JP2022059144A - Vehicular camera - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicular camera which can prevent a reflection prevention hood from obstructing a visual field of an occupant while angle-widening an imaging range.SOLUTION: A camera 13 is arranged so as to face a windshield in the cross direction, and a reflection prevention hood 12 is provided so as to extend toward the windshield from below the camera 13. The reflection prevention hood 12 has a width in the left-right direction being the vehicle width direction. The width becomes wider as approaching the windshield, the left side end of the reflection prevention hood 12 is relatively largely inclined with respect to the cross direction, and the right side end is inclined relatively less with respect to the cross direction. With this configuration, the reflection prevention hood 12 protrudes largely to the left side and protrudes less to the right side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle camera mounted on a vehicle and capturing an image of the outside world of the vehicle.

In recent vehicles such as automobiles, the possibility of a collision with an object in front is determined, and when the possibility of a collision is high, the brake is automatically activated to avoid the collision or reduce the damage caused by the collision. The system has been put into practical use.

Vehicles that use this system will be equipped with a sensing camera that recognizes objects that exist in the outside world of the vehicle. For example, in a sensing camera for recognizing an object in front of a vehicle, a lens is arranged so as to face the upper center of the windshield of the vehicle from the inside of the vehicle, and images the front of the vehicle through the windshield.

If there is a gap between the windshield and the lens, light from below the sensing camera may be reflected off the windshield and incident on the lens. When the light reflected by the windshield is incident on the lens, the image of the light is reflected in the image captured by the sensing camera. In order to prevent this reflection, for example, an anti-reflection hood is provided so as to extend from below the sensing camera toward the windshield. As a result, the reflected light from the windshield is blocked by the anti-reflection hood, and the reflected light is prevented from entering the lens of the sensing camera.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-81261

In recent years, the difficulty of collision damage mitigation brake (AEBS: Advanced Emergency Braking System) standards and New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) scenarios has increased, and a sensing camera with a wider imaging range (detection area) is required. It is said that.

However, when the anti-reflection hood is provided, if the imaging range of the sensing camera is widened, the size of the anti-reflection hood increases accordingly. Due to the increase in size of the anti-reflection hood, if the anti-reflection hood overhangs on both sides in the vehicle width direction, the overhanging portion may obstruct the view of the occupant.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle camera capable of widening the imaging range and preventing the anti-reflection hood from obstructing the field of view of the occupant.

In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle camera according to the present invention is arranged to face a light transmitting member provided in the vehicle in a predetermined direction, and an imaging means for imaging the outside world of the vehicle through the light transmitting member and imaging. The anti-reflection hood includes an anti-reflection hood that extends from below the means toward the light transmitting member and prevents the image due to the reflected light from the light transmitting member from being reflected in the imaging range of the imaging means. As it approaches the transmissive member, the width in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction increases, one end in the orthogonal direction inclines relatively large with respect to the predetermined direction, and the other end in the orthogonal direction with respect to the predetermined direction. It is relatively small and inclined.

According to this configuration, the image pickup means is arranged facing the light transmitting member in a predetermined direction, and the reflection prevention hood is provided extending from below the image transmitting means toward the light transmitting member. The anti-reflection hood has a width in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to a predetermined direction. Its width increases as it approaches the light transmitting member, one end of the anti-reflection hood in the orthogonal direction is inclined relatively large with respect to a predetermined direction, and the other end is in a predetermined direction. On the other hand, it is relatively small and inclined. As a result, the anti-reflection hood has a large overhang on one side in the orthogonal direction and a small overhang on the other side in the orthogonal direction.

Even if the maximum imaging range of the imaging means is wide, by setting the imaging range to the range where the reflected light from the light transmitting member is blocked by the reflection prevention hood, or by setting the imaging range of the imaging means to the reflection prevention hood. By setting the direction of the optical axis of the imaging means so as to overlap the range in which the reflected light from the light transmitting member is blocked, the image due to the reflected light from the light transmitting member is reflected in the imaging range of the imaging means. Can be prevented.

Then, the anti-reflection hood greatly protrudes to one side in the orthogonal direction, so that the imaging range can be widened. On the other hand, the small protrusion of the anti-reflection hood to the other side in the orthogonal direction obstructs the view of the occupant seated on the other side in the orthogonal direction with respect to the vehicle camera. Can be avoided.

