KR102471952B1 - Camera system for autonomous vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

A camera system for an autonomous vehicle may include: a housing having an air discharge hole for discharging air on one surface and forming a plurality of accommodation spaces therein; and a camera part that includes a main camera installed in any one of the plurality of accommodation spaces, and an auxiliary camera having a lens disposed in another of the plurality of accommodation spaces in a direction parallel to the main camera toward the air discharge hole, and taking an image of the front, rear, left and right sides of an autonomous vehicle through the air discharge hole.

Description

Camera system for autonomous vehicles}

The present invention relates to a camera system for an autonomous vehicle, and more particularly, to a camera system for an autonomous vehicle capable of stably capturing images of the front, rear, left and right sides of a vehicle for autonomous driving.

In general, when a driver drives a vehicle, the driver takes responsibility in all cases, and cameras play an auxiliary role to assist in driving and parking. When the driver is not present or the driver is not involved in driving and autonomous driving is performed, the camera captures the front, rear, left and right directions and analyzes them to achieve autonomous driving. In a camera that captures an image, a lens or a transparent window may become dirty or fail to capture an image depending on external circumstances. In this case, cleaning of the lens or transparent window is required, and for this purpose, the camera is made of at least one pair. It is very important to take pictures in the front, rear, left and right directions with a camera, and it is advantageous to cope with risks when the location where the cameras for self-driving cars are installed should be as free as possible and the maximum number of installations is provided.

However, since the pair of cameras have a convex lens or a transparent window exposed to the outside, they can get dirty depending on the external situation, so it may not be possible to take an image while cleaning, which can cause serious problems in the safety of autonomous driving. can

Problems that may occur under the special situation of autonomous driving can be classified into four types as follows.

First, it is an instantaneous contamination that occurs to the camera while driving the vehicle. Although cleaning may be performed quickly through a cleaning unit provided in the camera unit, a problem may be that there is a type of contamination that cannot be cleaned.

Second, there is a situation in which the front of the camera lens is momentarily covered by materials such as wet leaves or newspaper while driving.

Third, a lens, which is a relatively weak part of durability, is damaged by a falling object such as a stone or wood while driving.

Fourth, cleaning is performed when the contamination level of the self-driving camera exceeds the standard value, but image information is blocked during cleaning.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to normally display images in the front, rear, left and right directions of a vehicle even in problematic situations such as momentary contamination of the camera, a situation in which the front of the camera lens is momentarily covered, damage to the camera lens, and blocking of image information due to cleaning. It is to provide a camera system for self-driving cars that enables taking pictures.

A camera system for an autonomous vehicle according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes a housing having at least one pair of installation through-holes formed on one surface and forming an accommodation space therein; and a main camera having a lens installed in any one of the pair of installation through-holes and disposed in the accommodating space of the housing, and a lens disposed in the accommodating space of the housing in the same direction as the main camera. and a camera unit including an auxiliary camera capable of photographing the front, rear, left and right sides of the self-driving vehicle through the other one of the installation through-holes. The lens of the main camera is installed in the installation through-hole, and the lens of the sub-camera is arranged and installed within the accommodation space of the housing, so that even if images are taken alternately, they are not affected by external conditions, and the stability of autonomous driving is improved. It can be.

Here, if the lens of the main camera is made of a convex lens installed so as to protrude from the outer surface of the housing, and the lens of the auxiliary camera is made of a concave lens disposed in the accommodation space of the housing, the lens of the main camera is It can be installed in the installation through-hole, and the lens of the auxiliary camera can be disposed and installed in the accommodation space of the housing, which is preferable.

And if the installation through-hole corresponding to the auxiliary camera among the pair of installation through-holes is formed at least smaller than the installation through-hole corresponding to the main camera, it is disposed in the accommodation space of the housing and installed on the outside of the front, rear, left and right sides using the concave lens. It is desirable to be able to take a picture of

Here, it is disposed in the installation through-hole corresponding to the auxiliary camera among the pair of installation through-holes, and when the pressure of the accommodation space of the housing is a predetermined pressure, the installation through-hole corresponding to the auxiliary camera is opened, and the housing When the pressure of the accommodation space is less than the predetermined pressure, if the installation opening/closing part for closing the installation through-hole corresponding to the auxiliary camera is further included, in the case of not shooting with the auxiliary camera, the installation through-hole is closed and the shooting is performed with the auxiliary camera. It is preferable to allow the installation through-hole to be opened only in the

In addition, if a control unit for receiving an image from the camera unit and controlling autonomous driving based on the received image is further included, safe autonomous driving can be performed using an image captured by the camera unit.

