JP2019077384A - Outer mirror for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an outer mirror for a vehicle capable of reducing air resistance during a vehicle travel.SOLUTION: An outer mirror 3 includes a base 10 fixed to a vehicle body 2, and a mirror module 11 including a camera 5 which can photograph a vehicle rear lateral side and is provided rotatably, and provided to a base 4 rotatably within a range from an opening position where the mirror module is spread along a vehicle width to a closing position where the mirror module is narrowed down along the vehicle width. The mirror module 11 includes a housing 20 which stores the camera 5, a first stepping motor 31 for rotational driving within the range from the opening position to the closing position, and a second stepping motor 32 for rotational driving of the camera 5, and the first stepping motor 31 and second stepping motor 32 are made to interlock so that when the mirror module 11 rotates, the camera 5 is maintained to face the vehicle rear lateral side with respect to the vehicle body 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an outer mirror of a vehicle capable of visually recognizing the rear side of the vehicle.

  An outer having a mirror base fixed to a side door of a vehicle body and a mirror housing suspended below the mirror base and provided with a camera rotatable around a rotation axis extending in the vertical direction on the mirror base The mirror is known (patent document 1). In addition, Patent Documents 2 to 8 exist as prior art documents related to the present invention.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2004-196208 JP, 2017-54056, A JP 2017-39377 JP, 2017-7474, A JP, 2016-94169, A JP, 2016-143117, A JP, 2015-74318, A JP, 2014-231333, A

  The outer mirror of Patent Document 1 is provided on a mirror base fixed to a vehicle body so that a camera protrudes upward. Therefore, the entire mirror including the camera becomes large, and the air resistance during traveling increases. Air resistance can be reduced by closing the mirror while shooting the rear side of the vehicle with a camera while the vehicle is traveling, but the air resistance of the camera mounted portion that protrudes upward does not change even if the mirror is closed.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the outer mirror of the vehicle which can reduce the air resistance in driving | running | working of a vehicle.

  The outer mirror of a vehicle according to an aspect of the present invention is an outer mirror of a vehicle that enables visual recognition of the rear side of the vehicle, and is capable of photographing a base fixed to a vehicle body and the rear side of the vehicle And a mirror module provided on the base in a rotatable state in a range from an open position extended in the vehicle width direction to a closed position narrowed in the vehicle width direction, including a camera provided rotatably. And the mirror module includes a housing for housing the camera, a first step motor for rotationally driving within a range from the open position to the closed position, and a second for rotationally driving the camera. A stepper motor, and the first stepper motor and the front so that the orientation of the camera with respect to the vehicle body is maintained on the rear side of the vehicle when the mirror module rotates. In which further comprising a control means for interlocking the second step motor.

The figure which showed the state which looked at the vehicle to which the outer mirror which concerns on one form of this invention was applied from the vehicle upper side. The figure which showed the state which looked at the vehicle of FIG. 1 from the vehicle left side. The figure which showed the state which looked at the outer mirror of FIG. 1 from the vehicle back side. Sectional drawing regarding the IV-IV line of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. Sectional drawing regarding the VI-VI line of FIG. 7 (closed position). The figure which showed the state seen from the arrow VII direction of FIG. The flowchart which showed an example of the control routine which concerns on one form of this invention. The continuation flow chart of FIG. Explanatory drawing which showed the content of the other form of this invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle 1 is configured as a four-wheeled vehicle. In FIG. 1 and other drawings, arrow Fr indicates the front of the vehicle, arrow Rr indicates the rear of the vehicle, arrow R indicates the right side of the vehicle, L indicates the left side of the vehicle, U indicates the upper side of the vehicle, and D indicates the lower side of the vehicle. A pair of left and right outer mirrors 3 is provided as a door mirror on the vehicle body 2 of the vehicle 1 so as to be integrally movable with the left and right vehicle doors 4. Each outer mirror 3 enables the driver to visually recognize the rear side of the vehicle, and incorporates a camera 5 for photographing the rear side of the vehicle. A photographed image of the camera 5 is displayed on a monitor (not shown) mounted in a cabin of the vehicle 1. Therefore, the driver of the vehicle 1 can confirm the condition on the rear side of the vehicle not only by the confirmation by the physical mirror but also by the monitor image.