The image pickup means may be provided so that the optical axis is inclined to one side in a direction orthogonal to a predetermined direction. As a result, the image pickup range of the image pickup means can be overlapped with the range in which the reflected light from the light transmitting member is blocked by the reflection prevention hood, and the image due to the reflected light from the light transmission member is reflected in the image pickup range of the image pickup means. Can be prevented.

The predetermined direction is the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the light transmitting member may be the windshield of the vehicle. In this case, it is preferable that one side in the orthogonal direction is the driver's seat side and the other side is the passenger seat side. As a result, the amount of the anti-reflection hood protruding toward the driver's seat side can be suppressed, so that the driver's field of vision can be ensured.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the anti-reflection hood from obstructing the field of view of the occupant while widening the imaging range.

It is a perspective view of the vehicle camera which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and shows the state which the vehicle camera is mounted on a vehicle. It is a front view of the vehicle camera and a camera cover shown in FIG. 1. It is a top view of the vehicle camera and the camera cover shown in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the electric structure of the vehicle camera shown in FIG. It is a figure (the 1) for demonstrating the image pickup range of the camera shown in FIG. It is a figure (the 2) for demonstrating the image pickup range of the camera shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the vehicle camera which concerns on the modification, and shows the state which the vehicle camera is mounted on a vehicle. It is a front view of the vehicle camera and the camera cover shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the vehicle camera and the camera cover shown in FIG. It is a figure (the 1) for demonstrating the image pickup range of the camera shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram (No. 2) for explaining the imaging range of the camera shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Mechanical configuration of vehicle camera>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the vehicle camera 1 is mounted on the vehicle 2. FIG. 2 is a front view of the vehicle camera 1 and the camera cover 4. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vehicle camera 1 and the camera cover 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle camera 1 is mounted on a vehicle 2 that employs a driving support system as a sensing camera that recognizes the outside world of the vehicle 2, particularly an object existing in front of the vehicle 2. The driving support system, for example, has a collision avoidance support brake function, that is, a vehicle 2 that automatically activates a brake according to the possibility of a collision between the vehicle 2 and an object in front of the vehicle to avoid the collision or reduce the damage caused by the collision. Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) function that keeps the vehicle in the driving lane, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) function that allows the vehicle 2 to follow the preceding vehicle, and parks the vehicle 2. It has one or more of a parking assist function that assists steering when parking at a position and a blind spot monitoring (BSM: Blind Spot Monitor) function that monitors the blind spot of the driver.

The vehicle camera 1 is arranged in front of the rearview mirror 3 of the vehicle 2 so as to face the upper part of the center in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction) of the windshield (not shown). The vehicle camera 1 is held by the camera cover 4 with its lower surface, back surface, and both side surfaces covered with the camera cover 4, and the camera cover 4 is fixed to the ceiling 5 of the vehicle 2 so as to be attached to the vehicle 2. It is attached.

The vehicle camera 1 includes a camera body 11 and an anti-reflection hood 12 attached to the camera body 11.

The camera body 11 is provided with a camera 13. The cameras 13 are arranged with the lenses 14 facing the windshield (front) at intervals in the left-right direction.

The anti-reflection hood 12 has a substantially plate-like shape and extends from the front surface of the camera body 11 to the front and lower directions. Specifically, the anti-reflection hood 12 integrally has a hood main body portion 15, hood side portions 16, 17 and a contact portion 18. The hood main body portion 15 has a plate shape, and its rear end edge is arranged on the lower side of the camera 13 at substantially the same position as the front end of the camera 13, and extends forward and downward from that position. The hood main body portion 15 is formed to be wider in the left-right direction toward the front side, and the left end thereof is inclined at a large inclination angle with respect to the front-rear direction as compared with the right end. The hood side portions 16 and 17 rise upward from the left end and the right end of the hood main body 15, respectively. The front end portion 19 of the hood side portion 16 on the left side is bent inward (the center side in the left-right direction of the hood main body portion 15). The contact portion 18 extends outward from the upper end of the front end portion 19 of the hood side portion 16.

