A camera for use outside a vehicle

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of camera supports used when driving, in particular to an external camera for a vehicle, which comprises a base, a rotating seat and a round frame, a first air inlet and a second air inlet are arranged on one side of the base, the first air inlet and the second air inlet penetrate through the rotating seat and the round frame, a demisting assembly and a camera are arranged in the round frame; the demisting assembly comprises a circular ring, an annular plate, a spray gun and an exhaust hole, the circular ring is fixed with the round frame, the camera is arranged in the circular ring, the annular plate is embedded in an opening of the round frame, the spray gun is fixed on the annular plate, the spray gun opening faces the camera, the exhaust hole penetrates through the annular plate and is communicated with the spray gun, air drives the annular plate and the spray gun to rotate, so that the spray gun is moved to different sides of the camera to rotate and clean the surface of the camera. The technical problem that the existing camera is difficult to adjust the shooting direction according to the needs, meets the needs of shooting the tire and the rear of the vehicle, and is difficult to solve the technical problem that the shooting picture is not clear due to lens fogging in bad weather is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of camera technology, specifically to an exterior camera for vehicles. Background Technology

[0002] In fields such as intelligent monitoring, autonomous driving, and industrial inspection, reliable imaging by camera sensors places extremely high demands on environmental adaptability. Under adverse weather conditions such as rain, fog, strong light, and nighttime, imaging systems face multiple challenges: for example, in foggy environments, suspended particles in the atmosphere strongly scatter visible light, leading to decreased image contrast and blurred details; in rainy scenes, polarized light reflected from the water surface can easily cause image overexposure, interfering with target recognition; and at night or under strong light, the drastic changes in spectral distribution make it difficult for traditional fixed filters to balance the signal acquisition needs of different wavelength bands.

[0003] Existing technologies mainly use fixed filters or single-function filters, such as conventional infrared cut-off filters. Although these filters can suppress infrared light interference under normal lighting conditions, they cannot cope with the scattering problem in foggy weather. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides an external camera for vehicles, which solves the problem that existing cameras are difficult to adjust the shooting direction as needed to meet the requirements of shooting the tires and the rear of the vehicle, and also cannot solve the technical problem of unclear images caused by lens fogging in bad weather.

[0005] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides the following technical solution: An exterior camera for vehicles includes a base, a rotating base, and a circular frame. The base has a first air inlet and a second air inlet on one side. Both the first air inlet and the second air inlet pass through the rotating base and the circular frame. A defogging component and a camera are installed inside the circular frame. The defogging assembly includes a ring, an annular plate, a spray gun, and an exhaust port. The ring is fixed to a circular frame, and the camera is located inside the ring. The annular plate is embedded in the opening of the circular frame, and the spray gun is fixed on the annular plate with its opening facing the camera. The exhaust port passes through the annular plate and communicates with the spray gun. Air passes through the annular plate and drives the spray gun to rotate, causing the spray gun to move to different sides of the camera to rotate and clean the camera surface.

[0006] Furthermore, the ring and the camera form a first annular air duct, and the ring and the inner wall of the circular frame form a second annular air duct. The spray gun is connected to the first annular air duct through the exhaust port.

[0007] Furthermore, the first air inlet is connected to the first annular air duct, and the second air inlet is connected to the second annular air duct.

[0008] Furthermore, a plurality of baffles are fixedly connected to one side of the annular plate, and the baffles extend into the second annular air duct.

[0009] Furthermore, the included angle between the baffle and the annular plate is less than 90°, and an air outlet communicating with the second annular air duct is provided on one side of the circular frame.

[0010] Furthermore, a flap is rotatably connected to one side of the base, and an electric cylinder is fixedly connected between the base and the flap. The electric cylinder drives the flap to rotate closer to or further away from the base to adjust the intensity of the airflow blowing towards the camera.

[0011] Furthermore, the flap covers the first air inlet and the second air inlet, and the flap is made of rubber.

[0012] By employing the above technical solution, the present invention provides an external vehicle camera, which has at least the following beneficial effects: 1. This invention, through its base, rotating seat, and defogging component, allows for easy adjustment of the camera's shooting direction as needed, meeting the requirements for shooting the tires and the rear of the vehicle. Utilizing natural wind energy during driving, it can achieve dynamic cleaning of the camera's protective lens without additional energy. The spray gun rotating towards the camera forms a dual cleaning mode of "directional blowing + rotational covering," enhancing the cleaning effect on contaminants on the lens surface and solving the problem of unclear images caused by lens fogging in inclement weather.

