JPH0943349A - Parking sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a parking sensor which can lessen things colliding directly against a horn, and can restrain the direction of the horn from changing by the collision of an external thing. SOLUTION: In a parking sensor A equipped with a horn 2 being projected from the front of the body housing 12 and besides being movable, a horn protection collar 11 to cover the side on periphery side of the horn 2 is provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a parking lot sensor for transmitting an ultrasonic signal and receiving a reflected wave from an obstacle to detect the presence of the obstacle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a sectional view schematically showing a conventional parking lot sensor. This will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The parking lot sensor B transmits and receives ultrasonic waves and receives and receives reflected waves from obstacles. The ultrasonic wave transducer 1 includes a horn portion 2 having an opening on the front surface side of the sound wave transducer 1, a sphere portion 3 attached to the rear portion of the horn portion 2 to allow the horn portion 2 to rotate, and the ultrasonic wave transducer 1. A surface housing 4 for covering, a retainer component 5 for supporting and holding the spherical portion 3 from the rear, a leaf spring 6 attached to the surface housing 4 for pushing the retainer component 5 toward the spherical portion 3, a power supply circuit 9 and the like are housed. However, the structure is provided with a housing base portion 7 for fixing the parking lot sensor B to a predetermined mounting place.

As is clear from FIG. 3, the horn section 2 is
It is provided so as to project from the front surface of the main body housing 12 and is movable, and controls the direction of ultrasonic waves. The horn portion 2 is made directional by sandwiching the spherical body portion 3 including the ultrasonic transducer 1 connected to the horn portion 2 with the surface housing 4, the holding component 5, and the leaf spring 6. There is. A signal processing circuit 8 is housed in the front housing 4, and the signal processing circuit 8 and the ultrasonic transducer 1 are electrically connected by a shield wire (not shown). On the other hand, the power supply circuit 9 is mounted in the housing base portion 7 and receives power supply from the outside. Further, the leaf spring 6 is
It is fastened directly to the front housing 4 with screws 10, 10.

By the way, this type of parking lot sensor B is mounted one by one in each parking room where the car in the parking lot is stopped. However, the mounting place of the sensor B is not always right above the car. Since it is not limited, the vehicle must be detected by emitting ultrasonic waves in the direction in which the vehicle is parked. Therefore, the sphere portion 3 is sandwiched between the holding component 5 and the front housing 4, and the horn portion 2 is rotated as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and FIG. 5 (b), the direction of the detection area can be changed.

[0005]

However, in the conventional parking lot sensor B, the position and the direction of the detection area are changed by the rotation of the horn portion 2. However, the horn portion 2 of the movable portion has the main body housing 12. Since it projects more extremely forward, for example, a long object held by a pedestrian walking under the sensor B or an antenna protruding from the ceiling of the car is easily hit by the horn unit 2, and therefore the horn is used. The part 2 sometimes rotated. Therefore, the direction in which the ultrasonic waves are radiated changes, the position and orientation of the detection area that has been set change, and there is no detection area where necessary.
A detection area is created in an unnecessary place, which causes a false alarm or a false alarm.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and is a parking lot sensor capable of varying the detection area, and the direction of the set detection area is changed by an external collision. An object of the present invention is to provide a parking lot sensor that can prevent such a situation.

[0007]

A parking lot sensor according to the present invention proposed to achieve the above object has the following configuration. The parking lot sensor according to claim 1, wherein the parking lot sensor is provided so as to protrude from the front surface of the main body housing and includes a movable horn portion, the horn protection casket covering the outer peripheral side surface of the horn portion is provided. Characterize.

In the parking lot sensor according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a horn protection cauld which is fixed to a predetermined mounting place and is provided so as to project from the front surface of the main body housing which does not move and which covers the outer peripheral side surface of the movable horn portion. Therefore, for example, even if a long object such as a person passing under the car antenna or sensor approaches the horn part, first of all, these hit the horn protective calyx and sway to the outer periphery of the horn protective calyx. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the collision of the object directly with the horn portion, and it is possible to prevent the direction of the horn portion from being changed by the collision of the external object.

