JP7621373B2 - Vehicle sensor device and vehicle lamp - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle sensor device and a vehicle lamp equipped with the vehicle sensor device.

In recent years, a vehicle sensor device has become known that is mounted inside a vehicle's lamp cover and detects objects outside the vehicle using electromagnetic waves. In such a vehicle sensor device, if ice or snow adheres to the lamp cover, the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the sensor may be reflected by the ice or snow, which may affect the detection accuracy.

For example, a vehicle sensor device described in the following Patent Document 1 is known as a vehicle sensor device that can reduce the effects of such ice and snow. The vehicle sensor device described in Patent Document 1 is arranged inside a lamp cover and includes a sensor that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves to the outside of the vehicle, and a separator that separates the space in which the sensor is arranged. The vehicle sensor device described in Patent Document 1 determines whether or not ice and snow are attached to the lamp cover based on changes in the behavior of the reflected wave power of the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the sensor, and turns on the light source inside the lamp cover if it is determined that ice and snow are attached. With such a vehicle sensor device, radiant heat from the light source is conducted to the lamp cover via the separator, melting the ice and snow attached to the lamp cover, which is said to suppress the effect on the detection accuracy of the sensor.

Furthermore, for example, the following Patent Document 2 describes a vehicle lamp in which a heating element that generates heat when electricity is passed through it is attached to the lamp cover. With the vehicle lamp of Patent Document 2, the lamp cover can be directly heated by the heating element that generates heat when electricity is passed through it, which is expected to improve the efficiency of removing ice and snow.

JP 2020-050271 A JP 2008-177054 A

However, in the vehicle sensor device described in Patent Document 1, the temperature rise of the lamp cover relies on the thermal conduction of radiant heat from the light source, making it difficult for the lamp cover to heat up and potentially resulting in insufficient removal of ice and snow.

In addition, when a sensor device that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves is placed inside a lamp cover, if the heating element described in Patent Document 2 is attached to the lamp cover, the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the sensor may be reflected by the heating element and become noise. This may actually decrease the detection accuracy.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle sensor device that can suppress a decrease in detection accuracy and a vehicle lamp equipped with the vehicle sensor device.

In order to achieve the above object, a sensor device for a vehicle according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises an outer cover, a sensor unit that is arranged inside the outer cover and transmits and receives a predetermined electromagnetic wave that passes through the outer cover and outputs a signal related to the electromagnetic wave that is incident on the inside of the outer cover, and a heat generating member that is attached to the outer cover and heats a transparent area of the outer cover through which the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the sensor unit passes by passing an electric current through the heat generating member, wherein the heat generating member is attached to the outer cover such that the inside of the transparent area is sparser than the outside of the transparent area.

According to this vehicle sensor device, since a heat-generating member that heats the above-mentioned transparent area is attached to the outer cover, the outer cover can be heated directly, and ice and snow adhering to the outer cover can be effectively melted, compared to, for example, the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, in which the outer cover is heated by thermal conduction of radiant heat from a light source. Furthermore, according to this vehicle sensor device, the heat-generating member is attached so that the inside of the transparent area is sparser than the outside of the transparent area, so that the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the sensor unit are prevented from being reflected by the heat-generating member and becoming noise. In this way, according to this vehicle sensor device, ice and snow can be effectively removed while suppressing the reflection of electromagnetic waves by the heat-generating member, and therefore a decrease in detection accuracy can be suppressed.

In addition, in the vehicle sensor device according to the first aspect, the heat-generating member may not be positioned inside the transparent area.

By doing so, it is possible to more effectively suppress the reflection of electromagnetic waves by the heat-generating member. On the other hand, because the heat-generating member is disposed outside the transparent area, ice and snow adhering to the transparent area can be effectively melted by the heat from the heat-generating member.

Furthermore, the vehicle sensor device according to the first aspect further includes a control unit that operates the sensor unit to scan the electromagnetic waves along a predetermined direction and calculates the position of a predetermined object based on the electromagnetic waves reflected from the object and received by the sensor unit, and the heat-generating member inside the transparent area may be attached to the outer cover so that, in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction in the transparent area, the heat-generating member inside the transparent area is sparser toward the center than toward the outer edge of the transparent area.

In the above-mentioned vehicle sensor device, the object to be detected is generally an object that is irradiated with electromagnetic waves transmitted and received through the area on the central side of the transparent area in the direction perpendicular to the direction of scanning the electromagnetic waves. Therefore, by attaching a heat-generating member inside the transparent area so that the central side of the transparent area in the perpendicular direction is sparse, it is possible to suppress the electromagnetic waves from being reflected at the central side of the transparent area and becoming noise, and to suppress a decrease in the detection accuracy of the object to be detected. In addition, by arranging a heat-generating member inside the transparent area so that the outer edge side of the transparent area in the perpendicular direction is dense, it is possible to heat the transparent area more effectively, and to effectively melt ice and snow adhering to the transparent area.

In addition, in the vehicle sensor device according to the first aspect, the heat-generating member may be attached to the outer cover so as to surround the entire periphery of the transparent area.

By doing this, the transparent area can be heated more effectively than if a heat-generating member were attached only to a portion of the entire periphery of the transparent area, and the efficiency of removing ice, snow, etc. can be improved.

Alternatively, in the vehicle sensor device of the first aspect, the heat-generating member may be attached only to an area of the outer cover vertically below the center of the transparent area.

In this case, the ice and snow that has adhered to the underside of the transparent area may melt first. After that, the ice and snow remaining on the upper side of the transparent area may fall to the lower area from which the ice and snow have been removed and melt. Therefore, even when a heat-generating member is attached only to the lower area in this way, ice and snow can be effectively removed. In addition, the amount of heat-generating member can be reduced compared to when heat-generating members are attached around the entire periphery of the transparent area, which may reduce costs.

In addition, in the vehicle sensor device according to the first aspect, the heat-generating member may be mesh-shaped.

Here, mesh-like refers to a shape that divides a given area into multiple compartments, such as a net, lattice, or porous shape. If the heat-generating member is mesh-like in this way, multiple compartments are formed in the outer cover that are surrounded by the heat-generating member. Then, the heat-generating member that surrounds these compartments can heat each of the compartments from all sides. Therefore, the outer cover can be heated more effectively, and the efficiency of removing ice and snow, etc. can be improved.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the vehicle lamp of the present invention comprises a vehicle sensor device according to the first aspect described above, and a lamp unit that is arranged inside the vehicle relative to the outer cover and emits light to the outside of the vehicle through the outer cover, and is characterized in that the heat-generating member heats a light emission area of the outer cover from which the light is emitted, and is attached to the outer cover so that the inside of the light emission area is sparser than the outside of the light emission area.

This vehicle lamp includes a vehicle sensor device according to any one of the first aspects described above, and therefore can suppress a decrease in detection accuracy. In addition, in this vehicle lamp, the heat-generating member is attached so as to heat the light emission region, and therefore ice and snow adhering to the light emission region can be removed. In addition, since the heat-generating member is sparser inside the light emission region than outside the light emission region, reflection of the light emitted from the lamp unit by the heat-generating member inside the light emission region can be suppressed, and a decrease in the efficiency of light emission from the lamp unit can be suppressed.

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle sensor device according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises an outer cover, a sensor unit arranged inside the vehicle relative to the outer cover and transmitting and receiving a predetermined electromagnetic wave that passes through the outer cover and outputting a signal related to the electromagnetic wave that is incident on the inside of the outer cover, a control unit that operates the sensor unit to scan the electromagnetic wave along a predetermined direction and calculates the position of a predetermined object based on the electromagnetic wave reflected by the object and received by the sensor unit, and a heat generating member attached to the outer cover and that heats a transparent area of the outer cover through which the electromagnetic wave passes by by passing an electric current through the heat generating member, wherein the heat generating member extends along the predetermined direction through a portion of the inside of the transparent area and crosses the transparent area.

