JPH08265610A - On-vehicle camera equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To select an image pickup field angle and an image pickup direction simultaneously by providing a means selecting a direction of a main mirror barrel into a 1st direction or a 2nd direction and a conversion lens arranged to a position coincident with the optical axis when the main mirror barrel is in the 1st direction. CONSTITUTION: An image by a light from an object in a 1st direction is formed onto an image pickup element 102 by a wide conversion lens 200 and a main lens system 101 as an ultrawide angular image and the image is displayed on a display device on a driver's seat. The driver confirms the safety in the backward direction while observing the image to drive the vehicle backward. A mirror barrel holder 2 is turned around a shaft 4 to direct the main mirror barrel 100 in a 2nd direction. In this case, the wide conversion lens 200 is in existence at the outside of the visual field of the main lens system 101 and the image of the light from the object in the 2nd direction is formed on the image pickup element 102 by the main lens system 101 as a standard field angle image and the image is displayed on the display device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera device mounted on a vehicle to obtain an image for confirming the surroundings of the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, rear confirmation of a vehicle such as an automobile is
It was either through a rear-view mirror or by looking back at the rear, but in recent years, a device that displays the rear image by the camera on the display device installed in the driver's seat has been adopted to eliminate the blind spot when retreating. ing.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an in-vehicle camera device disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-85069. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a camera body mounted downward at a rear end portion of a trunk of a vehicle 500. The viewing angle of the camera body 1 is set to an ultra wide-angle lens so that the bumper of the vehicle can be photographed in the front direction and the width of the vehicle can be photographed to the full width of the vehicle in order to eliminate the blind spot as much as possible. Reference numeral 81 is a display device provided on the dashboard 80 of the driver's seat. FIG. 12 is a camera image displayed on the display device 81. The driver makes a backward safety confirmation with this image and moves the vehicle backward.

Further, in the case where the rear visibility is poor such as in a truck or a bus, it has been proposed to confirm the rear while driving by using a camera image instead of the rearview mirror. In this case,
The shooting direction of the camera needs to be almost directly behind the vehicle, and the angle of view must be set to a standard one in order to give the driver a proper sense of distance.

[0005]

As described above, it is not necessary to install a plurality of camera devices in order to obtain a downward super wide-angle image at the time of retreat and a standard angle-of-view image in the almost rearward direction during traveling. There was a problem that it should not be.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle camera device which has a simple structure and is capable of simultaneously shooting by switching the shooting direction and the shooting angle of view. Has an aim.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an on-vehicle camera device, which includes a switching means for switching a direction of a main lens barrel to a downward first direction and a rearward almost second direction. It is provided with a conversion lens which is arranged at a position corresponding to the optical axis of the lens barrel and which changes a photographing angle of view when the lens barrel is in the first direction.

An on-vehicle camera device according to a second aspect of the invention is
A switching means for switching the direction of the main lens barrel to a downward first direction and a second direction substantially rightward, and is arranged at a position corresponding to the optical axis when the main lens barrel is in the first direction. The first front lens system and the second front lens system arranged at a position corresponding to the optical axis of the main lens barrel in the second direction.

A vehicle-mounted camera device according to a third aspect of the invention is
Switching means for switching the direction of the image sensor to the downward first direction and the second direction which is substantially rearward, and is arranged at a position for forming an image on the image sensor when the image sensor is in the first direction. And a second lens system arranged at a position for forming an image on the image pickup device when the image pickup device is in the second direction.

The vehicle-mounted camera device according to the invention of claim 4 is
A switching means is provided for switching the shooting direction to the first downward direction when the vehicle is moving backward, and for switching the shooting direction to the second direction which is substantially right behind when the vehicle is moving forward.

[0011]

In the vehicle camera system according to the invention of claim 1, when the main lens barrel is in the downward first direction, the optical axis is aligned with the conversion lens and the image is taken at the first angle of view, and the main lens barrel When the direction is switched to the second direction, which is almost right behind, the main lens barrel alone shoots at the second angle of view.

A vehicle-mounted camera device according to a second aspect of the present invention,
When the main lens barrel is in the first downward direction, the optical axis is aligned with the first front lens system, and the image is taken at the first angle of view. When switched to the direction, the optical axis is made to coincide with the second front lens system to shoot at the second angle of view.

