A soft and hard fusion type deep sea self-illumination camera system

Abstract

The application discloses a soft and hard fusion deep-sea self-illumination camera system, which comprises a rigid domain and a flexible domain which are directly contact coupled; the rigid domain comprises a quick-release pressure-resistant slot module and a rigid independent pressure-resistant module, the camera module and the light module are arranged in the rigid independent pressure-resistant module; the flexible domain is a self-adaptive waterproof pressure-resistant module which is integrally filled with silica gel and is used for arranging the master control module, the battery module, the wired communication and power supply module. The deep-sea self-illumination camera system has the advantages of compact structure, low cost, reduced metal exposure area and reduced weight; the overall structure of the system realizes the high-pressure self-adaptive capability of the soft and hard cooperation, so that the system provided by the application can still work stably in the deep-sea environment and has the convenient shore-based maintenance function.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of underwater camera shooting, and in particular to a soft and hard fusion type deep sea self-illumination camera shooting system. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the existing deep sea camera shooting equipment, the mainstream scheme still adopts a "whole dry cabin" structure: the camera, lamp beads, battery and control circuit are all packaged in a single metal or high-strength plastic pressure-resistant cabin, and the cabin wall needs to meet the pressure resistance requirement of deep sea high pressure, so the thickness is large and the weight is high. For example, a Chinese patent with publication number CN116520621A discloses an underwater high-power uniform light source and a control system thereof, and a deep sea pressure-resistant sealed cabin is adopted to package the light source, the controller and the electrical accessories according to the light array combination mode. In addition, a Chinese patent with publication number CN210284565U discloses a deep sea lamp device of an underwater robot, which includes a pressure-resistant shell, a detachable light-transmitting end cover fixed on the left side of the pressure-resistant shell, an LED driving and control board arranged in the left side of the pressure-resistant shell, and a detachable through-cabin bolt fixed on the right side of the pressure-resistant shell. The light-emitting surface of the light-emitting body of the LED driving and control board faces the light-transmitting end cover.

[0003] The structure has the following outstanding problems:

[0004] 1. Reliability and volume and weight contradiction

[0005] In order to resist the high pressure of deep sea, the cabin wall needs to be thickened, which leads to a fold increase in the volume and weight of the whole machine, and the machine is inconvenient to deploy, recover and install, especially on an underwater robot or a lander, which occupies valuable load space.

[0006] 2. Reliability and cost

[0007] The manufacturing cost of a large-size pressure-resistant structure is high, and the risk of structural failure is high in deep sea, which is easy to cause implosion.

[0008] 3. Biological attachment and corrosion

[0009] The metal outer wall is easy to form a biological film and pitting corrosion in seawater, which can be thickened by 2-3 mm in half a year, increase the additional mass and change the hydrodynamic characteristics, and the high-pressure water knife needs to be used for cleaning during recovery. In addition, the metal outer surface will also be corroded by seawater, and finally only the whole can be replaced, which increases the maintenance cost.

[0010] Therefore, how to solve the problems of large weight, large volume and high cost of the existing dry cabin type underwater camera shooting equipment is a research hotspot in the field at present. SUMMARY

[0011] The application aims to provide a soft and hard fusion type deep sea self-illumination camera system.

[0012] To achieve the above-mentioned application purposes, the application provides the following technical solutions.

[0013] A soft and hard fusion type deep sea self-illumination camera system, which comprises a rigid domain and a flexible domain coupled by direct contact.

[0014] The rigid domain comprises a quick-release pressure-resistant slot module and a rigid independent pressure-resistant module, and the rigid independent pressure-resistant module is arranged with a camera module and a light module.

[0015] The flexible domain is a self-adaptive waterproof pressure-resistant module entirely filled with silica gel, which is used to arrange a master control module, a battery module, a wired communication and power supply module.

[0016] The system comprises a main frame, and the front of the main frame is integrally formed with a quick-release pressure-resistant slot module chamber, a camera module chamber and a light module chamber, which constitute the rigid domain and are respectively arranged with the quick-release pressure-resistant slot module, the camera module and the light module.