According to this vehicle sensor device, since a heat-generating member that heats the above-mentioned transparent area is attached to the outer cover, the outer cover can be heated directly, and ice and snow adhering to the outer cover can be effectively melted, compared to, for example, the case in which the outer cover is heated by thermal conduction of radiant heat from a light source as in Patent Document 1 above. In addition, since the heat-generating member crosses the inside of the transparent area, the transparent area is heated over the entire length of the transparent area in the above-mentioned specified direction, and the transparent area can be effectively heated. Therefore, ice and snow adhering to the transparent area can be effectively melted.

However, if the heat-generating member inside the transparent area extends in a direction intersecting the above-mentioned specified direction, the scanning electromagnetic wave will be reflected by the heat-generating member, causing a change in the intensity distribution of the electromagnetic wave received by the sensor unit in the above-mentioned specified direction, which may result in a decrease in detection accuracy. In contrast, in this vehicle sensor device, the heat-generating member crosses a portion of the inside of the transparent area along the above-mentioned specified direction. This suppresses the change in the intensity distribution of the electromagnetic wave received by the sensor unit in the above-mentioned specified direction, thereby suppressing a decrease in detection accuracy.

In this way, this vehicle sensor device can effectively remove ice, snow, etc. while suppressing the effects of electromagnetic wave reflection by heat-generating components, thereby preventing a decrease in detection accuracy.

In addition, in the vehicle sensor device according to the second aspect, the heat-generating component inside the transparent area may be attached to the outer cover so that, in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction in the transparent area, the heat-generating component is sparser toward the center of the transparent area than toward the outer edge of the transparent area.

In the vehicle sensor device according to the second aspect, similarly to the vehicle sensor device according to the first aspect, by attaching a heat-generating member inside the transparent area so that the central side of the transparent area in the vertical direction is sparse, it is possible to suppress the reflection of electromagnetic waves at the central side of the transparent area and cause noise, and to suppress a decrease in the detection accuracy of the object to be detected. In addition, by arranging the heat-generating member inside the transparent area so that the outer edge side of the transparent area in the vertical direction is dense, it is possible to heat the transparent area more effectively, and to effectively melt ice and snow adhering to the transparent area.

In addition, in the vehicle sensor device according to the second aspect, the heat-generating member may be attached to the outer cover so that the heat-generating member is sparser inside the transparent area than outside the transparent area.

With this configuration, compared to when the heat-generating member is attached with the same density inside and outside the transparent area, or when it is attached so that it is denser inside the transparent area than outside the transparent area, it is possible to prevent electromagnetic waves from being reflected by the heat-generating member and becoming noise, and it is possible to prevent a decrease in detection accuracy.

In addition, in the vehicle sensor device according to the second aspect, the heat-generating member may be attached to the outer cover so as to surround the entire periphery of the transparent area.

In the vehicle sensor device of the second aspect, as in the vehicle sensor device of the first aspect, the transparent area can be heated more effectively than when a heat-generating member is attached to only a portion of the entire periphery of the transparent area, thereby improving the efficiency of removing ice, snow, etc.

Alternatively, in the vehicle sensor device of the second aspect, the heat-generating member may be attached only to an area of the outer cover vertically below the center of the transparent area.

In the vehicle sensor device according to the second aspect, like the vehicle sensor device according to the first aspect, ice, snow, etc. can be effectively removed, and costs can be reduced because the amount of heat-generating components can be reduced compared to when heat-generating components are attached around the entire periphery of the transparent area.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the vehicle lamp of the present invention comprises a vehicle sensor device according to the second aspect described in any one of the above, and a lamp unit that is arranged inside the vehicle relative to the outer cover and emits light to the outside of the vehicle via the outer cover, and is characterized in that at least a portion of the heat-generating member inside the transparent area extends outside the transparent area along the predetermined direction to a light emission area of the outer cover from which the light is emitted.

This vehicle lamp includes a vehicle sensor device according to any one of the second aspects described above, and therefore can suppress deterioration of detection accuracy. Furthermore, in this vehicle lamp, the heat-generating member is attached so as to heat the light-emitting region, and therefore ice and snow adhering to the light-emitting region can be removed. Furthermore, in this vehicle lamp, the heat-generating member inside the transmissive region extends to the light-emitting region along a predetermined direction, and therefore the light-emitting region can be heated by the heat-generating member that heats the transmissive region. Therefore, there is no need to separately provide a heat-generating member for heating the light-emitting region, and wiring costs can be reduced.

As described above, the present invention provides a vehicle sensor device capable of suppressing a decrease in detection accuracy, and a vehicle lamp equipped with the vehicle sensor device.

1 is a front view showing an outline of a vehicle and a vehicle lamp including a vehicle sensor device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vehicle sensor device taken along line II-II in FIG. 1. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a sensor unit of the vehicle sensor device shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the front. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a detectable region of an electromagnetic wave. 4 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the receiving antenna of the vehicle sensor device shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above. FIG. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing mainly the vicinity of a transmission region of a heater according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire in FIG. 6 . FIG. 7 is a view showing a heater according to a second embodiment of the present invention, taken from the same perspective as FIG. 6 . FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire in FIG. 8 . FIG. 7 is a view showing a heater according to a third embodiment of the present invention, taken from the same perspective as FIG. 6 11 is a diagram showing a modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire in FIG. 10 . FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire in FIG. 10 . FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire in FIG. 12 . 7 is a view showing mainly the vicinity of the transmission region and the vicinity of the light emission region of a heater according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, taken from the same perspective as FIG. 6 . FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire in FIG. 14 . FIG. 7 is a view showing a heater according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, taken from the same perspective as FIG. 6 FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire in FIG. 16 . FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a second modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire in FIG. 16 . FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire in FIG. 18 . 7 is a view showing a heater according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention, taken from the same perspective as FIG. 6 . 7 is a view showing a heater according to a modified example of the second embodiment of the present invention, taken from the same perspective as FIG. 6 .

Below, embodiments for implementing the vehicle sensor device and vehicle lamp according to the present invention are illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments illustrated below are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the interpretation of the present invention. The present invention can be modified and improved from the following embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In addition, in this specification, the dimensions of each component may be exaggerated to facilitate understanding.

First Embodiment
Fig. 1 is a front view showing an outline of a vehicle and a vehicle lamp equipped with a vehicle sensor device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle lamp VL of this embodiment is a vehicle headlamp of a vehicle VE, and mainly comprises a vehicle sensor device 1 and a lamp unit LU. In this embodiment, the vehicle sensor device 1 and the lamp unit LU are arranged approximately along the left-right direction. In this specification, the forward direction means the traveling direction of the vehicle VE, and the left and right directions mean the left and right sides with respect to the traveling direction.

The lamp unit LU is disposed inside the vehicle VE relative to the outer cover 12 described below, and emits light to the outside of the vehicle VE via the outer cover 12. As shown by the dashed line in Figure 1, the light emitted from the lamp unit LU passes through the light emission region LR in the outer cover 12 and is emitted forward of the vehicle VE.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of the vehicle sensor device 1 taken along line II-II shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the vehicle sensor device 1 mainly comprises a housing 10, a sensor unit 20, a heater 30, and a control unit CO. Note that the heater 30 and control unit CO are omitted from Figure 1.

The control unit CO is connected to the sensor unit 20 and the heater 30. This control unit CO is configured, for example, by an integrated circuit such as a microcontroller, an IC (Integrated Circuit), an LSI (Large-scale Integrated Circuit), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an NC (Numerical Control) device. Furthermore, when an NC device is used, it may or may not use a machine learning device. The control unit CO may be unique to the vehicle sensor device 1, or at least a part of the control unit CO may be included in the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) of the vehicle VE.

The housing 10 of this embodiment mainly comprises a housing 11 and an outer cover 12. The outer cover 12 is made of a material that transmits light emitted from the lamp unit LU and electromagnetic waves transmitted and received from the sensor unit 20 described later. Examples of materials for forming such an outer cover 12 include resins such as polycarbonate. The housing 11 is configured in a box shape with an opening at the front, and the outer cover 12 is fixed to the housing 11 so as to close the opening. As shown in FIG. 2, the outer cover 12 extends approximately along the vertical direction. The housing 11 may be made of a different material from the outer cover 12, or may be made of the same material. The housing 10 has an accommodation space 13 surrounded by the housing 11 and the outer cover 12, and the sensor unit 20 and the lamp unit LU are arranged in the accommodation space 13.

