JP4474645B2 - Visual sensor device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides an optical lens provided with a concave portion in an optical member made of a solid translucent material having an incident surface on which ambient light is incident, and provided with a reflective member that reflects the ambient light in the concave portion, The present invention relates to a visual sensor device having imaging means such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) that images the ambient light reflected by a reflecting member.

Conventionally, various omnidirectional visual sensor devices have been proposed, and disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. Such an omnidirectional visual sensor device reflects ambient light with a hyperboloidal reflecting mirror, and images the surroundings with an imaging device such as a CCD.
JP-A-10-160463 JP 2000-128031 A

  The image sensor is mounted on a circuit board, and the circuit board on which the image sensor is mounted is disposed on the bottom wall portion of the case body. A cylindrical cylindrical body made of a translucent material is provided on the side wall of the case body, and a reflection mirror is disposed inside the cylindrical body. A lid is disposed in the upper opening of the cylindrical body, and the reflection mirror is fixed to the lid. The reflecting mirror has a hyperboloid shape, and is arranged so as to hang from the lid with the apex of the hyperboloid shape facing downward.

  However, the omnidirectional visual sensor device described above has a problem that it cannot be provided at low cost because of the large number of parts. That is, the cylindrical body made of a light-transmitting material has no optical effect, and therefore the number of parts can be reduced if the cylindrical body can be eliminated. Therefore, the applicant of the present application has proposed a visual sensor device that has a small number of parts and can be manufactured at low cost as Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-339306 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-339309.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the visual sensor device 1 is made of a solid translucent material having a reflective layer 3 for reflecting ambient light provided on an incident surface 2a on which ambient light is incident and a concave portion 2b having a hyperboloid shape. An optical lens 2 and an imaging means 4 comprising a CCD camera or the like for imaging ambient light reflected by the reflecting layer 3. The imaging means 4 is mounted on the circuit board 5 and is disposed in the case body 6 together with the circuit board 5. The case body 6 has a bottom wall portion 6a and a side wall portion 6b. A circuit board 6 is disposed and fixed on the bottom wall portion 6a, and an opening end portion of the side wall portion 6b has an optical lens 2 mounted thereon. The lower end (end of the straight part) of the light guide part 2c formed to extend in the vertical direction from the end of the incident surface 2a is joined. The light guide 2c guides the ambient light L reflected by the reflective layer 3 to the imaging means 4 through the exit surface 2d.

  Since the visual sensor device 1 having such a structure can obtain surrounding images in all directions, it is desired to be mounted on a vehicle as a system that can contribute to safe driving. Therefore, there has been room for improvement in order to obtain a structure that can prevent dust, dust, moisture, etc. from entering the case body and can be applied even under severe conditions.

    Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of this problem, and provides a visual sensor device having a structure that can be applied even under severe conditions by further improving the visual sensor proposed by the applicant of the present application. .

In the visual sensor device according to the first aspect of the present invention, a concave portion is provided in an optical member made of a solid translucent material having an incident surface on which ambient light is incident, and the ambient light is supplied to the concave portion. A visual sensor device comprising: an optical lens provided with a reflecting member to be reflected; and an imaging means for imaging the ambient light reflected by the reflecting member, wherein the circuit board is electrically connected to the imaging means. An outer housing having a mounting portion for disposing the optical housing, an outer housing disposed so as to expose the incident surface of the optical lens and covering the inner housing, and an opening end of the outer housing. And the inner housing has a holder portion for disposing the optical lens and the imaging means .

The visual sensor device according to claim 2 is the visual sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the lid body has a hole for inserting a wiring member connected to the circuit board. .

  A visual sensor device according to a third aspect is the visual sensor device according to the first aspect, wherein the inner housing is provided with the holder portion separately.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the visual sensor device according to the first aspect, in which the ambient light to the incident surface is provided on the entire outer periphery of one opening end of the cylindrical outer housing. The first inclined surface that does not block the incidence of.

  The visual sensor device according to a fifth aspect is the visual sensor device according to the first aspect, wherein the holder portion includes a first arrangement portion for arranging the optical lens and the imaging means. A barrel portion that is connected to a second arrangement portion to be installed, and the outer periphery of the barrel portion faces the inner wall of one open end of the cylindrical outer housing. The holder portion is disposed with respect to the outer housing, and the first disposed portion of the holder portion is disposed so as to be exposed to the outside from the outer housing.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the visual sensor device according to the fifth aspect, the second inclined surface that does not prevent the ambient light from being incident on the incident surface on the first arrangement portion. Is provided.

