WO2023110616A1

WO2023110616A1 - Automotive camera with alignment support

Info

Publication number: WO2023110616A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/084966
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sean Mcgreevy; Blain Prendergast
Original assignee: Connaught Electronics Ltd.
Priority date: 2021-12-14
Filing date: 2022-12-08
Publication date: 2023-06-22
Also published as: DE102021132880A1

Abstract

An automotive camera (1) comprises a camera body (4), which has an essentially cuboid outer shape. The camera body (4) has a first chamfer (7) at a first edge (8) of the essentially cuboid outer shape, which extends only partially from a lateral surface (10, 19) of the essentially cuboid outer shape along the first edge (8), wherein the first chamfer (7) breaks a two-fold or four-fold rotational symmetry of an outline of the lateral surface (10, 19).

Description

Automotive camera with alignment support

The present invention is directed to an automotive camera comprising a camera body, which has an essentially cuboid outer shape. The invention is further directed to a method for manufacturing such an automotive camera and to a motor vehicle.

Cameras, which are designed to be arranged on motor vehicles, may be denoted as automotive cameras. Automotive cameras depicting an exterior environment of the motor vehicle are used for various driver assistance functions or other functions for partially or fully automatic driving of a motor vehicle. However, automotive cameras may also be employed for the capturing an interior of the vehicle and may be arranged correspondingly. Thus, automotive cameras may be exposed to significant temperature fluctuations and/or other environmental conditions. Moreover, automotive cameras are also exposed to mechanical stress due to the vibrations while the vehicle is moving. Automotive cameras for motor vehicles should therefore be designed to operate as desired under said conditions and to achieve sufficiently good image quality. The images may then be provided to driver assistance systems or other electronic vehicle guidance systems, which may use them as an input for driver assistance or at least partly automatically guiding the vehicle.

Automotive cameras may possess an anisotropic field of view and/or an array of photodetectors, which is rectangular but not quadratic. Consequently, the alignment of the automotive camera when mounting it to a motor vehicle may be important. There may also be other or additional reasons, why the alignment of the automotive camera should be well-defined.

Since known automotive cameras may have a camera body, whose outer shape is essentially cubic or cuboid, the orientation of the camera may not easily be recognizable by a person mounting the automotive camera. It is known to equip the camera body with a feature to break the symmetry of the camera body in order to make the orientation visible at a first glance. Such features, however, may reduce the assembly space available for electronic components, for example circuit boards, which carry the array of optical detectors and/or other component, inside the camera body. It is an objective of the present invention to equip an automotive camera with a camera body, which allows for an easy identification of the alignment or orientation of the automotive camera, while the available assembly space inside the camera body is less affected.

This objective is achieved by the subject-matter of the independent claim. Further implementations and preferred embodiments are subject-matter of the dependent claims.

The invention is based on the idea to equip the camera body of the automotive camera with an alignment feature, which comprises a chamfer at an edge of the cuboid outer shape of the camera body, wherein the chamfer does not extend along the whole length of the edge of the camera body but only partially along the edge.

According to an aspect of the invention, an automotive camera is provided. The automotive camera comprises a camera body, which may also be denoted as camera housing and which has an at least essentially cuboid outer shape. The camera body has a first chamfer at a first edge of the essentially cuboid outer shape, wherein the first chamfer extends only partially from a lateral surface of the essentially cuboid outer shape along the first edge. The first chamfer breaks a two-fold or four-fold rotational symmetry of an outline of the lateral surface.

The camera body may, for example, be designed to carry a lens unit of the automotive camera and/or to accommodate an imager chip or detector chip inside the camera body.

A cuboid outer shape may be a cubic or a non-cubic cuboid outer shape. The essentially cuboid outer shape of the camera body may, for example, be understood such that the camera body comprises six mutually parallel lateral surfaces, which are connected to each other at respective edges. Therein, the edges may be sharp edges defining more or less an angle of 270° or 90° between the respective lateral surfaces. The edges may, however, also be rounded or, in other words have the outline of a quarter circle. Furthermore, the essentially cuboid outer shape is, in particular, essentially cuboid when neglecting the first chamfer.

The respective outlines of the lateral surfaces are therefore, neglecting the first chamfer and optionally further chamfers, essentially rectangular including the case of an essentially quadratic outline. Therein, essentially rectangular may be, in particular, understood that it includes rectangles with rounded edges or rounded rectangles, respectively.

