JP6645247B2 - Water droplet removing mechanism and camera device equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water drop removing mechanism of a vehicle-mounted camera.

  Some cameras attached to the vehicle body and located outside the vehicle may remove water droplets by driving the piezoelectric element to vibrate the imaging unit because water droplets may adhere to the lens.

JP 2013-80177 A

In the case of driving the piezoelectric element, dedicated wiring and power are required, which is disadvantageous in terms of workability and energy saving. Also, small vibrations may not remove large water droplets.
It is an object of the present invention to effectively remove water droplets from a lens without requiring additional wiring or power.

  A water drop removing mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a swing mechanism that attaches a camera to a vehicle body so that the camera can swing, and the swing mechanism moves the camera to an initial position and a maximum position along a predetermined trajectory by vibration of the body. By oscillating between the oscillating position and the oscillating position, water droplets attached to the lens are removed.

  According to the present invention, the camera swings due to the vibration of the vehicle body, and the water droplets attached to the lens can be removed by the vibration when the camera reaches the maximum swing position or the initial position. Therefore, water droplets on the lens can be effectively removed without requiring new wiring or electric power.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a swing mechanism according to the first embodiment. It is a lineblock diagram of a rocking mechanism showing a second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings are schematic and may differ from actual ones. Further, the following embodiment is an example of an apparatus and a method for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the configuration is not limited to the following. That is, the technical idea of the present invention can be variously modified within the technical scope described in the claims.

<< 1st Embodiment >>
"Constitution"
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a swing mechanism according to the first embodiment.
(A) in the figure is a view of the camera from the side of the vehicle body, and (b) is a view of the camera from behind the vehicle body. The swing mechanism 11 is a mechanism for swingably attaching the camera 12 located outside the vehicle to the vehicle body.
The camera 12 is a camera that captures an image of the rear of the vehicle body, and is installed such that the optical axis of the lens 13 is directed backward and downward of the vehicle body.

The swing mechanism 11 includes a base 14, a rail 15, a frame 16, and a slider 17.
The base 14 is a plate-shaped member fixed to the vehicle body, and its upper surface is provided so as to make surface contact with the lower surface of the camera 12. Therefore, when viewed from the side of the vehicle body, the rear side is provided so as to be inclined downward. When viewed from the rear of the vehicle body, the camera 12 does not tilt in the left-right direction.
Two rails 15 are provided on both left and right sides of the camera 12, each extending vertically, and a lower end is fixed to the upper surface of the base 14. The pair of rails 15 are provided so that the rails face each other, that is, so as to face the side surface of the camera 12.

The frame 16 extends horizontally in the left-right direction, and connects upper ends of the pair of rails 15 for reinforcement.
The sliders 17 are movable back and forth along the rails 15, and are provided one for each rail 15. The camera 12 is attached to the pair of sliders 17. The rail 15 is provided with a stopper 18 for stopping the lift of the slider 17 at a predetermined position and preventing the slider 17 from rising further.

  With the above configuration, the camera 12 can swing up and down as the slider 17 advances and retreats along the rail 15. The camera 12 is lowered to the lowest position by its own weight, and the position where the lower surface of the camera 12 abuts on the upper surface of the base 14 is the initial position (shown by a solid line). On the other hand, when the camera 12 is raised and the slider 17 comes into contact with the stopper 18, further upward movement is prevented, and this is the maximum swing position (shown by a broken line). In this way, the camera 12 can swing between the initial position and the maximum swing position. The stroke amount between the initial position and the maximum swing position is, for example, about 2 to 3 cm.

《Effects》
Next, the operation and effect of the first embodiment will be described.
Since water droplets may adhere to the lens of the camera 12 located outside the vehicle, it is conceivable to remove the water droplets by vibrating the camera 12 by driving a piezoelectric element, for example. However, in the case of driving the piezoelectric element, dedicated wiring and power are required, which is disadvantageous in terms of workability and energy saving. Also, small vibrations may not remove large water droplets.

  Therefore, a swing mechanism 11 for swingably attaching the camera 12 to the vehicle body is provided. The swing mechanism 11 includes a pair of rails 15 extending in the vertical direction, and a pair of sliders 17 that can move back and forth along the rails 15, and the camera 12 is attached to the sliders 17. Therefore, the vertical swing of the camera 12 along the rail 15 is allowed by the vibration of the vehicle body during traveling. Then, water droplets attached to the lens 13 can be removed by the vibration (shock) when the camera 12 ascends and reaches the maximum swing position or falls and reaches the initial position.

  For example, while the camera 12 is falling, a downward acceleration occurs, and when the camera 12 reaches the initial position, the camera 12 stops or rebounds. On the other hand, the water droplets attached to the lens 13 are shaken off from the lens 13 in order to maintain the downward movement by inertia. As described above, by providing the swing mechanism 11 that swingably mounts the camera 12 on the vehicle body side, water droplets on the lens 13 can be effectively removed without requiring new wiring or electric power.

