JP2010117314A - Mirror and periphery monitoring apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mirror and a periphery monitoring apparatus which maintains the mirror's original function of reflecting a visible light and have no effect on transmission of an electromagnetic wave irradiated by a radar apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The mirror is installed in front of an antenna of the radar apparatus and uses an indium- or tin-evaporated film formed on the surface of a transparent substrate as a light reflecting surface. The light reflecting surface faces an electromagnetic wave irradiating direction of the radar apparatus. The periphery monitoring apparatus includes the radar apparatus mounted onto a mobile body to detect an object in an outer detection range of the mobile body, and the mirror using the indium- or tin-evaporated film formed on the surface of the transparent substrate as the light reflecting surface, the light reflecting surface facing the electromagnetic wave irradiating direction of the radar apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mirror and a periphery monitoring device, and more particularly to a mirror mounted on a moving body and a periphery monitoring device that monitors the periphery of the moving body.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a vehicle periphery monitoring device that attaches a radar device to a vehicle and monitors the periphery of the vehicle to detect an object (for example, another vehicle or a person) has been put into practical use. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a vehicle periphery monitoring device that detects an overtaking vehicle in a range from the rear side to the side of a lane adjacent to the own lane. Specifically, the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a radar device mounted on a door mirror of a vehicle, and detects another vehicle as an object by transmitting and receiving radio waves using the radar device.
JP 2000-338237 A

  Here, it is naturally required that the radar apparatus must be installed without impairing the original function of the door mirror (the driver seated in the driver's seat can confirm the rear and rear sides). Therefore, this type of device is miniaturized so as not to obstruct the driver's field of view. For example, the second embodiment of Patent Document 1 employs a configuration in which a radar device is installed inside a door mirror outer shell case and radio waves are transmitted and received through the mirror.

  In addition, in the case of a device that transmits and receives radio waves through a mirror, characteristics that do not reflect or absorb radio waves transmitted and received from the radar while maintaining the original function of the mirror (a function that reflects visible light) are also required. .

  However, the mirror of the device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is not a material that reflects visible light throughout the radio wave. For this reason, there is a problem that the radio wave passing through the mirror is attenuated and the radar function cannot be fully exhibited.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to influence the transmission of electromagnetic waves emitted by the radar device while maintaining the original function of a mirror that reflects visible light. There is no need to provide a mirror and perimeter monitoring device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following configuration. That is, the first invention is a mirror installed in the vicinity of the antenna of the radar apparatus. The mirror includes a transparent substrate and a light reflecting surface of a vapor deposition film of indium or tin formed on the surface of the transparent substrate.

  A second invention is a periphery monitoring device that detects an object around a moving body. The perimeter monitoring device is mounted on the moving body and detects light within a detection range facing the outside of the moving body, and light reflection of a vapor deposition film of indium or tin formed on the surface of the transparent substrate. And a mirror including a surface. The light reflecting surface is directed in a direction in which the radar apparatus emits electromagnetic waves.

  In a third aspect based on the second aspect, the moving body is a vehicle. The periphery monitoring device is further provided with a drive device that is mounted at a position where the door mirror of the vehicle is mounted and drives the direction of the mirror up, down, left and right.

  In a fourth aspect based on the second aspect, the moving body is a vehicle. The periphery monitoring device further includes a drive device that is mounted at a position where the door mirror of the vehicle is mounted and drives the direction of the mirror up, down, left, and right. In addition, the mirror and the radar device have an integral structure.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, the light reflecting surface of the mirror is formed of a vapor deposition film of indium or tin, and the vapor deposition film easily transmits electromagnetic waves. Therefore, the mirror of the present invention does not affect the transmission of electromagnetic waves irradiated by, for example, the millimeter wave radar device. The deposited film of indium and tin reflects light having a wavelength in the visible light band as compared with a metal film (for example, copper (Cu) or silver (Ag)) generally used as a mirror reflection film. The rate is not inferior. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mirror that does not affect the transmission of the electromagnetic wave emitted by the radar device while maintaining the original function of the mirror to reflect visible light.