A general rectangle has a two-fold rotational symmetry around a symmetry axis, which is perpendicular to the plane of the rectangle and runs through its center point. This holds true also for rounded rectangles. In a special case of a square or, in other words, a quadratic rectangle, the symmetry is a four-fold rotational symmetry around said axis. Consequently, the lateral surface from which the first chamfer extends would have a twofold or four-fold rotational symmetry, if all four edges were implemented in the same way, in particular if the first chamfer would not be present. By providing the first chamfer at the first edge, the two-fold, or in case of a square four-fold, rotational symmetry is broken. This means, in particular, that the camera body does not possess any further feature or chamfer, which would restore the two-fold or four-fold rotational symmetry, which is broken by the first chamfer. In this way, the first chamfer uniquely defines the orientation of the lateral surface and therefore of the camera body. In other words, the first chamfer may be considered as a poka-yoke feature.

The first chamfer extending from the lateral surface only partially along the first edge means, in particular, that it does not extend fully along the first edge. In other words, the extension of the first chamfer is from the lateral surface along the first edge to a predefined position between the lateral surface and a further lateral surface opposite to the lateral surface. In particular, the first chamfer may only extend for a fraction of the length of the first edge, for example a tenth or less of the length of the first edge.

In this way, the unique alignment of the camera body is possible without affecting the inner volume and consequently the available assembly space in the camera body significantly. The flexibility for arranging electronic or mechanic components within the camera body and the assembly space, respectively, is enhanced.

According to several implementations of the automotive camera, the camera body comprises a lens holder portion, which comprises a front surface with an opening.

According to several implementations, the automotive camera comprises a lens unit, which is arranged in the opening and connected to the lens holder portion. According to several implementations, the camera body comprises a rear housing portion, which is connected to the lens holder portion. The rear housing portion comprises a rear surface, which is arranged opposite to the front surface of the lens holder portion.

The lens holder portion may also be denoted as a front housing portion of the automotive camera. The lens holder portion together with the rear housing portion form the assembly space for the electronic components of the automotive camera including the circuit board carrying the detector chip or imager chip.

The opening, which is, in particular, a through-hole or pass-through opening, may, for example, comprise means for connecting the lens unit. For example, the lens unit, which comprises a lens housing and one or more lenses arranged within the lens housing, may be connected to the lens holder portion by a threaded connection. For example, the lens housing may comprise an external or internal thread and the lens holder portion, in particular a flange or the opening of the lens holder portion, may comprise an external or internal thread for connecting the lens unit.

The lens unit or, in other words, the one or more lenses, comprise an optical axis. The optical axis is, in particular, orientated perpendicular to the front surface and parallel to the first edge. In other words, the first chamfer may extend partially in a direction parallel to the optical axis.

The lens holder portion and/or the rear housing portion may consist at least in part of a plastic material or a metal, such as aluminum or magnesium. The lens holder portion and the rear housing portion may be connected to each other, for example by means of welding, in particular laser welding.

In some implementations, the lateral surface, from which the first chamfer extends partially along the first edge, corresponds to the front surface of the lens holder portion.

In some implementations, the first chamfer extends only partially from the front surface along a part of the edge, which belongs to the lens holder portion.

In other words, the first chamfer is only present at the part of the edge, which belongs to the lens holder portion. In yet other words, the rear housing portion is not affected by the first chamfer. Furthermore, the first chamfer does not fully extend along the lens holder portion. Consequently, a contact region, where the lens holder portion and the rear housing portion are in contact with each other, may not be affected by the first chamfer. This is particularly beneficial since it increases the flexibility for the shape of the contact region. For example, the shape of the contact region may be chosen to have a two-fold or four-fold rotational symmetry, which is broken for the front surface but not for the contact region. Therefore, the assembly of the camera body, in particular the connection of the lens holder portion and the rear housing portion to each other, may be simplified. For example, when using laser welding for connecting the lens holder portion to the rear housing portion, the contour to be followed by the laser for the laser welding may be particularly simple since it resembles the two-fold or four-fold symmetry of the contact region.

According to several implementations, the camera body has a second chamfer at the first edge or at a second edge of the essentially cuboid outer shape. The second chamfer extends only partially from the rear surface of the rear housing portion along the first edge or the second edge, respectively. The second chamfer breaks a two-fold or four-fold rotational symmetry of an outline of the rear surface.

