JP2008126700A - Room mirror with etc built-in in-vehicle equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a room mirror with a constitution for preventing the presence or absence of the insertion of an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) card from being visually confirmed from the outside, to simplify a putting in/out operation of the ETC card by a user, and to simplify the constitution. <P>SOLUTION: A card connector unit 20 inserted and connected so that the ETC card 19 may be put in and out is provided in a housing 12 of the room mirror 11. In the card connector unit 20, a substrate 22, etc. is provided in a case 21, and a card insertion port 21a is arranged to face the just inside of an opening 12a of the housing 12. A cover 23 formed of an elastic member (ethylene-propylene-diene rubber member) is provided to cover the opening 12a. In the cover 23, a vertically long slit 24 having a width through which the ETC card 19 can be passed is formed. In the surrounding part of the slit 24 of the cover 23, chamfering parts 24a are formed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ETC on-board unit built-in room mirror having a mirror on the front surface of a housing and incorporating the ETC on-board unit in the housing.

  In recent years, the toll is automatically settled by road-to-vehicle communication (DSRC) between the ETC roadside equipment installed at the toll gate of a toll road such as an expressway and the ETC on-board equipment installed in the vehicle. The ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) system has become widespread. In this case, in order to install the ETC in-vehicle device in a compact and easy-to-operate place, the built-in ETC in-vehicle device in which components such as a card connector and an electronic board constituting the ETC on-vehicle device are incorporated in a vehicle interior mirror. Room mirrors have been commercialized.

  By the way, ETC in-vehicle devices are used by inserting an ETC card (IC card) possessed by a user, but many ETC cards have a credit function and are subject to theft. Therefore, in the ETC on-board device, it is desirable that the presence or absence of insertion of the ETC card is not visually recognized from the outside during use. Therefore, conventionally, in this type of ETC in-vehicle device built-in room mirror, a structure in which the ETC card is hidden by providing an opening / closing lid on the ETC card mounting part has been considered (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  FIGS. 8A and 8B show specific examples of the configuration of this type of ETC vehicle-mounted device built-in room mirror 1. This has a mirror 3 on the front surface of the housing 2 and a hinged lid 4 on the right side wall of the housing. As shown in FIG. 8B, when the lid 4 is manually opened rearward, the vertically long card insertion slot 5 and the eject button 6 are exposed. As a result, the user can open and close the ETC card 7 by opening the lid 4, and by closing the lid 4 as shown in FIG. The card insertion slot 5 (ETC card 7) is hidden.

As another configuration for preventing the presence / absence of card insertion from the outside, a card reader incorporated in a card-type public telephone may be provided with a shutter mechanism that automatically opens and closes the card insertion slot. (See, for example, Patent Document 2). The card reader includes a card transport mechanism that automatically transports the card from the card insertion slot to the back card reading position, and then automatically transports the card from the card reading position to the card discharge position. The card transport mechanism includes a transport roller, a drive mechanism such as a motor that drives the transport roller, and a plurality of sensors that detect a card (card position). The shutter mechanism operates in conjunction with a card transport mechanism.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-297369 Japanese Patent No. 2614023

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 8 described above, there remains room for improvement in terms of operability when the user inserts and removes the ETC card 7. That is, when the ETC card 7 is inserted, the user needs to open the lid 4, insert the ETC card 7 into the card insertion slot 5, and close the lid 4. When taking out the ETC card 7, the user needs to open the lid 4, operate the eject button 6, pull out the ETC card 7, and close the lid 4. In both cases, a plurality of user operations are required, which is troublesome.

  Even in the ETC on-board unit built-in room mirror, instead of providing the lid 4 that is manually opened and closed, a shutter mechanism that automatically opens and closes the card insertion slot is provided, as in the card reader of Patent Document 2 above. By doing so, good operability can be secured. However, the technique of Patent Document 2 is premised on a relatively large card reader provided with a card transport mechanism, and there are circumstances in which the configuration becomes complicated and the mechanism becomes larger. For this reason, it is unsuitable to apply to a room mirror with a built-in ETC on-vehicle device on the premise of a compact and relatively simple configuration.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a configuration for preventing the presence / absence of insertion of an ETC card from being visually recognized from the outside. An object of the present invention is to provide an ETC on-board unit built-in room mirror that can be simplified and can be simply configured.

  In order to achieve the above object, an ETC onboard unit built-in room mirror of the present invention has a card insertion slot for inserting an ETC card inside an opening formed in an outer wall of the housing, and the opening of the housing. Is covered with a cover made of an elastic member in which an ETC card passage slit is formed (invention of claim 1).

