JP5973391B2 - Car camera - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle camera.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a technique for mounting a vehicle-mounted camera on a vehicle and assisting driving of the vehicle with an image captured by the vehicle-mounted camera has been put into practical use (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-32191

  An in-vehicle camera may be attached to a vehicle windshield. This type of in-vehicle camera is attached so that the upper surface of the housing faces the windshield. Further, the upper surface of the housing is inclined forward and downward according to the inclination angle of the windshield, and the lens of the camera is exposed there.

  By the way, the inclination angle of the windshield differs depending on the vehicle type. On the other hand, since the in-vehicle camera is always attached to the road surface in a fixed direction, the inclination angle on the upper surface of the in-vehicle camera attached to the windshield is uniformly determined for each in-vehicle camera. Therefore, depending on the vehicle type, as shown in FIG. 8, the inclination angle of the upper surface 203 of the in-vehicle camera 201 does not match the inclination angle of the windshield 101, and the lens 205 of the in-vehicle camera 201 and the windshield 101 are separated from each other. End up. In this case, a phenomenon (reflection) occurs in which the light L coming from below is reflected by the windshield 101 and enters the lens 205. In order to prevent this reflection, the hood 207 attached to the lower side of the lens 205 needs to be largely projected forward until the light L can be blocked. The property (that it can be installed in a narrow place) will deteriorate.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle camera that is less likely to be reflected even if the inclination angle of the windshield changes.

The in-vehicle camera of the present invention is an in-vehicle camera that is mounted in a vehicle interior such that a lens is exposed on an upper surface of a housing and the upper surface is opposed to a windshield, and the upper surface has a mountain shape on a ridge line passing through the upper surface. The lens is located in the vicinity of the ridge line, and is prevented from being reflected by a hood that projects in front of the lens and forward of the housing, and the optical axis of the lens is faces front, when the upper surface is fitted with the vehicle-mounted camera so as to face the front glass, the ridge is characterized that you perpendicular to the inclination direction of the front glass.

  In the in-vehicle camera of the present invention, the shape of the upper surface of the housing is as described above, so that at least the ridge line portion of the upper surface of the housing is formed on the windshield regardless of whether the inclination angle of the windshield is large or small. Can be approached. And in the vehicle-mounted camera of this invention, since a lens is located in the vicinity of a ridgeline, even when the inclination angle of a windshield is large or small, a lens can be made to approach a windshield.

  As a result, reflection can be prevented. In addition, since it is not necessary to attach a long hood to prevent the reflection to the in-vehicle camera, the in-vehicle camera has good loadability. Moreover, since it is not necessary to manufacture a housing | casing from which the inclination angle of an upper surface differs according to the inclination angle (vehicle type) of a windshield, the manufacturing cost of a vehicle-mounted camera can be reduced.

  However, since a common camera can be attached to windshields with different inclination angles, when attached to a windshield with a large inclination angle (see 101A in FIG. 3), a windshield with a small inclination angle (101B in FIG. 3). Compared with the case of attaching to the front), the distance between the windshield and the camera may be farther in front of the lens on the upper surface of the housing. Therefore, in a camera attached to a windshield having a different inclination angle, it is possible to reliably prevent reflection by providing a hood.

Furthermore , even if the angle in the inclination of the windshield (for example, the downward inclination of the front) is different, the ridgeline can be made close to the windshield throughout. Therefore, the effect of preventing reflection is even higher.

  In the vehicle-mounted camera of the present invention, it is preferable that the shape bent in the mountain shape is constituted by two planes divided by the ridgeline. By carrying out like this, since a protrusion does not arise in parts other than a ridgeline (part comprised by a plane) among upper surfaces, a ridgeline can be made to approach a windshield still more. As a result, the effect of preventing reflection is even higher.

  The lens is located near the ridgeline. For example, the end of the lens is in contact with the ridgeline, the lens crosses the ridgeline, and the distance between the lens edge and the ridgeline is smaller than the distance between the ridgeline and the windshield. It may be the case.

1 is a perspective view of an in-vehicle camera 1. FIG. It is a perspective view of the vehicle-mounted camera 1 (state which removed the food | hood 17). It is a sectional side view in the AA cross section in FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bracket 27. FIG. It is explanatory drawing showing the method of attaching the vehicle-mounted camera 1 to the bracket 27. It is explanatory drawing showing the state which attached the vehicle-mounted camera 1 to the bracket 27. FIG. It is a side view showing the shape of the upper surface 5 in another form. It is a side view showing the conventional vehicle-mounted camera 201. FIG.