The explanations with respect to the first chamfer, the first edge and the lateral surface or the front surface, respectively, may be carried over to the second chamfer analogously.

In such implementations, the first chamfer breaks the symmetry of the front surface, and the second chamfer breaks the symmetry of the rear surface. In both cases, the chamfers do not extend along the complete edge of the outer shape of the camera body. Therefore, the advantages with respect to the first chamfer also carry over to the second chamfer.

By implementing the first and the second chamfer, not only a unique orientation of a single camera body may be immediately seen by an observer but also two different cameras may be distinguished reliably. To this end, for example, the first chamfer may be provided at the same edge for both cameras, while the second chamfer may be provided at different edges for the two cameras. This may be particularly beneficial, when the two cameras are mounted close to each other in the same motor vehicle. For example, the motor vehicle may comprise two cameras, which differ in their focal length or another parameter. For example, the two cameras may comprise a wide-angle camera and a tele camera or another combination. While the lens units may have rather similar outer appearances, the second chamfer may allow for a unique differentiation between the two types of cameras, while the first chamfer represents the unique orientation of both cameras. In other words, the first chamfer may be used as a primary poka-yoke feature and the second chamfer as a secondary poka-yoke feature. Obviously, the first and the second chamfer may also be used in the opposite way.

In some implementations, the lens holder portion and the rear housing portion are in contact to each other at the contact region, and the contact region has a two-fold or fourfold rotational symmetry, which is, in particular, not broken by the first or the second chamfer.

In other words, an outline of the camera body has the two-fold or four-fold rotational symmetry at the position of the contact region but not at the front surface and/or the rear surface.

In other words, neither the first nor the second chamfer extends along the first or second edge, respectively, far enough to reach the contact region.

According to several implementations, the automotive camera comprises a circuit board, which is arranged inside the camera body, in particular parallel to the front and the rear surface. The circuit board is positioned inside the camera body at a distance from the lateral surface, in particular the front surface, which is greater than an extension depth of the first chamfer.

The extension depth of the first chamfer corresponds to a distance between the lateral surface and the point at the first edge, where the first chamfer ends.

In such implementations, the design of the circuit board is not affected by the first chamfer. Consequently, the flexibility for designing the circuit board is increased.

In particular, an outline of the circuit board may be rectangular or have the shape of a rounded rectangle. The available assembly space may therefore be used more efficiently.

Analogously, in respective implementations, the circuit board is arranged inside the camera body at a distance from the rear surface, which is greater than an extension depth of the second chamfer.

The extension depth of the second chamfer corresponds to a distance between the rear surface and the point at the first or second edge, where the second chamfer ends. In such implementations, the design of the circuit board is neither affected by the first chamfer nor by the second chamfer. Consequently, the flexibility for designing the circuit board is increased.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a motor vehicle comprising an automotive camera according to the invention is provided.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a method for manufacturing an automotive camera according to the invention is provided. Therein, the lens holder portion and the rear housing portion are connected to each other by a laser welding, in particular at the contact region.

The lens holder portion and the rear housing portion may be provided, for example, as injection-molded parts or may be manufactured by means of another standard process. Then, the circuit board and, if applicable, further electronic components may be arranged in the assembly space, for example in the rear housing portion. Then, the rear housing portion and the lens holder portion may be connected to each other by laser welding.

The lens unit may be attached to the lens holder portion afterwards or prior to the connection by laser welding. Also, sockets or connectors for contacting the imager chip or other electronic components may be provided and attached correspondingly.

Further features of the invention are apparent from the claims, the figures and the figure description. The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of figures and/or shown in the figures may be comprised by the invention not only in the respective combination stated, but also in other combinations. In particular, embodiments and combinations of features, which do not have all the features of an originally formulated claim, are also comprised by the invention. Moreover, embodiments and combinations of features which go beyond or deviate from the combinations of features set forth in the recitations of the claims are comprised by the invention.

