-part structure of a front case portion 22 as a first case portion and a rear case portion 30 as a second case portion, and a packing member 40. The imaging means is housed and fixed in the case portions 22 and 30.

  Here, the imaging unit includes an imaging element 12 and an imaging lens 14.

  The image sensor 12 is configured by, for example, a single CCD or the like. The image pickup device 12 is mounted and fixed on a substrate 13, and a processing circuit including a drive circuit for the image pickup device 12 and the like is formed on the substrate 13. The substrate 13 is housed and fixed at a predetermined position in the front case portion 22, whereby the image sensor 12 is housed and fixed at a predetermined position in the waterproof case 20. The wiring connected to the substrate 13 is drawn to the outside through a wiring drawing portion formed in the rear case portion 30, and is connected to a power source, a control unit, a display device, and the like.

  The imaging lens 14 is a lens designed to guide light from an external region to be imaged to the imaging device 12 with desired characteristics, and is constituted by, for example, a composite lens in which a plurality of lenses are combined. In a camera that captures an image of the periphery of a vehicle, the imaging lens 14 usually has a characteristic that can capture a wide-angle range such as a wide-angle lens or a fish-eye lens so that a wide range can be imaged.

  The imaging lens 14 is housed and fixed in the lens holding cylinder portion 28 of the front case portion 22 and is held at a fixed position on the front side of the imaging device 12. Thereby, the imaging lens 14 captures an external scene through the imaging lens 14.

  The front case portion 22 is formed of resin or the like, and includes a front case main body portion 23 and a lens holding cylinder portion 28.

  The front case main body 23 is formed in a substantially bowl-like shape that opens on one side (rear side). Further, the side wall portion 24 surrounding the front case body portion 23 has a predetermined thickness dimension, and a packing which will be described in detail later on the opening peripheral edge portion 23a which is a joint portion of the front case body portion 23. A member 40, a receiving recess 26, a screw hole 24h, and the like are formed.

  The lens holding cylinder portion 28 is a member that holds the imaging lens 14. Here, the lens holding cylinder portion 28 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and its internal space communicates with the front case main body portion 23. The imaging lens 14 is fixedly held on the lens holding cylinder portion 28.

  The rear case part 30 is formed of resin or the like, and includes a rear case main body part 32 and a flange part 34.

  The rear case main body 32 is formed in a substantially bowl-like shape that opens on one side (front side). Further, a substantially rectangular annular flange portion 34 is formed on the opening peripheral edge portion of the rear case main body portion 32 so as to protrude outward as a joint portion. The front case portion 22 and the rear case portion 30 are united in a posture in which the rear side end surface of the front case main body portion 23 is opposed to the front side end surface of the flange portion 34, and the imaging means is accommodated therebetween. A substantially rectangular parallelepiped accommodation space is formed.

  In addition, screw insertion holes 35h are formed at appropriate positions (here, four corner positions) of the flange portion 34, and at positions corresponding to the screw insertion holes 35h in the opening peripheral edge portion 23a of the front case main body portion 23, A screw hole 24h is formed. And in the state which united the front case part 22 and the rear case part 30 as mentioned above, while inserting the screw in the screw insertion hole 35h and screwing and fastening it to the screw hole 24h, the above-mentioned combined form is obtained. It is designed to be held fixed. The combination of the rear case portion 30 and the front case portion 22 is not limited to the above-described screwing, and can be performed using various fixing means such as an engagement structure and an adhesive.

  A packing member 40 is interposed between the front case portion 22 and the rear case portion 30. The packing member 40 is waterproof and sealed between the front case portion 22 and the rear case portion 30.

  More specifically, the packing member 40 is formed of an elastic member such as rubber, and has an annular shape corresponding to the opening peripheral edge portion 23a of the front case portion 22, in this case, a substantially square annular shape. In addition, a substantially square annular packing housing groove 23b is formed along the circumferential direction on the end surface of the opening peripheral edge portion 23a of the front case portion 22. In addition, the packing member 40 is formed in the thickness of the extent which protrudes in the state accommodated in the packing accommodation groove 23b (here, it protrudes only a little amount). In the combined state of the front case body 23 and the rear case body 32, the packing member 40 is interposed between the opening peripheral edge 23a and the flange 34 in a compressed state. As a result, the gap between the opening peripheral edge portion 23a and the flange portion 34 is sealed in a waterproof manner by the packing member 40.

  In addition, a portion between the front case main body portion 23 and the rear case main body portion 32 is provided with a wet prevention means for preventing the packing member 40 from being wet from the outside.

  Here, the moisture prevention means includes a water blocking wall portion 36 formed to project from the end surface of the flange portion 34 on the rear case portion 30 side, and a receiving portion formed on the end surface of the opening peripheral edge portion 23a on the front case portion 22 side. It is configured to have a recess 26.

  The water blocking wall portion 36 is formed on the end surface of the flange portion 34 so as to protrude from the outer peripheral side of the packing member 40 along the extending direction of the packing member 40. Here, the water blocking wall portion 36 has four protrusions 36 a that extend linearly along the extending direction on each of the four sides of the flange portion 34, and each corner of the flange portion 34. In the portion, the water blocking wall portion 36 is interrupted. Each protrusion 36 a is formed at a position on the outer peripheral side of the end face of the flange portion 34 with respect to the position where the packing member 40 is to abut.