[0017] The front end of the camera module chamber and the front end of the light module chamber are both provided with openings and are respectively installed with a camera front sapphire glass sheet and a lamp bead front sapphire glass sheet, and the opening periphery is provided with a sealing groove and a sealing element; the rear end of the camera module chamber is additionally provided with a detachable end cover for placing the camera and closing the cavity, and the outer side of the end cover is secondarily filled with silica gel of the flexible domain.

[0018] The front end of the main frame is provided with a front fixing frame, and the front end of the camera module chamber and the front end of the light module chamber are water-tightly closed by cooperating with the front fixing frame through the sealing groove and the sealing element.

[0019] Further, the camera front sapphire glass sheet and the opening are provided with a sealing groove, and the sealing groove is provided with a sealing element, which realizes compression and sealing in cooperation with the front fixing frame and water pressure; the lamp bead front sapphire glass sheet and the opening are provided with a sealing groove, and the sealing groove is provided with a sealing element, which realizes compression and sealing in cooperation with the front fixing frame and water pressure.

[0020] The front fixing frame is a rectangular flat plate, and a first circular hole is arranged at the intersection of the long side middle line and the wide side middle line, two second circular holes are symmetrically arranged on both sides along the long side direction, and eight bolt holes are arranged at the four corners and the four corners of the first circular hole, which are used to compress the camera front sapphire glass sheet and the lamp bead front sapphire glass sheet and connect the front end of the main frame through bolts.

[0021] The main body frame is partially recessed to form a quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber, forming a semi-open cavity. The top of the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber is provided with an opening for placing a memory card circuit board and is closed by a sealing cover plate. Then, the secondary sealing is achieved by injecting flexible domain silicone. The sidewall of the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber is provided with a through opening and a sealing groove, which is closed by a removable card cover through a sealing ring and a screw for water sealing, so that the card can be directly taken or inserted on the shore.

[0022] Further, a sealing groove is provided between the removable card cover and the opening, which is screwed and sealed with the threaded hole of the removable card cover and the main body frame.

[0023] The walls of the camera module chamber, the light module chamber, and the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber are respectively provided with a wire hole filled with sealing glue. The wire hole is provided with a chamfer at the edge where the silicone meets, so that the cured silicone forms a reverse conical wedge. When subjected to external water pressure, the wedge is subjected to axial thrust and self-locking pressure with the chamfer surface, achieving waterproof and mechanical damage prevention to prevent the cable from being sheared by sharp edges under high pressure.

[0024] The rear of the main body frame is a flexible domain, the main control module is a main control board, the battery module is a battery, and the wired communication and energy supplement module is an eight-core connector. The flexible domain is formed by overall potting of the main control board, the battery, and the socket end of the eight-core connector with silicone.

[0025] The main control module includes image processing, wireless communication, light, and camera control functions.

[0026] The main control board is overall injected with silicone, and the wireless communication module and antenna on the main control board are also overall sealed with silicone, achieving the updating of the main control board code or the transmission of wireless video data without disassembling the system.

[0027] Among the eight cores of the eight-core connector: the first core and the second core are directly connected to the positive and negative poles of the battery; the third core and the fourth core are connected to the main control board. When in use, only the first core and the third core need to be short-circuited, the second core and the fourth core need to be short-circuited, and the third core and the fourth core need to be externally connected to the power supply. Two pins are left on the main control board to power the two lamp beads, which are electrically connected in parallel. The remaining four channels are communication channels, achieving bidirectional wired data communication between external devices and the main control board.

[0028] The flexible domain is arranged with a heat dissipation frame, which is connected to the main control board. The flexible domain is formed by overall potting of the heat dissipation frame, the main control board, the battery, and the socket end of the eight-core connector with silicone.

[0029] The system includes a mounting bracket, one end of which is connected to the heat dissipation frame, and the other end of which is used to connect the system to an external carrier.