The sensor unit 20 of this embodiment is a millimeter wave radar that transmits and receives millimeter waves as the electromagnetic waves. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the sensor unit 20 viewed from the front. As shown in Figure 3, the sensor unit 20 includes a transmitting antenna 25 and multiple receiving antennas 26. The control unit CO is connected to the transmitting antenna 25 and each receiving antenna 26. Note that although three receiving antennas 26 are shown in Figure 3, there may be two, or four or more.

The transmitting antenna 25 transmits the millimeter wave EW forward. Therefore, the millimeter wave EW passes through a predetermined area of the outer cover 12 and propagates forward outside the vehicle. In this embodiment, the millimeter wave EW is emitted from the transmitting antenna 25 so that the width in the left-right direction is greater than the width in the vertical direction. Therefore, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 1, the transmission area AR through which the millimeter wave EW transmitted from the sensor unit 20 in the outer cover 12 passes is a substantially rectangular shape that is flat in the left-right direction. In addition, the transmitting antenna 25, in response to a control signal from the control unit CO, sets the millimeter wave EW to a millimeter wave whose intensity is approximately constant and whose frequency increases and decreases repeatedly at a predetermined cycle.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the millimeter wave EW passes through the transmission area AR and is emitted outside the vehicle, it spreads more in the left-right direction than in the vertical direction, forming a detectable area FA by the millimeter wave EW. In this embodiment, the detectable area FA is a substantially rectangular shape that is flat in the left-right direction when viewed from the front, and is a substantially fan-shaped shape that is wider toward the front when viewed from above. The detectable area FA is also called the FOV area. If an object is present within the detectable area FA, the millimeter wave EW is reflected by the object, and a portion of the reflected millimeter wave EW passes through the transmission area AR and enters the storage space 13. The millimeter wave EW reflected by the object may enter the storage space 13 from a location other than the transmission area AR in the outer cover 12, for example, when the position of the receiving antenna 26 and the position of the transmitting antenna 25 are separated from each other.

In this embodiment, each of the multiple receiving antennas 26 has approximately the same configuration. As shown in FIG. 3, each of these receiving antennas 26 and the transmitting antenna 25 are arranged in the left-right direction at a predetermined interval. In addition, the vertical center of each of the receiving antennas 26 and the vertical center of the transmitting antenna 25 are approximately located on a straight line extending in the left-right direction. Each of the receiving antennas 26 has a configuration in which, for example, multiple patch antennas are overlapped along the vertical direction. Each of the receiving antennas 26 receives the millimeter wave EW reflected by an object and entered the storage space 13. In this embodiment, each of the receiving antennas 26 outputs a signal indicating the waveform of the millimeter wave EW to the control unit CO as a signal related to the received millimeter wave EW. Note that the intensity of the electromagnetic wave received by the receiving antenna 26 is included as a factor that forms the waveform of the electromagnetic wave.

When the control unit CO receives the signals related to the millimeter wave EW from each receiving antenna 26, it calculates the distance from the vehicle VE to the object based on the received signals related to the millimeter wave EW and the signal indicating the waveform of the electromagnetic wave emitted from the transmitting antenna 25, for example, by the FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method. In this embodiment, since the multiple receiving antennas 26 are spaced apart in the left-right direction, a phase difference occurs in the millimeter wave EW reflected by the object and received by each receiving antenna 26. Based on this phase difference, the control unit CO can calculate, for example, at what angle θ to the left or right of the reference line SL extending forward through the center of the detectable area FA in the upward view. A method of calculating the position of an object in a detectable area based on the phase difference of the electromagnetic waves received by multiple receiving antennas in parallel in this way is called an electronic scanning method. In such an electronic scanning method, the predetermined direction in which the electromagnetic waves are scanned corresponds to the direction in which the multiple receiving antennas are arranged side by side, which is the left-right direction in this embodiment. Therefore, in this embodiment, the direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction in which the electromagnetic waves are scanned is approximately the vertical direction.

The scanning method of the sensor unit 20 is not limited to the electronic scanning method. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, one receiving antenna 26 may be rotated around an axis Ax extending in the vertical direction to change the angle of the receiving antenna 26 with respect to the left and right direction. FIG. 5 is a view of the receiving antenna 26 viewed from above. As a result, a phase difference occurs in the electromagnetic waves received by the receiving antenna 26 according to the angle ψ of the receiving antenna 26. Therefore, the control unit CO can calculate, based on this phase difference, for example, at what angle θ the object OB in the detectable area FA is biased to the left or right with respect to the reference line SL. The method of calculating the position of an object in the detectable area based on the phase difference of the electromagnetic waves generated by mechanically changing the orientation of the receiving antenna in this way is called a mechanical scanning method. In this mechanical scanning method, the predetermined direction in which the electromagnetic waves are scanned corresponds to the direction in which the angle ψ of the receiving antenna is defined, and in this embodiment, it is the left and right direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, the direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction in which the electromagnetic waves are scanned is approximately vertical.

Alternatively, the sensor unit 20 may be configured such that the transmitting antenna 25 emits pulsed electromagnetic waves while rotating around an axis extending in the vertical direction, for example. When electromagnetic waves are emitted forward, the direction in which the electromagnetic waves are scanned can be changed to the left or right direction by rotating the transmitting antenna 25 around an axis extending in the vertical direction in this manner. In this case, only one receiving antenna 26 is required, and the control unit CO calculates the position of the object OB, for example, by the ToF (Time of Flight) method.

In this way, the control unit CO of this embodiment operates the sensor unit 20 to scan millimeter waves, which are electromagnetic waves, along a predetermined direction, and calculates the position of the object OB based on the electromagnetic waves reflected by the object OB and received by the sensor unit 20.

2, the heater 30 includes a plurality of heating wires 31 as heat-generating members. Each of the heating wires 31 is attached within and near the transparent area AR of the inner surface 12i of the outer cover 12. The heat-generating members may be attached over the entire area of the inner surface 12i outside the transparent area AR. Each of the heating wires 31 is connected to a power supply circuit 32 via a connector 33. The power supply circuit 32 supplies current from a power supply (not shown) to each of the heating wires 31 in response to a control signal from the control unit CO. As a result, each of the heating wires 31 is heated to a predetermined temperature due to electrical resistance to the flow of electricity, and as a result, at least the transparent area AR is heated.

Such heating wire 31 may be attached to the inner surface 12i by, for example, applying or printing a conductive paste such as silver paste, gold paste, copper paste, aluminum paste, or ITO paste onto the inner surface 12i, or by using a specified adhesive. Alternatively, the heating wire 31 may be attached to the outer cover 12 by, for example, a metal wire by heat wiring. Note that heat wiring refers to applying heat to a base material on which the heating wire is provided to soften the base material, and then applying pressure to the softened base material to embed the metal wire in the base material. Therefore, when heat wiring is used, at least a part of the heat-generating member can be attached to the inside of the outer cover 12.

The heat generating member may be attached to the outer surface 12o of the outer cover 12. However, by attaching the heat generating member to the inner surface 12i of the outer cover 12 or to the inside of the outer cover, it is possible to prevent ice, snow, dirt, etc. from adhering to the heat generating member.

In addition, in this embodiment, the heat generating member only needs to be attached to an area that heats at least the transmissive area AR, and may or may not be attached to an area that can heat the light emitting area LR, for example.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing the heater 30 in this embodiment, mainly in the vicinity of the transparent area AR. As shown in Figure 6, in this embodiment, multiple heating wires 31 extend along the left-right direction, which is the direction in which the electromagnetic waves are scanned, and surround the entire periphery of the transparent area AR shown by the dashed line. In this way, the heat-generating member in this embodiment is attached so as to surround the entire periphery of the transparent area AR. Note that to avoid cluttering the figures, reference numerals have been omitted from some of the heating wires 31 in this figure and subsequent figures.