Here, if a cleaning unit capable of cleaning the lens of the camera unit is further included, it is preferable to take a clear image by washing the lens of the camera unit.

And the cleaning unit includes a water supply unit capable of spraying water toward the lens of the camera unit, a detergent supply unit, an air spray unit capable of spraying air toward the lens of the camera unit, and a brush cleaning unit capable of cleaning the lens of the camera unit. If at least one of the parts is included, it is preferable to cleanly clean the surface of the convex lens.

If the cleaning unit includes an ultrasonic generator that generates ultrasonic waves and a vibrator capable of vibrating the lens of the camera unit, it is preferable that the convex lens surface can be cleanly cleaned even if there are foreign substances that are difficult to clean.

In addition, it is preferable to further include a heater for heating the accommodation space of the housing to prevent dew condensation that may occur in the housing.

According to the present invention, the lens of the main camera is installed in the installation through-hole, and the lens of the auxiliary camera is disposed and installed in the accommodation space of the housing, so that the camera is momentarily contaminated, the front of the camera lens is momentarily covered, and the camera lens is damaged. And by allowing images to be taken alternately even in problematic situations such as blocking of image information due to cleaning, it is possible to shoot images in the front, rear, left, and right directions of the vehicle normally without being affected by external conditions, thereby improving the stability of autonomous driving. There is an effect that can be.

1 is an exemplary diagram of a camera system for an autonomous vehicle according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a simplified view of the camera system for an autonomous vehicle of FIG. 1 .
3 is a deformable simplified view of a camera system for an autonomous vehicle.
4 is an exemplary operation view of the air discharge open/close unit.
5 is an exemplary operation diagram of a brush cleaning unit.
6 is an exemplary view of a cleaning unit for ultrasonic_vibration cleaning.
7 is an exemplary diagram of a heater for removing dew condensation in a housing.
8 is an exemplary view of a photographing opening and an air discharge hole.
9 is an exemplary view of a plurality of auxiliary cameras and air supply.
10 is a control block diagram.
11 is an exemplary installation diagram of a camera.

Hereinafter, a camera system 1 for an autonomous vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an exemplary view of a camera system for an autonomous vehicle according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a simplified view of the camera system for an autonomous vehicle of FIG. 1, and FIG. . 4 is an example of an operation of an air discharge open/close unit, FIG. 5 is an example of an operation of a brush cleaning unit, FIG. 6 is an example of a cleaning unit for ultrasonic_vibration cleaning, and FIG. 7 is a diagram for removing dew condensation in the housing. FIG. 8 is an example of a heater, FIG. 8 is an example of a photographing opening and an air discharge hole, FIG. 9 is an example of a plurality of auxiliary cameras and air supply, FIG. 10 is a control block diagram, and FIG. 11 is a camera unit 20 ) is an example of installation.

A camera system 1 for an autonomous vehicle is disposed to capture external images of the vehicle 2 in the front, rear, left, and right directions. A camera system 1 for an autonomous vehicle includes a housing 10, a camera unit 20, a cleaning unit 30, and a control unit 40.

The housing 10 has a photographing opening 12 and an air discharge hole 13 formed on one surface, and forms an accommodation space therein. The housing 10 may include a housing body 11, a photographing opening 12, an air discharge hole 13, an air supply control valve 14, and an air vent valve 15.

The housing body 11 forms an accommodating space for accommodating the camera unit 20, and this accommodating space may be partitioned into independent spaces for accommodating two cameras separately. The housing body 11 may be formed in a shape in which two cylindrical cylinders are attached.

The photographing opening 12 may be disposed in one of the two accommodating spaces and a convex lens 211 may be installed.

The air discharge hole 13 may be formed smaller than the size of the photographing opening 12 and may have a size that allows the concave lens 221 to photograph the outside.

The photographing opening 12 and the air discharge hole 13 are formed in parallel directions.

