JP7067422B2 - Vehicle photography equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle photographing device provided inside a front windshield of a vehicle.

The vehicle photographing device of Patent Document 1 includes a camera located inside (immediately after) the front windshield of the vehicle, a case that supports the camera and is supported by the inner side surface of the front windshield, and the camera and the rear of the case. It is equipped with a cover that covers the lower part, both sides and the front part, and is supported on the inner side surface of the front windshield.

The cover is not located between the camera and the front windshield. Therefore, for example, when the reflected light (subject image) reflected by a subject located in front of the vehicle (for example, the vehicle) is transmitted backward through the front windshield, the reflected light is transmitted through the lens of the camera and then by the image pickup element. It is converted into imaging data.

Further, a through hole is formed on the lower surface of the cover, and a ventilation fan is provided in this through hole. Therefore, the heat generated from the camera is exhausted from the space between the front windshield and the cover to the outside of the cover by the air flow formed by the ventilation fan.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-0780807

In Patent Document 1, since a through hole (fan) is provided on the lower surface of the cover, there is a high possibility that the through hole (fan) will enter the field of view of the driver seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle. However, since the through hole (fan) may spoil the aesthetic appearance of the cover, it is preferable to form the through hole in the cover so as not to enter the driver's field of view.

Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, a through hole is formed in the front wall of the cover so as to face the camera, a plurality of fins are provided inside the through hole, and the camera is positioned immediately after the through hole. Can be thought of. If the vehicle photographing device is configured in such an manner, the heat generated from the camera is exhausted to the outside of the cover through the through hole in the front wall. Furthermore, it is unlikely that the through holes and fins provided in the front wall will be in the driver's field of view.

By the way, a vehicle photographing device of a vehicle capable of performing an automatic driving operation may include a plurality of cameras having different positions in the front-rear direction. In this case, the front-rear length of the cover tends to be longer than in the case of one camera and the case where the front-back positions of the plurality of cameras are the same. If a through hole and fins are provided in the front wall of such a cover and the camera located at the frontmost position and the case supporting the camera are located immediately after the through hole, the front-rear length of the cover becomes further longer. If the front-rear length of the cover is longer than a certain length, the driver's field of vision may be narrowed by the cover, or the occupant may feel oppressive.

The present invention has been made to address the above problems. That is, one of the objects of the present invention is to dissipate the heat generated by the sensors to the outside of the cover on the cover covering the plurality of sensors located immediately after the front windshield and different in the front-rear direction and the case supporting the sensors. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle photographing device capable of shortening the length of the cover in the front-rear direction while providing a heat exhausting means for heating so as not to be easily seen by an occupant.

The vehicle photographing apparatus (20, 20A, 20B) according to the present invention for achieving the above object is
A plurality of sensors (33, 34, 49, 50) arranged behind the front windshield (10) provided in the vehicle, and
A plurality of cases (31, 46) supporting the sensor, and
A member (26) having a fixed portion (27) fixed to the inner side surface of the front windshield and a front end protrusion (28) extending forward of the vehicle at a position away from the front windshield.
A cover (65, 75) that covers at least the bottom of the sensor and the case.
Equipped with
The position of at least one of the sensors in the vehicle front-rear direction is different from that of the other sensors.
A front end protrusion (48) projecting forward is provided at the front end of the case (46) that supports the front sensor (49, 50), which is the most front sensor.
The front end protrusion (48) of the case is fixed to the front end protrusion (28) of the member.
The cover has a front wall (68) located anterior to all the sensors and provided with holes (69) .
The front end of the front end protrusion (48) of the case and the front end (28) of the front end protrusion of the member are arranged in the holes (69, 73, 74) of the front wall of the cover.

In the present invention, the cover has a front wall located anterior to all sensors and provided with holes. Therefore, the heat generated by each sensor can be exhausted to the outside of the cover through this hole. Since this hole (heat exhausting means) is provided on the front wall of the cover, there is little possibility that this hole will enter the view of the occupant.

Further, in the present invention, the front end portion of the case that supports the front sensor is arranged in the hole in the front wall of the cover. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the length of the cover in the front-rear direction as compared with the case where the front end portion of the case is located behind the front wall (hole).

In the above description, in order to help understanding of the present invention, the name and / or the reference numeral used in the embodiment are added in parentheses to the structure of the invention corresponding to the embodiment described later. However, each component of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment defined by the reference numerals.

It is a perspective view seen from the diagonally lower side of the image pickup apparatus for a vehicle and the front windshield which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a vertical sectional side view of the photographing apparatus for a vehicle and the front windshield which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view seen from above of the photographing apparatus for vehicles which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic plan view of the front part of the case of the stereo camera apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the front part of the photographing apparatus for a vehicle which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the VI-VI arrow line of FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. It is a schematic perspective view when viewed from the front of the vehicle photographing apparatus of the 1st modification of this invention. It is the same cross-sectional view as FIG. 7 of the 1st modification of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view when viewed from the front of the vehicle photographing apparatus of the 2nd modification of this invention. It is the same cross-sectional view as FIG. 7 of the 2nd modification of this invention. It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. 6 of the comparative example.