In this embodiment, the heating wires 31 are the same thickness, and the spacing between adjacent heating wires 31 outside the transparent area AR is the same D1. In order to avoid cluttering the figure, reference numerals are omitted from some of the spacing D1 between the heating wires 31 in this figure and subsequent figures. Of the heating wires 31, some heating wires 31A, 31B, 31C, and 31D each cross a portion of the inner area of the transparent area AR. Inside the transparent area AR, the spacing between heating wires 31A and 31B, the spacing between heating wires 31B and 31C, and the spacing between heating wires 31C and 31D are all the same D2. The spacing D2 is wider than the spacing D1, and in this embodiment, it is approximately three times the spacing D1. By attaching the heating wires 31A to 31D at intervals from each other in this manner, the area inside the transmission area AR where no heat-generating member is attached is exposed to the accommodation space 13. In this embodiment, each of the heating wires 31 directly below the heating wires 31A to 31C does not cross the transmission area AR but is connected to one of the heating wires 31A to 31C. In this manner, in this embodiment, some of the heating wires are connected in parallel to each other, so that all of the heating wires 31 are conductive.

Figure 7 shows a modified wiring pattern of the heating wire 31 described in Figure 6, and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as that described in Figure 6, and the description is omitted. In this modified example, the heating wire 31 is formed in series, and the heating wire 31 does not branch at least in the transparent area AR and its surroundings, and the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transparent area AR is the same as the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transparent area AR in Figure 6. By attaching the heating wire 31 in this manner, the current flowing through the heating wire 31 is constant regardless of the part of the heating wire 31, and if the resistance value of the heating wire 31 is constant, uneven distribution of the heat generation amount of the heating wire 31 can be suppressed.

Here, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, a plurality of unit areas SR having the same area are defined inside and outside the transparent area AR. In Figures 6 and 7, in order to avoid the figures becoming unclear, one unit area SR is exemplarily shown by a dashed line inside and outside the transparent area AR. In this embodiment, by arranging the heating wires 31 as described above, approximately one heating wire 31 crosses each unit area SR inside the transparent area AR, and approximately three heating wires 31 cross each unit area SR outside the transparent area AR. Therefore, in this embodiment, when focusing on the area of the outer cover 12 where the heat generating member is arranged, the average ratio of the heat generating member to each unit area SR inside the transparent area AR is smaller than the average ratio of the heat generating member to each unit area SR outside the transparent area AR. In this way, in this embodiment, the heat generating member is attached to the outer cover 12 so that the heat generating member is sparser inside the transparent area AR than outside the transparent area AR. In this specification, the ratio may be referred to as density.

As described above, the vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment can be understood as a first aspect as follows. That is, the vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment includes an outer cover 12, a sensor unit 20 that is disposed inside the vehicle VE relative to the outer cover 12 and transmits and receives millimeter waves EW that pass through the outer cover 12 and outputs a signal related to the millimeter waves EW that are incident on the inside of the outer cover 12, and a plurality of heating wires 31 that are heat-generating members attached to the outer cover 12 and that heat the transmission area AR of the outer cover 12 through which the millimeter waves EW transmitted from the sensor unit 20 pass by passing electricity, and the heat-generating members are attached to the outer cover 12 so that the inside of the transmission area AR is sparser than the outside of the transmission area AR.

According to the vehicle sensor device 1 of the first aspect, the plurality of heating wires 31 that heat the transmission area AR by passing electricity are attached to the outer cover 12 as heat-generating members, so that the outer cover 12 can be heated directly and ice and snow attached to the outer cover 12 can be effectively melted, compared to, for example, a case where the outer cover 12 is heated using thermal conduction of radiant heat from the lamp unit LU. In addition, according to the vehicle sensor device 1, the heat-generating members are attached so that they are more sparsely on the inside of the transmission area AR than on the outside of the transmission area AR, and the ratio of the heat-generating members to the area inside the transmission area AR is small, so that the millimeter wave can be prevented from being reflected by the heat-generating members and becoming noise. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a heat-generating member is also attached to the inside of the transmission area AR, so that ice and snow attached to the inside of the transmission area AR can be effectively removed, compared to a case where a heat-generating member is not arranged inside the transmission area AR. In this way, according to the vehicle sensor device 1 understood as the first aspect, ice, snow, etc. can be effectively removed while suppressing the reflection of millimeter waves by heat-generating components, thereby suppressing a decrease in detection accuracy.

The vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment can be understood as a second aspect as follows. That is, the vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment includes an outer cover 12, a sensor unit 20 that is disposed inside the vehicle VE relative to the outer cover 12 and transmits and receives millimeter waves EW, which are predetermined electromagnetic waves that pass through the outer cover 12, and outputs a signal related to the millimeter waves EW that enter the inside of the outer cover 12, a control unit CO that operates the sensor unit 20 to scan the millimeter waves EW along a predetermined left-right direction and calculates the position of an object based on the millimeter waves EW reflected by a predetermined object and received by the sensor unit 20, and a plurality of heating wires 31 that are heat-generating members attached to the outer cover 12 and that heat the transmission area AR of the outer cover 12 through which the millimeter waves EW pass by passing electricity through the outer cover 12, and the heat-generating member extends in a predetermined direction through a portion of the inner area of the transmission area AR to cross the transmission area AR.

According to this vehicle sensor device 1, since the heating wires 31, which are heat-generating members, cross the inside of the transmission area AR, the transmission area AR is heated over the entire length of the transmission area AR in the left-right direction, and the transmission area AR can be effectively warmed. Therefore, ice and snow adhering to the transmission area AR can be effectively melted. However, if the heat-generating member inside the transmission area AR extends in a direction intersecting the left-right direction in which the electromagnetic wave is scanned, the scanning electromagnetic wave is reflected by the heat-generating member, and the intensity distribution of the received electromagnetic wave in the left-right direction changes, which can lead to a decrease in detection accuracy. In contrast, in this vehicle sensor device 1, the heat-generating member crosses the inside of the transmission area AR along the left-right direction. Therefore, the change in the intensity distribution of the electromagnetic wave received by the sensor unit 20 in the left-right direction is suppressed, and the decrease in detection accuracy can be suppressed. Thus, according to the vehicle sensor device 1 understood as the second aspect, ice and snow can be effectively removed while suppressing the influence of the reflection of the millimeter wave by the heat-generating member, so that the decrease in detection accuracy can be suppressed.

In the vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment, the predetermined direction for scanning the electromagnetic waves is the left-right direction. In a vehicle sensor device, the object to be detected is generally a moving body such as another vehicle or a pedestrian. Generally, such a moving body is easily detected by scanning the electromagnetic waves in the left-right direction or the front-back direction. Therefore, as described above, by the predetermined direction being the left-right direction, other vehicles, pedestrians, etc. can be effectively detected. In addition, since the outer cover 12 of the vehicle sensor device attached to the vehicle generally extends along a substantially vertical direction as described above, when the predetermined direction is the left-right direction, the direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction is generally the vertical direction. In such a vertical direction, by densely attaching the heat generating member to the outside of the transmission area AR, the ice and snow attached to the upper or lower side of the transmission area AR is effectively removed. As a result, the falling of the ice and snow due to its own weight is promoted, and the efficiency of removing the ice and snow can be improved.

In addition, in the vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment, the heat-generating member is attached to the outer cover 12 so as to surround the entire periphery of the transparent area AR. In this way, the transparent area AR can be heated more effectively than when the heat-generating member is attached to only a portion of the entire periphery of the transparent area AR, and the efficiency of removing ice and snow can be improved.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described. Components that are the same as or equivalent to those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and will not be described again unless otherwise specified.

The vehicle sensor device 1 according to this embodiment has the same configuration as the vehicle sensor device 1 according to the first embodiment, except for the heater configuration. Therefore, only the heater according to this embodiment will be described.

Figure 8 is a view showing the heater according to this embodiment from the same perspective as Figure 6. As shown in Figure 8, the heat generating member of the heater of this embodiment is a plurality of heating wires 31 extending in the left-right direction, as in the first embodiment, but the heating wires 31, which are heat generating members, are not arranged inside the transparent area AR. In this embodiment, heating wires 31P extending approximately perpendicular to the direction in which these heating wires 31 extend are connected to each of the ends of the heating wires 31 on the transparent area AR side that do not cross the inside of the transparent area AR. In this way, in this embodiment, some of the heating wires are connected in parallel to each other, so that all of the heating wires 31 are conductive. The wiring pattern for conducting all of the heating wires is not limited to this.