  Each outer mirror 3 can rotate within a range from an open position shown in solid lines in FIGS. 1 and 2 and extended in the vehicle width direction to a closed position shown in two-dot chain lines and narrowed in the vehicle width direction. When each outer mirror 3 is in the closed position, the projected area from the front of the vehicle is smaller than in the case of the open position, so that the air resistance during traveling can be reduced. As will be described later, the orientation of the camera 5 with respect to the vehicle body 2 is maintained on the rear side of the vehicle regardless of the open position and the closed position of the outer mirror 3. Therefore, the air resistance during traveling can be reduced by closing the outer mirror 3 while the vehicle 1 is traveling while confirming the condition on the rear side of the vehicle on the monitor image.

  The vehicle 1 can perform so-called auto cruise control and automatic driving control. When such control is carried out, it is suitable for traveling with the outer mirror 3 closed since the burden of confirmation on the rear side of the vehicle by the driver is small. However, even when the auto cruise control or the like is performed, the confirmation by the monitor image can be used together with the confirmation by the physical mirror according to the traveling condition of the vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 is provided with a rear camera 7 for capturing the rear of the vehicle. A composite image may be generated by combining the image of the rear camera 7 and the image of the camera 5 of the outer mirror, and the image may be used as a monitor image.

  Each outer mirror 3 is symmetrical to the left and right, so the following description will be made on the outer mirror 3 on the right side of the vehicle unless otherwise specified. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the outer mirror 3 includes a base 10 fixed to the vehicle body 2 and a mirror module 11 rotatably provided relative to the base 10 with an axis Ax1 extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle. Is equipped.

  The mirror module 11 has a mirror member 15 having a mirror surface 15a, a mirror support 16 for supporting the mirror member 15, a frame 17 to which the mirror support 16 is attached, and a lens 5a. Of the mirror support 11, the frame 17, and the camera 5 with the camera 5 rotatably provided as the center, the bracket 18 (FIG. 4) for attaching the camera 5 to the frame 17, and the mirror member 15 exposed. It includes a housing 20 covering each of them, and a visor portion 21 formed to surround the mirror member 15 and coupled to the housing 20 from the vehicle rear side.

  The mirror member 15 has a mirror holder 23 that covers the back surface side of the mirror surface 15 a, and the mirror holder 23 is fixed to the mirror support 16. The mirror support 16 supports the mirror member 15 from the rear surface side of the mirror surface 15a such that the mirror surface 15a is directed to the rear of the vehicle. The mirror support 16 includes a coupling portion 24 coupled to the mirror holder 23 of the mirror member 15, and an electric actuator 25 interposed between the frame 17 and the coupling portion 24. The actuator 25 is provided to adjust the direction of the mirror member 15 vertically and horizontally.

  The mirror module 11 further includes a first step motor 31 for rotationally driving within the range from the open position to the closed position, and a second step motor 32 for rotationally driving the camera 5. The first step motor 31 includes a fixed portion 31 a fixed to the base 10 and a movable portion 31 b disposed on the inner periphery of the fixed portion 31 a and coupled to the frame 17. The second step motor 32 includes a fixed portion 32a fixed to the frame 17, and a movable portion 32b disposed on the inner periphery of the fixed portion 32a and coupled to the bracket 18 on which the camera 5 is mounted. The housing 20 and the visor unit 21 are long holes having a size corresponding to the rotation range of the camera 5 so that the view of the lens 5 a is not blocked by the housing 20 and the visor unit 21 when the camera 5 is rotated. An opening 35 is formed.

  The first step motor 31 and the second step motor 32 are controlled by an electronic control unit (ECU) 40 (see FIG. 1) configured as a computer for controlling each part of the vehicle 1. The ECU 40 interlocks the first step motor 31 and the second step motor 32 when a request for closing or opening the outer mirror 3 is generated according to the operation of the mirror open / close switch 41 by the driver of the vehicle 1 or the traveling condition of the vehicle 1 Let

  For example, when the ECU 40 changes the outer mirror 3 from the open position to the closed position in response to a request for closing the outer mirror 3, the direction of the camera 5 with respect to the vehicle body 2 determined when the outer mirror 3 is in the open position is made constant. While maintaining it, the first step motor 31 and the second step motor 32 are interlocked so that the outer mirror 3 changes from the open position to the closed position. In this case, the step motors 31 and 32 are interlocked so that the change amount of the rotation angle θ1 of the first step motor 31 shown in FIG. 6 and the change amount of the rotation angle θ2 of the second step motor 32 become equal. . In the case of the right outer mirror 3, the rotation angle θ1 is defined as a clockwise rotation angle from a reference line L0 extending in the vehicle width direction and orthogonal to the axis Ax1, and the rotation angle θ2 is fixed to the mirror module 11 and the axis It is defined as a rotation angle of the optical axis C of the camera 5a counterclockwise from a reference line Ls orthogonal to Ax2.