Black ceramic is printed on the periphery of the windshield of the vehicle 2. The contact portion 18 of the anti-reflection hood 12 abuts on the windshield outside the range where the black ceramic is printed, and the rest of the anti-reflection hood 12, that is, the hood body 15 and the hood side portions 16 and 17 are formed. It is separated from the windshield. Further, the hood side portion 17 on the right side faces the windshield in the front-rear direction within the print range of the black ceramic. It should be noted that black ceramic is not printed on the portion of the windshield that enters the field of view of the camera 13 so as not to interfere with the image pickup by the camera 13.

<Electrical configuration of vehicle camera>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the vehicle camera 1.

The camera 13 includes an image pickup element (imager, image sensor) 21 that captures the field of view of the lens 14 via the lens 14. The angle of view (viewing angle) of the lens 14 is, for example, in the range of 80 ° to 160 °.

Further, the vehicle camera 1 includes an image processing unit 22. The image data captured by the image pickup device 21 is input to the image processing unit 22. The image processing unit 22 has a microcontroller with a built-in CPU and memory, and by performing image processing on the image data input from the image pickup element 21, the upper part used for the function of the driving support system is acquired. do. The information acquired by the image processing is transmitted from the image processing unit 22 to the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) mounted on the vehicle by the communication by the CAN (Controller Area Network) communication protocol.

Further, the image processing unit 22 substantially includes an image pickup range setting unit 23 for individually setting the image pickup range of the camera 13 as a function processing unit.

<Image pickup range>
5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the imaging range of the camera 13.

The camera 13 is arranged so that the optical axis extends in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 5A. The maximum imaging range (maximum field of view) of the camera 13 is the angle of view of the lens 14, and is hatched downward to the left in FIG. 5A. The image pickup range setting unit 23 sets the image pickup range of the camera 13 within the maximum image pickup range to the range where the reflected light from the windshield is blocked by the reflection prevention hood 12, that is, the range to which cross-hatching is attached in FIG. 5A. Set. As a result, in the image processing unit 22, the image data obtained by capturing the image pickup range set for each of the image data input from the image pickup element 21 is targeted for image processing.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, the direction of the optical axis of the camera 13 is oriented so that the image pickup range (maximum image pickup range) of the camera 13 overlaps with the range in which the reflected light from the windshield is blocked by the reflection prevention hood 12. The camera 13 may be arranged so as to be tilted to the left. In this case, the image pickup range setting unit 23 can be omitted from the image processing unit 22.

<Action effect>
As described above, the camera 13 is arranged to face the windshield in the front-rear direction, and the reflection prevention hood 12 is provided extending from below the camera 13 toward the windshield. The reflection prevention hood 12 has a width in the left-right direction, which is the vehicle width direction. Its width increases as it approaches the windshield, with the left edge of the anti-reflection hood 12 tilting relatively large relative to the front-rear direction and the right edge relative to the front-rear direction. It is slightly inclined. As a result, the anti-reflection hood 12 has a large overhang to the left side and a small overhang to the right side.

Even if the maximum imaging range of the camera 13 is wide, by setting the imaging range to the range where the reflected light from the front glass is blocked by the anti-reflection hood 12, or by setting the imaging range of the camera 13 to the anti-reflection hood. By setting the direction of the optical axis of the camera 13 so as to overlap the range where the reflected light from the front glass is blocked by 12, the image due to the reflected light from the front glass is prevented from being reflected in the imaging range of the camera 13. can.

Then, the anti-reflection hood 12 projects greatly to the left side, so that the imaging range can be widened. On the other hand, due to the small protrusion of the anti-reflection hood 12 to the right side, the occupant whose anti-reflection hood 12 is seated on the right side of the vehicle camera 1, that is, the right-hand drive vehicle, is on the right side. It is possible to avoid obstructing the view of the driver sitting in the driver's seat.

Further, the contact portion 18 of the anti-reflection hood 12 is in contact with the windshield, and the remaining portion of the anti-reflection hood 12, that is, the hood main body portion 15 and the hood side portions 16 and 17 are separated from the windshield. As a result, the wind of the defroster of the vehicle 2 passes between the anti-reflection hood 12 and the windshield and hits the area of the windshield facing the camera 13 (the area where the black ceramic is not printed). Frost, icing and dew condensation can be eliminated. Therefore, the vehicle camera 1 can satisfactorily image the outside world through the windshield.