  According to the second aspect, the radar apparatus can be installed inside a mirror case (for example, a mirror case such as a door mirror or a fender mirror). Therefore, according to the present invention, not only a function as a mirror (a driver seated in the driver's seat can check the rear and rear sides), but also a radar function with the periphery of the moving body as a detection region is saved. A space surrounding monitoring device can be provided.

  According to the third aspect, the radar apparatus can be installed inside the mirror case of the door mirror. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a periphery monitoring device (door mirror) having the mirror original function and the radar function without changing from the appearance of a normal door mirror.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, for example, an integral structure in which the mirror is a part of the cover (radome) of the radar apparatus can be taken. Therefore, according to the present invention, for example, when the mirror and the radar installation are installed in the mirror case of the door mirror, it is not necessary to separately install the mirror and the radar apparatus, the number of operations is reduced, and the assembling performance is improved.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a mirror according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a periphery monitoring device using the mirror will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional structure of a mirror according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the mirror 1 has a structure in which a reflective film 12 is formed on one main surface of a transparent substrate 11, and a coating film 13 for protecting the reflective film 12 is formed thereon. ing. Specifically, the mirror 1 uses transparent glass as the transparent substrate 11, a metal film is formed on the transparent glass, and a well-known protective film is formed thereon.

  Here, the reflective film 12 will be described. The reflective film 12 is a metal film of indium (In) or tin (Sn). Specifically, the reflective film 12 is a vapor deposition film formed on the transparent substrate 11 by a dry method.

  Generally, a copper (Cu) or silver (Ag) metal film is often used as a reflective film of a mirror (reflecting mirror). However, the mirror 1 of the present invention provides a mirror that does not affect the transmission of electromagnetic waves passing through the mirror 1 while maintaining the original function of the mirror (reflects visible light), as will be apparent from the description below. The purpose is that. Therefore, the present applicant has found that indium (In) or tin (Sn) has less radio wave reflection loss compared to metals (eg, copper (Cu) or silver (Ag)) generally used as a reflective film of a mirror. This metal film was used as the reflective film 12 of the mirror 1.

  In addition, the metal film of indium (In) or tin (Sn) has a visible light band as compared with a metal film (for example, copper (Cu), silver (Ag)) generally used as a mirror reflection film. The reflectivity of light having a wavelength of is inferior, and the original function of the mirror (reflects visible light) can be maintained. That is, by using an indium (In) or tin (Sn) metal film as the reflective film 12 of the mirror 1, the electromagnetic wave passing through the mirror 1 while maintaining the original function of the mirror (reflects visible light). It is possible to create a mirror that does not affect the transmission of light.

  Next, the mirror 1 according to the present embodiment is used as a mirror of a door mirror of a vehicle (for example, an automobile), and the vehicle periphery monitoring device in which a radar is mounted inside the door mirror is used according to the present embodiment. The peripheral monitoring device will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of the vehicle periphery monitoring device when the vehicle periphery monitoring devices 2a and 2b according to the first embodiment are mounted on the vehicle VM. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle periphery monitoring devices 2a and 2b are installed so that a driver seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle VM can check the rear side. That is, the driver of the vehicle VM visually recognizes the rear side Sa and Sb of the vehicle VM by the mirror 1 provided in the vehicle periphery monitoring devices 2a and 2b.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an external structure of the vehicle periphery monitoring device 2a shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle periphery monitoring device 2 a includes a mirror case 3 and the above-described mirror 1, and includes a radar device 4 inside. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the external appearance of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 2a is the same as that of a normal door mirror. In other words, the vehicle periphery monitoring device 2a looks like a radar device is installed inside a normal left door mirror.

  That is, the vehicle periphery monitoring device 2a not only allows the driver to check the rear side by the mirror 1 in the vehicle periphery monitoring device 2a, but also the rear side of the vehicle VM ( The hatched area Sa) shown in FIG. 1 is monitored. In the following description, when the vehicle periphery monitoring devices 2a and 2b are not particularly distinguished, one of the vehicle periphery monitoring devices is referred to as a “vehicle periphery monitoring device 2”.

