JP5963066B2 - Camera device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for removing water droplets attached to a lens surface in a camera device used in an environment where water droplets adhere, such as an in-vehicle camera.

  In-vehicle cameras are installed for vehicle rearward confirmation or lateral confirmation in automobiles. Since this in-vehicle camera is used even in rainy weather, there arises a problem that it is difficult to see an image captured by the camera due to water droplets adhering to the lens of the in-vehicle camera.

Patent Documents 1 to 3 have already been proposed to address such problems. Patent Document 1 discloses a wind pressure that removes dust, water droplets, and the like attached to an object such as an in-vehicle camera by wind that is naturally taken into the ventilation path when the vehicle travels and is discharged from the outlet of the ventilation path. A generator is described. Patent Document 2 describes a waterproof housing system in which a waterproof housing is provided outside the camera body, and the waterproof housing is vibrated to remove water droplets. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 has a function of leading water droplets attached to the lens surface from the outer peripheral portion of the pressing member to the outside of the imaging range from the inner peripheral end to the outer peripheral end on the front surface of the annular pressing member for fixing the lens to the lens barrel. A lens assembly in which a groove is formed is described.
JP 2009-286216 A JP 2010-271435 A JP 2007-316167 A

  When the lens portion of the camera is large, a water droplet removal method using a wiper is also effective, but it is not very practical to remove water droplets on the lens portion of a small camera like an in-vehicle camera. Further, the method of removing water droplets by blowing or vibration according to Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2 is also less effective for water droplets having a small shape and mass because the adhesion force of water droplets is large relative to the size and weight of the water droplets. Does not work effectively. Furthermore, for the water droplet removal by the groove described in Patent Document 3, the effect cannot be obtained unless the water droplet touches the outer circumferential groove, and the effect cannot be obtained when the water droplet adheres to the center of the lens. There was a problem that the effect was limited.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a camera device capable of efficiently removing water droplets attached to a lens.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a camera device provided with a lens or a lens cover on the front surface of the housing and provided with a camera mechanism inside the housing, the camera device is installed so as to capture an image obliquely below with the lens. the collected housing water droplets attached to the upper surface of the water droplets to form a guide path for flow down from above the upper surface portion of the housing with respect to the lens, water droplets and the lens or lens cover flowed down The camera device is characterized in that water droplets attached to the surface are combined and allowed to flow together .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the guide path is formed in a bowl shape by providing two ribs, and the interval between the ribs becomes narrower from the back side to the front side of the casing. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein:

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to remove water droplets adhering to the lower part of the lens or the lens cover, water droplets adhering to the side surface of the casing are caused to flow down from the side to the lower part of the lens or the lens cover. The camera apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a guide path is further formed on a side surface of the casing.

Claim 4 of the present invention, in order to remove water droplets adhering to the lens or lens cover, a taxiway order to flow down the water droplets attached to the side surface of the housing against the side to the lens or lens cover 4. The camera device according to claim 1, further comprising a side surface of the housing.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the camera device according to the first aspect, the guide path is formed by forming a plurality of continuous grooves on the upper surface portion of the housing from the rear side toward the front side. In addition to the first to fourth aspects, the camera device is characterized in that a guide path for allowing water droplets attached to the side surface of the housing to flow down from the side to the lens is further formed on the side surface of the housing.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the guide path, the upper surface portion of the housing is formed with a tapered surface on the left and right so that the center is recessed in the front view and both sides are raised. It is a camera apparatus of description.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the camera device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects , wherein a water repellent finish is applied to the surface of the casing.

According to the present invention, when the camera device is installed so that the lens images obliquely below, the guide path for collecting water droplets adhering to the upper surface of the housing and flowing down from the upper side to the lens is provided on the housing. Since it was formed on the top surface, water droplets attached to the top surface of the housing can be removed from the lens surface by combining them with the water droplets attached to the lens surface by flowing down from the upper side. It is possible to prevent obfuscation due to water droplets attached to the surface.

  The guide path includes a rib-like shape by a rib, a guide groove, a tapered surface, and the like, but any of them can efficiently collect water droplets adhering to the upper surface of the casing and flow down from the upper side to the lens. .

  In addition, by forming the guide path also on the side surface of the housing, for example, it is possible to remove water droplets that remain without falling at the boundary portion between the lower portion of the lens and the housing, and thereby, in the lower portion of the captured image. It is possible to reduce the phenomenon that water droplets are reflected.