An on-vehicle camera device according to a third aspect of the invention is
When the image sensor is in the downward first direction, the optical image from the first lens system is imaged and photographed at the first angle of view, and the image sensor is oriented in the second direction, which is almost right behind. When switched, an optical image from the second lens system is formed and photographed at the second angle of view.

An on-vehicle camera device according to a fourth aspect of the invention is
When retreating, shoot the first downward direction with the first angle of view,
When traveling forward, the second direction, which is almost right behind, is captured at the second angle of view.

[0015]

【Example】

Example 1. Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an in-vehicle camera device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a state in which a downward first direction is being photographed, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the state at the time of photographing the 2nd direction. Figure 2
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the drive mechanism thereof. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a camera body, and 100 is a main lens 101, an image pickup element 102 for converting an optical image incident from the main lens 101 into a video signal, and a main lens barrel holding a signal processing circuit 103. A lens barrel holder 2 holds the main lens barrel 1 and is rotatably supported by a base 3 by a shaft 4. Reference numeral 200 denotes a wide conversion lens fixed to the base 3, which is arranged at a position corresponding to the optical axis when the main lens barrel 1 is in the downward first direction.

In FIG. 2, 2a and 2b are spring hooks formed on the lens barrel holder 2, 2e is a convex portion also formed on the lens barrel holder 2, and 31 and 32 are formed on the base 3, respectively. The first stopper and the second stopper are. Reference numeral 9 is a geared motor as a switching means, and a crank 7 having a crank pin 71 is attached to the output shaft 91. The crankpin 71 is formed with a concentric portion 71a centered on the output shaft 91. Reference numeral 6 denotes an arm rotatably supported by the shaft 4, and has spring hooks 6a and 6b formed at one end thereof.
A groove 61 that engages with the crank pin 71 is formed at the other end. Reference numeral 8 is a torsion spring, one end of which is engaged with the spring hook 2a or 6a, and the other end of which is engaged with the spring hook 2b or 6b.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which this camera device is mounted on a vehicle, and a camera body 1 is attached to the rear end portion of the vehicle 500 so as to slightly project. FIG. 4 is a view showing the vicinity of the driver's seat, and a display device 81 made of, for example, a liquid crystal is installed on the dashboard 80.

Next, the operation will be described. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the first direction is set to the rear lower direction of the vehicle 500 by about 45 °, and FIG. 1A shows the state of the camera at this time. The light from the subject in the first direction is the wide conversion lens 200 and the main lens system 10.
The image is formed as an ultra-wide-angle image on the image sensor 102 by the display device 1 and the display device 81 in the driver's seat as shown in FIG.
Then, an image as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed. The driver can move the vehicle backward by checking the safety of the rear while watching this.

Next, the photographing operation in the second direction will be described. Here, the second direction is set to a substantially horizontal direction behind the vehicle 500 as shown in FIG. 7, and in order to capture the second shooting direction, as shown in FIG. The holder 2 rotates about the shaft 4 to switch the main lens barrel 100 in the second direction. At this time, wide conversion lens 2
00 is outside the field of view of the main lens system 101, and light from the subject in the second direction is imaged by the main lens system 101 on the image sensor 102 as an image with a standard angle of view. Display an image like.

Next, the details of the direction switching operation will be described. In FIG. 2A (shooting in the first direction), the lens barrel holder 2 and the arm 6 are relatively displaced, and the spring 8 is flexed between the spring hooks 2a and 6b. When electric power is supplied to the geared motor 9 by operating a changeover switch (not shown) or detecting that the gear of the transmission of the automobile has been switched to the D range, the crank pin 71 causes an arrow in the figure to indicate. Rotate in the X direction. In response to this, the arm 6 relaxes the deflection of the spring 8 and
As shown in (b), the spring 8 is rotated in the direction of the arrow Y so that one end of the spring 8 is engaged with the spring hooks 2a and 6a, and the other end thereof is engaged with the spring hook 2a.
When the state where both b and 6b are engaged is reached, the lens barrel holder 2 starts to rotate integrally with the arm 6.