  An optical member made of a solid translucent material having an incident surface on which ambient light is incident is provided with a concave portion, and an optical lens provided with a reflective member that reflects the ambient light in the concave portion, and reflected by the reflective member In order to obtain a structure in which an inner housing having a holder portion in which the optical lens and the imaging means are arranged is housed in an outer housing. A visual sensor device that can prevent entry of dust, moisture, and the like and can be used even under severe conditions can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the visual sensor device 10, which includes an optical lens 11, a holder member 12, an imaging unit 13, an inner housing 14, a circuit board 15, and an outer member. It is mainly composed of a housing 16 and a lid body 17.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the optical lens 11 is made of a solid translucent resin (for example, polycarbonate), and has a substantially spherical base portion 11a and a substantially cylindrical light guide portion 11b. . The base 11a of the optical lens 11 has a spherical incident surface 11c on which the ambient light L is incident, and a hyperboloid concave portion 11d. The incident surface 11c of the optical lens 11 is a spherical surface whose center is located above the focal point of the hyperboloid in the recess 11d. In this specification, the “spherical surface” is at least a part of the surface of the sphere, not the entire surface of the sphere.

  In the concave portion 11d of the optical lens 11, a reflective layer (reflective member) 11e made of a metal film such as aluminum (Al) or chromium (Cr) is formed. The reflective layer 11e is formed by coating the recess 11d by a method such as vapor deposition.

  The light guide portion 11b of the optical lens 11 guides the light reflected by the reflection layer 11e to the image pickup means 13 including a CCD camera or the like, and has a substantially cylindrical shape. The light guide unit 11 b has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 11 f and an output surface 11 g that faces the image sensor 13. The light exit surface 11g of the light guide 11b refracts light toward the focal point of the hyperboloid to be paired toward the image sensor 13 and forms an image on the image sensor 13. Further, the optical lens 11 has a cap member 11h that covers the concave portion 11d and prevents adhesion of dust, dirt, moisture, and the like to the reflective layer 11e.

  The holder member 12 is made of a resin material such as PBT, or a metal material such as aluminum or brass, and is provided with the optical lens 11 and the imaging means 13. The holder member 12 includes a first disposing portion 12a having a concave shape, a second disposing portion 12b formed so as to face the first disposing portion 12a, and a first disposing portion 12a. And a communication hole 12c communicating with the second arrangement portion.

  A portion of the light guide portion 11b of the optical lens 11 is fitted into the first arrangement portion 12a, and the light guide portion 11b of the optical lens 11 is bonded by a thermosetting or ultraviolet curable adhesive (not shown). Fixed. In addition, the imaging unit 13 is arranged in the second arrangement unit 12b. Further, the outer periphery of the first arrangement portion 12a has an inclined surface (second inclined surface) 12d for preventing the ambient light L from being incident on the incident surface 11c of the optical lens 11. In addition, a groove portion 12f for disposing an elastic member, which will be described in detail later, is formed at a substantially central portion of the body portion 12e connecting the first disposing portion 12a and the second disposing portion. Yes.

  The image pickup means 13 includes an image pickup element 13a such as a CCD camera, a small circuit board 13b in which the image pickup element 13a is disposed and electrically connected, a small circuit board 13b, and a circuit board 15 described in detail later. And a flexible circuit board (FPC) 13c for electrical connection. The imaging means 13 has a part of the imaging element 13a embedded in the communication hole 12c of the holder member 12, and is bonded and fixed by a thermosetting or ultraviolet curable adhesive (not shown).

  The holder member 12 constitutes an optical head portion by disposing the optical lens 11 and the imaging means 12. Therefore, the ambient light L incident by the optical lens 11 is guided to the imaging element 13a of the imaging means 13 through the light guide portion 11b and the through hole 12c of the optical lens 11. Imaging data relating to ambient light obtained by the imaging element 13a is transmitted to the circuit board 15 described in detail later via the flexible circuit board 13c.