A parking lot sensor according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the horn-protecting casket of the parking lot sensor according to the first aspect is provided so as to extend and contract in the direction of the horn portion. In order to extend and retract the horn protective cauldron toward the horn portion, for example, a bellows structure may be provided on the horn protective cauldron. In the parking lot sensor according to the second aspect, the horn protective calyx is provided so as to extend and contract in the direction of the horn, so that the horn can be covered with the horn protective calyx at a desired ratio, if necessary.

A parking lot sensor according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the horn-protecting casket of the parking lot sensor according to the first or second aspect is detachably attached to a main body housing. In the parking lot sensor according to the third aspect, the horn protective casket is detachably attached to the main body housing, so that the horn protective casket can be attached to and detached from the parking lot sensor as needed. The parking lot sensor according to claim 4 is characterized in that the horn-protecting calyx of the parking lot sensor according to claim 1, 2 or 3 is a plurality of calyxes covering the horn portion.

A parking lot sensor according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the horn-protecting calyx of the parking lot sensor according to the first, second or third aspect is constituted by a needle-shaped member that covers the horn portion. . The horn protective calyx composed of needle-shaped members may be formed of a frame body, may be formed as an aggregate of a plurality of needle-shaped members, or may be formed of a mesh structure of needle-shaped members. good.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing a parking lot sensor as an embodiment of the present invention. To describe with reference to FIG. 1, this parking lot sensor A is provided so as to project from the front surface of a main body housing 12 and has a movable horn portion 2 with a horn protective cauldron 11 that covers an outer peripheral side surface of the horn portion 2. It has a different structure.

More specifically, this parking lot sensor A is an ultrasonic transducer 1 which transmits and receives ultrasonic waves and which receives reflected waves from an obstacle, and an ultrasonic transducer 1 which holds the ultrasonic transducer 1 and vibrates ultrasonically. The front side of the child 1 has an opening-shaped horn portion 2, a sphere portion 3 attached to the rear portion of the horn portion 2 for allowing the horn portion 2 to rotate, and a surface covering the ultrasonic transducer 1. The housing 4, the retainer component 5 that supports the spherical portion 3 from the rear side, and the leaf spring 6 that is attached to the surface housing 4 and presses the retainer component 5 and the power supply circuit 9 are housed in the parking lot sensor B. Housing base portion 7 for fixing the housing to a predetermined mounting location, and surface housing 4
The horn protective cauldron 11 is provided so as to project from the front surface of the horn and firmly covers the outer peripheral side surface of the movable horn portion 2.

The horn section 2 controls the direction of ultrasonic waves, and the horn section 2 includes a spherical body section 3 including an ultrasonic transducer 1 connected to the horn section 2 and a surface housing 4. The holding component 5 and the leaf spring 6 are provided so as to be freely directional by sandwiching. A signal processing circuit 8 is housed in the front housing 4, and the signal processing circuit 8 is
A shield wire (not shown) electrically connects between the ultrasonic transducer 1 and the ultrasonic transducer 1. On the other hand, the power supply circuit 9
Is attached to the housing base portion 7 and is adapted to receive power supply from the outside. Further, the leaf spring 6 is directly fixed to the front housing 4 with screws 10 and 10.

The horn protective cauldron 11 is fixedly provided on the surface housing 4, and the inner surface of the horn protective cauldron 11 and the outer surface of the horn portion 2 are in a state before the direction of the horn portion 2 is changed. In FIG. 3, the central axis of the horn protective cauldron 11 is arranged in alignment with the central axis of the horn portion 2 so as to be concentric. In this parking lot sensor A, it is integrated with the front surface housing 4 on the outer peripheral side surface of the horn portion 2 which is provided so as to project freely from the front surface of the front surface housing 4 of the main body housing 12 fixed at a predetermined mounting location. A cylindrical horn protection cauldron 11 is provided. Therefore, a long object such as a long pedestrian walking under the sensor A or an antenna protruding from the ceiling of the car may
Even if it comes close to, first, it hits the horn protective calyx 11 and slides on the outer periphery of the horn protective calyx 11. Therefore, the impact is not directly transmitted to the horn unit 2, and the direction of the horn unit 2 is changed by a collision from the outside, and the position and the direction of the set detection area are changed, and the detection area is located where necessary. It is possible to prevent a false alarm or a false alarm caused by a detection area being formed in an unnecessary place.