When the geared motor 9 further rotates, the convex portion 2e contacts the second stopper 32, and the geared motor 9 continues to rotate to bend the spring 8 between the spring hooks 2b and 6a. The cylinder holder 2 and the arm 6 are relatively displaced. Eventually, the crank pin 71 shown in FIG.
When the concentric circle portion 71a of reaches the position for pressing the groove 61,
The geared motor 9 stops, and the switching operation in the second direction ends.

Next, the switching operation in the first direction will be described. When power is supplied to the geared motor 9 by operating a changeover switch (not shown) or detecting that the gear of the transmission of the automobile has switched to the R range, the crank pin 71 moves in the same direction as before. The rotation starts in the direction of arrow X in the figure. In response to this, the arm 6 relaxes the deflection of the spring 8 and rotates in the arrow Z direction as shown in FIG.
And 6a, and the other ends are engaged with the spring hooks 2b and 6b, the lens barrel holder 2 starts to rotate integrally with the arm 6.

When the geared motor 9 further rotates, the convex portion 2e contacts the first stopper 31, and the geared motor 9 continues to rotate to bend the spring 8 between the spring hooks 2a and 6b. The cylinder holder 2 and the arm 6 are relatively displaced. Eventually, the concentric portion 71a of the crankpin 71
Reaches the position where it presses the groove 61, the geared motor 9
2 stops and ends the switching operation in the first direction, and
It returns to the state of (a).

Although the wide conversion lens is arranged in the downward photographing direction in the first embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the main lens system is set to a wide angle, and the downward direction is photographed by the main lens alone, and the horizontal direction is used. The photographing in the direction may be performed through a teleconversion lens arranged so that the optical axes coincide with each other at this time.

Example 2. In the first embodiment, an example in which the main lens barrel and the conversion lens for changing the angle of view are combined is shown, but a part of the lens system may be provided for each of the first direction and the second direction. Good. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 110 is a main lens barrel that holds the lens system 111, the image sensor 102, and the signal processing circuit 103. Reference numeral 2 denotes a lens barrel holder for holding the main lens barrel 110, which is rotatably supported by a base 3 by a shaft 4. Reference numeral 210 denotes a first front lens system fixed to the base 3, and is arranged at a position where the optical axes coincide with each other when the main barrel 110 is in the first direction. A second front lens system 220 is also fixed to the base 3, and is arranged at a position where the optical axes coincide with each other when the main lens barrel 110 is in the second direction. Since the switching drive mechanism is the same as that of the first embodiment, its explanation is omitted.

FIG. 9A shows a photographing state in the first direction. Light from a subject in the first direction is an optical system composed of a first front lens system 210 and a lens system 111. An image is formed on the image sensor 102 with a wide angle of view as the first angle of view and displayed on the display device 81 as shown in FIG. FIG. 9B shows a shooting state in the second direction,
The light from the subject in the second direction is the second front lens system 22.
0 and a lens system 111 form an image on the image sensor 102 at a standard angle of view as a second angle of view,
It is displayed on the display device 81 as shown in FIG.

Embodiment 3 FIG. In the first and second embodiments, an example in which a part of the lens system is shared for photographing the first direction and the second direction is shown, but the lens system for photographing the first direction and the second direction are used. A lens system for photographing the direction may be independently provided, and the image sensor 102 may be switched between the first direction and the second direction. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 22 is a holder for holding the image sensor 102 and the signal processing circuit 103.
It is rotatably supported by the base 3. 230
Is a first lens system fixed to the base 3 and set to a wide angle as a first angle of view. When the image sensor 102 is in the first direction, an image of a subject is formed on the image sensor 102. It is located at the position where the image is made. Reference numeral 240 denotes a second lens system fixed to the base 3 and set to a standard angle of view as a second angle of view. When the image sensor 102 is in the second direction, an image of a subject is captured by the image sensor. It is arranged at a position for forming an image on 102. Since the switching drive mechanism is the same as that of the first embodiment, its explanation is omitted.

