JP3023066B2 - Vehicle safety confirmation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for confirming safety when an automobile starts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, while a truck is stopped, a child may crawl on the lower surface of a vehicle body, or pets such as dogs and cats may crawl. It is dangerous to leave without knowing this, so it is necessary to confirm each time.

[0003]

In order to perform the above confirmation, it is necessary to bend the body and go around the outer periphery of the vehicle body, which is very troublesome.

[0004] For this reason, it is conceivable to carry out inspection using an image pickup device. However, it is necessary that the inspection does not hinder the traveling and that it can withstand a severe vibration of the vehicle body during traveling.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a safety confirmation device that satisfies the above-mentioned requirements.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems A problem], this <br/> onset Ming, arranged in parallel with the main driving link and the driven link, and connected to the main shaft driven by a motor to the rear end of the main driving link , The rear end of the driven link is rotatably supported, and the front ends of the main link and the driven link are rotatably connected to the frame supporting the camera, respectively, to form a parallelogram link rotation mechanism . In vehicle safety confirmation devices,
Such a configuration was adopted.

That is, the motor, the link rotating mechanism, and the camera
Place the frame that supports the
The pivot point of the deployed driven link arranged downward with respect to the rotation fulcrum to become the main axis of the main driving link Furontoba
The main link and the driven link.
The tip of the motor is also offset,
In the moving state, the lower end of the support frame of the camera
They did not protrude downward from the pa.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the checking device of the present invention comprises a drive unit 10, a link mechanism 20, and a camera support 30. The drive unit 10, the link mechanism 20, and the camera support unit 30 are attached to the lower surface of the vehicle body so as not to protrude slightly above the lower end of the front bumper A, that is, to protrude downward from the front bumper A in the non-operation state. <br/>

The drive unit 10 has a casing 11 attached to a suitable portion of the vehicle body by a bracket B. A motor 12 is fixed to an outer surface of the casing 11, and a worm gear 13 meshing with a worm wheel 14 is fixed to a drive shaft 12 a of the motor 12.

On the same axis as the worm wheel 14,
A gear 15 is fixed, and this gear 15 meshes with a gear 16 fixed to a main shaft 17. The main shaft 17 protrudes from the side surface of the casing 11, and a coil spring 19 is fitted in this portion.

The link mechanism 20 includes a pair of driven links 21 arranged in parallel and having the same length, and a driven link 22.
Each of which is located upward with its tip facing upwards
Rear end of the driving link 21 is fixed to the main shaft 17, the lower
The rear end of the driven link 22 disposed on the side
Is rotatably connected to a pin 18 provided at a position offset in the direction of the bumper A.

The distal ends of the links 21 and 22 are connected to the frame 31 of the camera support 30 by pins 32 and 3 respectively.
3 are connected rotatably. This pin 32,
33 is offset in the same manner as the offset arrangement of the main shaft 17 and the pin 18, and the links 21 and 22 and the main shaft 1
A parallelogram link mechanism 20 that connects the pin 7 and the pin 18 and the pins 32 and 33 is formed. And the non-operation of the motor 12
In the moving state, the lower end of the support frame 31 is
It does not protrude downward from the lower end of the par A.

Although the driven links 22 are provided not on a pair but only on one of the driving links 21, a pair of driven links 22 may of course be provided similarly to the driving link 21.

The support frame 31 of the camera support 30
Is a substantially right-angled rectangular frame body, and a camera 34 is attached to the lower end of the frame body in a horizontal direction. Therefore, no matter what angle the link mechanism 20 rotates, the camera 34 is oriented horizontally. The camera 34 is generally a CCD camera, but may be a camera using an image pickup tube.

One end 19a of the coil spring 19 is locked to the pin 18 of the driven link 22, the other end 19b is locked to the driving link 21, and the link mechanism 20 moves the camera 34 above the lower edge of the bumper A. Is held, the spring force is the weakest, and the coil spring 19 is wound and tightened as it rotates to the lower imaging position to increase the spring force.

When the main shaft 17 is driven by starting the motor 12, the link mechanism 20 rotates in the direction of the arrow. At this time, since the frame 31 supporting the camera 34 always keeps a fixed angle, the camera 34 maintains a horizontal position. Further, the coil spring 19 is tightened.

When the link mechanism 20 rotates and reaches the descending point, the control circuit 40 (FIG. 2) having a sensor 41 detects the rotation angle of the main shaft 17 and stops the motor 12. Image the lower surface.

If there is no abnormality, the motor 12 is reversed by the control circuit 40 by a switch operation or a remote control operation from the driver's seat, and the frame 31 holding the camera 34 is pulled up by the link mechanism 20. At this time,
Since the coil spring 19 is tightened, the link 21
, A spring force in the direction of lifting acts to reduce the load on the motor 12.

When the frame 31 is pulled up to the uppermost position, the motor 12 is stopped, but the engagement between the worm wheel 14 and the worm gear 13 serves as a stopper to maintain the position of the frame 31.

In addition, intense vibration during traveling is caused by the driving link 21 causing the gear 16 of the main shaft 17 and the gear 1 meshing therewith.
5, since the other end 19 b of the coil spring 19 is locked to the driving link 21, the vibration is reduced by the cushion effect, and the gears 15 and 16 are not damaged.

[0022]

According to the present invention, as described above, a pair of links are arranged in parallel, a fulcrum of these links forms a parallelogram link mechanism, and a camera support frame is attached to a fulcrum on the tip side. Therefore, always hold the camera horizontally, and from the stowed position,
The camera can be moved to an imaging position where the underside of the vehicle body can be seen, and by offsetting the fulcrum, the camera can be stored in a space as narrow as possible, and the camera can be moved to an optimal position for imaging. it can.

Further, by locking one end of the coil spring to the driving link of the link mechanism, the power required for raising the camera is reduced, and the transmission of vibration during traveling is reduced, thereby preventing damage to gears and the like. The effect can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of a safety confirmation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 drive unit 11 casing 12 motor 13 worm gear 14 worm wheel 15, 16 gear 17 main shaft 18 pin 19 coil spring 19a, 19b end of coil spring 20 link mechanism 21 main drive link 22 driven link 30 camera support unit 31 support frame 32, 33 pin 34 Camera 40 control circuit

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A driving link and a driven link are arranged in parallel, a rear end of the driving link is connected to a main shaft driven by a motor, and a rear end of the driven link is rotatably supported. In a vehicle safety confirmation device in which a tip of a link is rotatably connected to a frame supporting a camera to form a parallelogram link rotation mechanism ,
A frame supporting the motor, the link rotating mechanism, and the camera.
Arm on the underside of the car and the
The slave located below the main shaft, which is the pivot
Set the pivot of the moving link in the direction of the front bumper.
And the ends of the driving and driven links and the frame
Similarly, the connecting part of
In this state, the lower end of the support frame of the camera is
A safety confirmation device for an automobile, wherein the device does not protrude downward from the vehicle. 2. A spring for pulling up the driving link.
The vehicle safety confirmation device according to claim 1 , further comprising means.