  In addition, as an example of another control, each step motor 31, 32 can be controlled in consideration of the fact that the positions of the camera 5 in the vehicle width direction and the vehicle longitudinal direction are different between the open position and the closed position. . In this case, the ECU 40 corrects the direction of the camera 5 so that the positional deviation of the imaging range of the camera 5 caused by the movement of the camera 5 in the vehicle width direction and the vehicle longitudinal direction accompanying the rotation of the mirror module 11 is eliminated. The respective step motors 31, 32 are interlocked with each other. In this control, since the positional shift of the imaging range of the camera 5 does not occur even when the outer mirror 3 rotates, it is possible to prevent the driver of the vehicle 1 who confirms the monitor image from feeling uncomfortable.

  In any of these controls, the ECU 40 interlocks the stepper motors 31 and 32 so that the direction of the camera 5 with respect to the vehicle body 2 is maintained on the rear side of the vehicle when the outer mirror 3 rotates.

  The open / close control of the outer mirror 3 is provided with a manual mode in which the driver of the vehicle 1 operates the open / close switch 41 and an automatic mode automatically implemented according to the traveling conditions of the vehicle 1. It can be selected by the driver. When the driver selects the automatic mode, the ECU 40 outputs information on the traveling environment of the vehicle 1 such as urban area, traffic congestion, interchange etc. based on the output signal of the information detection means such as the navigation system, surrounding area monitoring sensor, radar, clearance sonar etc. get. Then, the ECU 40 controls the outer mirror 3 to the open position so that the physical mirror and the monitor image can be used in combination when it is determined that securing of the wide backward field of view is suitable based on the acquired information. On the other hand, when the auto cruise control and the automatic driving control are performed, since the confirmation load on the rear side of the vehicle is small, the ECU 40 controls the outer mirror 3 to the closed position. However, even in this case, the combination of the physical mirror and the monitor image may be suitable as in the case where raindrops easily attach to the lens 5a of the camera 5 due to weather conditions etc. or when the lens 5a is soiled. Therefore, it is possible to switch from the automatic mode to the manual mode by the operation of the open / close switch 41 of the driver.

  The ECU 40 changes the rotational speeds of the step motors 31 and 32 according to the conditions when performing the opening and closing control. For example, when the opening operation is performed in order to widen the rear view in conjunction with the blinking of the direction indicator 45 shown in FIG. 1, the ECU 40 increases the current value more than that in the other cases. The rotation speed of can be increased. As a result, it is possible to quickly widen the field of view by a lane change or the like in which the direction indicator 45 operates. Further, when the load applied to the outer mirror 3 changes due to the wind pressure acting on the outer mirror 3 at the time of acceleration of the vehicle 1, etc., the ECU 40 changes the current value of each step motor 31, 32 according to the load change. By doing this, the rotational speed of each step motor 31, 32 is stabilized.

  Although the above describes the opening and closing control while the vehicle 1 is traveling, the opening and closing control different from the above is performed except during traveling such as when the vehicle 1 is parked. For example, the ECU 40 automatically locks the outer mirror 3 in the open position when the outer mirror 3 is in the open position when a door lock (not shown) provided on the vehicle door 4 is locked with parking of the vehicle 1. Control to the closed position. In this case, the ECU 40 operates only the first step motor 31 to operate the outer mirror 3 to the closed position without maintaining the direction of the camera 5 to the rear side of the vehicle as in the opening / closing control during traveling. As a result, when the outer mirror 3 is in the closed position, the camera 5 is in the resting state in which the camera 5 is directed in the vehicle width direction. When the door lock provided on the vehicle door 4 is locked with the parking of the vehicle 1 in the state where the outer mirror 3 is in the closed position, the ECU 40 operates only the second step motor 32 to face the rear side of the vehicle The turned camera 5 is rotated in the vehicle width direction to be in a rest state.

  An example of a control routine for open / close control implemented by the ECU 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. The programs of the control routine shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are held by the ECU 40, read out in a timely manner, and repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals.

  In step S1, the ECU 40 unlocks the door lock of the vehicle door 4 in response to a predetermined unlocking request. In step S2, the ECU 40 determines whether the ignition switch I / G is ON. If the ignition switch I / G is ON, the process proceeds to step S3. If not, the process proceeds to step S12 of FIG.

