Cleaning mechanism and vehicle-mounted camera device

Abstract

The utility model relates to a cleaning mechanism and a vehicle-mounted camera device, the cleaning mechanism comprises a mounting plate, a cleaning part, a light-transmitting part and a driving part, the mounting plate is provided with a lens windowing hole corresponding to a camera, the cleaning part is fixedly arranged at the lens windowing hole of the mounting plate, the light-transmitting part is slidably arranged on one side of the cleaning part and abuts against the cleaning part, and the driving part drives the cleaning part to rotate. The driving part is in driving connection with the light-transmitting part to drive the light-transmitting part to move close to the cleaning part. Dirt adhered to the light-transmitting part can be removed through staggered movement between the cleaning part and the light-transmitting part, and the cleaning part is fixed while the light-transmitting part moves, so that the driving part can be arranged on the inner side of the mounting plate, and therefore, on one hand, the flatness of the outer side of the mounting plate is ensured; and on the other hand, the driving part is prevented from being interfered by external factors such as water vapor and dust, so that the service life of the driving part and the whole vehicle-mounted camera device is prolonged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of vehicle-mounted camera cleaning, in particular to a cleaning mechanism and a vehicle-mounted camera device. Background Art

[0002] The working environment of the vehicle-mounted camera is extremely harsh, and it is easily affected by vibration, rain and fog, high and low temperatures, drastic changes in light, etc. The purpose of the vehicle-mounted camera is to ensure safe driving, so stable, reliable and clear environmental data must be obtained in each of the above working conditions. Once dirt, water mist, etc. appear on the surface of the lens, the recognition ability of the camera itself will drop rapidly, so it is necessary to rely on external force to remove the dirt or water mist on the surface of the lens. Existing technical solutions generally use a driving cleaning part to clean the lens. This method requires the driving mechanism to be arranged on the outside or at least requires a driving part extending out of the vehicle body. This not only affects the flatness of the outer surface of the vehicle, but also the exposed structure is easily affected by external dust and water vapor, thereby reducing the service life of the driving part. Utility Model Content

[0003] The mechanical cleaning method of the vehicle-mounted camera in the prior art requires the driver to be external, which leads to a decrease in the flatness of the outer surface of the vehicle body, and the service life of the external driver is also easily affected by external factors. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a cleaning mechanism.

[0004] A cleaning mechanism, used for cleaning the field of view of a camera, comprising:

[0005] A mounting plate, the mounting plate being provided with a lens opening hole corresponding to the camera;

[0006] A cleaning member, the cleaning member being fixedly mounted on the lens window hole of the mounting plate;

[0007] a light-transmitting member, the light-transmitting member being slidably disposed on one side of the cleaning member and abutting against the cleaning member; and

[0008] A driving member is drivingly connected to the light-transmitting member to drive the light-transmitting member to move close to the cleaning member.

[0009] With such arrangement, dirt adhered to the light-transmitting member can be removed by the offset movement between the cleaning member and the light-transmitting member. Since the cleaning member is fixed and the light-transmitting member moves, the driving member can be arranged on the inner side of the mounting plate. This arrangement ensures the flatness of the outer side of the mounting plate on the one hand, and prevents the driving member from being disturbed by external water vapor and dust on the other hand, thereby extending the service life of the driving member and the entire vehicle-mounted camera device.

[0010] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the cleaning member includes a first abutment portion fixedly connected to the inner circumferential wall of the mounting plate located at the lens window opening and a second abutment portion extending radially outward from the first abutment portion along the lens window opening, and the second abutment portion is mounted on the mounting plate and abuts against the light-transmitting member.

[0011] With such arrangement, the mounting plate and the light-transmitting member jointly clamp the second abutting portion of the cleaning member so that the cleaning member is not easily dislodged from the lens window hole, while the first abutting portion of the cleaning member is radially stopped by the inner circumferential wall of the lens window hole of the mounting plate and can also prevent the second abutting portion and the mounting plate from making relative displacement. In other words, the cleaning member is limited by the inner wall of the mounting plate at the lens window hole and will not be positionally displaced during long-term use.

[0012] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the first abutting portion has a guiding slope extending obliquely from the inner peripheral wall of the lens window opening toward the light-transmitting member.

