JP5409891B1 - Automotive radar equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

A radar apparatus having a mounting structure capable of effectively cooling against heat generation of a radar apparatus or the like while eliminating the restriction of the mounting position with respect to a vehicle as in the prior art and improving design at the time of mounting the radar apparatus. I will provide a.
A rear end of a cover member having a shape that spreads from the rear end to the front end so as to face the outside of the vehicle is attached around the laser light transmission / reception surface of the main body, and the edge of the front end of the cover member is attached. Are arranged so as to extend in the direction of the inner surface of the body at the periphery of the opening. At this time, a frame portion 51 formed by vulcanizing and bonding EPDM so as to cover a substantially rectangular metal frame, and a rear end formed integrally with the rectangular frame portion 51 by EPDM. The cover member 5 is constituted by the blindfolded portion 52 having a shape that is continuous with the frame portion 51 and has a front end that is widened forward. The inner dimension of the frame in the frame 51 is set to be slightly larger than the outer dimension on the peripheral side of the bulging area, and the frame 51 is fitted into the bulging area of the main body case.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle radar device mounted on a vehicle and used for detecting an obstacle such as a preceding vehicle and detecting a distance from the obstacle, and more particularly to a structure of a mounting portion for the vehicle.

  Generally, a radar device that irradiates an electromagnetic wave such as a laser beam or a millimeter wave toward an obstacle such as a preceding vehicle of the own vehicle and detects reflected light or reflected wave from the obstacle is mounted on the vehicle. Thus, driving assistance such as detecting obstacles or detecting the distance between the vehicle and the obstacles to alert the driver of the vehicle or performing auxiliary brake control is performed.

  When this type of radar device is attached to a vehicle, for example, as a specific example of the structure of an attachment portion for attaching a laser radar device using laser light to the vehicle, the radar device moves relative to a base fixed to the front of the vehicle body of the vehicle. A laser transmitting unit and a laser receiving unit are mounted on an adjustable mounting unit, and mounting is performed so that the optical axes of the laser transmitting unit and the laser receiving unit can be adjusted vertically and horizontally (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The radar device described in Patent Document 1 is attached to the front portion of the vehicle as described above in order to irradiate the laser beam forward. At that time, an opening is provided in the vehicle body, and the radar device is disposed inside the radar device. . Then, in order to be able to irradiate laser light from the opening toward the outside of the vehicle, a radar device is arranged slightly apart from the body, and the irradiation range of the laser light is blocked in the gap between the body and the radar device. A plastic blindfold member called a cylindrical grill garnish with a substantially quadrangular pyramid shape that spreads forward is attached to the inside of the opening of the body, and the gap between the body and the radar device is Therefore, design measures are usually taken to conceal unnecessary members such as screws attached to the body of the radar apparatus and a laser optical axis adjustment mechanism so that they are not visible from the outside.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-38123 (paragraphs 0020 to 0021, FIG. 5, etc.)

  However, after the radar device described in Patent Document 1 is arranged, optical axis adjustment such as vertical turning angle and horizontal deflection angle at the time of laser light irradiation is performed. If the distance between the body and the radar device is set in anticipation of the movable range of the device, the distance becomes too larger than the length of the grill garnish, creating a useless gap between the grill garnish and the radar device. May be damaged.

  Also, if the useless gap between the grill garnish and the radar device is eliminated to improve the design, the grill garnish is made of resin as described above, so the optical axis is adjusted after the radar device is attached to the body. When the radar apparatus is operated, the radar apparatus comes into contact with the grill garnish, and the movement of the radar apparatus is hindered. For adjusting the optical axis of the radar apparatus, the vertical tilt angle or horizontal deflection angle can be finely adjusted. This results in a new problem that optical axis adjustment with high accuracy cannot be performed.

  In addition, in order to ensure designability while allowing a useless gap between the grill garnish and the radar device, the grill is arranged so that the above-mentioned unnecessary member to be hidden cannot be seen from the gap between the grill garnish and the radar device. It is only necessary to increase the length of the garnish, which makes it difficult to see the gap from the outside because it is located in a place where the gap is deep inside, but the unnecessary parts are not visible from the outside, but if the length of the grill garnish is increased, the radar The installation place of the apparatus is limited to, for example, the left or right end of the grill at the front of the vehicle, and the laser light irradiation range is also biased to the left and right of the vehicle, resulting in a new inconvenience that the laser light cannot be irradiated accurately. Note that these problems can also occur when the radar apparatus is a millimeter wave radar.