  Since the camera 12 is allowed to swing in the vertical direction, when the vibration of the vehicle body is small, such as during low-speed running, the vertical swing of the camera 12 is suppressed. Only when the camera vibrates greatly, the camera 12 swings up and down. The camera 12 is a back camera that images the rear of the vehicle body, and operates only when the vehicle moves backward. That is, since the camera 12 is generally used only in a low-speed range, a large vibration hardly occurs. Therefore, for example, by setting a constant frictional force between the frame 16 and the slider 17 so that the camera 12 does not swing up and down due to a small vibration, the camera 12 does not jump up during operation of the camera 12. In addition, it is possible to prevent the operation of the camera 12 from interfering with imaging.

《Modification》
A cushioning material such as rubber or sponge may be provided between the base 22 and the camera 12. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the collision sound when the camera 12 falls to the initial position, and to prevent the camera 12 from being subjected to an excessive impact. Suppression

<< 2nd Embodiment >>
"Constitution"
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a swing mechanism according to the second embodiment.
(A) in the figure is a view of the camera 12 viewed from the side of the vehicle body, and (b) is a view of the camera 12 viewed from the back of the vehicle body. The swing mechanism 21 includes a base 22, a bracket 23, and an arm 24. The base 22 is a plate-shaped member fixed to the vehicle body, and the upper surface thereof is provided so as to make surface contact with the lower surface of the camera 12. The camera 12 is a camera that captures an image of the rear side of the vehicle body, and is provided so that the rear side is inclined downward when viewed from the side of the vehicle body. When viewed from the rear of the vehicle body, there is no inclination in the left-right direction.

Two brackets 23 are provided in front of the camera 12 with respect to the vehicle body, and are provided at two positions separated in the left-right direction. ing.
The arm 24 extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body in parallel with the surface of the base 22, and a base end portion 28 is supported by the bracket 23 so as to be rotatable via a rotation shaft 25. The arms 24 are supported one by one on each bracket 23, and the camera 12 is attached to the distal ends 29 of the pair of arms 24. A protrusion 26 is provided on the base end portion 28 of the arm 24, and the bracket 23 stops the upward rotation of the arm 24 at a predetermined position by contact with the protrusion 26, A stopper 27 is provided to prevent the rotation of.

  With the above configuration, the camera 12 can swing up and down by the rotation of the arm 24 about the rotation shaft 25. The camera 12 is lowered to the lowest position by its own weight, and the position where the lower surface of the camera 12 abuts on the upper surface of the base 22 is the initial position (shown by a solid line). On the other hand, when the camera 12 is rotated upward by the rotation of the arm 24 and the projection 26 of the arm 24 comes into contact with the stopper 27, further rotation is prevented, and this is the maximum swing position ( (Shown by broken lines). In this way, the camera 12 can swing between the initial position and the maximum swing position. The stroke amount between the initial position of the camera 12 indicated by the solid line and the maximum swing position of the camera 12 indicated by the broken line is, for example, about 2 to 3 cm.

《Effects》
Next, the operation and effect of the second embodiment will be described.
Here, a swing mechanism 21 for swingably attaching the camera 12 to the vehicle body is provided. The swing mechanism 21 includes an arm 24 whose base end is rotatably supported, and the camera 12 is attached to a distal end 29 of the arm 24. Therefore, the vertical swing of the camera 12 due to the rotation of the arm 24 is allowed by the vibration of the vehicle body during traveling. Then, water droplets attached to the lens 13 can be removed by vibration (shock) when the camera 12 reaches the maximum swing position or falls to the initial position.
Other functions and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  Although the above has been described with reference to a limited number of embodiments, the scope of rights is not limited thereto, and modifications of the embodiments based on the above disclosure will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

Reference Signs List 11 swing mechanism 12 camera 13 lens 15 rail 17 slider 18 stopper 21 swing mechanism 24 arm 25 rotation shaft 26 projection 27 stopper 28 base end 29 tip

Claims (4)

Equipped with a swing mechanism that attaches the camera to the vehicle body so that it can swing,
The swing mechanism,
A water drop removing mechanism for removing water drops attached to the camera by swinging the camera between an initial position along a predetermined trajectory and a maximum swing position by vibration of a vehicle body. The swing mechanism,
A rail supported by the vehicle body and extending vertically
The water drop removing mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising: a slider to which the camera is attached and which can move forward and backward along the rail. The swing mechanism,
The water drop removing mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising an arm having a base end rotatably supported by the vehicle body and a distal end to which the camera is attached.   A camera device comprising the water droplet removing mechanism according to claim 1.

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