  The receiving recess 26 is formed in a groove shape into which the water blocking wall portion 36 can be fitted in the end surface of the opening peripheral edge portion 23 a of the front case portion 22. Here, the water blocking wall portion 36 has four concave grooves 26a corresponding to the protruding shapes of the protrusions 36a. These concave grooves 26a have a shape that allows the projections 36a to be fitted without gaps so that the positional relationship between the front case body 23 and the rear case body 32 can be kept constant. is doing. Accordingly, the water blocking wall portion 36 is fitted into the receiving recess 26 in a manner that keeps the front case portion 22 and the rear case portion 30 in a certain positional relationship. In addition, it is not necessary for all the protrusions 36a to fit into the respective concave grooves 26a without any gaps. For example, the protrusions 36a are fitted with the outer side surfaces of the respective protrusions 36a being in contact with the outer side surfaces of the respective concave grooves 26a. The front case portion 22 and the rear case portion 30 may be maintained in a fixed positional relationship with an overall fitting structure in which each protruding portion 36a is fitted in each concave groove 26a.

  In the waterproof case 20 configured as described above, the packing member 40 is interposed between the opening peripheral portion 23a and the flange portion 34 in a compressed state in the combined state of the front case portion 22 and the rear case portion 30. Become. The packing member 40 seals the front case main body 23 and the rear case main body 32 in a waterproof manner. Further, the water blocking wall portion 36 is fitted in the receiving recess 26 on the outer peripheral side of the packing member 40.

  For this reason, even when high-pressure water is applied to the joint portion between the front case portion 22 and the rear case portion 30 in the waterproof case 20 during high-pressure car washing or the like, the high-pressure water is first supplied to the water blocking wall portion 36. Therefore, the packing member 40 is less likely to be directly applied. For this reason, the shift | offset | difference etc. of the packing member 40 by high pressure water are prevented effectively, and the outstanding waterproofness can be acquired.

  In addition, since the water blocking wall portion 36, the receiving recess portion 26, and the like are incorporated in the joint portion between the front case portion 22 and the rear case portion 30, compared with a configuration in which a separate member is provided to prevent high-pressure water. And a compact configuration.

  In particular, since the water blocking wall portion 36 is configured to be fitted into the receiving recess portion 26, excellent waterproofness is obtained while reducing the gap between the joint portions of the front case portion 22 and the rear case portion 30 as much as possible. be able to.

  In addition, since the water blocking wall portion 36 fits into the receiving recess 26 in a manner that keeps the front case portion 22 and the rear case portion 30 in a certain positional relationship, there is a problem due to the positional relationship between the case portions 22 and 30. It can be effectively prevented.

  That is, it is assumed that the camera device using the waterproof case 20 is attached to the vehicle body via a bracket attached to the rear case portion 30, for example. Here, the image pickup means including the image pickup device 12 and the image pickup lens 14 is fixed to the front case portion 22. Then, even if the rear case part 30 is attached in a normal positional relationship with respect to the vehicle body, if the rear case part 30 and the front case part 22 are misaligned, the position of the imaging means is also relative to the vehicle body. On the other hand, the position is shifted from the normal position. Therefore, a positional shift between the rear case unit 30 and the front case unit 22 causes a shift in the imaging range. Therefore, by fitting the water blocking wall portion 36 into the receiving recess 26 and making the positional relationship between the case portions 22 and 30 constant, the visual field range can be kept constant, and the quality can be stabilized. Can be invited.

  In addition, in this embodiment, the water stop wall part 36 demonstrated the example which has interrupted in each corner part of the flange part 34, ie, the example which the water stop wall part 36 protrudes intermittently around the junction part. However, for example, the water blocking wall portion 36 may protrude continuously so as to surround the entire periphery of the joint portion. This can prevent the high-pressure water from being applied to the packing member 40 with respect to the front direction around the joint portion, and can obtain more excellent waterproof performance.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the water blocking wall portion 36 is formed on the rear case portion 30 side and the receiving recess portion 26 is formed on the front case portion 22 side has been described. A water blocking wall portion may be formed so as to protrude on the side, and a receiving recess that can be fitted into the rear case portion side may be formed.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, although the water stop wall part 36 demonstrated in the example fitted in the receiving recessed part 26, without exposing outside, the need does not necessarily exist. For example, the structure which the bottom part and the outer side part of the receiving recessed part 26 are opening, and the front-end | tip part and outer side surface of the water stop wall part 36 are exposed outside may be sufficient.

It is a side view which shows the waterproof case for camera apparatuses which concerns on this embodiment. It is a partially cutaway sectional view showing the waterproof case same as above. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the waterproof case same as the above from diagonally forward. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the waterproof case same as the above from diagonally backward.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Car-mounted camera 12 Image pick-up element 14 Imaging lens 20 Waterproof case 21 Case body 22 Front case part 23a Opening peripheral part 23b Packing accommodation groove 26 Receiving recessed part 30 Rear case part 34 Flange part 36 Water blocking wall part 40 Packing member

Claims (4)

A waterproof case for an in-vehicle camera installed outside the vehicle,
A case body having a first case portion and a second case portion and containing the imaging means;
A packing member that is interposed between the first case portion and the second case portion and waterproofly seals between the first case portion and the second case portion;
With
A waterproof case for an in-vehicle camera, wherein a water-preventing means for preventing water from being applied to the packing member from outside is provided at a portion between the first case portion and the second case portion. A waterproof case for a vehicle-mounted camera according to claim 1,
The moisture prevention means is
A water blocking wall portion formed so as to protrude from an outer peripheral position of the packing from any one of the joint portion of the first case portion and the joint portion of the second case;
A receiving recess formed in the other of the joining portion of the first case portion and the joining portion of the second case and capable of fitting the water blocking wall portion;
A waterproof case for an in-vehicle camera. A waterproof case for a vehicle-mounted camera according to claim 2,
A waterproof case for an in-vehicle camera, wherein the water blocking wall portion fits into the receiving recess in a manner that maintains the first case portion and the second case in a certain positional relationship. The camera apparatus which accommodated the imaging means in the waterproof case for vehicle-mounted cameras in any one of Claims 1-3.

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