In the following, the invention will be explained in detail with reference to specific exemplary implementations and respective schematic drawings. In the drawings, identical or functionally identical elements may be denoted by the same reference signs. The description of identical or functionally identical elements is not necessarily repeated with respect to different figures. In the figures:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of a motor vehicle with an exemplary implementation of an automotive camera according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of an automotive camera in a perspective view;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of a further exemplary implementation of an automotive camera according to the invention in a perspective view;

Fig. 4A shows a front view of a further exemplary implementation of an automotive camera according to the invention;

Fig. 4B shows a front view of a further exemplary implementation of an automotive camera according to the invention;

Fig. 4C shows a front view of a further exemplary implementation of an automotive camera according to the invention;

Fig. 4D shows a front view of a further exemplary implementation of an automotive camera according to the invention;

Fig. 5A shows a schematic side view of a lens holder portion of a further exemplary implementation of an automotive camera according to the invention;

Fig. 5B shows a perspective view of the lens holder portion of Fig. 5A;

Fig. 5C shows a further perspective view of the lens holder portion of Fig. 5A and

Fig- 5B;

Fig. 6A shows a rear view of a further exemplary implementation of an automotive camera according to the invention; and

Fig. 6B shows a rear view of a further exemplary implementation of an automotive camera according to the invention. Fig. 1 shows schematically a top view of a motor vehicle 2 comprising one or more automotive cameras 1 according to the invention. The automotive cameras 1 may be connected to an electronic control unit, ECU, 3 of the motor vehicle 2 for providing image data to the ECU 3.

Fig. 2 shows schematically an automotive camera 1 ’, which is not implemented according to the invention. The automotive camera 1 ’ comprises a camera body 4’, whose outer shape is approximately that of a cuboid, where at one edge of the cuboid, a chamfer 7’ extends along the whole length of the edge.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of an exemplary implementation of an automotive camera 1 according to the invention. Also, the automotive camera 1 has a camera body 4 with an essentially cuboid outer shape, in particular it has essentially the shape of a cuboid with rounded edges. The camera body 4 comprises a rear housing portion 5 connected to a lens holder portion 6, which is sometimes also denoted as front housing portion. At a front surface 10 of the lens holder portion 6, a lens unit 12 of the camera 1 is connected, for example to a flange 11 of the lens holder portion 6, in particular by means of a threaded connection. An optical axis 13 of the lens unit 12 is perpendicular to the front surface 10. Fig. 4A shows a front view of the camera 1 of Fig. 3.

The camera body 4 has a chamfer 7 at an edge 8 of the cuboid outer shape of the camera body 4, which is parallel to the optical axis 13. In the non-limiting example of Fig. 3 and Fig. 4A, the chamfer 7 is at the top left edge from a perspective of the front view given in Fig. 4A. As can be seen from Fig. 3, however, the chamfer 7 extends only partially from the front surface 10 along the edge 8. In particular, the chamfer 7 extends only partially along the edge 8 such that it does not reach a contact region, where the rear housing portion 5 is connected to the lens holder portion 6.

In particular, the lens holder portion 6 does not comprise another such chamfer except for the chamfer 7 extending from the front surface 10, as can be seen from Fig. 4A. Consequently, the originally two-fold or four-fold symmetry of the front surface 10 is broken by the chamfer 7. This allows for a unique orientation of the camera 1 .

In other implementations, the edge 8 and the chamfer 7 may be at different positions, as indicated in Fig. 4B, 4C and 4D. Fig. 5A, Fig. 5B and Fig. 5C show a lens holder portion 6 of an automotive camera 1 according to the invention, for example the camera 1 according to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4A, in various views. In particular, Fig. 5A shows a side view, Fig. 5B shows a perspective view from the front and Fig. 5C shows a corresponding perspective view from a side of the lens holder portion 6 facing the interior of the camera body 4 when assembled.

As can be seen in Fig. 5B and Fig. 5C, the front surface 10 comprises a through-hole opening 15 for accommodating the lens unit 12 such that light entering the lens unit 12 from outside of the camera 1 may enter the interior of the camera body 4 and hit the optical detectors or the imager (not shown) of the automotive camera 1 .

In Fig. 5A, the extension of the chamfer 7 along the edge 8 is denoted by d, while the length of the edge 8 from the front surface 10 to the contact region between the lens holder portion 6 and the rear housing portion 5 is denoted by D. As seen in Fig. 5A, the extension d is, in general and preferably, smaller than the extension D. Consequently, a contact surface 17, at which the lens holder portion 6 is in contact with the rear housing portion 5 as shown in Fig. 5C, has a symmetric, in particular a two-fold or four-fold rotational symmetric, outline in contrast to the front surface 10.

The lens holder portion 6 may also have one or more, in the present example four, contact pins 16 for mechanically connecting the lens holder portion 6 to the rear housing portion 5. The contact pins 16 may ensure a general mechanical fixing or alignment, while the lens holder portion 6 may further be connected to the rear housing portion 5 by means of laser welding.