The air supply control valve 14 is installed on the air pipe 314 supplied to the accommodation space of the housing 10 to regulate air moving into the accommodation space of the housing 10 .

The air vent valve 15 may be supported and installed on the housing body 11, and may regulate air in the accommodation space of the housing 10 to block air from the outside and discharge the air to the outside. The air vent valve 15 can discharge compressed air to the outside in case compressed air remains in the receiving space of the housing 10 .

The camera unit 20 may capture images of the front, rear, left, and right sides of the self-driving vehicle 2 . The camera unit 20 includes a main camera 21 and an auxiliary camera 22 .

The main camera 21 can be installed in any one of a plurality of accommodating spaces, has a convex lens 211 that can be installed in the photographing opening 12, and can be disposed in the accommodating space of the housing 10.

The auxiliary camera 22 has a concave lens 221 disposed in the other one of the plurality of accommodation spaces of the housing 10 in a direction parallel to the main camera 21 toward the air discharge hole 13 and discharges air. Through the ball 13, images of the front, rear, left, and right of the self-driving vehicle 2 may be captured. The auxiliary camera 22 may further include an air discharge opening/closing unit 222 .

The air discharge opening/closing part 222 is disposed in the air discharge hole 13, and opens the air discharge hole 13 corresponding to the auxiliary camera 22 when the pressure of the accommodation space of the housing 10 is a predetermined pressure, and When the pressure of the receiving space of (10) is less than a predetermined pressure, the air discharge hole 13 corresponding to the auxiliary camera may be closed.

The air discharge opening/closing part 222 includes a male opening/closing part 222-1, a female opening/closing part 222-2, a male pinion 222-3, an ampinion 222-4, a male rack 222-5, and an arm rack 222 -6), a male elastic member 222-7, a female elastic member 222-8, a male elastic member accommodating portion 222-9, and an female elastic member accommodating portion 222-10.

The male opening/closing part 222-1 comes into contact with the female opening/closing part 222-2 and has a protrusion on one side so that the concave lens 221 can be blocked from the outside line of sight. A toothed portion is formed on the other side.

The female opening/closing part 222-2 comes into contact with the male opening/closing part 222-1 and has a recessed portion formed on one side so that the convex lens 211 can be blocked from the outside line of sight. A toothed portion is formed on the other side.

The male pinion 222-3 can move the male opening/closing part 222-1 while being rotated in engagement with the teeth of the male opening/closing part 222-1.

The arm pinion 222-4 may move the female opening/closing unit 222-1 while being rotated in engagement with the teeth of the female opening/closing unit 222-2.

The male rack 222-5 is disposed in the longitudinal direction of the auxiliary camera 22 and can be rotated by engaging with the male pinion 222-3.

The arm rack 222-6 is disposed in the longitudinal direction of the auxiliary camera 22 and can rotate by being engaged with the arm pinion 222-4.

The male elastic member 222-7 is accommodated in the male elastic member accommodating portion 222-9 and applies elasticity to the male opening/closing portion 222-1 in the direction of the female opening/closing portion 222-2.

The female elastic member 222-8 applies elasticity to the female opening/closing portion 222-2 in the direction of the male opening/closing portion 222-1 while being accommodated in the female elastic member accommodating portion 222-10.

The male elastic member accommodating portion 222-9 airtightly accommodates the male opening/closing portion 222-1 and one side of the male rack 222-5 and supports the male elastic member 222-7 so that it can be stretched and contracted.

The female elastic member accommodating portion 222-10 airtightly accommodates one side of the female opening/closing portion 222-2 and the arm rack 222-6 and accommodates and supports the female elastic member 222-8 so that it can be stretched and contracted.

The cleaning unit 30 may clean the convex lens 211 of the camera unit. The cleaning unit 30 may include a compressed air supply unit 31, a water supply unit 32, a detergent supply unit 33, a brush cleaning unit 34, an ultrasonic generator 35, a vibrator 36, and a heater 37. can

The compressed air supply unit 31 is airtightly connected to the accommodation space of the housing 10, can supply compressed air of a predetermined pressure or more to the accommodation space of the housing 10, and sprays the compressed air toward the convex lens 211. We can also supply for you. The compressed air supply unit 31 may include an air compression motor 311, an air tank 312, an air injection control valve 313, an air pipe 314, and an air injection nozzle 315.