  In addition, when a radar device is attached to the front part of a vehicle, a condenser, which is a heat exchanger of an air conditioner, is often arranged near the grill to obtain a cooling effect by wind during traveling, and heat is generated immediately behind the radar device. Therefore, a structure of the mounting portion of the radar device is desired that can effectively cool the heat generated by the radar device itself and the heat generator such as a capacitor behind the radar device.

  The present invention eliminates the restriction of the mounting position with respect to the vehicle as in the prior art, and improves the design at the time of mounting the radar device, and has a mounting structure capable of effectively cooling the heat generated by the radar device or the like. An object is to provide an apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the on-vehicle radar device has an axis adjustment mechanism for adjusting an irradiation axis for determining an electromagnetic wave irradiation direction of the electromagnetic wave irradiation means with respect to the obstacle, and from an opening formed in the vehicle body. In the on-vehicle radar device disposed outside the vehicle and disposed inside the body, the main body and the irradiation electromagnetic waves of the irradiation means disposed in the bulging region formed in the main body and the reflection from the obstacle An electromagnetic wave transmission / reception surface, and a flexible cover member having an annular frame portion fitted to the peripheral side of the bulging region of the main body at one end and extending so that the other end faces the outside of the vehicle, The main body is disposed away from the inner side surface of the body, and the frame of the cover member covers a frame made of a material harder than the flexible material constituting the cover member with a flexible material. It is characterized by Claim 1).

  According to the first aspect of the invention, the frame portion at one end of the flexible cover member is fitted into the bulging region of the main body portion where the electromagnetic wave transmission / reception surface is disposed, and the other end extends to the outside of the vehicle. Since the cover member is attached to the main body, even if adjustment of the irradiation axis such as the vertical turning angle or horizontal deflection angle of the main body is performed by the shaft adjustment mechanism after the radar device is attached to the body, it is flexible. Only by the other end of the cover member coming into contact with the inner surface of the body at the periphery of the opening, there is no possibility that the main body directly contacts the body, and the shaft can be adjusted with high accuracy.

  Further, since the frame portion of the cover member is formed by covering a frame made of a material harder than the flexible material constituting the cover member with a flexible material, the frame portion is provided with an electromagnetic wave transmission / reception surface. By fitting it into the bulging area of the main body, the clamping force of the frame body and the frictional force of the flexible material covering the frame body combine to facilitate the cover member without screwing. And it can attach to the bulging area | region of a main-body part firmly, and can aim at the improvement of the working efficiency of an assembly | attachment operation | work.

  In addition, since the cover member is flexible, even if the other end of the cover member contacts the inner surface of the body at the periphery of the opening during adjustment of the irradiation axis, the cover member is deformed, thereby preventing adjustment of the irradiation axis. It is not.

  Furthermore, since the gap between the main body and the body can be shielded without making the cover member long as in the conventional grill garnish, the cover member shields the gap between the main body and the body and It is possible to prevent unnecessary members such as screws to be attached to the body from being seen from the outside, and to improve the design of the radar device when mounting the radar device. It is not limited to the right and left ends of the radar, and the restriction on the mounting position of the radar apparatus can be eliminated.

  In addition, for example, when the radar device is attached to the front part of the vehicle, the flexible cover member is easily bent by the wind pressure when the vehicle is running, and the inner surface of the body at the other end of the cover member and the periphery of the opening due to the deformation of the cover member by the wind pressure It is expected that a cooling effect will be exerted against the heat generated by the radar device and the condenser of the air conditioner located behind it when wind flows from the gap.

It is a perspective view in the attachment state to the body of one Embodiment of the vehicle-mounted radar apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of one Embodiment. It is a perspective view of a cover member. It is a side view of a cover member. It is a top view which shows the motion at the time of irradiation axis adjustment of a radar apparatus. It is a side view which shows the motion at the time of irradiation axis adjustment of a radar apparatus. It is a perspective view at the time of removing a cover member in the attachment state shown in FIG.