<Modification example>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can also be implemented in other embodiments.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, the vehicle camera 1 may adopt a configuration that is horizontally inverted from the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. Since the configurations shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 are left-right inverted from the configurations shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the front end portion of the hood side portion 17 on the right side is bent inward, and the upper end portion of the front end portion thereof is bent inward. The contact portion 18 extends outward from the surface. The configurations shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 are suitable when the vehicle 2 is a left-hand drive vehicle.

9A and 9B are diagrams for explaining the imaging range of the camera 13.

In the vehicle camera 1 having the configurations shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the camera 13 is arranged so that the optical axis extends in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 9A. The maximum imaging range (maximum field of view) of the camera 13 is the angle of view of the lens 14, and is hatched downward to the left in FIG. 9A. The image pickup range setting unit 23 (see FIG. 4) has a range in which the image pickup range of the camera 13 is blocked by the reflection prevention hood 12 from the windshield within the maximum image pickup range, that is, cross-hatching is attached in FIG. 9A. Set to the range that is set. As a result, in the image processing unit 22, the image data obtained by capturing the image pickup range set for each of the image data input from the image pickup element 21 is targeted for image processing.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the direction of the optical axis of the camera 13 is oriented so that the image pickup range (maximum image pickup range) of the camera 13 overlaps with the range in which the reflected light from the windshield is blocked by the reflection prevention hood 12. The camera 13 may be arranged so as to be tilted to the right. In this case, the image pickup range setting unit 23 can be omitted from the image processing unit 22.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the right end of the anti-reflection hood 12 is inclined relatively large with respect to the front-rear direction, and the left end is inclined relatively small with respect to the front-rear direction. ing. As a result, the anti-reflection hood 12 has a large overhang to the right side and a small overhang to the left side.

Even if the maximum imaging range of the camera 13 is wide, by setting the imaging range to the range where the reflected light from the front glass is blocked by the anti-reflection hood 12, or by setting the imaging range of the camera 13 to the anti-reflection hood. By setting the direction of the optical axis of the camera 13 so as to overlap the range where the reflected light from the front glass is blocked by 12, the image due to the reflected light from the front glass is prevented from being reflected in the imaging range of the camera 13. can.

The anti-reflection hood 12 projects to the right in the orthogonal direction to a large extent, so that the imaging range can be widened. On the other hand, due to the small protrusion of the anti-reflection hood 12 to the left side, the occupant whose anti-reflection hood 12 is seated on the left side of the vehicle camera 1, that is, the left-hand drive vehicle, is on the left side. It is possible to avoid obstructing the view of the driver sitting in the driver's seat.

Although the vehicle camera 1 is said to be arranged facing the windshield, for example, it may be arranged facing the rear glass and used as a rear camera for taking an image of the rear of the vehicle 2, or may be used as a rear camera facing the side glass. It may be arranged and used as a side camera for taking an image of the side of the vehicle 2.

Further, the case where the vehicle camera 1 is a monocular camera has been taken up, but the vehicle camera 1 is a stereo camera having two cameras on the left and right, a three-lens camera in which three cameras are arranged side by side, and four. It can also be applied to a multi-lens camera in which the above cameras are arranged side by side.

In addition, various design changes can be made to the above-mentioned configuration within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

1: Camera for vehicle 2: Vehicle 12: Anti-reflection hood 13: Camera (imaging means)

Claims (3)

An imaging means that is arranged to face a light transmitting member provided in the vehicle in a predetermined direction and images the outside world of the vehicle through the light transmitting member.
A reflection prevention hood that extends from below the image pickup means toward the light transmitting member and prevents an image due to reflected light from the light transmitting member from being reflected in the image pickup range of the image pickup means.
As the anti-reflection hood approaches the light transmitting member, the width in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction increases, and one end of the orthogonal direction tilts relatively greatly with respect to the predetermined direction. A vehicle camera in which the other end in the orthogonal direction is tilted relatively small with respect to the predetermined direction. The vehicle camera according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup means is provided so that the optical axis is inclined to one side in the orthogonal direction with respect to the predetermined direction. The predetermined direction is the front-rear direction of the vehicle.
The light transmitting member is the windshield of the vehicle.
The one side is the driver's seat side.
The vehicle camera according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the other side is the passenger seat side.

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