Hereinafter, the vehicle photographing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle photographing device 20 (hereinafter, referred to as “photographing device 20”) according to the embodiment is provided inside (immediately after) the vehicle front windshield 10 of the vehicle. The front windshield 10 is made of a translucent material (eg, glass or resin). As shown in FIG. 2, the front windshield 10 is inclined with respect to the vehicle body in a manner gradually toward the front of the vehicle from the upper side to the lower side.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the photographing apparatus 20 has, as main components, a base member 22, a sub-base member 26, a locator telescope camera device 30 (locator camera 33, a telescope camera 34), a light-shielding hood 36, and a housing 40. , A stereo camera device 45 (camera 49, camera 50), a light-shielding hood 60, a main cover 65, and a sub-cover 75.

A notch 23 having a substantially trapezoidal shape in a plan view is formed on the leading edge portion of the metal base member 22 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Further, hanging pieces 24 are provided on both left and right sides of the base member 22, and locking holes 25 are formed in each hanging piece 24. The upper surface of the base member 22 is fixed to the upper part of the inner side surface of the front windshield 10 by an adhesive.

The metal sub-base member 26 shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 extends diagonally downward from the fixed portion 27 substantially parallel to the front windshield 10 and the central portion of the leading edge portion of the fixed portion 27. It is provided with a front end protrusion 28 extending diagonally downward to the front and a pair of supporting protrusions 29 extending diagonally downward from both left and right sides of the front edge portion of the fixed portion 27. A bolt insertion hole 28a is formed in the front end protrusion 28. Locking holes 29a are formed in the left and right supporting protrusions 29. Further, the sub-base member 26 is located in front of (below) the base member 22, and the upper surface of the fixed portion 27 is fixed to the upper part of the inner side surface of the front windshield 10 by an adhesive.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a locator telephoto camera device 30 is supported on the lower surface of the base member 22. The locator telephoto camera device 30 has a case 31. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a recess 32 having a substantially trapezoidal shape in a plan view is formed in the front portion of the upper surface of the case 31. Further, a locator camera 33 and a telephoto camera 34 are supported on the rear surface of the recess 32. The locator camera 33 is a camera sensor for driving support (for automatic driving) that detects peripheral information (position, direction, distance, etc.) of the vehicle. The telephoto camera 34 is also a camera sensor for driving support. The locator camera 33 and the telephoto camera 34 include a lens provided in front of them and an image sensor provided immediately after each lens.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the recess 32 of the case 31 is provided with a light-shielding hood 36 having a substantially trapezoidal shape in a plan view so as not to interfere with the locator camera 33 and the telephoto camera 34. As shown in FIG. 2, the light-shielding hood 36 has a shape that allows the front windshield 10 to pass from the front to the rear and does not interfere with the photographing light (reflected light) incident on the lenses of the locator camera 33 and the telephoto camera 34.

The metal housing 40 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 has a shape that covers the lower surface, the left and right side surfaces, and the rear surface of the locator telephoto camera device 30. The base member 22, the locator telescope camera device 30 and the housing 40 penetrate the base member 22, the locator telescope camera device 30 and the housing 40 in the vertical direction, and the head 43 thereof is welded to the upper surface of the base member 22. The four weld bolts 42 shown in FIG. 3 and the four nuts (not shown) screwed to the lower part of each weld bolt 42 are fastened together with each other.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a stereo camera device 45 located in front of (below) the locator telephoto camera device 30 is arranged immediately after the front windshield 10. The stereo camera device 45 has a case 46. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, one recess 47 is formed in the front portion of the case 46. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the front end portion of the case 46 is provided with a front end protrusion 48 projecting forward. The front end protrusion 48 is formed with a bolt insertion hole 48a penetrating the front end protrusion 48. Further, a camera 49 and a camera 50 are provided on the rear surface of the recess 47, respectively. The camera 49 and the camera 50 are camera sensors for driving support that detect peripheral information (position, direction, distance, etc.) of the vehicle. The camera 49 and the camera 50 include a lens provided in front of them and an image pickup device provided immediately after each lens.