  An embodiment of an on-vehicle radar device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the on-vehicle radar device 1 according to the present embodiment is a so-called laser radar, and is a flexible body composed of a main body 3 and ethylene propylene diene rubber (hereinafter referred to as EPDM) attached to the main body 3. And a cover member 5, which is disposed inside a rectangular opening 7 a formed at the front center of the vehicle body 7 and is fixed to the body 7. Here, the hatched portion in FIG. 1 represents the cover member 5. The front and rear and the left and right in the present embodiment will be described as meaning front and rear and left and right as viewed in a state where an occupant is seated on a vehicle seat.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 3 of the radar apparatus 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped resin main body case 31 having a semiconductor laser and a scanning mechanism for scanning the emitted laser light, and the like. Laser transmission means (equivalent to the “electromagnetic wave irradiation means” in the present invention) that scans in the horizontal direction and scans in the horizontal direction by 0.1 °, for example, and laser reception that receives the laser light reflected from the obstacle in front From the time required from the start of laser light irradiation by the laser transmitting means to the reception of the reflected laser light by the laser receiving means such as a photodiode. In addition to the CPU that calculates the distance to obstacles ahead, the memory and other circuit components are built-in. CPU, and accommodates a printed circuit board memory or other circuit components are mounted therein. Here, a laser radar sensor ECU is constituted by a CPU or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a rectangular parallelepiped bulge region B is formed in the lower front portion of the main body case 31 of the main body 3 so that the entire main body case 31 is thin in the front-rear direction. The rectangular parallelepiped and the thick lower rectangular parallelepiped (bulging area B) are combined, and the laser beam from the laser transmitting section is applied to the front surface of the lower swelling area B of the main body case 31. An outgoing transmission surface 31a and a reception surface 31b that receives reflected laser light are arranged side by side.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 2, a first slightly fine adjustment of the horizontal deflection angle in the horizontal line at the center in the height direction of the transmission / reception surfaces 31a and 31b is positioned slightly below the center of the right side surface of the main body case 31. A shaft adjustment mechanism 32 is provided, and a second shaft adjustment mechanism 33 that finely adjusts a horizontal deflection angle in a horizontal line at the lower ends of the transmission and reception surfaces 31 a and 31 b is provided at the lower end portion of the right side surface of the main body case 31. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in the center of the left side surface of the main body case 31, a third tilt angle in the vertical direction with the horizontal line at the center in the height direction of the transmitting / receiving surfaces 31 a and 31 b as the central axis of rotation is finely adjusted. An axis adjustment mechanism 34 is provided. Each of the shaft adjusting mechanisms 32 to 34 is composed of a movable mechanism having a known configuration such as a combination of a worm gear and a gear. Note that reference numeral 36 in FIG. 2 denotes a connector portion for cable connection.

  At this time, when the first axis adjustment mechanism 32 is operated, as shown in FIG. 5, the right side (for example, ± 3) with the left side of the main body case 31 provided with the first axis adjustment mechanism 32 in the plan view as the rotation center. .5 degrees), fine adjustment of the horizontal deflection angle of the transmission / reception surfaces 31a and 31b is performed, and fine adjustment is performed by the same operation when the second axis adjustment mechanism 33 is operated. Further, when the third axis adjusting mechanism 34 is operated, as shown in FIG. 6, the upper and lower ends of the main body case 31 rotate around the attachment position of the third axis adjusting mechanism 34 in the side view, and the transmitting / receiving surfaces 31a and 31b are rotated. After the radar apparatus 1 is attached to the body 7, the optical axis (irradiation axis) of the laser light is adjusted to the optimum state.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the flexible cover member 5 of the radar apparatus 1 has a structure that can be fitted into a rectangular parallelepiped bulging region B below the main body case 31. That is, the cover member 5 includes a frame portion 51 formed by vulcanizing and bonding EPDM so as to enclose a metal frame having a substantially rectangular shape (not shown), and a rectangular frame portion 51 formed by EPDM. A blindfold portion 52 having a shape in which the rear end is continuous with the frame portion 51 and the front end is widened forward is formed. The inner dimension of the frame body in the frame 51 is set to be slightly larger than the outer dimension on the peripheral side of the bulging area B where the transmission / reception surfaces 31a and 31b are disposed. By fitting the frame portion 51 in the region B, the cover member 5 is firmly attached to the main body case 31 of the main body portion 3 only by the fitting (no need for screwing or the like).

  At this time, a plurality of projections 53 are formed integrally on the inner periphery of the frame portion 51, and the outer layer of the frame portion 51 and each projection 53 are made of rubber material (EPDM). The metal frame inside is fitted into the peripheral side of the bulging area B of the main body case 31 via a rubber material (EPDM), and the clamping force by the metal frame in the frame portion 51 and the EPDM Combined with the frictional force of the projections 53, the cover member 5 can be easily and firmly fixed to the main body case 31 without screwing or the like to prevent the cover member 5 from being detached.