Further, even if the horn protective cauldron 13 is provided so as to hide only the lower side of the horn portion 2 as shown in FIG. 2 for the reason of design, the outer periphery of the horn protective cauldron 13 is
As long as the horn portion 2 is provided with a larger diameter than that of the horn portion 2, the same effect as described above is obtained. Further, in the parking lot sensor A, an example in which the cylindrical horn protection caskets 11 and 13 integrated with the surface housing 4 are provided, but the horn protection casket is provided on the circumference so as to cover the horn portion 2. It may have a structure in which a plurality of sepals are provided.

The horn protective calyx may be composed of a needle-shaped member, or may be a frame body (frame body) that defines the appearance of the horn protective calyx, and is formed as an aggregate of a plurality of needle-shaped members. Alternatively, it may be formed by a mesh structure of needle-like members. Also, the horn protection calyx 11,
A bellows structure may be provided at 13 so that it can be expanded and contracted in the direction of the horn portion 2. According to this configuration, the horn protection calyx 1
The ratio of protecting the horn portion 2 can be changed to a desired amount by means of 1 and 13, and the rotation angle of the horn portion 2 can be limited to a desired rotation angle.

Further, the horn protective calyx 11 is, if necessary,
The surface housing 4 may be detachably provided.

[0019]

As described in detail above, since the parking lot sensor according to the first aspect of the present invention has the horn protection casket covering the outer peripheral side surface of the movable horn portion, it is attached at a predetermined position, for example. Even if a long passer's object or a car's antenna collides with the parking lot sensor, they will hit the horn protection calyx first, so the direction of the horn will not change. . Therefore, the direction in which the ultrasonic waves are preset is not changed by the horn unit, the detection area is stabilized, and false alarms and false alarms are suppressed.

In the parking lot sensor according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the horn protective casket is provided so as to extend and contract in the direction of the horn portion, the horn portion can be covered with the horn protective calyx at a desired ratio if necessary. In the parking lot sensor according to the third aspect, the horn protective casket is detachably attached to the main body housing, so that the horn protective casket can be attached to and detached from the parking lot sensor as needed.

Conventionally, the rotation angle of the horn portion is limited in the portion housing the circuit portion inside the main body housing, but in the parking lot sensor according to the present invention, the horn protection cauldron is provided with the horn portion. Since the rotation angle can be limited by hitting, there is also an effect that the structure inside the main body housing can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing an embodiment of a parking lot sensor according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view schematically showing a conventional parking lot sensor.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view schematically showing a state in which a horn portion of a conventional parking lot sensor is rotated.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which a direction of a detection area is changed by rotation of a horn unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic transducer 2 Horn part 3 Sphere part 4 Surface housing 5 Holding part 6 Leaf spring 7 Housing base part 8 Signal processing circuit 9 Power supply circuit 10 Screws 11, 13 Horn protection cauldron 12 Main body housing

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI Technical indication location G08G 1/04 9303-2F G01S 7/52 B H04R 1/30 330 9303-2F 15/93 (72) Inventor Hideki Kawahara 1048, Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. (72) Inventor Goro Oda, 1048, Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A parking lot sensor, which is provided so as to project from a front surface of a main body housing and has a movable horn portion, is provided with a horn protective cauldron covering an outer peripheral side surface of the horn portion. Garage sensor. 2. The parking lot sensor according to claim 1, wherein the horn protective cauldron is provided so as to be capable of expanding and contracting toward the horn portion. 3. The parking lot sensor according to claim 1, wherein the horn protective cauldron is detachably attached to the main body housing. 4. The horn-protecting calyx is a plurality of calyxes covering a horn portion, wherein the horn-protecting calyx is a plurality of calyxes.
Parking sensor described in. 5. The horn-protecting calyx is constituted by a needle-shaped member that covers the horn portion.
Alternatively, the parking lot sensor according to item 3.