Figure 9 shows a modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire 31 described in Figure 8, and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as that described in Figure 8, and the description is omitted. In this modified example, the heating wire 31 is not arranged in the transparent area AR, similar to the heating wire 31 in Figure 8. Therefore, the vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment does not correspond to the second aspect, but only to the first aspect. In addition, the heating wire 31 similar to the heating wire 31 in Figure 8 is formed in series, and the heating wire 31 does not branch at least around the transparent area AR. By attaching the heating wire 31 in this manner, the current flowing through the heating wire 31 becomes constant regardless of the part of the heating wire 31, and when the resistance value of the heating wire 31 is constant, the uneven distribution of the heat generation in the heating wire 31 can be suppressed.

According to the arrangement of the heating wire 31 shown in Figures 8 and 9, the average ratio of the heat-generating member to each unit area SR of the outer cover 12 inside the transmission area AR is zero. Thus, in this embodiment, when focusing on the area of the outer cover 12 where the heat-generating member is arranged, the average ratio of the heat-generating member to each unit area SR inside the transmission area AR is smaller than the average ratio of the heat-generating member to each unit area SR outside the transmission area AR. For this reason, in this embodiment, the heat-generating member is attached to the outer cover 12 so that it is sparser inside the transmission area AR than outside the transmission area AR. Therefore, the vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment can effectively remove ice and snow while suppressing the reflection of millimeter waves by the heat-generating member, and therefore can suppress the deterioration of detection accuracy, similar to the case where the vehicle sensor device 1 of the first embodiment is grasped in the first aspect. In addition, in Figures 8 and 9, as in Figure 6, one unit area SR inside and one unit area SR outside the transmission area AR are exemplarily shown by a dashed line. In this embodiment, the heating wire 31, which is a heat generating member, does not cross the transmission area AR. Therefore, the vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment corresponds to only the first aspect, and does not correspond to the second aspect.

Also, as in the first embodiment, the specified direction for scanning the electromagnetic waves is the left-right direction, making it easier to detect the moving body, and since the direction perpendicular to the specified direction is approximately vertical, the efficiency of ice and snow removal can be improved.

In addition, in this embodiment, since the heat-generating member is not disposed inside the transmissive region AR, reflection of electromagnetic waves by the heat-generating member can be more effectively suppressed. On the other hand, since the heat-generating member is disposed outside the transmissive region AR, ice and snow adhering to the transmissive region AR can be effectively melted by the heat from the heat-generating member.

Third Embodiment
Next, a third embodiment will be described. Components that are the same as or equivalent to those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and will not be described again unless otherwise specified.

The vehicle sensor device 1 according to this embodiment has the same configuration as the vehicle sensor device 1 according to the first embodiment, except for the heater configuration. Therefore, only the heater according to this embodiment will be described.

Figure 10 is a view showing the heater according to this embodiment from the same perspective as Figure 6. As shown in Figure 10, the heat generating member of the heater of this embodiment is a plurality of heating wires 31, each of the same thickness, similar to the first embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the plurality of heating wires 31 are attached to the outer cover 12 in the following arrangement.

As shown in Figure 10, each of the multiple heating wires 31, which are heat-generating members, extends in the left-right direction, which is the direction in which the electromagnetic waves are scanned. Outside the transparent area AR, the distance between adjacent heating wires 31 is the same D1. Of these multiple heating wires 31, each of heating wires 31A-31I crosses a portion of the inner area of the transparent area AR. Among these heating wires 31A-31I, heating wires 31A-31C cross the upper area ARou inside the transparent area AR, heating wires 31G-31I cross the lower area ARod inside the transparent area AR, and heating wires 31D-31F cross the center area ARi sandwiched between the upper area ARou and the lower area ARod. Each of the heating wires 31 located between the heating wires 31A to 31I is connected to a heating wire extending generally vertically along the outer edge of the transparent area AR. In this manner, in this embodiment, some of the heating wires are connected in parallel to each other, so that all of the heating wires 31 are electrically conductive. Note that the wiring pattern for electrically conducting all of the heating wires is not limited to this.

Figure 11 shows a modified wiring pattern of the heating wire 31 described in Figure 10, and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as that described in Figure 10, and the description is omitted. In this modified example, heating wires 31 similar to the heating wire 31 in Figure 10 are formed in series, and the heating wire 31 does not branch at least in the transparent area AR and its surroundings, and the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transparent area AR is the same as the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transparent area AR in Figure 10. By attaching the heating wire 31 in this manner, the current flowing through the heating wire 31 becomes constant regardless of the part of the heating wire 31, and when the resistance value of the heating wire 31 is constant, uneven distribution of the heat generation in the heating wire 31 can be suppressed.

10 and 11, in this embodiment, the upper area ARou corresponds to the upper section when the transparent area AR is divided into four equal sections along the left-right direction, the lower area ARod corresponds to the lower section, and the central area ARi corresponds to the two central sections. In the upper area ARou, the heating wires 31A to 31C are arranged at the same interval D2, in the lower area ARod, the heating wires 31G to 31I are arranged at the same interval D2, and in the central area ARi, the heating wires 31D to 31F are arranged at the same interval D3. In this embodiment, the interval D2 is three times the interval D1, but the interval D2 may be greater or smaller than three times as long as it is greater than the interval D1. In addition, the interval D3 is greater than the interval D2, and in this embodiment, the interval D3 is five times the interval D1, but the interval D3 may be greater or smaller than five times the interval D1 as long as it is greater than the interval D2. For example, the distance D3 may be approximately twice the distance D2 or more.

10 and 11, multiple unit regions SR having the same area are defined in each of the upper region ARou, the lower region ARod, the central region ARi, and the outside of the transparent region AR. Note that in Figs. 10 and 11, in order to avoid the figures becoming unclear, one unit region SR each in the upper region ARou, the lower region ARod, the central region ARi, and the outside of the transparent region AR is exemplarily shown by a dashed line.

In this embodiment, with the arrangement of the heating wires 31 as described above, approximately two heating wires 31 cross each unit area SR in the upper area ARou and each unit area SR in the lower area ARod, and approximately one heating wire 31 crosses each unit area SR in the central area ARi. In addition, approximately four heating wires 31 cross each unit area SR outside the transparent area AR.

Therefore, when focusing on the area of the outer cover 12 where the heat-generating member is arranged, the average ratio of the heat-generating member to each unit area SR inside the transmission area AR is smaller than the average ratio of the heat-generating member to the unit area SR outside the transmission area AR. In this way, in this embodiment, the heat-generating member is attached to the outer cover 12 so that the inside of the transmission area AR is sparser than the outside of the transmission area AR. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to suppress the millimeter wave from being reflected by the heat-generating member and becoming noise. In addition, since the heat-generating member is also attached to the inside of the transmission area AR, it is possible to effectively remove ice and snow adhering to the inside of the transmission area AR compared to the case where the heat-generating member is not arranged inside the transmission area AR.

In addition, in this embodiment, when focusing on the inside of the transparent region AR, the average ratio of heat-generating members in each unit region SR of the central region ARi is smaller than the average ratio of heat-generating members in each unit region SR of the upper region ARou. Similarly, the average ratio of heat-generating members in each unit region SR of the central region ARi is smaller than the average ratio of heat-generating members in each unit region SR of the lower region ARod. Therefore, in this embodiment, in the direction perpendicular to the left-right direction in which the electromagnetic wave is scanned in the transparent region AR, the heat-generating members inside the transparent region AR are attached to the outer cover 12 so that they are sparser on the center side than on the outer edge side of the transparent region AR.