  Hereinafter, the internal structure of the vehicle periphery monitoring device 2 using the mirror 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  4 is a cross-sectional view of the cross section AB of FIG. 3 as viewed from the X direction, taking the vehicle periphery monitoring device 2a shown in FIG. 2 as an example. As shown in FIG. 4, the mirror case 3 includes a mirror 1, a radar device 4, and a driving device 5. In FIG. 4, detailed internal structures of the radar device 4 and the drive device 5 are not shown.

  The radar device 4 is for capturing an object by a radar, and is installed inside the mirror case 3. Further, since the radar device 4 captures an object existing on the rear side Sa of the vehicle VM, the antenna 41 of the radar device 4 is directed to the rear of the vehicle VM. Specifically, the radar device 4 detects an object by irradiating an electromagnetic wave from the antenna 41 of the radar device 4 toward the rear side of the vehicle VM, and detects an object present on the rear side Sa of the vehicle VM. The information including the speed, distance, and position is output to a control device provided in the vehicle VM.

  The electromagnetic wave transmitted and received by the radar apparatus 4 is assumed to be a millimeter wave that is not easily affected by the natural environment such as rain and has excellent object recognition. Therefore, it is preferable that the relative dielectric constant of the transparent substrate 11 (transparent glass) of the mirror 1 has a relative dielectric constant (ε) that can transmit electromagnetic waves having a wavelength (millimeter wave) transmitted and received by the radar apparatus 4. The thickness d of the transparent substrate 11 can be obtained by, for example, d = λ / (2 · √ε) (λ: wavelength, ε: relative dielectric constant). The preferred thicknesses of the transparent substrate 11, the reflective film 12 and the coating film 13 are not particularly limited. For example, the transparent substrate 11 is about 5 mm and the reflective film 12 is about 30 nm. The membrane 13 is about 10 μm.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, the mirror 1 and the radar apparatus 4 are united. In other words, the mirror 1 has an integral structure that is a part of the cover (radome) of the radar device 4. At this time, an appropriate gap is provided between the mirror 1 and the antenna 41 so that the mirror 1 (more specifically, the coating film 13 of the mirror 1) and the antenna 41 of the radar apparatus 4 do not contact each other. It has been.

  The drive device 5 is a known drive mechanism including a motor or the like provided to adjust the orientation of the mirror 1. The driver can appropriately adjust the position of the mirror 1 up, down, left, and right by driving the drive device 5 with a switch or the like provided in the passenger compartment of the vehicle VM, for example.

  Thus, since the mirror 1 has an integrated structure in which it is a part of the cover (radome) of the radar device 4, for example, when the mirror 1 and the radar device 4 are installed in the mirror case 3, There is no need to assemble the radar device 4 individually. Therefore, man-hours are remarkably reduced when the vehicle periphery monitoring device 2a is created, and the assemblability is improved.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a mirror according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a periphery monitoring device using the mirror will be described. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle periphery monitoring device 20a according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the mirror case 3 includes a mirror 1, a radar device 4, and a driving device 6. In FIG. 5, detailed internal structures of the radar device 4 and the driving device 6 are not shown.

  The driving device 6 drives only the mirror 1. For example, the driving device 6 is a known driving mechanism including a motor and the like. The driver can appropriately adjust the position of the mirror 1 in the vertical and horizontal directions by driving the driving device 6 with a switch or the like provided in the passenger compartment of the vehicle VM, for example.

  In the vehicle periphery monitoring device 2 a according to the first embodiment described above, the mirror 1 and the radar device 4 are integrated and installed inside the mirror case 3. On the other hand, in the vehicle periphery monitoring device 20 a according to this embodiment, the radar device 4 is fixed inside the mirror case 3. That is, in the vehicle periphery monitoring device 20a according to the present embodiment, the mirror 1 and the radar device 4 are separately installed in the mirror case 3 because the vehicle periphery monitoring device 2a according to the first embodiment described above. And different.