  According to this, since the card insertion slot and thus the inserted ETC card is located behind the slit of the cover in the housing, it is almost impossible to visually recognize whether or not the ETC card is inserted from the outside. It should be noted that if the cover has a sufficient thickness, it can be ensured that the ETC card is not inserted from the outside.

  In addition, when the user inserts and removes the ETC card, it is only necessary to insert and withdraw the ETC card through the slit of the cover, and an operation such as opening and closing of the lid is not necessary, so that the operability is improved accordingly. Can do. And it can be completed by the simple structure which only provides the cover which consists of an elastic member in the opening part of a housing, and can be completed without enlarging.

  In the present invention, the built-in ETC vehicle-mounted device can be provided with a substrate having a card processing circuit in a thin case provided with a card insertion slot. A recess for allowing elastic deformation of the cover when the cover is pushed inward together with the ETC card can be provided at the end of the board on the card insertion opening side (invention of claim 2). Thereby, since the space which allows the elastic deformation of the cover can be formed by the recesses formed in the case and the substrate, further space saving (total size reduction) can be achieved.

  Further, in the present invention, when the ETC card is a contact type IC card having a plurality of contact electrodes on the surface, the ETC card is in sliding contact with the inner surface of the slit of the cover relative to the surface of the contact electrode when the ETC card is inserted or removed. Thus, a wiping projection for removing dirt can be formed (invention of claim 3). Further, at this time, three wiping projections can be provided at positions corresponding to the contact electrodes (invention of claim 4).

  According to these, since the wiping convex part is formed on the cover, a function of wiping off the dirt on the surface of the contact electrode of the ETC card can be added, and convenience can be enhanced. At this time, if three wiping projections are provided, so-called contact between the wiping projections and the contact electrodes can be prevented, and the effect of removing dirt on each contact electrode can be improved.

  In the present invention, chamfered portions can be provided on both the front and back surfaces of the peripheral portion of the slit of the cover (invention of claim 5). As a result, the ETC card can be more smoothly inserted into the slit when the ETC card is inserted or removed.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG.5 and FIG.6 has shown the external appearance structure of the ETC onboard unit built-in room mirror 11 which concerns on a present Example. Here, the room mirror 11 includes a mirror 13 made of an anti-glare mirror, for example, on the front surface of a horizontally long, substantially rectangular box-shaped housing (case) 12 with rounded corners. Although not shown in detail, the housing 12 is configured by combining two cases divided into two at the front and rear.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the rearview mirror 11 is attached via a stay 15 to a bracket 14 attached to an upper portion of a vehicle windshield (not shown). At this time, the rear side of the rearview mirror 11 (housing 12) is attached to the stay 15 so that the angle can be adjusted. The bracket 14 is provided with an antenna (not shown) of the ETC vehicle-mounted device, and the bracket 14 and the room mirror 11 are connected by a wiring 16 including a signal line and a power supply line. As shown in FIG. 5, two ETC keys 17 and two ETC indicators 18 are provided on the front surface of the rearview mirror 11, for example, at the top of the mirror 13.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, a longitudinally long rectangular opening 12a is formed in the outer wall portion of the housing 12 of the room mirror 11, in this case, the right side wall portion. In the rearview mirror 11 (housing 12), as described below, an ETC vehicle-mounted device used in the ETC system is incorporated.

  Although not shown or described in detail, the ETC system is a so-called system between an ETC roadside device (communication device) installed at an interchange tollgate on a highway, for example, and an ETC in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle. By performing road-to-vehicle communication (narrow area communication called DSRC), the vehicle can pass through the toll gate without stopping, and the toll is automatically settled at that time. At this time, the ETC vehicle-mounted device can be used in a state where a known ETC card 19 (see FIG. 1) having a charge settlement function is inserted and connected.

  Now, the ETC vehicle-mounted device built in the rearview mirror 11 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. This ETC vehicle-mounted device includes a card connector unit 20 into which the ETC card 19 is inserted and connected so as to be able to be inserted and removed, and a wireless communication unit (a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication via a control circuit including a microcomputer and the like that controls the whole) These are not shown).

  Here, the ETC card 19 is a known contact type IC card in this case, and as shown in FIG. 1, at a predetermined position (upper left position) on the surface of the plastic card containing the IC chip, For example, it has a total of six (or eight) contact electrodes 19a. The contact electrodes 19a are arranged in three rows (or four rows) vertically and two rows horizontally. The ETC card 19 (IC chip) stores ID information, user information, and the like, and has a credit function.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the card connector unit 20 includes a substrate 22, a lock mechanism, and the like in a thin case 21 into which the ETC card 19 can be inserted. The case 21 has a thin rectangular box shape in the front and rear, and a card insertion port 21a for inserting (withdrawing) the ETC card 19 is provided on the right side wall portion thereof. At this time, the card connector unit 20 is disposed with respect to the housing 12 such that the card insertion slot 21a of the case 21 faces the inner side of the opening 12a.