  The inner housing 14 is made of a resin material such as PBT, and has an opening 14 a formed by partially cutting a cylindrical wall portion, and this opening portion constitutes an arrangement portion of the circuit board 15. Further, a contact portion 14 b for abutting against the flange portion 12 d of the holder member 12 is formed at one opening end of the inner housing 14. The inner housing 14 has a mounting portion 14c for disposing the circuit board 15, and the circuit board 15 is disposed on the mounting portion 14c with an adhesive or mounted thereon. It is disposed and fixed in the inner housing 14 by being fixed to the mounting portion 14c with screws (not shown).

  The circuit board 15 is made of a resin containing glass fiber, paper phenol, ceramic, etc., and a predetermined wiring pattern (not shown) is formed. A power circuit or noise is provided at a predetermined position of the circuit board 15. An electronic component (not shown) such as an absorption circuit or an integrated circuit (not shown) for converting imaging data from the imaging element 13a into image data is mounted. The circuit board 15 supplies power to the image pickup means 13 and receives image pickup data from the image pickup means 13, and is electrically connected via the small circuit board 13b and the flexible circuit board 13c of the image pickup means 13. Connected. The circuit board 15 is electrically connected to the wiring cord 18 drawn out through a lid 17 which will be described in detail later and a connector or solder, and a power source for the imaging means 13 and the circuit board 15. Supply and signal output are performed by the power cord 18. Further, the circuit board 15 is electrically joined to the flexible circuit board 13c of the imaging means 13 by a connector or solder.

  The outer housing 16 is made of a resin material such as PBT and has a cylindrical shape. In the outer housing 16, an inclined surface (first inclined surface) 16 a for preventing the ambient light L from entering the incident surface 11 c of the optical lens 11 is formed on the entire outer periphery of one opening end. . The outer housing 16 has a storage space 16b corresponding to the outer shape of the inner housing 14, and the storage space 16b can be hermetically sealed by closing the other opening end with a lid 17 which will be described in detail later. Structure.

  The lid 17 is made of a resin material such as PBT, and has a shape that covers the other opening end of the outer housing 16. The lid body 17 is provided with a hole 17a through which a wiring cord (wiring member) 18 is inserted. Further, after the lid 17 is disposed at the other opening end of the outer housing 16, for example, a thermosetting filling member 19 such as an epoxy resin is placed in a recess 17 b constituted by the outer housing 16 and the lid 17. By filling, the inner housing 14 and the outer housing 16 can be hermetically closed by the lid body 17.

  The visual sensor device 10 is configured by the above-described units. The visual sensor device 10 is assembled by fixing the optical lens 11 and the imaging means 13 to the holder member 12, and then electrically joining the flexible circuit board 13c and the circuit board 15 of the imaging means 13, The circuit board 15 is disposed in the inner housing 14. Then, the assembly main body formed by joining the holder member 12 and the inner housing 14 is inserted from the other opening end portion having the large inner diameter of the outer housing 16 into the one opening end portion from the optical lens 11 side, and then the lid body. 17 is disposed at the other opening end of the outer housing 16, and the filling member 19 is filled in the recess 17 b formed by the lid body 17 and the outer housing 16. In the sealed structure of the outer housing 16 and the holder member 12, an elastic member 20 such as an O-ring made of a rubber material is disposed in the groove portion 12 f of the holder member 12, and the elastic member 20 is attached to the outer housing 16. It is obtained by pressing against the inner wall of one open end.

  The visual sensor device 10 includes a recess 11d in an optical member made of a solid translucent material having an incident surface 11c on which the ambient light L is incident, and a reflective layer 11e that reflects the ambient light L on the recess 11d. The optical lens 11 and the image pickup means 13 for picking up the ambient light L reflected by the reflective layer 11e have a holder portion 12 in which the optical lens 11 and the image pickup means 13 are disposed. An inner housing 14 having a mounting portion 14 c for disposing a circuit board 15 electrically connected to the means 13, and at least an incident surface 11 c of the optical lens 11 is exposed and disposed so as to cover the inner housing 14. An inner housing 16 having a holder member 12 in which the optical lens 11 and the imaging means 13 are arranged. To obtain a structure for housing 14 to outer housing 16, dust can be prevented from entering the water or the like to obtain a vision sensor 10 which can be used under severe conditions.

  In addition, a wiring cord 18 connected to the circuit board 15 is drawn to the outside at the other opening end of the outer housing 16, and a lid 17 that closes the other opening end is provided. The airtightness in the inner housing 14 and in the outer housing 16 can be further improved by sealing and fixing the filling member 19 in the concave portion 17 b formed by the outer housing 16 and the outer housing 16.