  Furthermore, by applying a water repellent treatment to the surface of the casing, the enlarged water droplets are easy to roll, and the function of collecting the water droplets by the guide path is further enhanced.

1 illustrates a configuration of a first embodiment of a camera device 10 according to the present invention, in which (a) is a plan view and (b) is a front view. It is the front view showing the structure of Example 2 of the camera apparatus 10 by this invention. It is a top view showing the structure of Example 3 of the camera apparatus 10 by this invention. It is the front view showing the structure of Example 4 of the camera apparatus 10 by this invention. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a camera device 10.

  The camera device according to the present invention is assumed to be used in an environment where water drops such as raindrops adhere to the lens, and is assumed to be used for an in-vehicle camera for a back monitor of an automobile. . As shown in FIG. 5, the camera device 10 has a lens 12 disposed in the center of the front surface of the housing 11, and a fixing portion 13 for adjusting and fixing the angle to a bracket or the like on the rear side. As the fixing portion 13, there are various methods such as a method of adjusting the angle at predetermined intervals by engaging a component such as a gear in addition to a method of fixing by screwing after adjusting the angle freely as shown in FIG. 5. Although there is a fixing method, the present invention efficiently removes water droplets adhering to the lens 12 due to the structure of the housing 11 regardless of the fixing means of the fixing portion 13, and therefore FIG. 1 to FIG. In the description, the description of the structure of the fixing portion 13 is omitted.

  FIGS. 1A and 1B show the configuration of the first embodiment of the camera apparatus 10 according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. 1B is a front view. The camera device 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a lens 12 disposed in the center of the front surface of a housing 11 as in FIG. Here, in FIGS. 1A and 1B, reference numeral 14 denotes a rib as a guide path for allowing the water droplet A attached to the upper surface of the housing 11 to flow down from the upper side with respect to the lens 12. As can be seen from FIG. 1B, the rib 14 is formed with a certain height from the upper surface of the housing 11. Two ribs 14 are provided on the upper surface of the casing 11, and in the plan view, the distance from the rear side of the casing 11 to the front side becomes parallel at first, and then the interval between the two ribs 14 is narrowed. The ribs 14 are formed so that the interval between the ribs 14 is within the width of the lens 12. The two ribs 14 thus formed and the upper surface of the casing 11 are formed in a bowl shape, thereby functioning as a guide path that serves to collect the water droplets A. In FIG. 1B, reference numeral 15 denotes a rib as a guide path for allowing the water droplet A attached to the side surface of the casing 11 to flow down from the side to the lower portion of the lens 12. In FIG. 1 (b), the rib 15 is formed as a convex portion. However, the rib upper surface is bent by 90 ° so that the L-shaped cross section is formed so that it is literally formed in a bowl shape. Also good.

  Here, regarding water droplets, the following two properties are known as natural phenomena. One is the property of growing into one large polka dot when the polka dots come into contact with each other, and the other is the property that the larger the polka dot, the more easily it flows down by gravity. It is a feature of the present invention that the water droplets B attached to the lens 12 are efficiently removed using these properties.

  As described above, the camera device 10 according to the present invention is assumed to be used in an in-vehicle camera for a back monitor of an automobile, and in this case, the camera device 10 is obliquely below so that an image of the obliquely downward direction can be captured. It is installed at an angle. Therefore, in such a situation, the water droplets A attached to the upper surface of the housing 11 are subjected to gravity in the direction in which the water droplet falls toward the lens 12 with the upper surface of the housing 11 being an inclined surface. Therefore, the water droplet A adhering to the upper surface of the housing 11 flows down toward the front side where the lens 12 is provided, and is gradually combined with the water droplet B which is close to become a larger water droplet. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the two ribs 14 are provided on the upper surface of the housing 11 so that the water droplet A flowing down to the front side always passes through the surface of the lens 12. . With such a configuration, the water droplets B attached to the surface of the lens 12 can be combined with the water droplets A from the upper surface of the housing 11 and flowed down together to be removed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent an image captured by the camera from being obscured by the water droplet B.

  In addition, a phenomenon occurs in which the water droplet C does not flow down at the boundary portion between the lower portion of the lens 12 and the housing 11. In order to efficiently remove the water droplets C in this portion, as shown in FIG. 1B, a guide path for allowing the water droplets D adhering to the side surface of the housing 11 to flow down from the side to the lower part of the lens 12. As a result, a rib 15 was formed. As a result, it is possible to reduce the phenomenon in which the water droplets C appear in the lower part of the captured image.