  The substrate 22 is located inside the case 21 and has a plurality of contacts 22a (see FIG. 1) corresponding to the contact electrodes 19a of the ETC card 19, and with respect to the ETC card 19 via the contacts 22a. A card processing circuit (not shown) for reading and writing data is provided.

  At this time, a concave portion 21b having a gently curved shape (arc shape) is formed at the end portion (right side portion in the figure) of the case 21 on the card insertion opening 21a side. Further, the substrate 22 is formed so that a concave portion 22b having the same shape as the concave portion 21b is overlaid. These recesses 21b and 22b are provided to allow elastic deformation of the outer cover when a cover described later is pushed inward together with the ETC card 19.

  When the ETC card 19 is inserted to a predetermined set position in the case 21 (position where each contact electrode 19a is connected to each contact 22a), the lock mechanism holds the ETC card 19 in that position. At the same time, the spring force is accumulated by the insertion force. When an eject button (not shown) provided at the lower part of the card insertion slot 21a is pressed, the spring force is released and the ETC card 19 is moved outward (right in the figure) from the card insertion slot 21a. It is configured to discharge.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a cover 23 made of an elastic member is provided at the opening 12 a portion of the housing 12. The cover 23 is formed, for example, from EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene rubber) into a thick rectangular plate covering the opening 12a, and at a position corresponding to the card insertion slot 21a at the center. A vertically long slit 24 having a width through which the ETC card 19 can pass is formed. In this case, the cover 23 is configured to have a sufficiently large thickness dimension (for example, about 2 to 3 times) compared to the width dimension of the slit 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cover 23 is integrally formed with a fitting convex portion 23 a on the outer periphery thereof, and the fitting convex portion 23 a is formed on the opening 12 of the housing 12. The housing 12 can be attached by being fitted in a fitting groove 12b formed in the periphery. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, chamfered portions 24a and 24a are integrally formed around the slit 24 of the cover 23 so as to be positioned on both the front and back surfaces. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a push button portion 25 for pressing the eject button from the outside is integrally formed on the surface side of the cover 23.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When the user (driver) sets the ETC card 19 in the ETC vehicle-mounted device (card connector unit 20), as shown in FIG. 1, the ETC card 19 is inserted into the slit 24 of the cover 23 and pushed inward. To. As a result, the ETC card 19 is inserted into the case 21 through the card insertion slot 21a. At this time, since the chamfered portion 24 a is formed around the slit 24, the front end side portion of the ETC card 19 can be smoothly inserted.

  In order to insert the ETC card 19 to a predetermined set position, finally, as shown in FIG. 2, the user needs to push the rear side portion of the ETC card 19 together with the cover 23 with the finger F. At this time, since the recesses 21b and 22b are formed at the ends of the case 21 and the board 22 on the card insertion opening 21a side, respectively, a space allowing elastic deformation of the cover 23 can be secured, and the rubber The cover 23 is easily elastically deformed, and the user can insert the ETC card 19 to the set position. Further, when the user releases the pressing force of the finger F with the ETC card 19 inserted to the set position, the cover 23 returns to the original state.

  In this state, since the card insertion slot 21a and thus the inserted ETC card 19 are located behind the slit 24 of the cover 23 in the housing 11, it is almost impossible to visually recognize whether or not the ETC card 19 is inserted from the outside. It becomes possible. Therefore, even if the driver leaves the vehicle while the ETC card 19 is set in the ETC on-vehicle device, the presence or absence of the ETC card 19 is not known from the outside, so that the anti-theft effect can be obtained.

  Further, when the user takes out the ETC card 19, if the user pushes the push button portion 25 of the cover 23, the eject button is turned on, and the ETC card 19 is pushed out in the ejecting direction by the spring force, and a part of it is pushed. It is discharged to the outside through the slit 24 of the cover 23. Also at this time, the ETC card 19 easily passes through the slit 24 by the chamfered portion 24 a formed around the slit 24 of the cover 23. The user can easily pull out the ETC card 19 by pinching the part exposed to the outside from the slit 24 of the cover 23 of the ETC card 19.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the ETC on-board unit is built in the housing 12 of the rearview mirror 11, and the ETC card 19 is inserted by providing the cover 23 that covers the opening 12a of the housing 12. The presence or absence of can be prevented from being visually recognized from the outside. At this time, since the ETC card 19 can be taken in and out through the slit 24 of the cover 23, the opening and closing operation of the lid as described in the conventional example is not necessary, and the user can easily carry out the insertion and removal of the ETC card 19. Can be planned.