FIG. 3 shows that the rear portion of the case 46 and the front portion of the base member 22 penetrate the front portion of the base member 22 and the rear portion of the case 46 in the vertical direction, and the head portion 53 thereof is welded to the upper surface of the base member 22. The two weld bolts 52 shown in the above are fixed to each other by two nuts (not shown) screwed to the lower part of each weld bolt 52. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6, the lower surface of the front end protrusion 28 of the sub-base member 26 is in contact with the upper surface of the front end protrusion 48 of the case 46. Then, the front end protrusion 28 and the front end protrusion 48 penetrate the bolt insertion hole 28a of the front end protrusion 28 and the bolt insertion hole 48a of the front end protrusion 48 from the lower side to the upper side, and the head portion 55 and the front end protrusion 48 thereof. The bolt 54 that sandwiches the washer 57 from the lower surface and the weld nut 56 that is welded to the upper surface of the front end protrusion 28 and the bolt 54 is screwed are fixed to each other.

When the case 46 is attached to the front windshield 10 in this way, the stereo camera device 45 is located in front of the locator telephoto camera device 30 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. That is, the positions of the stereo camera device 45 and the locator telephoto camera device 30 in the front-rear direction are different from each other.

Although not shown, an ECU (electric control unit) connected to the locator camera 33 and the telephoto camera 34 is provided inside the case 31 of the locator telephoto camera device 30. This ECU is an electronic control circuit having a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, an interface, etc. as a main component. Further, an ECU connected to the camera 49 and the camera 50 is provided inside the case 46. For example, when the reflected light (subject image) reflected by the subject located in front of the vehicle passes through the front windshield 10 to the rear, the reflected light passes through the lenses of the locator camera 33 and the telescope camera 34 and the camera 49. And each lens of the camera 50 is transmitted. Then, the subject image is converted into image pickup data by each image pickup element of the locator camera 33 and the telephoto camera 34 and each image pickup element of the camera 49 and the camera 50 controlled by these ECUs.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of left and right light-shielding hoods 60 having a substantially trapezoidal shape in a plan view are provided in the recess 47 of the case 46 so as not to interfere with the camera 49 and the camera 50, respectively. The left and right light-shielding hoods 60 have a shape that allows the front windshield 10 to pass from the front to the rear and does not interfere with the photographing light (reflected light) incident on the lenses of the camera 49 and the camera 50.

The main cover 65, which is an integrally molded product made of resin (for example, made of polycarbonate) shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6, has a substantially flat bottom plate 66 and projects upward from both left and right sides of the bottom plate 66. It includes a pair of side walls 67 provided, and a front wall 68 extending diagonally upward from the front edge of the bottom plate 66 and having its left and right ends connected to the front ends of the left and right side walls 67, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, a notch 66a is formed at the rear end portion of the bottom plate 66. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a large number of slits 67a extending in the front-rear direction are formed on the left and right side walls 67 (not shown in FIG. 1). Further, slits 68a extending in the left-right direction are formed on both left and right sides of the front wall 68 in a plurality of rows (only a part of the slits 68a is shown in FIG. 5).

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, 6 and 7, a horizontally long rectangular through hole 69 is formed in the central portion of the front wall 68 in the width direction. Further, the left and right ends of the two fins 70 extending in the left-right direction are fixed to the left and right sides of the through hole 69 on the front surface of the front wall 68, respectively. Both of the two fins 70 are located immediately in front of the through hole 69. That is, the rear surfaces of the two fins 70 are located in front of the front end of the through hole 69. Further, the two fins 70 are separated from each other in the vertical direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, in a plan view, the central portion of each fin 70 in the left-right direction is located in front of both the left and right side portions.

As shown in FIG. 3, locking claws 71 are provided on both left and right sides of the upper surface of the bottom plate 66, respectively. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the inner surface (rear surface) of the front wall 68 is provided with a pair of locking claws 72 located on both the left and right sides of the through hole 69 and extending rearward.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, the left and right locking claws 71 of the main cover 65 are placed in a state where the front end portions of the front end protrusion 28 and the front end protrusion 48 are located inside the through hole 69. The left and right locking claws 72 are respectively engaged with the corresponding locking holes 25 of the base member 22, and the left and right locking claws 72 are respectively engaged with the corresponding locking holes 29a of the sub-base member 26 from the front. When the main cover 65 is attached to the base member 22 and the sub-base member 26 in this way, the bottom plate 66 of the main cover 65 covers the lower part of the stereo camera device 45 and the lower part of the housing 40 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The left and right side walls 67 cover the left and right sides of the stereo camera device 45, and the front wall 68 covers the front of the stereo camera device 45.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a resin sub-cover 75 is attached to the notch 66a of the bottom plate 66. Further, the sub cover 75 is formed with a notch 75a (see FIG. 2). A support arm 77 that supports the electronic inner mirror 76 is inserted from below into the opening formed by the notch 66a and the notch 75a, and the upper end of the support arm 77 is fixed to the stereo camera device 45. There is.