[0030] The mounting bracket (also called quick mounting bracket) is a cuboid metal piece, three through holes are arranged on the high-long vertical surface in the length direction, used for binding the system to the external carrier, two threaded through holes are arranged on the long-wide bottom surface, connected with the heat dissipation frame through bolts.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the present application has the following excellent effects:

[0032] The soft and hard fusion type deep sea self-illumination camera system provided by the present application aims at the above-mentioned defects, and proposes a soft and hard fusion scheme of "rigid cavity + flexible silica gel potting": only the camera module, the lamp bead module and the storage card must be sealed in the rigid cavity (i.e., rigid domain, which can be a thin-walled sapphire-metal cavity), and the remaining elements are integrally potted in silica gel, which can not only reduce weight but also can well reduce the volume of the whole camera device, and has the advantage of compact structure; and most of the outer surface of the system is silica gel material, and subsequent damage and cracking can continue to be repaired and reused, greatly reducing the use cost; compared with the all-metal surface of the underwater dry cabin design, the present application has the advantages of low cost, reduces the metal exposure area, and reduces the risk of structural failure caused by corrosion; the present application uses distributed small cavities (small curvature radius) to replace the traditional large cabin body, which allows a larger area of optical window to be safely pressurized under the same wall thickness, while significantly improving the overall pressure resistance and reducing the weight;

[0033] The overall structure of the system provided by the present application realizes the high-pressure self-adaptive ability of soft and hard cooperation, so that the system can still work stably in the deep sea environment, and has the convenient shore-based maintenance function;

[0034] The system provided by the present application solves the problem of insufficient heat dissipation by arranging the heat dissipation frame in the flexible domain;

[0035] The system provided by the present application realizes shore-based power supply, communication and firmware upgrade without disassembly through the eight-core connector and the reserved wireless antenna, effectively overcoming the disadvantages of the traditional dry cabin structure, such as large weight, difficult maintenance, poor heat dissipation and few interfaces (the main control board reserves a wireless communication module interface, supports shore-based wireless modification of control code and transmission of video data, and does not need to disassemble the system; through the eight-core connector, an external power supply can be used to increase the endurance, and wired communication of the main control module can also be realized), and realizes fast file transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0036] Figure 1 A rigid area embodiment schematic diagram of the camera system without silica gel potting provided by the present application;

[0037] Figure 2 A flexible area embodiment schematic diagram of the camera system with silica gel potting provided by the present application;

[0038] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a camera system provided by the present invention;

[0039] Figure 4 An exploded view of an assembly of a camera system provided by the present invention;

[0040] Figure 5 This is a partial enlarged view of the card-removing cover portion of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 6 This is a partial enlarged view of the threading hole portion of the present invention without silicone.

[0042] In the diagram: 1. Silicone; 2. Heat sink; 3. Main control board; 4. Battery; 5. Quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber cover; 6. Camera module chamber cover; 7. Card removal cover; 8. Eight-pin connector; 9. LED; 10. Camera; 11. Main frame; 12. Front sapphire glass plate for camera; 13. Front sapphire glass plate for LED; 14. Front mounting bracket; 15. Camera module chamber; 16. Lighting module chamber; 17. Quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber. Detailed Implementation

[0043] The technical solution of the present invention will be further explained clearly and in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific examples.

[0044] like Figures 1-6 As shown, this invention provides a hardware-software integrated deep-sea self-illuminating camera system. The system mainly includes: 1-Silicone 1; 2-Heat sink 2; 3-Main control board 3; 4-Battery 4; 5-Quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber cover 5; 6-Camera module chamber cover 6; 7-Card removal cover 7; 8-Eight-pin connector 8; 9-LED 9; 10-Camera 10; 11-Main frame 11; 12-Camera front sapphire glass plate 12; 13-LED front sapphire glass plate 13; 14-Front mounting bracket 14; 15-Camera module chamber 15; 16-Lighting module chamber 16; 17-Quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber 17.

[0045] The main frame 11 serves as the basic structure of the entire system. Inside, there are integrally formed camera module chamber 15, two light module chambers 16, and quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber 17. These components together constitute the rigid domain of the system.

[0046] The front end of the camera module chamber 15 has an opening for installing the front sapphire glass plate 12 of the camera. The front sapphire glass plate 12 of the camera is clearance-fitted with the opening and is watertight with the front fixing bracket 14 through the sealing groove and the sealing element. The rear end has an opening for inserting the camera 10 and is sealed by the sealing cover plate, and then sealed by the flexible silicone 1.

