JP7515980B2 - In-vehicle camera - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an onboard camera that captures images of the area ahead of a traveling vehicle.

The vehicle-mounted camera described in Patent Document 1 is known in the art and includes a camera that captures images in front of a traveling vehicle body, a case body in which the camera is housed and supported, and a support mechanism that supports the case body on the traveling vehicle body side, and the support mechanism is configured to be able to adjust the imaging angle of the camera, so that a camera that captures images in the traveling direction can be retrofitted to the traveling vehicle body.

Patent document 2 also discloses an in-vehicle camera that has a lens body that covers the front of the camera, and a front cover that houses the front of the camera while exposing the lens body, and an O-ring that prevents water from entering between the lens body and the front cover, thereby improving waterproofing.

The vehicle-mounted camera of this configuration is waterproof, so it can be installed in work vehicles without cabins, but there are problems with this, such as the time and cost required to store and install the camera, the lens body easily becoming dirty, and the image captured by the camera becoming unclear due to sunlight or other factors shining into the camera depending on the work environment.

JP 2016-203788 A JP 2020-1586 A

The objective of the present invention is to provide an on-board camera that can support the camera on the traveling vehicle body in a waterproof state with a simpler and less expensive configuration, and can capture images of the area in front of the traveling vehicle body more clearly even in backlighting.

To solve the above problem, firstly, the present invention comprises a camera that photographs the area in front of the traveling body, a case body in which the camera is housed and supported, and a support mechanism that supports the case body on the traveling body side, the case body having a plate-shaped glass body that is placed in front of the camera via a support packing, and a cylindrical front cover portion that is placed in front of the glass body, and the glass body is attached in an inclined state relative to the camera.

Secondly, by tilting the support gasket, the distance between the camera and the glass body in the front-to-rear direction is narrower at the bottom than at the top.

Thirdly, the support packing is provided at the front and rear so as to sandwich the front and rear of the glass body, and the front-to-rear width of the support packing on the rear side of the glass body is made wider than the front-to-rear width of the support packing on the front side of the glass body.

By providing a front cover portion acting as a canopy in front of the glass body, it is possible to prevent light from entering the camera through the glass body, so that the image captured by the camera can be kept clear. In addition, by mounting the glass body at an angle to the camera, diffuse reflection between the glass body and the camera is suppressed, and water droplets adhering to the glass body are more likely to flow outside the camera's shooting range, making it easier to capture clear images even in poor working conditions.

In addition, by tilting the support gasket so that the distance between the camera and the glass body in the front-to-rear direction is narrower at the bottom than at the top, the glass body is installed in a tilted state toward the rear and lower side, making it difficult for water droplets to accumulate and improving waterproofing, and by bringing the camera and the glass body closer together, the viewing angle of the camera is also increased.

The support packing is provided at the front and rear of the glass body so as to sandwich the front and rear of the glass body, and the width of the support packing on the rear side of the glass body is made wider than the width of the support packing on the front side of the glass body. This makes it easier and smoother to install the glass body by pressing it from behind with the wider support packing on the rear side of the glass body.

1 is an overall side view of a tractor equipped with an on-board camera according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of a tractor showing an on-board camera. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the camera unit. 1A and 1B are an exploded front perspective view and an exploded rear perspective view of a camera unit. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of the mounting bracket. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an imaging control unit in the camera unit. 13A and 13B are front and rear exploded perspective views showing a manner in which a camera and an imaging control unit are attached to a mounting bracket.

Figure 1 is an overall side view of a tractor equipped with an on-board camera according to the present invention, and Figure 2 is a perspective view of the main parts of the tractor showing the on-board camera. This tractor has a body frame 3 supported by a pair of left and right front wheels 1, 1 and rear wheels 2, 2, and a running body 6 formed by a control unit 4 installed on the front side of the body frame 3. A working machine (not shown) such as a rotary tilling device can be connected to the rear of the running body 6 via a lifting link 7 so that it can be raised and lowered.