  Further, since the inner housing 14 is provided with the holder member 12 separately, even if the shapes of the inner housing 14 and the outer housing 16 change depending on the location where the visual sensor device 10 is attached, the optical head portion (optical lens) 11, the imaging means 13 and the holder member 12) can be shared, and the basic structure can be used for other types of visual sensor devices. In addition, the design work of the visual sensor device 10 can be simplified.

  In addition, an inclined surface 16a that does not prevent the ambient light L from being incident on the incident surface 11c of the optical lens 11 is formed on the entire outer periphery of one opening end of the cylindrical outer housing 16, and in particular, optical. Since the incident of the ambient light L from below the lens 11 is not blocked, a wide detection range (visual range) can be secured as a sensor.

  In addition, the holder member 12 includes a body portion 12e for connecting a first disposition portion 12a for disposing the optical lens 11 and a second disposition portion 12b for disposing the imaging means 13. The holder 12 is disposed with respect to the outer housing 16 with the body 12e facing the inner wall of one open end of the cylindrical outer housing 16, and the first arrangement of the holder member 12 is provided. An inclined surface that is disposed so that the installation portion 12a is exposed to the outside from the outer housing 16, and does not prevent the ambient light L from being incident on the incident surface 11c of the optical lens 11 on the first arrangement portion 12a of the holder member 12. 12d is formed, and in particular, the incident of the ambient light L from below the optical lens 11 is not blocked, so that a wide detection range can be secured as a sensor.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the inner housing 14 and the outer housing 16 are formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the inner housing 14 is inserted into the outer housing 16. For example, at least a part of the outer periphery of the inner housing 14 is used. By providing the protrusions on the inner wall of the outer housing 16 and providing the recesses corresponding to the protrusions on the inner wall of the outer housing 16, the arrangement direction can be restricted and the assemblability can be improved.

  Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the holder member 12 and the inner housing 14 are provided separately, but the present invention provides a structure having the function of the holder member in the inner housing, The inner housing may be integrally configured.

It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the visual sensor apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the optical lens of embodiment same as the above. It is a principal part cross section which shows the holder member of embodiment same as the above. It is a side view which shows the inner housing of embodiment same as the above. It is principal part sectional drawing of the outer housing of embodiment same as the above. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the conventional visual sensor apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Visual sensor apparatus 11 Optical lens 11c Incident surface 11d Recessed part 11e Reflective layer (reflective member)
12 Holder member (holder part)
12a First arrangement portion 12b Second arrangement portion 12d Inclined surface (second inclined surface)
13 Image pickup means 13a Image pickup device 13b Small circuit board 14 Inner housing 14a Opening part 14 c Placement part 15 Circuit board 16 Outer housing 16a Inclined surface (first inclined surface)
17 Lid 18 Wiring cord (wiring member)

Claims (6)

An optical member made of a solid translucent material having an incident surface on which ambient light is incident is provided with a concave portion, and an optical lens provided with a reflective member that reflects the ambient light in the concave portion, and reflected by the reflective member An imaging means for imaging said ambient light, wherein the visual sensor device comprises:
An inner housing having a mounting portion for disposing a circuit board electrically connected to the imaging means; and an outer housing disposed so that the incident surface of the optical lens is exposed and covers the inner housing And a lid provided at the opening end of the outer housing,
The visual sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the inner housing has a holder portion in which the optical lens and the imaging unit are disposed . The visual sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the lid has a hole through which a wiring member connected to the circuit board is inserted .   The visual sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the inner housing has the holder portion provided separately.   2. A first inclined surface that does not block the incidence of ambient light on the incident surface on the entire outer periphery of one open end of the cylindrical outer housing. The described visual sensor device.   The holder portion has a barrel portion for connecting a first arrangement portion for arranging the optical lens and a second arrangement portion for arranging the imaging means, The holder portion is disposed with respect to the outer housing such that the outer periphery of the barrel portion faces the inner wall of one open end of the outer housing, and the first arrangement portion of the holder portion The visual sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the visual sensor device is disposed so as to be exposed to the outside from the outer housing.   The visual sensor device according to claim 5, wherein the first disposing portion includes a second inclined surface that does not block the incidence of ambient light on the incident surface.

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