FIG. 10A shows a photographing state in the first direction. Light from a subject in the first direction is applied to the image sensor 102 by the first lens system 230 as a wide angle as a first angle of view. An image is formed at the angle of view and displayed on the display device 81 as shown in FIG. FIG. 10B shows a shooting state in the second direction, in which light from the subject in the second direction is transmitted to the image sensor 102 by the second lens system 240 at a standard angle of view as a second angle of view. An image is formed and displayed on the display device 81 as shown in FIG.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the switching means for switching the direction of the main lens barrel between the first direction and the second direction, and when the main lens barrel is in the first direction, Since the conversion lens is arranged at a position that coincides with the optical axis, there is an effect that a vehicle-mounted camera device capable of simultaneously switching the shooting angle of view and the shooting direction with a simple operation can be obtained.

Further, a switching means for switching the direction of the main lens barrel between the first direction and the second direction, and when the main lens barrel is in the first direction, it is located at a position corresponding to its optical axis. The front lens system is arranged, and when the main lens barrel is in the second direction, the second front lens system is arranged at a position that coincides with the optical axis of the main lens barrel. There is an effect that it is possible to obtain an in-vehicle camera device capable of simultaneously switching the shooting angle of view and the shooting direction.

Further, switching means for switching the direction of the image pickup device between the first direction and the second direction, and the first position at a position where an image can be formed on the image pickup device when the image pickup device is in the first direction. Since the second lens system is arranged at a position where an image can be formed on the image pickup device when the image pickup device is arranged in the second direction, the angle of view of the photographing can be adjusted by a simple operation. There is an effect that it is possible to obtain an in-vehicle camera device capable of simultaneously switching the shooting directions.

Further, since the switching means for switching the photographing direction between the first direction and the second direction according to the backward movement and the forward movement of the vehicle is provided, the photographing in the first direction at the first angle of view, There is an effect that it is possible to obtain a vehicle-mounted camera device that can automatically switch shooting in the second direction at the second angle of view in accordance with the traveling direction of the vehicle.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an in-vehicle camera device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram of a drive system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a vehicle mounting state according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an arrangement in the vicinity of a driver's seat according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a first direction and a field angle according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image in a first direction of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second direction and an angle of view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an image in a second direction of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional vehicle-mounted camera device.

FIG. 12 is an operation explanatory view of a conventional vehicle-mounted camera device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 camera body, 2 barrel holder, 3 base, 4
Shaft, 9 geared motor, 22 holder, 100, 11
0 main lens barrel, 101 main lens system, 102 image sensor,
111 lens system, 200 wide conversion lens, 210 first front lens system, 220 second front lens system, 230 first lens system, 240 second lens system, 500 vehicle.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An in-vehicle camera apparatus for obtaining an image for confirming the surroundings of a vehicle, comprising: a main lens barrel including an image sensor and a lens system for forming an image of a subject on the image sensor;
A switching means for switching the direction of the main lens barrel to a downward first direction and a second direction substantially rightward, and a switching unit installed at a position corresponding to the optical axis of the main lens barrel when in the first direction. And a conversion lens for changing the angle of view. 2. In a vehicle-mounted camera device for obtaining an image for confirming the surroundings of a vehicle, a main lens barrel having an image pickup element and a lens system, and the direction of this main lens barrel is substantially true to the downward first direction. A switching means for switching to the backward second direction and a predetermined first unit which is installed at a position corresponding to the optical axis of the main lens barrel when the main lens barrel is in the first direction. The first front lens system for forming an image of a subject on the image sensor at an angle of view, and the main lens barrel are installed at positions that coincide with the optical axis of the main lens barrel in the second direction, and An in-vehicle camera device comprising: a second front lens system that is combined with a lens barrel to form an image of a subject on the image sensor at a predetermined second angle of view. 3. An in-vehicle camera device for obtaining an image for confirming the surroundings of a vehicle, wherein an image pickup device and a switching means for switching the direction of the image pickup device between a downward first direction and a substantially backward rearward second direction. A first lens system that forms an image of a subject on the image sensor at a predetermined first angle of view when the image sensor is in the first direction; and the image sensor is in the second direction. An in-vehicle camera device, comprising: a second lens system for forming an image of a subject on the image sensor at a predetermined second angle of view. 4. The switching means for switching the shooting direction of the camera is configured to switch to a first downward direction when the vehicle moves backward, and to a second direction which is almost right behind when the vehicle moves forward. The vehicle-mounted camera device according to claim 1, claim 2, or claim 3.