  Moreover, it is possible to use a simple configuration in which the cover 12 made of an elastic member is provided in the opening 12a of the housing 12, and it is possible to avoid an increase in size. In particular, in this embodiment, by providing the recesses 21b and 22b at the ends of the case 21 and the board 22 on the card insertion opening 21a side, a space allowing elastic deformation of the cover 23 can be formed. Further space saving (overall size reduction) can be achieved. Furthermore, since chamfered portions 24a are provided on both the front and back sides of the periphery of the slit 24 of the cover 23, insertion of the ETC card 19 into the slit 24 when inserting or removing the ETC card 19 is smoother. Advantages that can be made in the same way can also be obtained.

  FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the above embodiment is the structure of the cover 31. This cover 31 is also made of a molded product of an elastic member (rubber), like the cover 23 of the above embodiment, and is formed in a thick rectangular plate shape covering the opening 12a of the housing 12, A vertically long slit 32 having a width through which the ETC card 19 can pass is formed at a position corresponding to the card insertion slot 21a in the center. Further, chamfered portions 32 a and 32 a are integrally formed in the peripheral portion of the slit 32 on both the front and back surfaces.

  In this embodiment, a wiping convex portion 33 is integrally formed on the inner side of the slit 32 of the cover 31 to remove the dirt by sliding in contact with the surface of the contact electrode 19a when the ETC card 19 is inserted and removed. Has been. At this time, the three wiping convex portions 33 are provided at positions corresponding to the contact electrodes 19a in the three vertical rows.

  Thereby, when the ETC card 19 is put in and out, the contact electrode 19a slides on the wiping convex portion 33, so that dirt, foreign matter, and the like attached to the surface of the contact electrode 19a are wiped off. In this case, the provision of the three wiping projections 33 prevents the so-called one-sided contact between the wiping projections 33 and the contact electrodes 19a, and removes dirt on each contact electrode 19a. It will be excellent.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, the ETC card is not limited to a contact type, but a non-contact type that performs communication using an electromagnetic field or a combination type thereof. In addition, as a material of the above-mentioned cover, other rubbers such as EPM (ethylene-propylene rubber) may be adopted as appropriate. It can be implemented with modifications.

The longitudinal cross-sectional front view of the right-hand part of the housing of a room mirror with built-in ETC on-board unit showing one embodiment of the present invention FIG. 1 equivalent view showing a state where an ETC card is inserted Perspective view of cover part Cover front view Front view of room mirror Side view of room mirror Fig. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which a side view (a) and a longitudinal rear view (b) of a cover are shown. The ETC onboard unit built-in room mirror which concerns on a prior art example is shown, and the perspective view of the state (a) which closed the lid, and the state (b) which opened the lid

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 11 is an ETC on-board unit built-in room mirror, 12 is a housing, 12a is an opening, 13 is a mirror, 19 is an ETC card, 19a is a contact electrode, 20 is a card connector unit, 21 is a case, 21a is a card insertion Mouth, 23 and 31 are covers, 24 and 32 are slits, 24a and 32a are chamfered portions, and 33 is a wiping convex portion.

Claims (5)

In an ETC on-board unit built-in room mirror that is mounted on a vehicle and has a mirror on the front surface of the housing, and the ETC on-board unit is built in the housing,
An opening is formed in the outer wall of the housing, and a card insertion slot for inserting an ETC card of the ETC on-board unit is disposed inside the opening,
The ETC onboard unit built-in room mirror, wherein the opening of the housing is covered with a cover made of an elastic member in which a slit for passing the ETC card is formed. The ETC vehicle-mounted device includes a substrate having a card processing circuit to which the ETC card is connected in a thin case provided with the card insertion slot,
A recess for allowing elastic deformation of the cover when the cover is pushed inward together with the ETC card is formed at an end of the case and the board on the card insertion slot side. The room mirror with a built-in ETC device according to claim 1. The ETC card comprises a contact type IC card having a plurality of contact electrodes on the surface,
The wiping convex part for removing dirt by sliding relative to the surface of the contact electrode when the ETC card is inserted and removed is formed in an inner part of the slit of the cover. The room mirror with a built-in ETC device according to 1 or 2.   4. The ETC on-board unit built-in room mirror according to claim 3, wherein three wiping projections are provided at positions corresponding to the respective contact electrodes.   5. The ETC in-vehicle device built-in room mirror according to claim 1, wherein chamfered portions are provided on both the front and back surfaces of the periphery of the slit of the cover.

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