The control section 4 is provided with a seat 9 on which the operator sits, a steering wheel 11 located in front of the seat 9, a forward/reverse switch lever 12 located on either the left or right side of the steering wheel 11 (the left in the illustrated example), and a floor step 13 that serves as the floor surface. At the rear of the seat 9, a safety frame 16 is provided that is shaped like an inverted U and straddles the top of the seat 9 in the left-right direction.

A steering unit 17 is detachably provided on the upper end of the steering shaft connected to the steering wheel 11, and is configured to control the axial rotation of the steering shaft to thereby control the steering operation of the steering wheel 11.

In front of the steering handle 11, there is a camera unit (on-board camera) 18 that takes pictures of the area in front of the traveling vehicle body 6, and a support mechanism 19 that is fixed to the left and right outer sides of the vehicle frame 3 and supports the camera unit 18 above the front side of the steering unit 4 (rear end of the bonnet) (see Figures 1 and 2).

The support mechanism 19 has vertical base end frames 21, 21 attached and fixed to the front side of the floor step 13 and to the left and right outer sides of the aircraft frame 3, L-shaped support frames 22, 22 inserted into the upper ends of the pair of left and right base end frames 21, and a connecting frame 23 connecting the upper ends of the pair of support frames 22, 22, and is configured as an inverted U-shape that straddles the front side of the control unit 4 (see Figures 1 and 2).

The base end frame 21 is provided with a pair of upper and lower fixing knobs 24, 24 for adjusting the fixed position of the support frame 22 inserted into the upper side, and the lower side of the support frame 22 is provided with multiple fixing holes (not shown) in the vertical direction through which the fixing knobs 24 are inserted. With this configuration, the height position of the support frame 22 (connecting frame 23, camera unit 18) can be smoothly and easily adjusted in multiple stages according to the seated height of the operator, etc.

The support frame 22 has a fixing member 26, which is an angled plate-like member, attached to its upper end by welding or the like, and the left and right ends of the connecting frame 23 are attached and fixed to the fixing member 26 by bolts or the like.

The connecting frame 23 is a plate-like member extending in the left-right direction, and its left and right ends are attached and fixed to the support frame 22 via the fixing members 26. At the left-right center of the connecting frame 23, there are unit support parts 27, 27, which are a pair of left and right plate-like members extending downward (see Figure 2).

The unit support parts 27 are arranged in pairs to sandwich the left and right outer sides of the camera unit 18, and each unit support part 27 has a mounting hole 27a that is rotatably attached to a mounting bracket (described later) provided on the camera unit 18, and an arc-shaped swing restriction hole 27b formed above the mounting hole 27a (see FIG. 2, etc.).

According to this configuration, the camera unit 18 attached to the connecting frame 23 (unit support portion 27) can be adjusted in its mounting position by swinging it up and down within a predetermined range. Therefore, the position (angle) at which the camera unit 18 takes pictures can be adjusted as desired depending on the height at which the camera unit 18 is attached and the purpose of use.

The above-mentioned support mechanism 19 allows the camera unit (vehicle-mounted camera) 18 to be retrofitted even to a work vehicle that does not have a cabin. The specific configuration of the camera unit is described below.

Next, the configuration of the camera unit will be specifically described with reference to Figures 3 to 7. Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the camera unit, Figures 4(A) and (B) are front and rear exploded perspective views of the camera unit, Figure 5 is a perspective view of the main parts showing the mounting bracket, Figure 6 is a diagram showing the imaging control unit within the camera unit, and Figures 7(A) and (B) are front and rear exploded perspective views showing the manner in which the camera and imaging control unit are attached to the mounting bracket.