  The blindfold 52 includes blindfolds 52a, 52b, and 52c connected to the left side 51a, the right side 51b, and the lower side 51c of the frame 51, and the blindfold that should be connected to the upper side 51d of the frame 51 is removed and thereby blindfolded. An opening 54 is formed in the upper part of the part 52 so that the wind during traveling flows into the inside of the body 7.

  In addition, the left side 51a, the right side 51b, the lower side 51c, and the upper side 51d of the frame 51 are attached to the left side 51a, the right side 51b, the lower side 51c at the right end of the lower side 51c. These mounting pieces 55a, 55b, 55c are formed integrally with the internal metal frame, are exposed from the surrounding EPDM frame 51, and are fixed to the body 7 by screwing. It has become so. When the cover member 5 is attached to the bulging area B where the transmission / reception surfaces 31a and 31b of the main body case 31 are disposed, the front end of the cover member 5 is disposed so as to face the outside of the vehicle. The edge part of the front end extends and is located in the inner surface direction of the body 7 at the peripheral edge of the opening 7a.

  By the way, as described above, the body 7 on the periphery of the opening 7a where the edge of the front end of the cover member 5 is located is bent inward as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and particularly appears in FIG. As shown, the front end edge portion of the left blindfold 53b of the cover member 5 does not come into contact with the inner surface of the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7a even when the shaft adjustment is performed by the shaft adjustment mechanisms 32 to 34. 3 is attached to the body 7, so that a so-called labyrinth structure L (circled by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 5) is formed by the front end of the non-contact cover member 5 and the inner surface of the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7 a. Therefore, even if a gap is formed between the cover member 5 and the body 7 by non-contact, it is impossible to see the gap from the outside by the labyrinth structure L, and the design property is impaired. Prevention It has been.

  When the radar device 1 configured as described above is attached to the inside of the opening 7a of the body 7, if the cover member 5 is not attached to the main body 3, the main body 3 is shown in FIG. Since it is arranged away from the inner surface of the body 7, a gap is formed between the main body 3 and the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7a so that the main body 3 cannot be seen through the gap looking into the opening 7a. An unnecessary member such as the shaft adjustment mechanism 34 to be hidden can be seen from the outside and the appearance is deteriorated, and the design property is deteriorated. However, by attaching the cover member 5, the shaft adjustment mechanism 33 that is desired to be hidden and improved in appearance. A gap looking into the opening 7a can be closed so that unnecessary members such as can not be seen from the outside.

  And after attaching the main body part 3 of the radar apparatus 1 to the body 7, when each axis adjustment mechanism 32-34 performs irradiation axis adjustments, such as a vertical turning angle and a horizontal deflection angle, of the main body part 3. Even if the front end of the blindfold 52 of the cover member 5 comes into contact with the inner surface of the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7a, the cover member 5 has flexibility. As shown in FIG. 5, the optical axis can be adjusted with high accuracy without being bent and not having resistance when adjusting the optical axis.

  Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the rear end of the cover member 5 having a shape that spreads around the laser beam transmitting / receiving surfaces 31a and 31b of the main body 3 so as to face the outside from the rear end to the front end. Since the edge of the front end of the cover member 5 is arranged so as to extend in the direction of the inner surface of the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7a, each axis adjusting mechanism 32 ~ is mounted after the radar apparatus 1 is attached to the body 7. 34, even if optical axis adjustment (irradiation axis adjustment) such as a vertical turning angle or horizontal deflection angle of the main body 3 is performed, the front end of the cover member 5 remains on the inner surface of the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7a. There is no fear that the main body 3 directly contacts the body 7 only by contact, and the shaft can be adjusted with high accuracy.

  Further, since the frame portion 51 of the cover member 5 is formed by enveloping a frame body made of metal that is harder than the EPDM constituting the cover member 51 with EPDM, the frame portion 51 is arranged with the transmission / reception surfaces 31a and 31b. By fitting into the bulging area B of the main body case 31, the fastening force of the frame and the frictional force of the EPDM covering the frame are combined, so that the cover member 5 can be removed without screwing or the like. It can be firmly attached to the bulging region B of the main body case 31, and the assembly work efficiency can be further improved by omitting the screwing work.

  Moreover, since the cover member 5 has flexibility, even if the front end of the cover member 5 contacts the inner surface of the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7a when adjusting the optical axis, the cover member 5 can be easily simplified by the flexibility. Therefore, the optical axis can be adjusted with high accuracy without causing resistance during the optical axis adjustment.