[0013] 2. The present invention, through the setting of the flap and electric cylinder, can reduce the air blown towards the camera when the camera does not need to be defogged, reduce the impact of dust and impurities blown towards the camera on the image clarity, and at the same time can adjust the airflow intensity towards the camera as needed. Attached Figure Description

[0014] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application. In the drawings: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the disassembled base and rotating seat of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the defogging component of the present invention.

[0015] In the diagram: 1. Base; 2. Rotary seat; 3. Circular frame; 4. First air inlet; 5. Second air inlet; 6. Defogging assembly; 61. Circular ring; 62. Annular plate; 63. Spray gun; 64. Exhaust port; 7. Camera; 8. First annular air duct; 9. Second annular air duct; 10. Baffle; 11. Air outlet; 12. Flip plate; 13. Electric cylinder. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0017] Example 1 To facilitate adjusting the camera's shooting direction and meet the needs of shooting from different positions, and to utilize the wind power from the moving car to eliminate fogging on the lens surface, please refer to... Figures 1-3 This embodiment proposes an exterior vehicle camera, including a base 1, a rotating base 2, and a circular frame 3. A first air inlet 4 and a second air inlet 5 are provided on one side of the base 1. Both the first air inlet 4 and the second air inlet 5 penetrate the rotating base 2 and the circular frame 3. A defogging assembly 6 and a camera 7 are installed inside the circular frame 3. The defogging assembly 6 includes a ring 61, an annular plate 62, a spray gun 63, and an exhaust port 64. The ring 61 is fixed to the circular frame 3, the camera 7 is located inside the ring 61, the annular plate 62 is embedded in the opening of the circular frame 3, the spray gun 63 is fixed to the annular plate 62, and the opening of the spray gun 63 faces the camera 7. The exhaust port 64... The ring plate 62 is connected to the spray gun 63. The first annular air duct 8 is between the ring 61 and the camera 7. The second annular air duct 9 is between the ring 61 and the inner wall of the circular frame 3. The spray gun 63 is connected to the first annular air duct 8 through the exhaust port 64. The first air inlet 4 is connected to the first annular air duct 8. The second air inlet 5 is connected to the second annular air duct 9. Multiple baffles 10 are fixedly connected to one side of the ring plate 62. The baffles 10 extend into the second annular air duct 9. The included angle between the baffles 10 and the ring plate 62 is less than 90°. An air outlet 11 connected to the second annular air duct 9 is opened on one side of the circular frame 3.

[0018] In use, first install the base 1 below the rearview mirror. Rotate the rotating base 2 as needed to position the camera 7 to capture the area below the tires or behind the vehicle. When the vehicle is facing inclement weather causing the camera image to blur, air enters the base 1 through the first air inlet 4 and the second air inlet 5, passes through the rotating base 2, and enters the circular frame 3. At this time, the air exhausted from the first air inlet 4 enters the spray gun 63 through the exhaust port 64, and then exits from the spray gun 63 to defog the protective lens surface of the camera 7, simultaneously blowing away impurities on the lens. At this time, the air discharged from the second air inlet 5 enters the second annular air duct 9, pushes the baffle 10 and is discharged from the air outlet 11. When the air passes through the second annular air duct 9, it drives the baffle 10 to rotate, which in turn drives the annular plate 62 and the spray gun 63 to rotate, so that the spray gun 63 moves to different sides of the camera 7 to rotate and clean the surface of the camera 7. This allows for easy adjustment of the camera's shooting direction as needed, meeting the needs of shooting the tires and the rear of the vehicle. Utilizing the natural wind energy during driving, dynamic cleaning of the camera's protective lens can be achieved without additional energy. The spray gun rotating towards the camera 7 forms a dual cleaning mode of "directional blowing + rotational coverage", which enhances the cleaning effect of contaminants on the lens surface and can solve the problem of unclear shooting images caused by lens fogging in bad weather.

[0019] Example 2 To reduce the airflow blowing towards camera 7 when there is no fogging on the surface of camera 7, and to adjust the intensity of the airflow blowing towards camera 7 as needed, refer to Figures 1-3 Based on Embodiment 1, a flap 12 is rotatably connected to one side of the base 1, and an electric cylinder 13 is fixedly connected between the base 1 and the flap 12. The flap 12 covers the first air inlet 4 and the second air inlet 5, and the flap 12 is made of rubber.

