JP3349412B2 - Vehicle mounted camera - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a camera mounted on a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, various on-vehicle cameras mounted on a vehicle for photographing a running environment in front of the vehicle have been proposed.
As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 604, 604 and the like, it is attached to a roof (sealing) portion of a vehicle via a stay.

[0003]

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a stay mounting portion for each vehicle, and since the stay is relatively long, the mounting position shifts due to the vibration of the vehicle and the camera parameters fluctuate. was there.

Further, when photographing the running environment ahead of the vehicle through the front windshield (front glass), depending on the photographing environment, a dashboard or the like is reflected on the front windshield, and there is a disadvantage that the contrast of the image is reduced. Was.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages, and it is not necessary to provide a stay mounting portion, so that it is easy to cope with each vehicle type, the vibration resistance is improved, and a dashboard or the like is reflected on a front windshield. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle-mounted camera capable of effectively preventing the camera from being stuck.

[0006]

To achieve the above object SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION, in the one of claims, is mounted on a vehicle, the vehicle-mounted camera for photographing the front of the vehicle running environment, the camera, the inner surface Is coated with black ceramic print
And the windshield on the inner surface of the vehicle
The black ceramic print allows the camera to observe ambient light
The camera is mounted at a position where incidence on the field is prevented, and a polarizing filter is arranged in front of the lens of the vehicle-mounted camera. This eliminates the need for a stay mounting part, improves vibration resistance and improves image quality, facilitates support for each vehicle type, and effectively prevents dashboards etc. from being reflected in the front windshield. be able to.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a shield plate is disposed in front of the polarizing filter. Thereby, the polarizing filter can be effectively prevented from being stained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the camera is arranged at a position where an image of a traveling environment ahead of the vehicle can be taken through a window glass in a wiping area of a windshield wiper. Alternatively, even when the front windshield is dirty, the field of view of the camera mounted on the vehicle can be easily secured by operating the windshield wiper.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the camera is unitized with a rearview mirror and mounted on the inner surface of the front windshield, and the mounting fulcrum is brought close to the position of the center of gravity of the unit. Therefore, the vibration resistance is further improved, and the adjustment of the rearward confirmation mirror becomes easy.

[0010] According to the present invention, the camera is mounted on the inner surface of the front windshield via a drop-off mechanism for dropping off when a predetermined external force or more is applied. It is possible to do.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the space between the lens and the shield plate is covered with boots, it is possible to effectively prevent dust and the like from adhering to the lens unit together with the polarizing filter. .

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view showing a state in which a vehicle-mounted camera according to the present application is attached to a vehicle, FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view thereof, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory perspective view when viewed from the outside of the vehicle. .

As shown in the figure, a vehicle-mounted camera (hereinafter referred to as a “camera”) 10 according to the present application is a front windshield (glass; hereinafter referred to as a “front glass”) of a vehicle 12.
14) on the inside of the car roof (sealing)
One unit is attached at a position near the part 16 where the operation of the driver is not hindered. The camera 10 is a known CCD
It consists of an image sensor and performs monocular viewing (photographing) of the running environment ahead of the vehicle.

The camera 10 includes a camera body 20 and a case 22 for housing the camera body 20. A stay 24 is disposed inside the case 22. The stay 24 is fixed to the camera body 20 via a bolt 26 at the left end in the figure, and is adhered and fixed to the case 22 at a right end 24a (in FIG. 2).

The stay 24 is fixed to a plug 30a of a known dropping mechanism 30 via a bolt 32 near a center position. The plug 30a is fitted into a disk-shaped socket 30b. The opposing surface of the socket 30b is formed in a flat plate shape,
It is fixed to the inner surface of the windshield 14 via an adhesive means (adhesive) 34.

As a result, the camera body 20, the camera case 22 and the stay 24 are directly fixed on the inner surface of the windshield 14, as shown in FIG.

The stay 24 is bent downward below the right end 24a to form a rod portion 24b having a circular cross section, and a ball portion 24c is formed at the tip of the rod portion 24b. A rearview rearview mirror 36 is attached to the rod portion 24b.