In the photographing device 20 described above, the locator telephoto camera device 30 (locator camera 33, telephoto camera 34) and the stereo camera device 45 (camera 49, camera 50) are displaced from each other in the front-rear direction. The length of the entire covering cover (main cover 65 and sub cover 75) in the front-rear direction is a certain length. However, since the front end portion 28 and the front end protrusion 48 are located inside the through hole 69 of the front wall 68, the front end portion of the front end protrusion 28 and the front end protrusion 48 is from the rear surface of the front wall 68. The length of the entire cover (main cover 65 and sub cover 75) in the front-rear direction is shorter than that of the case where the cover is located rearward (example of FIG. 12). Therefore, it is unlikely that the field of view of the driver seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle will be narrowed by the main cover 65 and the sub cover 75, or that the occupant will feel oppressive by the main cover 65 and the sub cover 75.

Further, the front wall 68 of the main cover 65 is provided with a through hole 69 and fins 70. Therefore, the heat generated by the stereo camera device 45 (camera 49, camera 50) and the locator telephoto camera device 30 (locator camera 33, telephoto camera 34) located immediately after the front wall 68 is transferred to the through hole 69 and the two fins. Heat can be exhausted to the outside of the main cover 65 through the gap between the 70 and the slits 67a and 68a.

Further, the alternate long and short dash line Y in FIG. 2 indicates the upper limit position of the driver's field of vision when the driver having a normal physique and sitting in the driver's seat is looking ahead of the vehicle through the front windshield 10. There is. As is clear from FIG. 2, since the through hole 69 and the fin 70 are provided in the front wall 68 (rather than the bottom plate 66), there is almost no possibility that the through hole 69 and the fin 70 will be in the driver's field of view.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments and modifications, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the object of the present invention.

8 and 9 show the photographing apparatus 20A of the first modification of the present invention. The configuration of the photographing device 20A is the same as that of the photographing device 20 except that the fin 70 is not provided and the recess 73 (hole) described later is formed. A recess 73 (hole) that penetrates the front wall 68 in the front-rear direction is formed on the upper surface of the front wall 68 of the main cover 65 of the photographing apparatus 20A. And as shown in FIG. 9, the front end portion of the front end protrusion 28 and the front end protrusion 48 is located inside the recess 73 of the front wall 68. Therefore, the photographing device 20A of the first modification can exhibit the same function and effect as the photographing device 20 of the above embodiment.

10 and 11 show the photographing apparatus 20B of the second modification of the present invention. The configuration of the photographing device 20B is the same as that of the photographing device 20 except that the fin 70 is not provided and the through hole 74 described later is formed. The front wall 68 of the main cover 65 of the photographing apparatus 20B is formed with a through hole 74 that penetrates the front wall 68 in the front-rear direction. And as shown in FIG. 11, the front end portion of the front end protrusion 28 and the front end protrusion 48 is located inside the through hole 74 of the front wall 68. Therefore, the photographing device 20B of the second modification can exhibit the same function and effect as the photographing device 20 of the above embodiment.

The photographing devices 20, 20A, and 20B may include two, three, or five or more cameras as sensors. For example, the photographing devices 20, 20A, 20B include one monocular camera provided in place of the cameras 49, 50 (stereo camera), and a locator camera 33 and a telescope camera 34 located behind the monocular camera. May be good.

If the vehicle imaging device includes a plurality of sensors, at least one of them may be a laser radar.

Through holes 69, 74 or recesses 73 may be formed in the side portions of the front wall 68 instead of the central portion in the left-right direction.

10 ... Front windshield, 20, 20A, 20B ... Vehicle photography device, 22 ... Base member, 26 ... Sub base member, 28 ... Front end protrusion, 33 ... Locator camera (Lens, image pickup element), 34 ... Telescope camera (lens, image pickup element), 46 ... Case, 48 ... Front end protrusion, 49, 50 ... Camera (lens, image pickup element), 65. .. Main cover, 69 ... Through hole, 70 ... Fin, 73 ... Recess, 74 ... Through hole.

Claims (1)

Multiple sensors located behind the front windshield on the vehicle,
Multiple cases supporting the sensor and
A member having a fixed portion fixed to the inner side surface of the front windshield and a front end protrusion extending to the front of the vehicle at a position away from the front windshield.
A cover that covers at least the bottom of the sensor and the case,
Equipped with
The position of at least one of the sensors in the vehicle front-rear direction is different from that of the other sensors.
A front end protrusion that protrudes forward is provided at the front end of the case that supports the front sensor, which is the sensor located at the frontmost position.
The front end protrusion of the case is fixed to the front end protrusion of the member,
The cover has a front wall located anterior to all the sensors and provided with holes .
The front end of the front end protrusion of the case and the front end of the front end protrusion of the member are arranged in the holes in the front wall of the cover.
Vehicle photography equipment.

Images