JP2020093569A - Camera bracket and seal - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a camera bracket which enables a camera to be attached to a non-flat position, and to provide a seal.SOLUTION: A camera bracket includes: a camera bracket body having a bottom part along a first flat surface, a wall part along a second flat surface which is not in parallel with the first flat surface, and a first curved part which curves, is connected to the bottom part at one side, and connected to the wall part at the other side; and a seal member having a first portion along a third flat surface, a second portion along a fourth flat surface which is not in parallel with the third flat surface, and a second curved part which curves, is connected to the first portion at one side, and connected to the second portion at the other side, the seal member located at the inner side of the first curved part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a camera bracket and a seal used when mounting a camera on a vehicle.

In recent years, a camera has been attached to a vehicle so that the driver or the vehicle itself can recognize the situation around the vehicle. For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a camera is attached to a vehicle via a camera bracket.

If rainwater, dust, or the like enters through the gap between the camera bracket and the vehicle, the camera, which is an electronic component, may be adversely affected. Therefore, it has been conventionally performed to interpose a seal between the camera bracket and the vehicle.

JP, 2003-2115, A

In recent years, the exterior design of a vehicle has become more and more important, and the position to be confirmed by a camera is spreading not only to the rear of the vehicle but also to the entire side of the vehicle such as the side of the vehicle and the front of the vehicle. On the other hand, usually, when the appearance design of the vehicle is emphasized, it is preferable that the camera is mounted at a position that is invisible or hard to see. Therefore, it may be necessary to mount the camera at a position having a complicated shape instead of being flat.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a camera bracket and a seal that allow the camera to be attached to a position that is not flat.

A camera bracket according to the present invention has a bottom portion along a first plane and a wall portion along a second plane that is not parallel to the first plane, and is curved, and one side is connected to the bottom portion and the other side. A camera bracket body having a first curved portion whose side is connected to the wall portion, a first portion along a third plane, and a second portion along a fourth plane that is not parallel to the third plane. And a second curved portion that is curved and has one side connected to the first portion and the other side connected to the second portion, and inside the first curved portion. And a sealing member located therein.

A seal according to the present invention has a first portion along a first plane, a second portion along a second plane that is not parallel to the first plane, and a curved shape, and one side is the above-mentioned first side. A curved portion connected to the first portion and the other side connected to the second portion.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a camera bracket and a seal that allow a camera to be attached to a position that is not flat.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a camera module attached to the rear of the vehicle as seen from the rear side according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the camera module attached to the rear of the vehicle according to the present embodiment as viewed from the vehicle side (front side). FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the camera bracket body according to the same embodiment, as viewed from the rear side. FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the camera bracket body according to the same embodiment as viewed from the vehicle side (front side). FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the seal member according to the same embodiment as seen from the vehicle side (front side). FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the seal member taken along the virtual plane E shown in FIG. 3A. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a state in which the camera module according to the same embodiment is attached to a vehicle panel. FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the close contact between the seal member and the camera bracket body, and the seal member and the vehicle panel according to the same embodiment. FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a state before the camera module according to the same embodiment is attached to the vehicle panel. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a state after the camera module according to the same embodiment is attached to the vehicle panel.

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a camera module 100 attached to the rear of a vehicle as seen from the rear side. FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the camera module 100 as viewed from the vehicle side (front side).

The camera module 100 includes a camera 101 and a camera bracket 102. The camera 101 is for imaging the rear of the vehicle. The camera bracket 102 is a fixture used when attaching the camera 101 to a vehicle panel 130 (see FIG. 4) of a vehicle. The vehicle panel 130 will be described in detail later.

The camera bracket 102 includes a camera bracket body 110 and a seal member 120. The camera bracket body 110 is a member that holds the camera 101 and is attached to the vehicle panel 130. The seal member 120 is a member attached to the camera bracket body 110 in order to seal between the camera bracket body 110 and the vehicle panel 130.

The seal member 120 can be separated from the camera bracket body 110. The camera bracket body 110 and the seal member 120 may be integrally formed.

The camera bracket body 110 is composed of a camera mounting portion 111 and a vehicle connecting portion 112. The camera 101 is fastened to the camera mounting portion 111 by fastening means such as screws. The seal member 120 is attached to the vehicle connecting portion 112 by a fixing means such as adhesion or fitting.

Next, the camera bracket body 110 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the camera bracket body 110 as seen from the rear side. FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the camera bracket body 110 as viewed from the vehicle side (front side).