The rear mirror 36 is a rod 2 having a circular cross section.
4b so as to be movable around the axis of the rod 24b and the axis orthogonal thereto.
(And the windshield 14).

As described above, the camera body 20 and the rearview mirror 36 are integrated, and the rearview mirror 36 is
Since they are separated from each other, the angle of the room mirror 36 can be arbitrarily adjusted independently of the camera body. Reference numeral 38 denotes an anti-glare switching lever.

The camera body 20 has a U-shaped frame 20a.
And an electric circuit section 20b connected thereto. FIG. 4 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the camera body 20.
The lens unit 20c is housed inside 0a. In the vicinity of the electric circuit portion 20b, a harness coupler accommodating portion 42 is fixed to a portion 24d extending from the stay 24 via a bracket 40 while partially projecting from the case 22.

The harness coupler accommodating section 42 includes the electric circuit section 2
0b via a signal line (not shown),
It is also connected to an external image processing ECU (not shown) via a cable (not shown), and outputs an image signal to the image processing ECU.

The case 22 has a harness coupler housing 4
An opening 22a is formed on the side facing the arrangement position of No. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the opening 22a has a substantially circular shape, and a transparent shield plate 44 made of a glass material or a plastic material is hermetically fitted in the opening 22a.

As shown in FIG. 2, a polarizing filter 46 is disposed inside the shield plate 44, and an opening 22a is formed.
A boot 48 made of an elastic material such as rubber is arranged between the lens unit 20c and the lens unit 20c. The boot 48 has a skirt shape as well shown in FIG. 4, and the lens unit 20 is formed so as to form an airtight space between the edge of the opening 22a and the frame edge 20d for accommodating the lens unit 20c.
c and the shield plate 44 is covered.

The lens unit 20c is prevented from entering and adhering dust and the like from the outside by the case 22, to a certain extent. Is prevented. The aperture of the opening 22a and the position of the lens unit 20c are appropriately determined according to the field of view (required angle of view) so as to prevent unnecessary light from entering. The pitch angle is finely adjusted and fixed via the screw 52a.
The yaw angle is finely adjusted via the screw 52b and fixed by the screw 52c.

As shown in FIG. 2, the camera 10 is disposed at a position where the driving environment can be photographed in front of the vehicle through the wind glass 14 in the wiping area 56 of the windshield wiper 54. Thus, even in rainy weather or when the windshield 14 is dirty, the field of view of the camera 10 can be easily secured by operating the windshield wiper 54.

As is clear from FIG. 2, the camera body 20 is attached to one end of the stay 24, and the room mirror 36 is attached to the other end, and the stay 24 is fixed to the window glass 14 near the center thereof. The camera body 22 weighs about 350 g, and the room mirror 36 weighs about 320 g.

Here, the camera 1 supported by the stay 24
0 (camera body 20 and case 22) and the position of the center of gravity of the entire rearview mirror 36 are provided at point A in FIG.
No moment is generated.

With the above-described configuration, the camera 10 and the rear-view mirror 36 are less likely to resonate under the influence of the vibration of the vehicle 10, and have excellent vibration resistance. Therefore, blurring or the like is less likely to occur, and the image quality is improved and a clear image can be obtained.

When an external force equal to or more than a predetermined value acts on the camera 10 and the rear-view mirror 36, the plug 30a comes out of the socket 30b by the above-mentioned known drop-off mechanism 30, and the camera 10 and the rear-view mirror 36 can be easily moved from the windshield 14. take off.

The windshield 14 is made of laminated glass, and is coated so as to reflect infrared rays and ultraviolet rays. As shown in FIG. 2, a black ceramic print 60 is applied to the inner surface of the windshield 14. The black ceramic print 60 is applied on the inner surface of the windshield 14 substantially over the area covering the camera 10 to prevent disturbance light from entering the camera view.