The camera unit 18 includes the mounting bracket 31 made of metal and formed into a plate shape that is attached to the support mechanism 19 (connecting frame 23), a camera 32 that is attached and fixed to the mounting bracket 31, an imaging control unit 33 that is attached and fixed to the rear end side of the camera 32, a glass plate (glass body) 34 that is arranged on the front side of the lens of the camera 32 (the imaging direction of the camera shown by the arrow in Figure 3), and a support gasket 36 that supports the glass plate 34 at a predetermined position, and is configured by housing the camera 32, the imaging control unit 33, etc. within a resin case 37 (see Figures 3 to 5, etc.).

The case body 37 comprises a resin front case part 37A that is attached and fixed to the front side of the mounting bracket 31 via a frame-shaped first mounting packing 41, and a resin rear case part 37B that is attached and fixed to the rear side of the mounting bracket 31 via a frame-shaped second mounting packing 42, and is configured by attaching and fixing the mounting bracket 31 so that it is sandwiched between the front case part 37A and the rear case part 37B from the front and rear (see Figures 3 and 4, etc.).

At this time, the front case part 37A and the rear case part 37B have boss parts 40 formed on the adhesive surface side for mounting and fixing both parts in a state of close contact (see FIG. 4). The boss part 40 has a support rib integrally formed therewith to prevent the mounting packings 41, 42 from bending when the first mounting packing 41 and the second mounting packing 42, which are frame-shaped and made of a soft resin material such as rubber, are sandwiched via the mounting bracket 31.

With this configuration, the camera 32 and the image capture control unit 33 can be housed inside the case body 37, which is made of waterproof and dustproof resin, so that the camera unit 18 can be retrofitted even to a work vehicle without a cabin.

The front case portion 37A is formed in a box shape with an open rear end, and has an opening 43 formed on its front (anterior) side to expose the glass plate 34 housed in the case body 37, and a cylindrical front cover portion 44 that protrudes forward from the periphery of the opening 43.

The inner circumferential surface of the front cover portion 44 is treated to suppress light reflection. Examples of such treatment include, but are not limited to, painting the inner circumferential surface of the front cover portion 44 black or giving the surface a matte finish to make it rough. With this configuration, even if the camera 32 is shooting in a backlit environment, the front cover portion 44 acts as a visor to more efficiently prevent excess light from entering the camera 32, thereby maintaining high quality of images and videos shot by the camera 32.

The length of protrusion of the front cover portion 44 is configured to be able to protrude forward from around the opening 43 within a range that does not fall within the imaging range of the camera. In other words, the length of protrusion of the front cover portion 44 is determined according to the inclination angle in the front-to-rear direction of the opening 43 (more specifically, the inclination angle of the glass plate 34, which is attached in a state inclined in the front-to-rear direction by the support packing 36 described later) (see FIG. 3). In other words, the imaging range (viewing angle) in the up-down direction of the camera 32 is configured to be determined by the inclination angle of the glass plate 34.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the glass plate 34 is supported by the support packing 36 in a state where it is tilted downward and backward when viewed from the side, so the shooting range (viewing angle) of the camera 32 is wider from the shooting direction of the camera 32 (see the arrow in FIG. 3) to the lower limit position (LL) than from the range (angle) to the upper limit position (UL).

The angle of the imaging range of the camera 32 is adjusted by the inclination angle of the glass plate 34 as described above, but the size of the imaging range (viewing angle) of the camera 32 is determined by the distance between the camera 32 (its lens) and the glass plate 34.

The rear case portion 37B is formed in a box shape with an open front end, and is configured to accommodate the imaging control portion 33 arranged on the rear side of the mounting bracket 31. In addition, a wiring portion 46 is formed on the rear end side of the rear case portion 37B, through which wiring for supplying power to the imaging control portion 33, etc. can be passed.

The mounting bracket 31 is a metal plate-like member formed so that its front side closes the open rear end side of the front case part 37A, and its rear side closes the open front end side of the rear case part 37B. The mounting bracket 31 has a camera insertion hole 31a drilled in the center for inserting the lens side of the front part of the camera, and the camera 32 and the imaging control part 33 are attached and fixed. The specific mounting configuration will be described later.