In a vehicle sensor device, the object to be detected is generally an object that is irradiated with electromagnetic waves that are transmitted and received through the central area of the transmission area in a direction perpendicular to the direction of scanning the electromagnetic waves. Such objects to be detected are generally moving objects such as other vehicles and pedestrians. Therefore, as in this embodiment, by attaching a heat-generating member inside the transmission area AR so that the central area ARi is relatively sparse, it is possible to prevent electromagnetic waves from being reflected at the center of the transmission area AR and becoming noise, and to prevent a decrease in the detection accuracy of the detection object, such as a moving object.

On the other hand, in the above-mentioned vehicle sensor device, the electromagnetic waves transmitted and received through the upper edge area of the inner side of the transmission area AR are considered to be mainly electromagnetic waves reflected by non-moving objects such as signs located generally above the viewpoint of the driver of the vehicle VE. Also, the electromagnetic waves transmitted and received through the lower edge area of the inner side of the transmission area AR are considered to be mainly electromagnetic waves reflected by non-moving objects such as roads located generally below the viewpoint of the driver of the vehicle VE. For this reason, when the detection target is a moving object as described above, even if the heat-generating members are arranged relatively densely in the upper area ARou and the lower area ARod, the detection accuracy of the detection target is unlikely to decrease. Therefore, by arranging the heat-generating members densely in the upper area ARou and the lower area ARod, ice and snow can be removed more effectively without affecting the detection accuracy. Therefore, the decrease in detection accuracy can be further suppressed.

As in the first embodiment, the predetermined direction for scanning the electromagnetic waves is the left-right direction, making it easier to detect the moving object. Also, the direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction is approximately vertical, so the efficiency of removing ice and snow can be further improved.

It should be noted that the upper area ARou, the lower area ARod, and the central area ARi do not have to be defined as described above, and the upper area ARou, the lower area ARod, and the central area ARi can be defined as appropriate, for example, depending on the object to be detected. For example, the upper area ARou may be defined to be in a range of 10-30% along a direction perpendicular to the left-right direction of the transparent area AR, the central area ARi may be defined to be in a range of 40-80% along a direction perpendicular to the left-right direction of the transparent area AR, and the lower area ARod may be defined to be in a range of 10-30% along a direction perpendicular to the left-right direction of the transparent area AR.

In the above description of this embodiment, an example was described in which the heat generating member inside the transparent region AR is attached so that it is more sparse on the center side than on the outer edge side of the transparent region AR in the direction perpendicular to the left-right direction in the transparent region AR. However, the case in which the heat generating member crosses the transparent region AR is not limited to this example. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a second modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire in FIG. 10, and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as that described in FIG. 10, and the description is omitted. In the modified example shown in FIG. 12, the distance D2 between the heating wires 31 in the upper region ARou and the lower region ARod is larger than the distance D3 between the heating wires 31 in the central region ARi. By arranging the heating wires 31 in this way, in this example, approximately one heating wire 31 crosses the unit region SR of the upper region ARou and the unit region SR of the lower region ARod, and approximately two heating wires 31 cross the unit region SR of the central region ARi. In this example as well, some of the heating wires are connected in parallel to each other, thereby conducting all of the heating wires 31. However, the wiring pattern for conducting all of the heating wires is not limited to this.

Figure 13 shows a modified wiring pattern of the heating wire 31 described in Figure 12, and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as that described in Figure 12, and the description is omitted. In this modified example, heating wires 31 similar to the heating wire 31 in Figure 12 are formed in series, and the heating wire 31 does not branch at least in the transparent area AR and its surroundings, and the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transparent area AR is the same as the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transparent area AR in Figure 12. By attaching the heating wire 31 in this manner, the current flowing through the heating wire 31 becomes constant regardless of the part of the heating wire 31, and when the resistance value of the heating wire 31 is constant, uneven distribution of the heat generation in the heating wire 31 can be suppressed.

In the modified examples shown in Figs. 12 and 13, the heating wires 31A and 31B are arranged at a distance D2 in the upper region ARou, the heating wires 31G and 31H are arranged at a distance D2 in the lower region ARod, and the heating wires 31C to 31F are arranged at the same distance D3 in the central region ARi. In these modified examples, the distance D2 is five times the distance D1, but the distance D2 may be greater than or less than five times the distance D1 as long as it is greater than the distance D1. The distance D3 is smaller than the distance D2, and in these modified examples, the distance D3 is five times the distance D1, but the distance D3 may be greater than or less than three times the distance D1 as long as it is smaller than the distance D2. For example, the distance D3 may be approximately half the distance D2 or less. In these modified examples, the heat generating members inside the transparent region AR are attached so that they are denser on the central side than on the outer edge side of the transparent region AR in the direction perpendicular to the left-right direction of the transparent region AR. According to these configurations, the central region ARi can be heated more effectively than the upper region ARou and the lower region ARod, so that ice and snow adhering to the central region ARi can be effectively removed, and a decrease in detection accuracy can be suppressed. Note that the heat generating members on the inner side of the transmission region AR may be attached at the same density on the outer edge side and the central side of the transmission region AR.

Fourth Embodiment
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. Components that are the same as or equivalent to those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and will not be described again unless otherwise specified.

The vehicle sensor device 1 according to this embodiment has the same configuration as the vehicle sensor device 1 according to the first embodiment, except for the heater configuration. Therefore, only the heater according to this embodiment will be described.

Figure 14 is a view showing mainly the vicinity of the transmission region and the vicinity of the light emission region of the heater according to this embodiment from the same perspective as Figure 6. As shown in Figure 14, the heat generating member of the heater of this embodiment is a plurality of heating wires 31 each having the same thickness, similar to the first embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the plurality of heating wires 31 are attached to the outer cover 12 in the following arrangement.

As shown in FIG. 14, in this embodiment, the multiple heating wires 31 extend from the transparent region AR and the vicinity of the transparent region AR to the light exit region LR and the vicinity of the light exit region LR in the left-right direction. With this configuration, not only the transparent region AR but also the light exit region LR is heated by the multiple heating wires 31. Each of the heating wires 31A to 31D among these heating wires 31 crosses a part of the inner region of the transparent region AR as in the first embodiment, and further crosses a part of the inner region of the light exit region LR. Also, in this embodiment, the heating wire 31E, which is three wires below the heating wire 31D, crosses a part of the inner region of the light exit region LR. Thus, in this embodiment, the four heating wires 31A, 31B, 31C, and 31D extending from the transparent region AR and the heating wire 31E extending from the outside of the transparent region AR each cross a part of the inner region of the light exit region LR.

Each of the heating wires 31 between the heating wires 31A to 31D is divided into three in the left-right direction, sandwiching the transparent area AR and the light exit area LR, and has a first section between the transparent area AR and the light exit area LR, a second section on the opposite side of the first section with the transparent area AR as a reference, and a third section on the opposite side of the first section with the light exit area LR as a reference. These first to third sections are connected in parallel to the heating wires 31A to 31C via heating wires extending in the vertical direction. In addition, the two heating wires 31 directly below the heating wire 31D are divided into two with the light exit area LR sandwiched between them, and have a first section on the transparent area AR side with the light exit area LR as a reference, and a second section on the opposite side of the first section with the light exit area LR as a reference. Each of the first and second sections of the heating wires 31 is connected in parallel to the heating wire 31D via heating wires extending in the vertical direction. In this manner, in the present embodiment, some of the heating wires are connected in parallel to each other, thereby conducting all of the heating wires 31. Note that the wiring pattern for conducting all of the heating wires 31 is not limited to this.

Figure 15 shows a modified wiring pattern of the heating wire 31 described in Figure 14, and the same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as those described in Figure 14, and the description is omitted. In this modified example, heating wires 31 similar to the heating wire 31 in Figure 14 are formed in series, and the heating wire 31 does not branch at least in the transmission area AR, the light emission area LR, and the surrounding area, and the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transmission area AR and the light emission area LR is the same as the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transmission area AR and the light emission area LR in Figure 14. By attaching the heating wire 31 in this way, the current flowing through the heating wire 31 becomes constant regardless of the part of the heating wire 31, and when the resistance value of the heating wire 31 is constant, uneven distribution of the heat generation amount in the heating wire 31 can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, the spacing between heating wires 31A and 31B, the spacing between heating wires 31B and 31C, and the spacing between heating wires 31C and 31D are all the same D2 inside the transmission area AR and the light emission area LR. Inside the light emission area LR, the spacing between heating wires 31D and 31E is also D2. Meanwhile, except inside the transmission area AR and the light emission area LR, the spacing between adjacent heating wires 31 is the same D1. In this embodiment, spacing D2 is three times spacing D1, but spacing D2 may be greater or less than three times spacing D1 as long as it is greater than spacing D1.