  Thus, by fixing the radar device 4 inside the mirror case 3, the radar axis adjustment of the radar device 4 becomes unnecessary. In the case where the mirror 1 and the radar device 4 are integrated as in the above-described example, when the mirror 1 is adjusted by the driver of the vehicle VM by the driving device 5, the radar device 4 also moves with the movement of the mirror 1. Will move. Therefore, every time the mirror 1 is adjusted, the radar axis of the radar device 4 needs to be adjusted. In this case, the radar apparatus 4 adjusts the axis of the radar with reference to the body side surface of the vehicle VM. Therefore, as in the vehicle periphery monitoring device 20a according to the second embodiment, the radar device 4 is fixed to the mirror case 3 (the mirror 1 and the radar device are individually installed), so that the radar accompanying the adjustment of the mirror 1 is achieved. Since the position of the apparatus 4 is not changed, the radar axis adjustment of the radar apparatus 4 is not necessary. Furthermore, since the axis adjustment of the radar is not required, for example, when the radar apparatus 4 is used, the object can be detected earlier by the time for which the axis adjustment has been performed.

  As described above, according to each embodiment, it is possible to provide a mirror that does not affect the transmission of electromagnetic waves emitted by a radar device while maintaining the original function (function of reflecting visible light) of a door mirror. Can do.

  Further, by using the mirror 1 according to the present invention, the radar device 4 can be installed inside a door mirror (mirror case). Therefore, not only a function as a door mirror (a driver seated in a driver's seat can check the rear and rear sides), but also a periphery monitoring device having a function as a radar that uses the rear and rear sides of the vehicle as detection areas. It can also be provided.

  Further, since the radar can be installed in the mirror case of the conventional door mirror, it can contribute to space saving.

  In the above-described embodiment, the automobile door mirror has been described as an example of a periphery monitoring device in which a radar device is installed inside the door mirror. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the periphery monitoring device is not limited to a door mirror, and may be used as a fender mirror, a side under mirror, or the like. In addition, although an automobile has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is conceivable to apply the periphery monitoring device to various moving bodies such as ships and railway vehicles. That is, when the apparatus which calculates | requires the original function of a mirror and the function of a radar is assumed, the mirror 1 of this invention can be used conveniently.

  The vehicle periphery monitoring devices 2b and 20b installed on the right side of the vehicle VM have the same configuration as the vehicle periphery monitoring devices 2a and 20a described above. Therefore, the description of the vehicle periphery monitoring devices 2b and 20b installed on the right side of the vehicle VM is omitted.

  The aspect described in the above embodiment is merely a specific example, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Therefore, it is possible to employ any configuration within a range where the effects of the present application are achieved.

  The mirror according to the present invention can be used for a mirror such as a door mirror having a function as a radar for the purpose of being used in a device that uses the function as a radar while maintaining the original function of the mirror. Further, the periphery monitoring device according to the present invention can be used for a door mirror having a function as a radar while maintaining the original function of the mirror.

The figure which showed the cross-section of the mirror which concerns on 1st Embodiment Arrangement of the vehicle periphery monitoring device when the vehicle periphery monitoring devices 2a and 2b according to the first embodiment are mounted on the vehicle VM The figure which showed the external structure of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 2a shown in FIG. Sectional drawing which looked at the cross section AB of FIG. 3 from the X direction Sectional drawing of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 20a which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mirror 11 ... Transparent substrate 12 ... Reflection film 13 ... Paint film 2a, 20a ... Vehicle periphery monitoring device 3 ... Mirror case 4 ... Radar device 41 ... Antenna 5, 6 ... Drive device

Claims (4)

A mirror installed near the antenna of the radar device,
A mirror comprising: a transparent substrate; and a light reflecting surface of a deposited film of indium or tin formed on the surface of the transparent substrate. A peripheral monitoring device that detects an object around a moving body,
A radar device mounted on the moving body and detecting an object within a detection range facing the outside of the moving body, and a mirror including a light reflecting surface of an indium or tin deposited film formed on the surface of the transparent substrate. Prepared,
The periphery monitoring device, wherein the light reflecting surface is directed in a direction in which the radar device emits electromagnetic waves. The moving body is a vehicle;
The periphery monitoring device according to claim 2, further comprising a drive device that is mounted at a position where the door mirror of the vehicle is mounted and that drives the direction of the mirror up, down, left, and right. The moving body is a vehicle;
The periphery monitoring device further includes a drive device that is mounted at a position where the door mirror of the vehicle is mounted, and drives the direction of the mirror up, down, left, and right.
The periphery monitoring device according to claim 2, wherein the mirror and the radar device have an integral structure.

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