The air compression motor 311 may compress air and store it in the air tank 312 .

The air tank 312 may receive compressed air from the air compression motor 311 and store it in a compressed state.

The air injection control valve 313 is disposed on the air pipe 314 connecting the air injection nozzle 315 and the air tank 312 to regulate the flow of air moving to the air injection nozzle 315.

The air pipe 314 connects the air injection nozzle 315 and the air tank 312 and may connect the air tank 312 and the housing 10 .

The air injection nozzle 315 is disposed toward the surface of the convex lens 211 and may inject compressed air supplied from the air tank 312 .

The water supply unit 32 is provided to spray water toward the convex lens 211 of the camera unit 20 . The water supply unit 32 may include a water transport pump 321, a water tank 322, a water transport pipe 323, a water detergent selection valve 324 and a water air selection valve 325.

The water transfer pump 321 may transfer water from the water tank 322 to the water air selection valve 325 .

The water tank 322 stores water.

The water transfer pipe 323 connects the water detergent selection valve 324 and the water air selection valve 325 from the water tank 322 to provide a movement path through which water can be moved.

The water detergent selection valve 324 is disposed at a portion where the water transport pipe 323 is connected to the detergent transport pipe 33, and can select a path to transport water, detergent, or water and detergent together.

The water air selection valve 325 is disposed at the branch point of the water transport pipe 323 and the air pipe 314 to selectively transport air, water or water detergent.

The detergent supply unit 33 may include a detergent transfer pump 331 , a detergent tank 332 and a detergent transfer pipe 333 .

The detergent transfer pump 331 may transfer the detergent in the detergent tank 332 to the water detergent selection valve 324 .

The detergent tank 332 may store detergent.

The detergent transfer pipe 333 connects the detergent tank 332 and the water detergent selection valve 324 to provide a path through which detergent is moved.

The brush cleaning unit 34 may be disposed near the convex lens 211 to clean the outer surface of the convex lens 211 . The brush cleaning unit 34 may include a brush 341 , a brush support unit 342 , a brush moving motor 343 and a brush rotation motor 344 .

The brush 341 is composed of hair-like bristles that are disposed outward from the outer surface of the intermediate rotating rod.

The brush support part 342 supports the brush 341 to be slidably movable from the front upper side so as to wash the convex lens 211 . In addition, the brush 341 is rotatably coupled to the brush support part 342 .

The brush moving motor 343 may drive the brush 341 to relatively slide with respect to the brush support 342 .

The brush rotation motor 344 may drive the brush 341 to rotate with respect to the brush support 342 to clean the convex lens 211 .

The ultrasonic generator 35 may generate ultrasonic waves.

The vibrator 36 may drive the convex lens to vibrate while at least the ultrasonic generator 35 generates ultrasonic waves.

The heater 37 is disposed on the air pipe 314 or in the accommodation space of the housing 10 to heat the accommodation space of the housing 10 to prevent dew condensation in the accommodation space of the housing 10.

The controller 40 may receive an image from the camera unit 20 and control autonomous driving based on the received image. The control unit 40 may control the air supply shut-off valve 14, the air vent valve 15, and the cleaning unit 30 so that proper washing is performed.

FIG. 2 is a simplified view of the camera system for an autonomous vehicle of FIG. 1 .

Housing 10, camera unit 20, air discharge hole 13, air supply shut-off valve 14, air compression motor 311, air tank 312 in a configuration diagram showing only the basic configurations necessary for the present invention And only the air pipe 314 can achieve the basic features of the present invention.

4 is an exemplary view of the operation of the installation open/close unit 222.

4 (a) A state in which the male opening/closing part 222-1 and the female opening/closing part 222-2 close the air discharge hole 13 by the male elastic member 222-7 and the female elastic member 222-8 to be.