Here, the description of the polarizing filter 46 will be supplemented. For example, in the case of fine weather, the dashboard (or the upper part of the inner panel) 64 as shown in FIG.
Is projected onto the windshield 14, and the projected image projected on the windshield 14 is
A phenomenon occurs in which an image of the front of the traveling road is captured through the image, and the contrast of the image deteriorates.

FIG. 6A shows an image taken immediately before the entrance of the tunnel without the polarizing filter 46 attached.
In a traveling road situation where the front is darker than in such a vehicle cabin, the reflection of the projected image generated on the windshield becomes remarkable, and when image processing is performed as shown in FIG. Line) is difficult to extract.

FIG. 7A shows an image when the vehicle has completely entered the tunnel when the polarizing filter 46 is not installed. In this case, the contrast has been recovered, and the white line processing shown in FIG. White lines can be recognized as shown in the results.

Therefore, in the vehicle-mounted camera 10, a polarizing filter 46 is provided on the front surface of the lens unit 20c.
Was arranged. Since the reflected light incident on the windshield 14 at a predetermined angle has a limited vibration direction, the polarization filter 46 having a characteristic of blocking incident light in that direction is disposed in front of the lens unit 20c, so that the reflected light is The incidence can be greatly reduced.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show an image taken immediately before the entrance of the tunnel and a white line extraction result when the polarizing filter 46 is attached. It can be seen that the contrast of the image is improved. 9A and 9B are views corresponding to FIGS. 7A and 7B, and show images and white line extraction results in the tunnel when the polarizing filter 46 is attached.

The polarizing filter 46 is connected to the lens unit 2.
0c may be any position as long as it is the front surface.
As shown by 6a, it may be arranged immediately before the lens unit 20c. Furthermore, as shown by 46b in FIG. 4, it may be arranged in the lens unit 20c. Polarizing filter 4
6a and 46b can reduce the cross-sectional area and are advantageous in cost. Further, the shield plate 44 may be composed of a polarizing filter.

Further, as in the case of the lens unit 20c, the polarizing filter 46 (46a, 46b) is also kept airtight by the shield plate 44 and the boot, so that it is effectively prevented from adhering dust.

Here, a case where vehicle control is performed using the white line extraction result obtained as described above will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

For example, the applicant of the present invention disclosed in
Based on the steering technology proposed in No. 23 or JP-A-9-128699, a target yaw rate is set in the ECU 70 including the image processing unit so that the vehicle 12 runs along the extracted white line, and the vicinity of the center of gravity of the vehicle 12 is set. A command value is calculated to assist the driver steering torque detected via the torque sensor 74 disposed in the steering system so that the deviation from the output of the yaw rate sensor 72 disposed in the steering system is eliminated, and based on the command value, An appropriate assist mechanism (not shown) is driven.

As described above, since the camera 10 is directly mounted on the inner surface of the windshield 14, in other words, unlike the prior art, the camera 10 is not mounted on the roof via a long stay, so that the vibration resistance is improved. Since the stay attaching portion is not required, the stay attaching portion can be attached to any vehicle type.

Further, as described above, since the polarizing filter is disposed in front of the lens unit, reflection of a dashboard or the like can be effectively prevented.

As described above, in this embodiment,
In the vehicle-mounted camera 10 mounted on the vehicle 12 and photographing a running environment in front of the vehicle, the camera is black on the inner surface.
A ceramic print 60 is applied on the front windshield 14 of the vehicle .
And the black ceramic print 60
A lens (lens unit) 2 of the vehicle-mounted camera which is mounted at a position where incidence on the camera view is prevented.
The configuration is such that the polarization filters 46, 46a, 46b are arranged in front of 0c.

The polarization filters 46, 46a, 4
The shield plate 44 is arranged in front of 6b.

Further, the camera 10 is arranged so that the driving environment in front of the vehicle can be photographed through the window glass 14 in the wiping area 56 of the windshield wiper 54.

The camera 10 is unitized with a rear view mirror (room mirror) 36 and mounted on the inner surface of the front windshield (front glass) 14, and the mounting fulcrum 24e is positioned at the center of gravity A of the unit. , And more specifically, to match.