[0047] The front end of the lighting module chamber 16 has an opening for installing the LED chip 9 and the sapphire glass plate 13 in front of the LED chip. The sapphire glass plate 13 in front of the LED chip has a clearance fit with the opening. Before placing the LED chip 9, a layer of thermal grease needs to be applied to the contact area between the lighting module chamber 16 and the LED chip 9. The sapphire glass plate 13 in front of the LED chip also cooperates with the front fixing bracket 14 through a sealing groove and a sealing element to achieve a water seal. The two LED chips 9 are electrically connected in parallel through a wiring hole.

[0048] The top of the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber 17 has an opening for placing the memory card circuit board, and is sealed by the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber cover 5, and then a secondary seal is achieved by injecting flexible silicone 1; the side wall of the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber 17 has an opening, which is sealed by a removable card cover 7 through a sealing ring and screw water seal, so that the card can be directly taken out or inserted on shore.

[0049] A flexible region is located at the rear of the main frame 11, formed by a silicone-encapsulated heat sink 2, main control board 3, battery 4, and the socket end of an eight-pin connector 8. The rigid and flexible regions are in direct contact and coupling, achieving stress release and maintaining sealing integrity under the high pressure environment of the deep sea.

[0050] Each of the camera module chamber 15, the lighting module chamber 16, and the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber 17 has a wire-passing hole on its wall. The wire-passing hole is filled with sealant, allowing the internal component cables to enter the flexible area through the wire-passing hole and remain sealed. The edge of the wire-passing hole where it meets the silicone 1 is chamfered, so that the cured silicone 1 forms an inverted conical wedge. Under the pressure of deep sea, the wedge is axially compressed and mechanically self-locks with the hole wall, achieving watertightness and preventing the cable from being cut by sharp edges.

[0051] Of the eight wires in the eight-pin connector 8: the first and second wires are directly connected to the positive and negative terminals of the battery 4 for external charging and power supply; the third and fourth wires are connected to the main control board 3. When the system is working, the first, third, second, and fourth wires need to be shorted. In addition, they can also be used to supply power to the system from an external power source; the main control board 3 has two pins to supply power to the LED beads 9, and the two LED beads 9 are connected in parallel on the electrical components; the remaining four are communication channels to realize bidirectional data communication between external devices and the main control board 3.

[0052] The main frame 11 has a front fixing bracket 14 at the front end and a quick-install bracket at the rear end. The quick-install bracket is connected to the heat sink 2 located within the flexible area by bolts. The heat sink 2 is bolted to the rear end of the main frame 11 and located within the flexible area, making thermal contact with the main control board 3. A layer of thermal grease is first applied to the heat-generating part of the main control board 3 before fixing, which is used to conduct the heat generated by the main control board 3 to the heat sink 2 for heat dissipation. The main control board 3 and the heat sink 2 are fixed together by threaded holes on the main control board 3 and the heat sink 2.

[0053] The main control board 3 integrates a wireless communication module and antenna, and is encapsulated in flexible silicone 1. It can update the code in the main control board 3 or transmit video data wirelessly without disassembling the system on shore.

[0054] A sealing groove is provided between the front-facing sapphire glass plate 12 of the camera and the camera module chamber 15, and a sealing element is provided in the sealing groove to achieve compression and sealing in conjunction with the front fixing bracket 14. A sealing groove is provided between the front-facing sapphire glass plate 13 of the LED and the lighting module chamber 16, and a sealing element is provided in the sealing groove to achieve compression and sealing in conjunction with the front fixing bracket 14. A sealing groove is provided between the card removal cover 7 and the opening of the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber 17, and a sealing element is provided in the sealing groove to achieve threaded fastening and sealing in conjunction with the threaded holes on the card removal cover 7 and the main frame 11. The front fixing bracket 14 is a rectangular plate with three round holes in the middle and on both sides, and eight bolt holes in total at the four corners and the four corners of the round holes in the middle of the front fixing bracket 14 for pressing the three sapphire glass plates. The front-facing sapphire glass plate 12 of the camera and the front-facing sapphire glass plate 13 of the LED are connected to the front end of the main frame 11 by bolts. The quick-install bracket is a rectangular metal piece with three through holes along its length on its height-length face for binding the system to an external carrier; and two threaded through holes on its length-width bottom face for connecting to the heat sink 2 with bolts.