4 (b) when compressed air is supplied from the compressed air supply unit 31 to the accommodation space of the housing 10, the pressure in the accommodation space of the housing 10 increases and the male rack 222-5 and the female rack 222-6 As it moves toward the air discharge hole 13, the male pinion 222-3 and the female pinion 222-4 rotate, and the male opening/closing part 222-1 and the female opening/closing part 222-2 move away from each other. It is moved to open the air discharge hole 13. Here, when the male opening/closing part 222-1 and the female opening/closing part 222-2 are moved by a predetermined length in a direction away from each other, a stopper may be provided so that they may remain open. In addition, when the male elastic member 222-7 and the female elastic member 222-8 are not supplied with compressed air, the male opening/closing part 222-1 and the female opening/closing part 222-2 are released from the stopper, It can be made to have an elastic force that allows it to move in the direction of being closed.

Here, although the male rack 222-5 and the arm rack 222-6 are slidably driven by compressed air supplied from the compressed air supply unit 31, the male rack 222-5 and the arm rack 222 -6) is composed of a solenoid valve, and sliding operation may be performed. This solenoid valve is operated under the control of the controller and is preferably operated after the compressed air supplied from the compressed air supply unit 31 is supplied to the accommodation space of the housing 10 to open the air discharge hole 13 . In addition, the solenoid valve is operated under the control of the control unit and is operated while compressed air supplied from the compressed air supply unit 31 is being supplied to close the air discharge hole 13. This is because when the solenoid valve operates to open and close the air discharge hole 13 in a state where the compressed air supplied from the compressed air supply unit 31 is not supplied due to the moving car, foreign substances from the outside enter the accommodation space of the housing 10. This is because the concave lens 221 may become dirty.

5 is an exemplary view of the operation of the brush cleaning unit 34.

Fig. 5 (a) A state in which the brush 341 is arranged on the front image side of the convex lens 211.

5 (b) When it is judged by the image of the camera unit 20, or when it is determined that cleaning is necessary, the brush 341 is rotated (forward rotation and reverse rotation) and the brush 341 slides up and down to convex. The outer surface of the lens 211 may be washed.

6 is an exemplary view of the cleaning unit 30 for ultrasonic_vibration cleaning.

When the ultrasonic generator 35 generates ultrasonic waves so that foreign substances in the convex lens 211 fall off, the vibrator 36 is disposed in the edge area of the convex lens 211 so that the convex lens 211 vibrates in the photographing aperture 12 can be made As a result, foreign substances can easily fall off the convex lens 211 and can be cleaned.

7 is an exemplary view of a heater 37 for removing dew condensation in the housing 10 .

The heater 37 may be disposed on the air pipe 314 before compressed air is introduced into the accommodation space of the housing 10 (A), and disposed on the air pipe 314 within the accommodation space of the housing 10. It can be (B).

Here, a pipe and a valve connecting the accommodating space in which the main camera 21 is disposed and the accommodating space in which the auxiliary camera 22 are disposed may be provided, and a heater 37 is installed in the accommodating space in which the main camera 21 is disposed. may be placed.

9 is an exemplary view of a plurality of auxiliary cameras and air supply.

The air compression motor 311 of the compressed air supply unit 31, the air tank 312 and the air supply shut-off valve ( 14) indicated what can be supplied through.

11 is an exemplary installation view of the camera unit 20.

11 (a) is an exemplary view of the actual camera unit 2.

11 (b) a plurality of camera units 20-1 to 20-12 are connected to the central control unit 4 to transmit images to the control unit 40, and the main camera 21 and the auxiliary camera 22 are It is an exemplary diagram for transmitting a control signal to alternately shoot so that autonomous driving can be performed safely and smoothly.

Information can be collected freely by the plurality of camera units 20-1 to 20-12, and if necessary, the number of camera units 20-1 to 20-12 can be increased to provide more sophisticated images. have. In addition, it can perfectly solve the problems of contamination, adhesion, breakage and cleaning. In addition, there is an advantage in that safe operation can be permanently maintained, whereas mistakes may occur when a driver is driving, and risks such as drowsy driving increase when driving for a long time.

Modifiable embodiments other than the above embodiments will be described.

The air discharge opening and closing part 222 may be surrounded by a pocket made of a material such as rubber in a completely sealed state from the outside. As a result, when compressed air is introduced into the accommodation space of the housing 10, the pockets are in close contact with the male rack 222-5 and the female rack 222-6, and the male rack 222-5 and the female rack 222-6 discharge air. It is easy to move in the direction of closing the ball 12.