As shown in FIG. 2A, the camera mounting portion 111 is formed with a screw hole 111a for mounting the camera 101 and an insertion hole 111b for inserting the insertion portion 101a (see FIG. 4) of the camera 101.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the vehicle connecting portion 112 has a bottom portion 113, a wall portion 114, and a curved portion 115.

A mounting plate 113a is formed on the bottom 113. The mounting plate 113a is an engaging portion for mounting the seal member 120 to the camera bracket body 110.

The wall 114 has a hook hole 114a, a plurality of hooks 114b, and a wiring hole 118.

The hook hole 114a is formed in the center of the upper portion of the wall 114. The hook hole 114a is an engaged portion for attaching the seal member 120 to the camera bracket body 110.

On the vehicle side surface of the wall portion 114, one hook 114b is formed on each of the left and right sides of the wall portion 114, and one hook is formed on the lower side. The hook 114b is an object engagement portion for forming an engagement state with the object to be attached when the camera bracket body 110 is attached to the object to be attached. In the present embodiment, the object to be attached is the vehicle panel 130. In this embodiment, the hook 114b elastically engages with the vehicle panel 130 when the camera bracket body 110 is attached to the vehicle.

The camera bracket body 110 is provided with an insert nut 117.

The wiring hole 118 is formed in the central portion of the wall portion 114 so as to communicate with the insertion hole 111b. The wiring hole 118 is a hole for introducing a cable or the like connected to the insertion portion 101a of the camera 101 into the vehicle.

The curved portion 115 has a curved shape, and the radius of curvature of the inner peripheral side surface of the curved portion 115 is R1. The curved portion 115 connects the bottom portion 113 and the wall portion 114. More specifically, the curved portion 115 has one side connected to the bottom 113 and the other side connected to the wall 114. At this time, the curved portion 115 connects the bottom portion 113 and the wall portion 114 such that the angle formed by the virtual plane A along which the bottom portion 113 extends and the virtual plane B along which the wall portion 114 extends is α1. Hereinafter, the angle α1 will be referred to as a bracket angle.

Further, the curved portion 115 is formed with an engagement hole 115a. The engagement hole 115a is an engaged portion for attaching the seal member 120 to the camera bracket body 110.

The camera bracket body 110 is made of resin. However, the camera bracket body 110 does not necessarily have to be made of resin.

Next, the seal member 120 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the seal member 120 as viewed from the vehicle side (front side). FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the seal member 120 taken along the virtual plane E shown in FIG. 3A.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the seal member 120 has a lower portion 121, an upper portion 122, and two curved portions 123, 123, and a through hole 126 is formed by these. The hook 114b is inserted into the through hole 126 when the seal member 120 is attached to the camera bracket body 110. The lower portion 121, the upper portion 122, and the curved portion 123 are portions that contact the bottom portion 113, the wall portion 114, and the curved portion 115 when the seal member 120 is attached to the camera bracket body 110, respectively. It should be noted that the through hole 126 need not be as large as shown in FIG. 3A, as long as the cable connected to the hook 114b and the camera 101 can be inserted therethrough.

The lower portion 121 has a connecting portion 121a and two extending portions 121b. One end of the connecting portion 121a is connected to the one extending portion 121b, and the other end is connected to the other extending portion 121b. The connecting portion 121a has a mounting hole 121d. The attachment hole 121d is a hole into which the attachment plate 113a is inserted when the seal member 120 is attached to the camera bracket body 110. The connecting portion 121a may be formed with an engaging portion such as a mounting plate, and the bottom portion 113 may be formed with an engaged portion such as a mounting hole.

The upper portion 122 has a connecting portion 122a and two extending portions 122b. One end of the connecting portion 122a is connected to the one extending portion 122b, and the other end is connected to the other extending portion 122b. The connecting portion 122a has a flap 122d. The flap 122d is fitted into the hook hole 114a when the seal member 120 is attached to the camera bracket body 110. In addition, an engaged portion such as a hook hole may be formed in the connecting portion 122a, and an engaging portion such as a flap may be formed in the wall portion 114.

The curved portion 123 has a curved shape, and the radius of curvature of the outer peripheral side surface of the curved portion 123 is R2 and the radius of curvature of the inner peripheral side surface thereof is R3. The radius of curvature R3 on the inner peripheral side of the curved portion 123 is set to a radius of curvature that allows the seal member 120 to closely contact the camera module 100 and the vehicle panel 130 when the camera module 100 is mounted on the vehicle panel 130. There is.