  In step S3, the ECU 40 determines whether the automatic mode is ON for open / close control of the outer mirror 3, that is, whether the selection switch 41 has been operated. If the automatic mode is ON, the processing of steps S4 to S7 for the automatic operation mode is executed. If not so, the processing is skipped to step S8 to step S9 because the mode is the manual mode. move on.

  In step S4, the ECU 40, as vehicle information of the vehicle 1, includes, for example, the vehicle speed, the operating state of the direction indicator 45, the presence or absence of auto cruise control or automatic driving control, the presence or absence of surrounding obstacles, the traveling load of the vehicle 1, etc. It acquires by referring to the output signal of the information detection means and the execution result of another control routine executed by the ECU 40 in parallel with this control routine.

  In step S5, the ECU 40 detects each rotation angle of the first step motor 31 and the second step motor 32, and grasps the outer mirror 3 at the time of the processing.

  In step S6, the ECU 40 makes an open request or the outer mirror 3 for controlling the outer mirror 3 to the open position based on the vehicle information acquired in step S4 and the rotation angle of each step motor 31, 32 detected in step S5. It is determined whether there is a closing request for controlling the closing position.

  In step S7, the ECU 40 sets the operation amount and the operation speed of the outer mirror 3 according to the presence or absence of the opening / closing request in step S6, that is, the number of steps for driving each step motor 31, 32 and the driving current value.

  In step S8, the ECU 40 determines whether there is an open request for the outer mirror 3. If there is an open request, the ECU 40 executes an open operation to control the outer mirror 3 to the open position in step S9. It returns to step S3. The opening operation is performed by interlocking the step motors 31 and 32 such that the direction of the camera 5 is maintained on the rear side of the vehicle as described above.

  In step 10, the ECU 40 determines whether there is a request for closing the outer mirror 3. If there is a request for closing, the closing operation for controlling the outer mirror 3 to the closed position is performed in step S11. It returns to step S3.

  In step S12 of FIG. 9, the ECU 40 turns the ignition switch I / G off. In the following step S13, the ECU 40 determines whether or not the door lock of the vehicle door 4 is locked, and suspends the process until the door lock is locked. When the door lock is locked, the process proceeds to step S14, and the ECU 40 detects the rotation angle of each step motor 31, 32.

  In step S15, the ECU 40 determines a request for closing the outer mirror 3. When the vehicle 1 is parked, the control is performed such that the outer mirror 3 is in the closed position and the camera 5 is in the above-described resting state in which the vehicle 5 is directed in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, whether or not the outer mirror 3 is in the open position when the door lock is locked is determined based on the rotation angle of each step motor 31, 32 detected in step S14.

  If there is a request for closing, the process proceeds to step S18, and the ECU 40 drives only the first step motor 31 to control the outer mirror 3 to the closed position, thereby putting the outer mirror 3 in the inactive state. On the other hand, when there is no request for closing, the process proceeds to step S19, and only the second step motor 32 is driven to direct the camera 5 in the vehicle width direction, thereby putting the outer mirror 3 in the idle state. And this routine is finished.

(Effect of this form)
According to the outer mirror 3 of the present embodiment, when the outer mirror 3 rotates, the direction of the camera 5 is maintained to the rear side of the vehicle. Therefore, even after the outer mirror 3 is closed, the image captured by the camera 5 The vehicle 1 can be run while confirming the side. The camera 5 is housed in the housing 20, and there is no projecting portion or the like due to the mounting of the camera 5, so that the air resistance during traveling of the vehicle can be reduced. Further, an impact due to an external force such as a stepping stone is applied to the housing 20, and such an impact is not directly applied to the camera 5, which is advantageous in terms of preventing the camera 5 from being damaged.

  Even during execution of the automatic mode, the driver can switch to the manual mode as needed by the operation of the selection switch 41. Therefore, according to the ease and necessity of securing the visibility on the rear side of the vehicle It is possible to change the attitude.

  Since the rear side of the vehicle can be confirmed with the outer mirror 3 in the closed position when the vehicle 1 moves backward, etc., driving of the vehicle 1 becomes easy when the distance to the periphery of the vehicle 1 is narrow.

  When the vehicle 1 is parked, the outer mirror 3 is in the closed position and the camera 5 is controlled to a resting state in which it is directed in the vehicle width direction, so that the lens 5a of the camera 5 can be prevented from being damaged by an external force during parking.

  Since the rotational speeds of the step motors 31 and 32 are changed in accordance with the situation of the vehicle 1, the outer mirror 3 can be opened faster than usual in the case of a lane change of the vehicle 1 or the like. Moreover, it can suppress that the opening / closing speed of the outer mirror 3 becomes unstable by the influence of a wind pressure, while the vehicle 1 is traveling.