[0055] The system fabrication method provided in this embodiment is as follows: After all components in the rigid domain, such as camera 10, LED beads 9, memory card and their sapphire glass sheets (front-facing sapphire glass sheet 12 for the camera and front-facing sapphire glass sheet 13 for the LED beads), front mounting bracket 14, and quick-install bracket, are assembled and secured, the entire system is placed into a dedicated mold. The mold cavity is pre-reserved with a cavity consistent with the shape of the flexible domain, and the socket ends of the heat sink 2, main control board 3, battery 4, and eight-pin connector 8 are pre-positioned. Subsequently, the degassed low-modulus addition-curing thermally conductive silicone is slowly injected through the mold injection port, and the system is kept under vacuum of -0.08 MPa for 10 minutes to remove air bubbles. After curing at room temperature for 24 hours, the system is demolded, thus forming a flexible domain that is directly coupled to the rigid domain, without air bubbles or cracks.

Claims

1. A hardware-software integrated deep-sea self-illuminating camera system, characterized in that, The system comprises a rigid domain and a flexible domain that are directly contacted and coupled: The rigid domain includes a quick-release pressure-resistant slot module and a rigid independent pressure-resistant module, wherein a camera module and a lighting module are arranged in the rigid independent pressure-resistant module; The flexible domain is an adaptive waterproof and pressure-resistant module integrally potted with silicone, used to house the main control module, battery module, wired communication and power replenishment module; The front of the main frame is integrally formed with a quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber, a camera module chamber, and a lighting module chamber, forming a rigid domain, and the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module, camera module, and lighting module are respectively arranged therein; The walls of the camera module chamber, the lighting module chamber, and the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber are respectively provided with wire holes, which are filled with sealant; the wire holes are chamfered at their interface with the silicone, so that the cured silicone forms an inverted conical wedge. The rear of the main frame is a flexible domain, the main control module is the main control board, the battery module is the battery, and the wired communication and power replenishment module is an eight-pin connector; the flexible domain is formed by silicone integrally encapsulating the main control board, the battery, and the socket end of the eight-pin connector. A heat sink is arranged within the flexible area, and the heat sink is connected to the main control board. The flexible area is formed by a silicone-encapsulated heat sink, the main control board, the battery, and the socket end of an eight-pin connector.

2. The hardware-software integrated deep-sea self-illuminating camera system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The front end of the camera module chamber and the front end of the light module chamber are both provided with openings and sapphire glass plates are installed. The periphery of the openings is provided with sealing grooves and sealing elements. The rear end of the camera module chamber is provided with a detachable end cap for inserting the camera and sealing the cavity. The outer side of the end cap is secondary potted with flexible silicone.

3. The hardware-software integrated deep-sea self-illuminating camera system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The front end of the main frame is provided with a front fixing frame, and the front end of the camera module chamber and the front end of the lighting module chamber are watertight with the front fixing frame through sealing grooves and sealing elements.

4. The hardware-software integrated deep-sea self-illuminating camera system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main frame is partially recessed to form a quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber. The top of the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber has an opening for placing the memory card circuit board and sealing it with a sealing cover. Then, a secondary seal is achieved by injecting flexible silicone. The side wall of the quick-release pressure-resistant card slot module chamber has a through-hole and a sealing groove, which is sealed by a removable card cover through a sealing ring and screws.

5. The hardware-software integrated deep-sea self-illuminating camera system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Of the eight core wires in the eight-core connector: the first and second cores are directly connected to the positive and negative terminals of the battery; the third and fourth cores are connected to the main control board. In use, it is only necessary to short-circuit the first and third cores, short-circuit the second and fourth cores, and connect the third and fourth cores to an external power supply. Two pins are reserved on the main control board to power the LED beads, and the two LED beads are electrically connected in parallel; the remaining four channels are communication channels to realize bidirectional wired data communication between external devices and the main control board.

6. The hardware-software integrated deep-sea self-illuminating camera system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system includes a mounting bracket, one end of which is connected to a heat sink, and the other end of which is used to connect the system to an external carrier.

Images