The curved portion 123 connects the lower portion 121 and the upper portion 122. More specifically, one end of the one curved portion 123 is connected to the extending portion 121b of the lower portion 121, and the other end of the one curved portion 123 is connected to the extending portion 122b of the upper portion 122. To do. Similarly, the end portion of the other curved portion 123 also connects the extending portion 121b of the lower portion 121 and the extending portion 122b of the upper portion 122. At this time, the curved portion 123 is connected such that the angle formed by the virtual plane C along which the lower portion 121 extends and the virtual plane D along which the upper portion 122 extends is angle α2. The angle α2 is called a seal angle.

A pin 123a is formed on the curved portion 123. The pin 123a is engaged with the engagement hole 115a when the seal member 120 is attached to the camera bracket body 110. The curved portion 123 of the seal member 120 may be provided with an engaged portion such as an engagement hole, and the curved portion 115 of the camera bracket body 110 may be provided with an engaging portion such as a pin.

A rib 125 shown in FIG. 3B is provided on the upper side surface of the lower portion 121, the front surface of the upper portion 122, and the curved inner peripheral surface of the bending portion 123, that is, the surface that contacts the vehicle panel 130. There is.

The seal member 120 is made of silicone rubber. The compressibility of the seal member 120 is 8% or more and 40% or less. The compressibility is the ratio of the length before deformation of the seal member 120 in the direction in which a force is applied to the seal member 120 and the contracted length (change amount). In this way, by making the compression rate of the seal member 120 have a certain width, each part of the seal member 120 is flexibly deformed in accordance with the shape of the vehicle panel 130 when the camera bracket 102 is attached to the vehicle panel 130. be able to. The seal member 120 is not limited to silicone rubber, but may be any elastomer.

Next, the relationship between the camera module 100 and the vehicle panel 130 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a state in which the camera module 100 is attached to the vehicle panel 130. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the close contact between the seal member 120 and the camera bracket body 110, and between the seal member 120 and the vehicle panel 130.

The vehicle panel 130 has a flat surface portion 131, a flat surface portion 132, and a curved portion 133 (see FIG. 5 ). The curved portion 133 is curved and connects the flat surface portion 131 and the flat surface portion 132. The angle formed by the plane portion 131 and the plane portion 132 is α3. Hereinafter, the angle α3 will be referred to as the vehicle angle.

Further, a mounting hole 134 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B) is formed in the vehicle panel 130. FIG. 4 shows the range of the mounting hole 134. When the hook 114b is pushed into the mounting hole 134 by a predetermined length, the hook 114b and the vehicle panel 130 form an engaged state.

The insertion portion 101a of the camera 101 is inserted into the insertion hole 111b.

As shown in FIG. 5, the seal member 120 is in close contact with the vehicle connection portion 112 of the camera bracket body 110 without a gap. More specifically, the bottom surface of the lower portion 121 of the seal member 120, the rear side surface of the upper portion 122, and the outer peripheral surface of the curved portion 123 are respectively the upper surface of the bottom portion 113 of the camera bracket body 110, the front side surface of the wall portion 114, and the curved portion. It is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the portion 115.

In the state before the camera bracket body 110 is attached to the vehicle panel 130, the bracket angle α1 and the seal angle α2 have a relationship of α1≦α2. Further, the curvature radius R1 of the curved portion 115 of the camera bracket main body 110 and the curvature radius R2 of the curved portion 123 of the seal member 120 on the outer peripheral side are R1≧R2 in consideration of the tolerance of the curvature radius R1 and the curvature radius R2. Is preferred.

Therefore, when the seal member 120 is attached to the camera bracket body 110, the inner peripheral surface of the curved portion 115 and the outer peripheral surface of the curved portion 123 are in contact with each other without a gap. Even when the camera bracket main body 110 is attached to the vehicle panel 130, the state in which the inner peripheral surface of the curved portion 115 of the camera bracket main body 110 and the outer peripheral surface of the curved portion 123 of the seal member 120 are in contact with each other without a gap is maintained. Therefore, the inner peripheral surface of the curved portion 115 of the camera bracket main body 110 and the outer peripheral surface of the curved portion 123 of the seal member 120 are in close contact with each other without a gap.

The relationship between the two may be R1<R2. However, in this case, when the camera bracket body 110 is attached to the vehicle panel 130, the curved portion 123 of the seal member 120 may not be completely deformed so as to reach the inner peripheral surface of the curved portion 115 of the camera bracket body 110. .. That is, a gap may be formed between the curved portion 123 of the seal member 120 and the curved portion 115 of the camera bracket body 110.