(Other forms)
It is also possible to display on the monitor a composite image obtained by combining the image captured by the camera 5 provided on each outer mirror 3 and the image captured by the rear camera 7 mounted on the vehicle 1. This form is to avoid that an unnatural composite image is generated by the rotation of the outer mirror 3.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a composite reference position Pc, which is a reference when generating and adjusting a composite image at the rear of the vehicle, is set at a position away from the rear camera 7 of the vehicle 1 by an adjustment distance Dc. An image Irc of the rear camera 7 is an image of a range in which a straight line L1 extending in the vehicle width direction through the combined reference position Pc intersects the angle of view Ar of the rear camera 7. Similarly, the image Imc of the camera 5 built in the left and right outer mirrors 3 is also an image of a range in which the straight line L1 intersects the angle of view Ac of the camera 5 or the angle of view Ao. A composite image is generated by joining these images at junction Jp. As described above, when the outer mirror 3 changes from the open position to the closed position, the position of the camera 5 in the vehicle width direction moves inward in the vehicle width direction, and the position of the camera 5 in the vehicle longitudinal direction moves rearward of the vehicle. Therefore, if the orientation of the camera 5 with respect to the vehicle body 2 is maintained constant while the outer mirror 3 changes from the open position to the closed position, the images Imc of the left and right cameras 5 become images shifted inward in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the composite image generated in this case is an unnatural image in which the image Imc of the left and right cameras 5 and the image Irc of the rear camera 7 partially overlap at the junction Jp.

  Therefore, when the ECU 40 generates a composite image of the rear of the vehicle, the rotation angle θ1 of the outer mirror 3 is set so that the end E on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the images Imc of the left and right cameras 5 matches the joint Jp (see FIG. The rotation angle θ2 of the camera 5 with respect to 6) is set. Thus, even when the rotation angle θ2 of the camera 5 changes from the rotation angle θ2o of the open position to the rotation angle θ2c of the closed position, the end E of the image Imc of the camera 5 and the image Irc of the rear camera 7 Since they do not overlap, it is possible to avoid the generation of an unnatural composite image in which they overlap.

(Modification)
Although each said form is applied to a vehicle as an outer mirror as a door mirror, it can also be changed into the form applied to a vehicle as an fender mirror.

  Aspects of the present invention derived from each of the above-described embodiment and modification will be described below.

  The outer mirror of a vehicle according to an aspect of the present invention is an outer mirror of a vehicle that enables visual recognition of the rear side of the vehicle, and is capable of photographing a base fixed to a vehicle body and the rear side of the vehicle And a mirror module provided on the base in a rotatable state in a range from an open position extended in the vehicle width direction to a closed position narrowed in the vehicle width direction, including a camera provided rotatably. And the mirror module includes a housing for housing the camera, a first step motor for rotationally driving within a range from the open position to the closed position, and a second for rotationally driving the camera. A stepper motor, and the first stepper motor and the first stepper motor are arranged such that the orientation of the camera with respect to the vehicle body is maintained on the rear side of the vehicle when the mirror module rotates. In which further comprising a control means for interlocking the step motor. For example, in each of the above-described modes and modifications, the ECU 40 corresponds to an example of the control means.

  According to the outer mirror of this aspect, since the direction of the camera is maintained to the rear side of the vehicle when the outer mirror rotates, the rear side of the vehicle is confirmed by the image captured by the camera even when the outer mirror is closed. You can drive the vehicle while. The camera is housed in a housing, and there is no projecting portion or the like due to mounting of the camera, so that the air resistance can be reduced while the vehicle is traveling.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 vehicle 2 vehicle body 3 outer mirror 5 camera 10 base 11 mirror module 20 housing 31 1st step motor 32 2nd step motor 40 ECU (control means)

Claims (1)

It is an outer mirror of a vehicle that enables visual recognition of the rear side of the vehicle,
A base fixed to the vehicle body,
The camera is capable of photographing the rear side of the vehicle and includes a rotatably provided camera, which can rotate within a range from an open position extended in the vehicle width direction to a closed position narrowed in the vehicle width direction A mirror module provided on the base in a state of
The mirror module includes a housing for housing the camera, a first step motor for rotationally driving within the range from the open position to the closed position, and a second step motor for rotationally driving the camera. Contains and
The outer of the vehicle further comprises control means for interlocking the first step motor and the second step motor such that when the mirror module rotates, the orientation of the camera with respect to the vehicle body is maintained on the rear side of the vehicle. mirror.

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