Further, the camera 10 is configured to be mounted on the inner surface of the front windshield (front glass) 14 via a drop-off mechanism 30 for dropping off when a predetermined or more external force is applied.

The lens (lens unit) 20
The space between c and the shield plate 44 is covered with a boot 48.

In the above-described embodiment, the camera is of the CCD image pickup device type. However, any camera can be used as long as it can image a traveling path.

[0050]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the vibration resistance is improved, a clear image can be obtained, the correspondence for each vehicle type is easy, and the reflection of a dashboard or the like is effectively prevented. be able to.

According to the second aspect, the polarizing filter can be effectively prevented from being contaminated.

According to the third aspect, even in rainy weather or when the front windshield is dirty, the field of view of the camera mounted on the vehicle can be easily secured by operating the windshield wiper.

According to the fourth aspect, the vibration resistance is further improved, and the adjustment of the rear confirmation mirror is facilitated.

According to the fifth aspect, it is possible to ensure collision safety.

According to the sixth aspect, it is possible to effectively prevent dust and the like from adhering to the lens unit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view showing a state where a vehicle-mounted camera according to the present application is mounted on a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view of the vehicle-mounted camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory perspective view when the vehicle-mounted camera shown in FIG. 1 is viewed from outside the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory sectional view of the vehicle-mounted camera shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing reflection from a dashboard of the vehicle-mounted camera shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a data diagram showing an image photographed immediately before a tunnel and an image processing result when the polarizing filter is not mounted in the vehicle-mounted camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a data diagram showing an image photographed in a tunnel and a result of image processing when the polarizing filter is not mounted in the camera mounted on the vehicle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a data diagram showing an image taken immediately before a tunnel and an image processing result when a polarizing filter is mounted on the vehicle-mounted camera of FIG. 1;

9 is a data diagram showing an image photographed in a tunnel and a result of image processing when the polarizing filter is mounted on the vehicle-mounted camera in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 vehicle mounted camera (camera) 12 vehicle 14 front windshield (front glass) 20 camera body 20c lens (lens unit) 24 stay 24e mounting fulcrum 30 drop-off mechanism 36 rear view mirror (room mirror) 44 shield plate 46, 46a, 46b Polarizing filter 48 Boots 54 Windshield wiper 56 Wiping area

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-4-11522 (JP, A) JP-A-9-219810 (JP, A) JP-A-4-132905 (JP, A) JP-A-60-1985 214691 (JP, A) JP-A-7-81458 (JP, A) JP-A-8-58529 (JP, A) JP-A 1-147745 (JP, U) JP-A 7-35187 (JP, U) 63-185748 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60R 21/00 B60R 1/00-1/04

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A vehicle-mounted camera mounted on a vehicle for photographing a running environment in front of the vehicle, wherein the camera is mounted on an inner surface.
Wherein the front <br/> cement windshield on the inner surface of the vehicle black ceramic print is applied to a black ceramic
Prevents disturbing light from entering camera's field of view with the couprint
And a polarizing filter disposed in front of the lens of the vehicle-mounted camera. 2. The vehicle-mounted camera according to claim 1, wherein a shield plate is disposed in front of the polarizing filter. 3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the camera is disposed at a position where an image of a running environment ahead of the vehicle can be taken through a window glass in a wiping area of a windshield wiper. Onboard camera. 4. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the camera is unitized with a rearview mirror to be mounted on the inner surface of the front windshield, and the mounting fulcrum is located close to the center of gravity of the unit. 4. The vehicle-mounted camera according to any one of claims 3 to 3. 5. The front windshield according to claim 1, wherein the camera is mounted on an inner surface of the front windshield via a drop-off mechanism for dropping off when a predetermined or more external force is applied. The vehicle-mounted camera as described. 6. The vehicle-mounted camera according to claim 1, wherein a space between the lens and the shield plate is covered with a boot.