Further, since the bracket angle α1 and the seal angle α2 are α1≦α2, when the seal member 120 is attached to the camera bracket body 110, the lower portion 121 of the seal member 120 has a gap with the bottom 113 of the camera bracket body 110. It will be in contact with each other. Similarly, the upper portion 122 of the seal member 120 also comes into contact with the wall portion 114 of the camera bracket body 110 without a gap. Before and after attaching the camera bracket body 110 to the vehicle panel 130, the lower portion 121 and the bottom portion 113 and the upper portion 122 and the wall portion 114 are kept in contact with each other, and the seal member 120 and the camera bracket body 110 are in close contact with each other at any portion. To be done.

The seal member 120 is in close contact with the vehicle panel 130. More specifically, the upper surface of the lower portion 121 of the seal member 120, the front side surface of the upper portion 122, and the inner peripheral surface of the curved portion 123 are the outer surface of the flat portion 131 of the vehicle panel 130, the outer surface of the flat portion 132, and the curved portion, respectively. It is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the portion 133 without a gap.

Here, the bracket angle α1 and the vehicle angle α3 have a relationship of α1≦α3. Thus, when the camera bracket body 110 is attached to the vehicle panel 130, a force is exerted by the bottom portion 113 and the wall portion 114 of the camera bracket body 110 to push the flat surface portions 131 and 132 of the vehicle panel 130 via the seal member 120. Therefore, the seal member 120 can be pressed against the vehicle panel 130, the seal member 120 can be deformed according to the shape of the vehicle panel 130, and the seal member 120 can be brought into close contact with the camera bracket body 110 and the vehicle panel 130 without a gap. ..

When the camera bracket main body 110 is attached to the curved surface portion where the plane portions 131 and 132 of the vehicle panel 130 form the vehicle angle α3, the elastically deformed seal member 120 has a different compression rate depending on its portion. That is, each portion of the seal member 120 is deformed according to the shape of the vehicle panel 130 within a range of 8% or more and 40% or less between the camera bracket 102 and the vehicle panel 130. As a result, the seal member 120 can be adhered to the vehicle panel 130 without a gap even on the curved surface.

Next, a process of attaching the camera module 100 to the vehicle panel 130 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a state before the camera module 100 is attached to the vehicle panel 130. FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing a state after the camera module 100 is attached to the vehicle panel 130. The mounting hole 134 is formed so as to extend over the flat surface portion 131, the curved portion 133, and the flat surface portion 132.

First, the camera module 100 is brought close to the mounting hole 134 of the vehicle panel 130 so that the plurality of hooks 114b of the camera module 100 are inserted and the position of the bolt 140 is aligned with the position of the insert nut 117. Then, the hook 114b is pushed into the vehicle panel 130 by a predetermined length. That is, the camera module 100 is pushed into the mounting hole 134 until the hook 114b engages with the vehicle panel 130. At this time, as described above, the seal member 120 is sandwiched between the vehicle panel 130 and the camera module 100, and is crushed and deformed including the rib 125. As a result, the seal member 120 is in close contact with the vehicle panel 130 and the camera module 100 without any gap.

Next, the bolt 140 is turned to screw the bolt 140 into the insert nut 117 to fix the camera module 100 to the vehicle panel 130. As described above, the attachment of the camera module 100 to the vehicle panel 130 is completed.

Although the camera bracket body 110 is provided with the insert nut 117 in this embodiment, the camera bracket body 110 may be provided with a bolt insertion hole for inserting the bolt 140. That is, the above-described bolt 140 may be inserted into the bolt insertion hole, and the camera module 100 may be fixed to the vehicle panel 130 using a nut as a separate component.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the seal member has the curved portion, and the curved portion includes the lower portion and the upper portion so that the lower portion and the upper portion of the seal member have a predetermined angle. Connect. The camera bracket body also has a curved portion, and the curved portion connects the bottom portion and the wall portion so that the bottom portion and the wall portion of the camera bracket body form a predetermined angle. As a result, when the camera is attached to the vehicle panel, the seal member is deformed between the vehicle panel and the camera bracket body, and the seal member tightly adheres to the vehicle panel and the camera bracket body. Therefore, sufficient sealing performance can be obtained even when the camera is attached to a position that is not flat. Further, since it is not necessary to manufacture the camera bracket main body and the seal member in accordance with the curved surface portion of the vehicle panel for each vehicle panel, the camera bracket can be manufactured at low cost.

Since the engaging portion is formed on the seal member and the engaged portion is formed on the camera bracket body, the seal member can be easily attached to the camera bracket body. In addition, the seal member is attached to the camera bracket main body by engagement so that a camera bracket in which the seal member is attached to the camera bracket main body by an adhesive is manufactured, or the camera bracket is manufactured at a lower cost than forming two colors. it can.