  As described above, the camera device 10 according to the present invention causes the water droplet A attached to the upper surface of the housing 11 to flow down from the upper side with respect to the lens 12 in order to remove the water droplet B remaining on the surface of the lens 12. A rib 14 is provided as a guide path for the lens 12, and in order to remove the water droplet C remaining at the boundary with the housing 11 at the lower part of the lens 12, the water droplet D adhering to the side surface of the housing 11 is removed from the side of the lens 12. Since the rib 15 is provided as a guide path for flowing down with respect to the lower part, it is possible to prevent the image captured by the camera from being obscured by the water droplets B and C.

  In the first embodiment, the rib 14 formed on the upper surface of the housing 11 and the rib 15 as a guide path for allowing the water droplet E attached to the side surface of the housing 11 to flow downward from the side to the lower portion of the lens 12 are provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a configuration may be employed in which ribs 16 are further added as guide paths for causing water droplets E attached to the side surface of the housing 11 to flow downward from the lens 12. With such a configuration, it is possible to more efficiently remove the water droplet B that remains attached to the surface of the lens 12.

  In the first and second embodiments, the ribs 14 to 16 as guide paths are formed to guide the water droplets A, D, and E. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of guide grooves 17 as guide paths may be formed on the upper surface of the housing 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the guide grooves 17 are preferably formed in a radial pattern so that the distance between the guide grooves 17 increases from the front side toward the back side. By forming the guide groove 17, the water droplet is guided by the capillary action of the groove and functions as a guide path for the water droplet attached to the upper surface of the housing 11 to flow down from the upper side with respect to the lens 12.

  In the first and second embodiments, the ribs 14 to 16 as guide paths are formed to guide the water droplets A, D, and E. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, tapered surfaces 18 may be provided on the left and right so that the center of the upper surface portion of the housing 11 is recessed in the front view and the outside becomes higher, and this may be used as a water droplet guide path. Even with such a configuration, it is possible to cause water droplets attached to the upper surface of the housing 11 to flow down from the upper side with respect to the lens 12.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the case 11 has been described using a shape in which the cross section of the housing 11 is approximately square, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the invention of the first to fourth embodiments can be similarly applied even to a camera device having a substantially cylindrical casing. Further, in this embodiment, an example is shown in which water droplets flow down on the lens surface and water droplets remaining on the lens surface are removed, but even when a transparent lens cover 19 is provided so as to cover the lens to protect the lens. The present invention is applicable, and water droplets attached to the lens cover 19 can be effectively removed.

  In addition to the first to fourth embodiments, the surface of the housing 11 is further subjected to water repellent treatment, so that the enlarged water droplets are easy to roll and the water collecting function by the guide path is further enhanced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Camera apparatus, 11 ... Housing, 12 ... Lens, 13 ... Fixing part, 14 ... Rib, 15 ... Rib, 16 ... Rib, 17 ... Guide groove, 18 ... Tapered surface. 19 ... Lens cover, A ... Water drops, B ... Water drops, C ... Water drops, D ... Water drops, E ... Water drops

Claims (7)

In a camera device provided with a lens or a lens cover on the front surface of the housing and provided with a camera mechanism inside the housing, the camera device is attached to the upper surface of the housing when the lens device is installed so that the lens images obliquely below. A guide path is formed on the upper surface of the housing to allow the water droplets to flow down from the upper side with respect to the lens, and the water droplets that have flowed down are combined with the water droplets attached to the surface of the lens or lens cover. A camera device characterized by being allowed to flow down together . The guide path is formed in a bowl shape by providing two ribs, and the interval between the ribs is narrowed from the back side to the front side of the housing. 1. The camera device according to 1. In order to remove water droplets adhering to the lower part of the lens or the lens cover, a guide path for allowing the water droplets adhering to the side surface of the casing to flow downward from the side to the lower part of the lens or the lens cover is provided on the casing. The camera device according to claim 1, further formed on a side surface. To remove water droplets adhering to the lens or lens cover, further forming a guide path for flowing down the water droplets attached to the side surface of the housing against the side to the lens or lens cover to the side surface of the housing The camera apparatus according to claim 1, 2, or 3.   2. The camera apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide path is formed by forming a plurality of continuous grooves from the back side to the front side in the upper surface portion of the housing.   2. The camera apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide path has a tapered surface formed on the left and right so that the upper surface portion of the housing is recessed in the center when viewed from the front and both sides are raised.   7. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein a water repellent finish is applied to a surface of the casing.

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