As also shown in Fig. 3, the camera body 4 may in some implementations have a further chamfer 9 at the edge 8, which extends only partially along the edge 8 from a rear surface 19 (see Fig. 6A and Fig. 6B), which is opposite to the front surface 10. A respective rear view of the camera 1 is shown in Fig. 6B, which also shows a connector 14 for connecting the camera 1 at the rear side to the ECU 3. In alternative implementations, the further chamfer 9 may be at another edge 18, which is parallel to the edge 8, as shown, for example, in Fig. 6A.

As described, in particular with respect to the figures, the invention provides a possibility to make the orientation of an automotive camera immediately apparent to an observer, while the available assembly space within the camera body is kept large. As the chamfer is a negative feature, production of the camera body is simplified and there are not necessarily protruding bosses, which could get damaged or be difficult to produce. The chamfer may provide a large visual feature for orientation purposes.

In some implementations, one or both housing portions, namely the lens holder portion and the rear housing portion, incorporate chamfer features which extend only partially through the camera body. Thus, while providing effective poka-yoke functionality, the critical geometry at the interface where the housing portions meet is still essentially a rectangle or a square.

In respective implementations, the two chamfer features are independent of each other and therefore provide many possibilities for configurations of the camera without necessarily having to create additional tooling and allow for a secondary poka-yoke feature without a change of the tooling.

In some implementations, the lens holder portion can conceivably be orientated with the chamfer feature in any of four positions without impacting the internal circuit board.

In respective implementations, the designs of both chamfer features allow for both housing portions to conceivably be assembled in any orientation to one another. The design also allows for flexibility in the rear housing connector. The connector geometry can be easily adjusted to position the connector in any orientation relative to the chamfer feature.

When mounting the camera to the motor vehicle, the camera can be loaded vertically, that is perpendicular to the optical axis, where space is limited, for example under the windscreen. Otherwise, for example when mounting the camera to a fender or a wing mirror, it can also be loaded horizontally, that is parallel to the optical axis. In both cases, the chamfer may be immediately be seen and act as a poka-yoke feature.

Claims

Claims Automotive camera (1 ) comprising a camera body (4), which has an essentially cuboid outer shape, characterized in that the camera body (4) has a first chamfer (7) at a first edge (8) of the essentially cuboid outer shape, which extends from a lateral surface (10, 19) of the essentially cuboid outer shape only partially along the first edge (8), wherein the first chamfer (7) breaks a two-fold or four-fold rotational symmetry of an outline of the lateral surface (10, 19). Automotive camera (1 ) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the camera body (4) comprises a lens holder portion (6), which comprises a front surface (10) with an opening (16); the automotive camera (1) comprises a lens unit (12), which is arranged in the opening (16) and connected to the lens holder portion (6); and the camera body (4) comprises a rear housing portion (5), which is connected to the lens holder portion (6); the rear housing portion (5) comprises a rear surface (19), which is arranged opposite to the front surface (10). Automotive camera (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the lateral surface (10, 19) corresponds to the front surface (10) of the lens holder portion (6). Automotive camera (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the first chamfer (7) extends from the front surface (10) only partially along a part of the edge, which belongs to the lens holder portion (6). Automotive camera (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the camera body (4) has a second chamfer (9) at a second edge (18) of the essentially cuboid outer shape, which extends from the rear surface (19) only partially along the second edge (18), wherein the second chamfer (9) breaks a twofold or four-fold rotational symmetry of an outline of the rear surface (19); or the camera body (4) has a second chamfer (9) at the first edge (8), which extends from the rear surface (19) only partially along the first edge (8), wherein the second chamfer (9) breaks a two-fold or four-fold rotational symmetry of an outline of the rear surface (19). Automotive camera (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the lateral surface (10, 19) corresponds to the rear surface (19) of the rear housing portion (5). Automotive camera (1) according to one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the lens holder portion (6) and the rear housing portion (5) are in contact to each other at a contact region (17), which has a two-fold or four-fold rotational symmetry. Automotive camera (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the automotive camera (1) comprises a circuit board, which is arranged inside the camera body (4) at a distance from the lateral surface (10, 19), which is greater than an extension depth of the first chamfer (7). Method for manufacturing an automotive camera (1 ) according to one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that the lens holder portion (6) and the rear housing portion (5) are connected to each other by laser welding. 14

10. Motor vehicle (2) comprising an automotive camera (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8.