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

1. Configuration of the in-vehicle camera 1 The configuration of the in-vehicle camera 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the in-vehicle camera 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the in-vehicle camera 1 (with a hood 17 to be described later removed). 3 is a side sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bracket 27 described later. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method of attaching the in-vehicle camera 1 to the bracket 27. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the in-vehicle camera 1 is attached to the bracket 27.

  The in-vehicle camera 1 is attached in the vehicle interior. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle-mounted camera 1 includes a housing 3 and known camera components (not shown) housed therein. The upper surface 5 of the housing 3 as a whole is inclined so as to be lowered toward the front (direction B shown in FIG. 1). The upper surface 5 is divided into an upper surface front portion 9 and an upper surface rear portion 11 by a ridge line 7 passing through the upper surface. The ridge line 7 is parallel to a direction C (see FIG. 1) orthogonal to the direction B. Of the upper surface front portion 9, a portion excluding a concave portion 13 described later is one plane, and the upper surface rear portion 11 is also one plane. The inclination angle of the upper surface front portion 9 (excluding the recess 13) is steeper than the inclination angle of the upper surface rear portion 11. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the vehicle-mounted camera 1 is viewed from the side, the upper surface 5 has a shape bent in a mountain shape with the ridge line 7 as an apex (bending point).

  The upper surface front portion 9 is provided with a concave portion 13 that is recessed below the periphery thereof in a portion including the front end portion thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, the recess 13 has a recess inner upper surface 13 a that has a gentler slope than the other portions of the upper surface front portion 9, and is cut substantially vertically at the rear of the recess upper surface 13 a and faces forward. A lens mounting surface 13b and a pair of left and right side surfaces 13c and 13d. The lens 15 of the camera is attached to the lens attachment surface 13b. That is, the lens 15 is exposed to the outside at the upper front portion 9.

  The rear end of the recess 13 reaches the ridge line 7, and the upper end of the lens mounting surface 13 b coincides with the ridge line 7. Further, the upper end of the lens 15 is in contact with the ridge line 7. Therefore, the lens 15 is located in the vicinity of the ridge line 7.

  Moreover, the vehicle-mounted camera 1 is provided with the hood 17 attached to the recessed part 13 of the housing | casing 3, as shown in FIG. The hood 17 includes a bottom surface portion 17a and a pair of side surface portions 17b and 17c provided upright on both the left and right sides thereof. When the hood 17 is attached to the concave portion 13, the bottom surface portion 17a and the side surface portions 17b and 17c abut against the inner surface 13a and the side surfaces 13c and 13d, respectively. At this time, the bottom surface portion 17 a projects forward from the housing 3. Further, the upper ends of the side surface portions 17 b and 17 c are inclined to substantially the same extent as the upper surface front portion 9 and protrude slightly upward from the upper surface front portion 9.

  Cylindrical protrusions 23 and 25 are provided near the upper ends of the side surfaces 19 and 21 in the left-right direction of the housing 3, respectively.

  The in-vehicle camera 1 is attached to the windshield 101 of the vehicle by a bracket 27 shown in FIG. The bracket 27 includes a top plate 27a that is bonded to the windshield 101, latching portions 27b and 27c that are erected downward on the left and right ends of the lower surface, and a rear end on the lower surface of the top plate 27a. The rear plate 27d is erected, a plate spring 29 provided at the center of the lower surface of the top plate 27a, and a plate spring 31 provided on the front side of the rear plate 27d.

  The in-vehicle camera 1 is attached to the bracket 27 as follows. The latching portions 27b and 27c of the bracket 27 are each formed in an L shape, and as shown in FIG. 6, the projections 23 and 25 of the housing 3 are latched so that the in-vehicle camera 1 does not fall. Can be lowered. As shown in FIG. 6, the leaf spring 29 urges the in-vehicle camera 1 downward, and the leaf spring 31 urges the in-vehicle camera 1 forward. As a result, the bracket 27 can fix the in-vehicle camera 1 without causing rattling.

  As described above, the bracket 27 is fixed to the windshield 101 by bonding the top plate 27a to the windshield 101. Therefore, when the vehicle-mounted camera 1 is attached to the bracket 27, the vehicle-mounted camera 1 is attached to the windshield 101. It is attached. At this time, the upper surface 5 of the in-vehicle camera 1 faces the windshield 101.