[0020] In use, the electric cylinder 13 drives the flap 12 to rotate and approach the base 1 until the flap 12 covers the first air inlet 4 and the second air inlet 5. At this time, the airflow cannot blow from the inside of the device to the camera 7 during vehicle operation, which can reduce the impact of dust on the image clarity of the camera 7 after it is blown to the camera 7 with the air. When it is necessary to increase the airflow intensity to the camera 7, the electric cylinder 13 pushes the flap 12 to rotate away from the base 1, so that the amount of air blocked by the flap 12 from flowing into the first air inlet 4 and the second air inlet 5 is reduced, allowing more air to flow into the device and blow to the camera 7. This can reduce the amount of air blown to the camera 7 when the camera 7 does not need to be defogged, reduce the impact of dust and impurities on the image clarity when it is blown to the camera 7, and at the same time, the airflow intensity to the camera 7 can be adjusted as needed.

[0021] Camera 7 can rotate to the side of the tires or the rear of the vehicle as needed, enabling multi-angle monitoring. Combined with the linkage design of the electric cylinder 13, air duct, and flap, it automatically switches to cleaning mode when a blurry image is detected (e.g., triggered by an image recognition algorithm), requiring no manual intervention. The dual-inlet diversion technology improves wind energy utilization by 40%: the first inlet 4 focuses airflow onto the spray gun 63 for precise cleaning (wind speed up to 20-30 m / s), effectively removing stubborn stains; the second inlet 5 drives the baffle 10 to rotate (50-100 rpm), synchronously rotating the spray gun 63 to ensure no cleaning dead spots on the lens edges and curved surfaces of camera 7. This design achieves a fusion of "freely adjustable monitoring angle" and "highly efficient self-cleaning" functions without increasing vehicle wind resistance, reducing equipment maintenance costs in inclement weather.

[0022] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0023] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A vehicle exterior camera, characterized in that, Includes a base (1), a rotating seat (2) and a circular frame (3). The base (1) has a first air inlet (4) and a second air inlet (5) on one side. The first air inlet (4) and the second air inlet (5) both penetrate the rotating seat (2) and the circular frame (3). A defogging component (6) and a camera (7) are installed inside the circular frame (3). The defogging assembly (6) includes a ring (61), an annular plate (62), a spray gun (63), and an exhaust port (64). The ring (61) is fixed to the circular frame (3), and the camera (7) is located inside the ring (61). The annular plate (62) is embedded in the opening of the circular frame (3). The spray gun (63) is fixed on the annular plate (62), and the opening of the spray gun (63) faces the camera (7). The exhaust port (64) passes through the annular plate (62) and communicates with the spray gun (63). Air passes through and drives the annular plate (62) and the spray gun (63) to rotate, so that the spray gun (63) moves to different sides of the camera (7) to rotate and clean the surface of the camera (7).

2. The vehicle exterior camera according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first annular air duct (8) is between the ring (61) and the camera (7), and the second annular air duct (9) is between the ring (61) and the inner wall of the circular frame (3). The spray gun (63) is connected to the first annular air duct (8) through the exhaust hole (64).

3. A vehicle exterior camera according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first air inlet (4) is connected to the first annular air duct (8), and the second air inlet (5) is connected to the second annular air duct (9).

4. A vehicle exterior camera according to claim 1, characterized in that, A plurality of baffles (10) are fixedly connected to one side of the annular plate (62), and the baffles (10) extend into the second annular air duct (9).

5. A vehicle exterior camera according to claim 4, characterized in that, The included angle between the baffle (10) and the annular plate (62) is less than 90°, and an air outlet (11) communicating with the second annular air duct (9) is provided on one side of the circular frame (3).

6. A vehicle exterior camera according to claim 1, characterized in that, A flap (12) is rotatably connected to one side of the base (1), and an electric cylinder (13) is fixedly connected between the base (1) and the flap (12). The electric cylinder (13) drives the flap (12) to rotate closer to or further away from the base (1) to adjust the airflow intensity blowing towards the camera (7).

7. A vehicle exterior camera according to claim 6, characterized in that, The flap (12) covers the first air inlet (4) and the second air inlet (5), and the flap (12) is made of rubber.

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