  Further, since the gap between the main body 3 and the body 7 can be shielded without making the cover member 5 as long as the conventional grill garnish, the cover member 5 provides a gap between the main body 3 and the body 7. It is possible to prevent unnecessary members such as screws and shaft adjusting mechanisms that are shielded from being attached to the body 7 from being seen from the outside, and to improve the design when the radar apparatus 1 is installed. The mounting position of the radar apparatus 1 with respect to the vehicle as in the prior art is not limited to the left and right ends of the front part of the vehicle, and the restriction of the mounting position of the radar apparatus 1 can be eliminated.

  Further, as described above, when the radar apparatus 1 is attached to the front portion of the vehicle, the flexible cover member 5 made of EPDM is easily bent due to the wind pressure when the vehicle travels. Due to the deformation of the blindfolded pieces 52a, 52b, 52c, a gap is formed between the front end of the cover member 5 and the inner surface of the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7a, and wind flows into the radar apparatus 1 and behind it from the gap. An effective cooling action can be exerted against heat generated by a condenser of an air conditioner that is located. Further, since the upper blindfold is removed to form the opening 54, wind during traveling flows in through the opening 54, and the air flows upward along the front surface of the main body 3 inside the body 7. Therefore, the heat generated by the laser device 1 and the condenser behind the laser device 1 can be effectively cooled.

  Further, the front end edge of the left blindfold piece 52a of the cover member 5 has an inner edge of the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7a regardless of the inclination of the main body 3 accompanying the irradiation axis adjustment of each of the axis adjustment mechanisms 32 to 34. Since the vehicle is kept in a non-contact state with the side surface, the wind at the time of traveling of the vehicle is easily circulated from the non-contact portion, and the cooling effect against the heat generation of the radar device 1 and the condenser of the air conditioner located behind the radar device 1 can be further enhanced. it can.

  Further, since the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7a where the left blindfold 52a of the cover member 5 does not contact is bent inward, the bent portion of the body 7 and the front edge of the left blindfold 53a of the cover member 5 The labyrinth structure L can be formed with the part, and even if there is a gap between the cover member 5 and the body 7 due to non-contact, the labyrinth structure L cannot see the gap from the outside, and the design is good. It can be prevented from being damaged.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the frame portion 51 of the cover member 5 is formed by covering the metal frame with EPDM has been described. However, the material of the frame is not limited to metal, and rubber such as EPDM is used. What is necessary is just to use for a frame material what has intensity | strength rather than a material and can exhibit a clamping force at the time of fitting to the bulging area | region B of the main body case 31. FIG.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a structure in which the upper blindfold of the cover member 5 is removed has been described, but the blindfold is also integrally formed on the upper portion, and each side 51a, 51b, Each blindfold may be connected to 51c and 51d.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the left blindfold 52a of the cover member 5 is disposed so as not to always contact the inner surface of the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7a has been described. The cover member 5 may be arranged so that the left blindfold piece 52a of 5 can come into contact with the inner surface of the body 7 at the periphery of the opening 7a in the same manner as other blindfold pieces.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which the blindfolded portion 52 of the cover member 5 has a shape that expands from the front end toward the rear end, but the blindfolded portion 52 does not necessarily have to be expanded. Then, the dimension of the rear end of the blindfold 52 may be set smaller than the inner dimension of the opening 7a of the body 7.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the radar apparatus 1 including a laser radar that irradiates laser light has been described. However, a radar apparatus that detects by radiating radio waves such as millimeter waves or other electromagnetic waves. Of course, the present invention can also be applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Radar apparatus 3 ... Main-body part 5 ... Cover member 7 ... Body 31a ... Transmission surface 31b ... Reception surface 32, 33, 34 ... 1st, 2nd, 3rd axis adjustment mechanism 51 ... Frame part B ... Expansion area

Claims (1)

A vehicle-mounted radar having an axis adjustment mechanism for adjusting an irradiation axis for determining an electromagnetic wave irradiation direction of an electromagnetic wave irradiation means for an obstacle, and disposed inside the body facing an outside from an opening formed in the vehicle body In the device
The main body,
A transmission / reception surface of an electromagnetic wave irradiated and an electromagnetic wave reflected from an obstacle disposed in the bulging region formed bulging in the main body part, and
A flexible cover member having an annular frame portion fitted to one end of the bulging region of the main body portion and extending so that the other end faces the outside of the vehicle;
The main body is disposed away from the inner surface of the body;
The on-vehicle radar device, wherein the frame portion of the cover member is formed by covering a frame made of a material harder than a flexible material constituting the cover member with a flexible material.

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