Here, as shown in Figures 14 and 15, multiple unit regions SR having the same area are defined inside and outside the transmission region AR. Also, multiple unit regions SR having the same area are defined inside and outside the light emission region LR. Note that in Figures 14 and 15, only some of the multiple unit regions SR are shown to avoid making the figures unclear.

By arranging the heating wires 31 as described above, approximately one heating wire 31 crosses each unit area SR inside the transparent area AR, and approximately three heating wires 31 cross each unit area SR outside the transparent area AR. Therefore, in this embodiment, when focusing on the area of the outer cover 12 where the heat-generating member is arranged, the average ratio of the heat-generating member to each unit area SR inside the transparent area AR is smaller than the average ratio of the heat-generating member to each unit area SR outside the transparent area AR. In this manner, in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the heat-generating member is attached to the outer cover 12 so that it is sparser inside the transparent area AR than outside the transparent area AR.

Furthermore, with the arrangement of the heating wires 31 as described above, approximately three heating wires 31 cross each unit area SR outside the light emission area LR. On the other hand, approximately one heating wire 31 crosses each unit area SR inside the light emission area LR. Therefore, in this embodiment, when focusing on the area of the outer cover 12 where the heat-generating member is arranged, the average ratio of the heat-generating member to each unit area SR inside the light emission area LR is smaller than the average ratio of the heat-generating member to each unit area SR outside the light emission area LR. Therefore, in this embodiment, the heat-generating member is attached to the outer cover 12 so that it is sparser inside the light emission area LR than outside the light emission area LR.

According to this configuration, the heat-generating member is attached to the outer cover 12 so that it is sparser inside the transmission region AR than outside the transmission region AR, so that, as in the first embodiment, a decrease in the detection accuracy of the vehicle sensor device 1 can be suppressed. In this embodiment, the heat-generating member is attached so as to heat the light emission region LR, so that ice and snow adhering to the light emission region can be removed. In addition, because the heat-generating member is sparser inside the light emission region LR than outside the light emission region LR, reflection of the light emitted from the lamp unit LU by the heat-generating member inside the light emission region LR can be suppressed, and a decrease in the efficiency of light emission from the lamp unit LU can be suppressed.

In addition, in this embodiment, the heat generating member inside the transmissive region AR extends to the light exit region LR in the left-right direction, so the light exit region LR can be heated by the heat generating member that heats the transmissive region AR. Therefore, there is no need to provide a separate heat generating member for heating the light exit region LR, which can reduce wiring costs. However, the heating wire that heats the light exit region LR may be provided separately from the heating wire that heats the transmissive region AR.

Also, as in the first embodiment, the specified direction for scanning the electromagnetic waves is the left-right direction, making it easier to detect the moving body, and since the direction perpendicular to the specified direction is approximately vertical, the efficiency of ice and snow removal can be improved.

In this embodiment, an example has been described in which all of the heating wires 31A-31D inside the transparent area AR extend in the left-right direction outside the transparent area AR to the light exit area LR. However, only some of the heating wires 31A-31D, for example, heating wires 31A and 31B, may extend in the left-right direction outside the transparent area AR to the light exit area LR. When the vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment is understood to be the second aspect described above, the density of the heat-generating member may be the same inside and outside the light exit area LR, or the heat-generating member may be attached so that it is denser inside the light exit area LR than outside.

In addition, the heat-generating component may not be positioned inside the light emission region LR.

Fifth Embodiment
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. Components that are the same as or equivalent to those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and will not be described again unless otherwise specified.

The vehicle sensor device 1 according to this embodiment has the same configuration as the vehicle sensor device 1 according to the first embodiment, except for the heater configuration. Therefore, only the heater according to this embodiment will be described.

Figure 16 is a view showing the heater according to this embodiment from the same perspective as Figure 6. As shown in Figure 16, in this embodiment, each of the multiple heating wires 31, which are heat-generating members, is arranged at the same interval D1 and extends in the left-right direction, which is the scanning direction of the electromagnetic waves. In the example of Figure 16, each of the heating wires 31 extending in the left-right direction is connected in parallel, and all of the heating wires 31 are conductive.

Figure 17 shows a modified wiring pattern of the heating wire 31 described in Figure 16, and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as that described in Figure 16, and the description is omitted. In this modified example, heating wires 31 similar to the heating wire 31 in Figure 16 are formed in series, and the heating wire 31 does not branch at least in the transparent area AR and its surroundings, and the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transparent area AR is the same as the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transparent area AR in Figure 16. By attaching the heating wire 31 in this manner, the current flowing through the heating wire 31 becomes constant regardless of the part of the heating wire 31, and when the resistance value of the heating wire 31 is constant, uneven distribution of the heat generation in the heating wire 31 can be suppressed.

In the vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment shown in Figures 16 and 17, when focusing on the area of the outer cover 12 where the heat-generating member is arranged, the average ratio of the heat-generating member to each unit area SR inside the transparent area AR is the same as the average ratio of the heat-generating member to each unit area SR outside the transparent area AR. In this way, in this embodiment, the heat-generating member is attached at the same density inside and outside the transparent area AR. Therefore, the vehicle sensor device 1 of this embodiment does not fall under the first aspect described above, but only falls under the second aspect described above. Note that in Figures 16 and 17, as in Figure 6, in order to avoid the figure becoming unclear, one unit area SR each on the inside and outside of the transparent area AR is illustrated by a dashed line.

In this embodiment, as described above, the spacing between the heating wires inside the transparent area AR is the same as the spacing between the heating wires outside the transparent area AR. Therefore, in order to make the spacing between the heating wires inside the transparent area AR different from the spacing between the heating wires outside the transparent area AR and to ensure electrical conduction of all the heating wires, it is not necessary to, for example, as in the first embodiment, split the heating wire directly below the heating wire that crosses the inside of the transparent area AR into two with the transparent area AR in between, and connect each end of the split heating wire on the transparent area AR side to the heating wire directly above it. This makes it possible to simplify the wiring.

In this embodiment, the example in which the heat generating member is attached with the same density inside and outside the transmission area AR has been described. However, when the vehicle sensor device 1 is grasped in the above-mentioned second aspect, the heat generating member may extend along the direction in which the electromagnetic wave is scanned and cross a part of the inside area of the transmission area AR. Therefore, the example of FIG. 18 may be used. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a second modified example of the wiring pattern of the heating wire in FIG. 16, and the same reference numerals are used to omit the description of the same configuration as that described in FIG. 16. As shown in FIG. 16, in this modified example, the distance D2 between the heating wires 31 inside the transmission area AR is made smaller than the distance D1 between the heating wires 31 outside, and the heat generating member is attached so that the inside of the transmission area AR is denser than the outside of the transmission area AR. Some of the heating wires 31 are connected in parallel with other parts of the heating wires 31. By arranging the heat generating members densely inside the transmission area AR in this way, the inside of the transmission area AR can be heated more effectively than the outside, and ice and snow adhering to the inside of the transmission area AR can be effectively removed. As a result, a decrease in detection accuracy can be suppressed.

Figure 19 shows a modified wiring pattern of the heating wire 31 described in Figure 18, and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as that described in Figure 18, and the description is omitted. In this modified example, heating wires 31 similar to the heating wire 31 in Figure 18 are formed in series, and the heating wire 31 does not branch at least in the transparent area AR and its surroundings, and the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transparent area AR is the same as the arrangement of the heating wire 31 in the transparent area AR in Figure 18. By attaching the heating wire 31 in this manner, the current flowing through the heating wire 31 becomes constant regardless of the part of the heating wire 31, and when the resistance value of the heating wire 31 is constant, uneven distribution of the heat generation in the heating wire 31 can be suppressed.