The left and right ends of the mounting bracket 31 are bent forward to form a mounting section 31b, which is generally U-shaped and open at the front. The mounting section 31b has a unit side mounting hole 47 that corresponds to the mounting hole 27a and the swing restriction hole 27b of the unit support section 27, and a unit side swing restriction pin support hole 48 lined up vertically.

The camera 32 is attached and fixed to the mounting bracket 31 via a camera fixing part 49 attached and fixed to the rear side of the mounting bracket 31. The specific mounting configuration of the camera 32 will be described later. The camera 32 is configured to be attached and fixed to a specific position inside the case body 37 by camera support parts 51, 52 that are arranged on the front side of the mounting bracket 31 and guide the camera 32 to a specific installation position (see Figures 3 to 7).

The camera support parts 51, 52 are made of a flexible material such as sponge molded into a disk shape, and are composed of a camera support base 51 having a fitting hole 51a drilled in the center into which the cylindrical lens body of the camera 32 fits, and a plate-shaped camera guide body 52 having a circular support base fitting hole 52a formed in the center into which the camera support base 51 fits and fixed to the front side of the mounting bracket 31 (see Figure 7, etc.).

The camera guide body 52 has arc-shaped notches 52b formed on the left and right ends thereof, and a pair of cylindrical engagement parts 55 that fit into the notches 52b are provided on the left and right ends of the front side of the mounting bracket 31. With this configuration, the camera guide body 52 can support the camera 32 (the camera support base 51) in a predetermined position by fitting the pair of left and right notches 52b into the engagement parts 55, thereby guiding (positioning) the camera 32 in a predetermined position.

In addition, with this configuration, the cylindrical lens barrel of the camera 32 is inserted into the fitting hole 51a of the camera support base 51, which is made of cylindrical sponge, while being in frictional contact with the lens barrel, thereby preventing the camera 32 from shifting position or becoming loose due to vehicle body vibrations, etc.

The imaging control unit 33 is constructed compactly by stacking multiple boards 33A, 33B, and 33C in the front-rear direction at a predetermined interval via spacers 53. The camera 32 (the rear end) is attached and fixed to the front side of the board 33A at the front end of the boards that make up the imaging control unit 33 (see Figures 6 and 7, etc.).

The rear end board (hereinafter, support board) 33C constituting the imaging control unit 33 is formed wider in the left-right (or up-down) direction than the stacked and supported front end boards. As a result, the imaging control unit 33 is configured such that the front end board 33A constituting the imaging control unit 33 is attached and fixed to the camera fixing part 49 provided on the rear surface of the mounting bracket 31, and the rear side support board 33C is also attached and fixed to the camera fixing part 49 via a cylindrical support member 54.

With this configuration, the imaging control unit 33 is firmly and stably attached and fixed to the mounting bracket 31 (rear surface). That is, the camera 32 is also attached and fixed to the rear surface side of the mounting bracket 31 via the imaging control unit 33 (see FIG. 7, etc.).

The camera fixing part 49 is made of a heat-dissipating (metallic) material, and is configured to efficiently dissipate heat from the imaging control part 33 (and the camera 32) by being in surface contact with the board on the front end side. In addition, the cylindrical support member 54 that connects the camera fixing part 49 and the support board 33C is also made of a heat-dissipating (metallic) material, so that the imaging control part 33 can dissipate heat even more efficiently.

An antenna board 58 with an antenna 57 for wireless communication is provided on the rear side of the support board 33C via an antenna spacer 56 (see Figures 3, 6, 7, etc.). At this time, a notch 56a for installing the antenna 57 is formed in the antenna spacer 56 between the antenna board 58 and the support board 33C (see Figure 6, etc.).