Since the engaging portion is formed on the curved portion of the seal member and the engaged portion is formed on the curved portion of the camera bracket body, the curved portion of the seal member should be attached so as to be in stable contact with the curved portion of the camera bracket body. You can That is, the curved portions can be surely kept in contact with each other even before the camera bracket is attached to the vehicle panel. Therefore, when the camera bracket is attached to the vehicle panel, the curved portion of the sealing member and the curved portion of the camera bracket, in which a gap is likely to occur, can be reliably brought into close contact with each other.

Also, the camera bracket is attached to the vehicle panel using bolts and nuts by engaging a plurality of hooks with the vehicle panel. Therefore, the camera bracket can be easily and stably attached to the vehicle panel without using an adhesive agent or a screw.

As described above, the seal member deforms between the camera bracket and the vehicle panel to seal between the camera bracket and the vehicle panel. Therefore, in order to deform the seal member, it is necessary to press the camera bracket against the vehicle panel with a certain force or more. However, in this embodiment, since the plurality of hooks of the camera bracket can be attached to the vehicle panel by elastic engagement, the operator can grasp the timing when the camera bracket engages with the vehicle panel. Therefore, the operator does not have to press the camera bracket against the vehicle panel with an excessive force. Therefore, the insertion load when the camera bracket is attached to the vehicle panel can be set to a predetermined value, for example, 70 N or less.

When the camera bracket is pressed against the vehicle panel when the camera bracket is attached to the flat portion of the vehicle panel, the vehicle panel is evenly pressed. However, when the camera bracket is pressed against the vehicle panel when the camera bracket is attached to the curved surface portion of the vehicle panel, the force applied to the vehicle panel varies depending on the part. In this case, a certain force may be applied to the flat portion of the vehicle panel with a predetermined force F, which is not applied to a certain portion. That is, there is a strong demand for attaching the camera bracket to the curved surface of the vehicle panel rather than attaching the camera bracket to the flat surface of the vehicle panel. Therefore, the feature of the camera bracket that can be elastically engaged with the vehicle panel by the plurality of hooks in the present embodiment is particularly effective when the camera bracket is attached to the curved surface portion of the vehicle panel.

The position where the camera module is attached is not limited to the rear of the vehicle, and may be the side or the front of the vehicle.

<Note>
In addition, each of the above-described embodiments is merely an example of the embodiment in carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be limitedly interpreted by these. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist or the main features thereof.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention is utilized suitably for the camera bracket used when attaching a camera to a vehicle.

100 camera module 101 camera 101a insertion part 102 camera bracket 110 camera bracket body 111 camera mounting part 111a screw hole 111b insertion hole 112 vehicle connection part 113 bottom part 113a mounting plate
114 Wall 114a Hooking Hole 114b Hook 115, 123, 133 Curved Part 115a Engagement Hole 117 Insert Nut 118 Wiring Hole 120 Sealing Member 121 Lower Part 121a Connecting Part 121b, 122b Extending Part 121d Mounting Hole 122 Upper Part 122a Connecting Part 122d Flap 123a Pin 125 Rib 126 Through hole 130 Vehicle panel 131, 132 Plane part 134 Mounting hole 140 Bolts A, B, C, D, E Virtual plane α1 Bracket angle α2 Seal angle α3 Vehicle angle

Claims (6)

A bottom along a first plane and a wall along a second plane that is not parallel to the first plane, curved, one side connecting to the bottom and the other side connecting to the wall A camera bracket body having a curved portion of 1;
A first portion along a third plane and a second portion along a fourth plane that is not parallel to the third plane are curved, and one side is connected to the first portion and the other side A seal member having a second curved portion whose side is connected to the second portion, the seal member being located inside the first curved portion;
Camera bracket with. The camera bracket according to claim 1, wherein the first portion and the bottom portion are in contact with each other, the second portion and the wall portion are in contact with each other, and the inside of the first curved portion and the outside of the second curved portion are in contact with each other. .. The sealing member is provided with an engaging portion,
The camera bracket according to claim 1, wherein the camera bracket body is provided with an engaged portion with which the engaging portion engages. The engaging portion is provided on the second bending portion,
The camera bracket according to claim 3, wherein the engaged portion is provided on the first bending portion. The camera bracket main body further has an object engaging portion that is engaged with the object to be attached by a predetermined length to form an engagement state with the object to be attached,
The camera bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the seal member has a through hole through which the object engaging portion is inserted. A first portion along a first plane,
A second portion along a second plane that is not parallel to the first plane;
A seal having a curved shape, one side of which is connected to the first portion and the other side of which is connected to the second portion.

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