The air injection nozzle 315 may be rotatably coupled to the air pipe 314 so that the injection direction is changed, and the air injection nozzle 315 changes the injection direction with respect to the air pipe 314. may be further included. As a result, more clean cleaning of the convex lens 211 can be achieved.

The cleaning sequence of the convex lens 211 is preferably performed in the order of detergent spraying - water spraying - air spraying - water spraying - air spraying. If necessary, cleaning the convex lens with a brush while spraying detergent - Spraying water while cleaning the convex lens with a brush - Spraying only water - Cleaning the brush while spraying water with a brush - Spraying water while cleaning the convex lens with a brush - Spraying only water - Only air It can be done in the order of injection.

Here, there are two types of brushes, one of which is made of brush bristles and the other of which is made of a washing towel so that water on the surface of the convex lens 211 can be completely removed.

A cooler may be additionally provided along with the heater 37 . A cooler may be used together with the heater 37 to remove frost or dew condensation.

Due to the camera system 1 for self-driving cars, the lens of the main camera is installed in one of a plurality of accommodating spaces, and the lens of the auxiliary camera is disposed and installed in the accommodating space of the housing, thereby taking images alternately. The stability of autonomous driving can be improved by taking pictures without being affected by external conditions.

1: Camera system for self-driving cars 2: Vehicles
10: housing
11: housing body 12: shooting opening
13: air discharge hole 14: air supply shutoff valve
15: air vent valve
20: camera unit
21: main camera 211: convex lens
22: auxiliary camera 221: concave lens
222: air discharge open closing part
30: cleaning unit
31: compressed air supply unit 311: air compression motor
312: air tank 313: air injection shutoff valve
314: air piping 315: air injection nozzle
32: water supply unit 321: water transfer pump
322: water tank 323: water transfer pipe
324: water detergent selection valve 325: water air selection valve
33: detergent supply unit 331: detergent transfer pump
332: detergent tank 333: detergent transfer pipe
34: brush cleaning unit 341: brush
342: brush support 343: brush movement motor
344: brush rotation motor
35: ultrasonic generator 36: vibrator
37: heater 40: control unit

Claims (10)

In the camera system for autonomous vehicles,
A housing having an air discharge hole for discharging air on one surface thereof and forming a plurality of accommodation spaces therein;
A main camera installed in any one of the plurality of accommodating spaces, and a lens disposed in the other one of the plurality of accommodating spaces in a direction parallel to the main camera toward the air discharge hole, and through the air discharge hole, the autonomous A camera unit including an auxiliary camera capable of taking images of the front, rear, left and right sides of the driving vehicle; and
A camera system for an autonomous vehicle comprising a compressed air supply unit that is airtightly connected to the accommodation space of the housing and supplies compressed air having a predetermined pressure or higher to the accommodation space of the housing.
According to claim 1,
The lens of the main camera is made of a convex lens installed to protrude from the outer surface of the housing, and the lens of the auxiliary camera is made of a concave lens disposed in the accommodation space of the housing.
According to claim 2,
The housing has a photographing opening through which the convex lens captures an image, and the air discharge hole is formed at least smaller than the photographing opening.
delete According to claim 1,
Disposed in the air discharge hole, the air discharge hole may be opened when the pressure of the accommodation space of the housing is a predetermined pressure, and the air discharge hole may be closed when the pressure of the accommodation space of the housing is less than a predetermined pressure. A camera system for an autonomous vehicle further comprising a lung.
According to claim 1,
The camera system for an autonomous vehicle further comprising a control unit that receives an image from the camera unit and controls autonomous driving based on the received image.
According to claim 1,
A camera system for an autonomous vehicle further comprising a cleaning unit capable of cleaning the lens of the camera unit.
According to claim 7,
The cleaning unit,
At least one of a water supply unit capable of spraying water toward the lens of the camera unit, a detergent supply unit, an air spray unit capable of jetting air toward the lens of the camera unit, and a brush cleaning unit capable of washing the lens of the camera unit A camera system for self-driving cars that includes
According to claim 7,
The cleaning unit,
A camera system for an autonomous vehicle comprising an ultrasonic generator for generating ultrasonic waves and a vibrator for vibrating a lens of the camera unit.
According to claim 1,
A camera system for an autonomous vehicle further comprising a heater for heating an accommodation space of the housing.

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