With this configuration, the antenna board 58 can be attached and fixed in parallel to the boards that make up the imaging control unit 33. In other words, the antenna board 58 can be attached in a state where it faces perpendicularly to the imaging direction of the camera 32. This allows the imaging control unit 33, which is provided with the antenna 57, to be configured more compactly, and makes it easier to maintain the communication efficiency of the antenna 57.

The support packing 36 is configured to sandwich the glass plate 34 from the front and rear by a front support packing 36A arranged on the front side of the glass plate 34 and a rear support packing 36B arranged on the rear side of the glass plate 34, and opening holes 61, 62 are formed in the center of each support packing 36A, 36B to open the front of the lens of the camera 32 (see Figure 3, etc.).

The support packing 36 is configured to be supported by being sandwiched between the opening 43 of the front case portion 37A and a plate-shaped packing support plate 64 attached to the front side of the camera support portion (camera guide body 52, camera support base 51), thereby supporting the glass plate 34 at a predetermined position between the opening 43 and the camera 32.

At this time, each support packing 36A, 36B has a recess 35 formed at the lower end at the center of the left and right, which is recessed upward, and the recess 35 is configured so that it can engage with a rib (not shown) formed at the installation location of the front case part 37A (see FIG. 4, etc.). With this configuration, each support packing 36A, 36B can be installed in the correct position within the front case part 37A without getting the top and bottom positions wrong.

In addition to the opening 61, the front support packing 36A has a support groove 63 formed on its rear surface into which the glass plate 34, which is formed into a plate shape long in the left-right direction, is fitted. The support groove 63 is formed to the same size as the glass plate 34 and to the same depth as the thickness of the glass plate 34 so that the glass plate 34 can be fitted (see FIG. 3, etc.).

The rear support packing 36B is configured to be able to clamp the glass plate 34 by abutting against the rear side of the front support packing 36A when the glass plate 34 is fitted into the support groove 63.

According to this configuration, the glass plate 34 is housed in the support packing 36 while being sandwiched between the front support packing 36A and the rear support packing 36B, which are made of a softer material, and the support packing 36 is supported on the front end side inside the case body 37 so as to be pressed against the front case part 37A (opening 43), improving the waterproofness and dustproofness of the camera unit 18.

The rear support packing 36B is configured to be wider in the front-to-rear (thickness) direction than the front support packing 36A, and in particular, the front side of the rear support packing 36B is configured so that the front-to-rear width of its lower side is narrower than the front-to-rear width of its upper side, so that the front side of the rear support packing 36B is an inclined surface that slopes forward toward the top (see Figure 3, etc.).

According to this configuration, the glass plate 34 supported in front of the camera 32 (lens) can be installed on the opening side in a state in which it is tilted downward and backward with respect to the camera 32. This allows the glass plate 34 to be positioned closer to the lens of the camera 32, which not only widens the viewing angle of the camera 32, but also prevents (suppresses) diffuse reflection of the camera 32 by the glass plate 34 tilted with respect to the lens of the camera 32.

6 Traveling body 19 Support mechanism 32 Camera 34 Glass plate (glass body)
36 Support packing 37 Case body 44 Front cover portion

Claims (2)

A camera that photographs the front of the traveling aircraft,
a case body in which the camera is housed and supported;
A support mechanism that supports the case body on the traveling machine body side is provided,
the case body has a plate-shaped glass body disposed in front of the camera via a support gasket, and a cylindrical front cover portion disposed in front of the glass body,
The glass body is attached at an angle to the camera ,
The support packings are provided at the front and rear so as to sandwich the front and rear of the glass body,
The vehicle-mounted camera , wherein the support gasket on the rear side of the glass body has a front-to-rear width greater than the front-to-rear width of the support gasket on the front side of the glass body . The vehicle-mounted camera according to claim 1 , wherein the support gasket is inclined so that a distance between the camera and the glass body in the front-rear direction is narrower on the lower side than on the upper side.

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