2. Effects produced by the in-vehicle camera 1 (1) Since the upper surface 5 of the in-vehicle camera 1 has a shape bent in a mountain shape with the ridge line 7 as a vertex (bending point), as shown in FIG. In addition, at least the portion of the ridgeline 7 in the upper surface 5 can be brought close to the windshield 101 even with respect to the windshield 101B having a gentle inclination. In the in-vehicle camera 1, the lens 15 is located in the vicinity of the ridge line 7, so that the in-vehicle camera 1 can bring the lens 15 closer to the windshield 101 regardless of whether the inclination angle of the windshield 101 is large or small.

  As a result, it is possible to prevent a phenomenon (reflection) in which the light L coming from below is reflected by the windshield 101 and enters the lens 15. In addition, since it is not necessary to increase the amount of the hood 17 protruding forward, the loadability of the in-vehicle camera 1 is good. Moreover, since it is not necessary to manufacture the housing | casing 3 from which the inclination angle of the upper surface 5 differs according to the inclination angle of the windshield 101 (for every vehicle model), the manufacturing cost of the vehicle-mounted camera 1 can be reduced.

  (2) When the in-vehicle camera 1 is mounted such that the optical axis of the lens 15 faces frontward and the upper surface 5 faces the windshield 101, the ridge line 7 is a straight line orthogonal to the tilt direction of the windshield 101. Therefore, even if the inclination angle of the windshield 101 is different, the ridgeline 7 can be brought close to the windshield 101 over the whole. Therefore, the effect of preventing reflection is even higher.

  (3) In the in-vehicle camera 1, the shape of the upper surface 5 bent in a mountain shape is composed of two planes (upper surface front portion 9 and upper surface rear portion 11) divided by the ridge line 7. Therefore, no protrusion is generated in a portion other than the ridge line 7 (portion constituted by a plane) in the upper surface 5, so that the ridge line 7 can be brought closer to the windshield 101. As a result, the effect of preventing reflection is even higher.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment at all, and it cannot be overemphasized that it can implement with a various aspect in the range which does not deviate from this invention.

  For example, the bracket 27 may be attached to the ceiling of the passenger compartment, or may be attached across the windshield 101 and the ceiling of the passenger compartment. Moreover, the vehicle-mounted camera 1 may be attached to the rear window or the vicinity thereof and photograph the rear of the vehicle. In that case, the direction of the in-vehicle camera 1 is opposite to the case where it is attached to the windshield 101. Furthermore, the in-vehicle camera 1 may be attached to the side window or in the vicinity thereof and photograph the side of the vehicle. In that case, the direction of the in-vehicle camera 1 is rotated by about 90 degrees from the direction in which the in-vehicle camera 1 is attached to the windshield 101.

  Further, the upper surface front portion 9 (excluding the concave portion 13) and the upper surface rear portion 11 do not have to be a strict plane. For example, a groove, a concave portion, or a convex portion that does not hinder the proximity of the lens 15 and the windshield 101 may be provided.

  Further, the shape of the upper surface 5 viewed from the side may be as shown in FIG. That is, R may be attached to a boundary (bent portion) between the upper surface front portion 9 (excluding the concave portion 13) and the upper surface rear portion 11. In this case, the ridge line 7 can be the center line of the region to which R is attached.

  Further, the ridge line 7 may not be parallel to the direction C but cross the direction C. Moreover, the ridgeline 7 may not be a straight line. For example, it may be a curved line or a line bent in a square shape or a crank shape.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Car-mounted camera 3 ... Housing | casing 5 ... Upper surface 7 ... Ridge line 9 ... Upper surface front part 11 ... Upper surface rear part 13 ... Concave part 13a ... Concave surface 13b ... Lens mounting surfaces 13c, 13d ... side 15 ... lens 17 ... hood 17a ... bottom 17b, 17c ... side 19, 19, 21 ... 23, 25 ... projection 27 ... Bracket 27a ... Top plates 27b, 27c ... Hooks 27d ... Rear plate

Claims (2)

An in-vehicle camera that is mounted in a vehicle interior such that a lens is exposed on the upper surface of the housing, and the upper surface faces the windshield,
The upper surface has a shape bent in a mountain shape at a ridge line passing through the upper surface,
The lens is located in the vicinity of the ridgeline, and reflection is prevented by a hood that protrudes forward from the housing at the front part of the lens,
Optical axis direction of the front of the lens, when the upper surface is fitted with the vehicle-mounted camera so as to face the front glass, vehicle camera the ridges, characterized that you perpendicular to the inclination direction of the front glass . The mountain shape bent shape, the serial placement of the vehicle-mounted camera to claim 1, characterized in that it consists of two planes divided by the ridge.

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