The present invention has been described above using the above embodiment as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the heat generating member is attached to the outer cover 12 so as to surround the entire periphery of the transparent area AR and the light exit area LR. However, if the heat generating member can heat the transparent area AR and the light exit area LR, the heat generating member may be attached to a part of the entire periphery of the transparent area and the light exit area. For example, the heat generating member may be arranged as shown in FIG. 20. FIG. 20 is a view showing a heater according to a modified example of the first embodiment from the same perspective as FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 20, in this modified example, a plurality of heating wires 31, which are heat generating members, are attached only to the area of the outer cover 12 that is vertically lower than the center C of the transparent area AR. In such a modified example, first, the ice and snow attached to the lower side of the transparent area AR may melt. Then, the ice and snow remaining on the upper side of the transparent area AR may fall and melt in the lower area from which the ice and snow have been removed. Therefore, even when the heat generating member is attached only to the lower area in this way, the ice and snow may be effectively removed. In addition, the heat generating member can be reduced compared to when the heat generating member is attached to the entire periphery of the transparent area AR, so that the cost can be reduced. In the second and third embodiments, the heating wires may be attached only to the area vertically below the center of the transmission area AR. In the fourth embodiment, the heating wires may be attached only to the area vertically below the center of the transmission area AR or the center of the light emission area LR. In these examples, the heating wires 31 may be formed in series as described in FIG. 7 and the like.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the multiple heating wires 31 are attached in parallel to each other in one direction has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a mesh-shaped heating wire 131 may be used as the heat generating member. FIG. 21 is a view showing such a modified example applied to the second embodiment from the same perspective as FIG. 6. Therefore, this modified example corresponds to the case where the vehicle sensor device 1 is understood in the first aspect. As shown in FIG. 21, in this modified example, the end of each of the multiple heating wires 131 on the transparent area AR side is connected to the heat generating member 131P surrounding the outside of the transparent area, and all of the heating wires 131 are conductive. If the heat generating member is in a mesh shape like this, multiple sections SD surrounded by the heat generating member are formed in the outer cover 12. Then, each of the sections SD can be heated from the entire periphery by the heat generating member surrounding these sections SD. Therefore, the outer cover 12 can be heated more effectively, and the efficiency of removing ice and snow can be improved. In the first, third and fourth embodiments, heating wires may be attached in a mesh pattern on the inside of the transmissive region AR and the inside of the light exit region LR, and the heating wires may be attached so that they are sparser inside the transmissive region AR and the inside of the light exit region LR than outside the transmissive region AR and the outside of the light exit region LR.

In the first and fourth embodiments, the heating wires 31 attached inside the transmissive area AR or inside the light exit area LR may be thinner than the heating wires attached outside the transmissive area AR or outside the light exit area LR. In this way, the average ratio of heat-generating members in each unit area of the outer cover 12 inside the transmissive area AR or inside the light exit area LR can be made smaller than the average ratio of heat-generating members in each unit area of the outer cover 12 outside the transmissive area AR or outside the light exit area LR. Therefore, the heat-generating members inside the transmissive area AR or inside the light exit area LR can be made sparser.

In the third embodiment, the heating wire attached inside the transparent region AR may be made thinner than the heating wire attached outside the transparent region AR, and the heating wire in the central region ARi may be made thinner than the heating wire in the upper region ARou and the lower region ARod. This makes it possible to make the density of the heat-generating member more pronounced in the third embodiment.

In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the sensor unit 20 was a millimeter wave radar. However, the sensor unit 20 is not particularly limited as long as it can detect an object present outside the vehicle VE by transmitting and receiving a predetermined electromagnetic wave that passes through the outer cover 12. For example, the sensor unit 20 may be a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) that transmits and receives laser light as an electromagnetic wave. The predetermined electromagnetic wave transmitted and received by the sensor unit 20 may be infrared light or ultraviolet light.

In the above embodiment, the heat generating member is an electric heating wire, but the heat generating member is not particularly limited as long as it is heated by passing electricity through it. For example, the heat generating member may be a film-like member.

In the above embodiment, the vehicle sensor device 1 is configured as a part of the vehicle headlight, and an example in which an object is mainly detected in front of the vehicle VE has been described, but this is not limited thereto. For example, the vehicle sensor device 1 may be attached to the left or right side of the vehicle VE to transmit and receive electromagnetic waves to and from the left or right side of the vehicle VE to detect an object on the left or right side. In this case, it may be easier to detect a moving object such as a two-wheeled vehicle or a pedestrian that is present to the side of the vehicle VE. In addition, when an electronic scanning method is adopted to detect an object on the left or right side of the vehicle VE, the direction in which the electromagnetic wave is scanned may be the front-rear direction by arranging the transmitting antenna 25 and the multiple receiving antennas 26 in the front-rear direction. When the direction in which the electromagnetic wave is scanned is the front-rear direction, the direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction in which the electromagnetic wave is scanned may be approximately vertical. Alternatively, the vehicle sensor device 1 may be attached to the rear of the vehicle VE to transmit and receive electromagnetic waves to and from the rear side of the vehicle VE to detect an object behind. In addition, when detecting an object behind the vehicle VE, if an electronic scanning method is adopted, the transmitting antenna 25 and multiple receiving antennas 26 can be arranged in the left-right direction to allow the scanning direction of the electromagnetic waves to be in the left-right direction.

In the fourth embodiment, the vehicle lamp is a vehicle headlamp, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the vehicle lamp may be a vehicle tail lamp.

In the above embodiment, the direction in which the electromagnetic waves are scanned is the left-right direction, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the transmitting antenna 25 may be configured so that the FOV area of the electromagnetic waves is a substantially flat rectangle in the vertical direction when viewed from the front, and the transmitting antenna 25 and the receiving antenna 26 may be arranged at a predetermined interval on a straight line parallel to the vertical direction. This allows the direction in which the electromagnetic waves are scanned to be vertical. Furthermore, the direction in which the electromagnetic waves are scanned is not limited to the left-right direction, the front-back direction, and the vertical direction, and may be, for example, a direction inclined at a predetermined angle to the left-right direction.

In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which electromagnetic waves are transmitted so that the transparent area AR is rectangular, but the electromagnetic waves may also be transmitted so that the transparent area AR has a shape other than rectangular.

According to the present invention, a vehicle sensor device capable of suppressing a decrease in detection accuracy and a vehicle lamp equipped with the vehicle sensor device are provided, and can be used, for example, in fields such as automobiles.

Claims (13)

(delete) (delete) (delete) (delete) (delete) (delete) (delete) An outer cover,
a sensor unit that is disposed on the inner side of the vehicle relative to the outer cover and transmits and receives a predetermined electromagnetic wave that passes through the outer cover and outputs a signal related to the electromagnetic wave that is incident on the inner side of the outer cover;
a control unit that operates the sensor unit to scan the electromagnetic wave in a predetermined direction and calculates a position of a predetermined object based on the electromagnetic wave reflected by the object and received by the sensor unit;
a heat generating member attached to the outer cover and configured to heat a transmission area of the outer cover through which the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the sensor unit are transmitted by passing an electric current through the transmission area;
Equipped with
The heat generating member extends along the predetermined direction through a part of an inner area of the transmission area, and crosses the transmission area. The vehicle sensor device according to claim 8, characterized in that, in a direction perpendicular to the specified direction in the transparent area, the heat-generating component inside the transparent area is attached to the outer cover so that it is sparser toward the center than toward the outer edge of the transparent area. The sensor device for a vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein the heat generating member is attached to the outer cover such that the heat generating member is sparser inside the transmission area than outside the transmission area. The sensor device for a vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein the heat generating member is attached to the outer cover so as to surround the entire periphery of the transmission area. The sensor device for a vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein the heat generating member is attached only to a region of the outer cover that is vertically lower than a center of the transmission area. A sensor device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 8 to 12,
a lamp unit that is disposed on an inner side of the vehicle relative to the outer cover and emits light to an outside of the vehicle through the outer cover;
Equipped with
A vehicle lamp characterized in that at least a portion of the heat-generating member inside the transmissive area extends outside the transmissive area along the specified direction to a light emission area of the outer cover from which the light is emitted.

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