[0013] With such arrangement, dirt scraped off by the cleaning member can slide out of the lens window opening through the guiding inclined surface, thereby preventing dirt from accumulating at the abutment portion between the cleaning member and the light-transmitting member.

[0014] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the first abutment portion is arranged around and attached to the inner circumferential wall of the mounting plate at the lens window hole, and the second abutment portion surrounds the lens window hole and is attached to a side of the mounting plate facing the light-transmitting member.

[0015] With such arrangement, the cleaning member blocks the lens window hole from the inside of the vehicle-mounted camera device, thereby ensuring the sealing property of the inside of the vehicle-mounted camera device.

[0016] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the second abutting portion includes a sealing body attached to the mounting plate and a plurality of sealing rings protruding from the sealing body toward the light-transmitting member.

[0017] Such an arrangement is helpful to prevent dust from entering the interior of the vehicle-mounted camera device due to the displacement between the cleaning member and the light-transmitting member.

[0018] In one embodiment provided in the present application, the light-transmitting member includes a light-transmitting body and a rack fixed to an edge of the light-transmitting body, and the driving member is meshingly connected to the rack.

[0019] With such arrangement, the driving component occupies less space, which is beneficial to improving the space utilization rate inside the vehicle-mounted camera device.

[0020] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the light-transmitting member is further provided with a guide groove having the same extension direction as the rack, and the cleaning mechanism further includes a limit block fixedly connected to the mounting plate and inserted into the guide groove.

[0021] Such an arrangement is conducive to improving the sliding stability of the light-transmitting member. The guide groove also cooperates with the limit block to limit the light-transmitting body toward the mounting plate, so that the cleaning member maintains close contact with the mounting plate and the light-transmitting body.

[0022] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the light-transmitting member has a light-transmitting area, the projection of the lens window hole on the light-transmitting member is located in the light-transmitting area, and the cleaning mechanism also includes a heating element bonded to the light-transmitting member and arranged around the light-transmitting area.

[0023] With this arrangement, it is convenient to melt ice or dirt and then wipe them off in cold weather such as rain or snow, thereby reducing the risk of the cleaning parts being scratched or deformed by force, which may cause the airtightness of the vehicle-mounted camera device to decrease.

[0024] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the light-transmitting area is waist-shaped and extends along the moving direction of the light-transmitting member.

[0025] With such arrangement, the light-transmitting area matches the shape of the camera lens, so that the heating element is arranged as close as possible to the dirty part of the light-transmitting area, thereby reducing heat transfer losses, improving heating efficiency and saving energy.

[0026] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the cleaning mechanism further comprises a spray member installed on a side of the mounting plate away from the light-transmitting member, and the spray member has a spray port located at an edge of the lens window opening.

[0027] With such an arrangement, stubborn solid dirt such as mucus and spots can be rinsed with clean water or cleaning liquid sprayed through the spray port, and the solid dirt can be softened, making it convenient to remove the softened dirt through the cleaning part, thereby improving both cleaning efficiency and cleaning effect.

[0028] The present application also provides a vehicle-mounted camera device, comprising:

[0029] Camera; and

[0030] As a cleaning mechanism as mentioned above, the cleaning mechanism is arranged in the light-sensitive path of the camera.

[0031] With such arrangement, the cleaning mechanism provided in the present application is used to clean the vehicle-mounted camera, which has high cleaning efficiency and good cleaning effect, and is beneficial to extending the service life of the vehicle-mounted camera device, and has high application value. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of the vehicle-mounted camera device in one embodiment of the utility model;

[0033] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A partial enlarged view of the X in the middle;

[0034] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the vehicle-mounted camera device shown;

[0035] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A partial enlarged view of the vehicle-mounted camera device at position Y;

[0036] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of a light-transmitting member and a heating wire in an embodiment provided in the present application;

[0037] Figure 6 A cross-sectional view of a vehicle-mounted camera device in another embodiment provided in the present application.

[0038] Reference numerals:

[0039] 10. Mounting plate; 11. Lens opening hole; 20. Cleaning member; 21. First abutting portion; 211. Guide slope; 22. Second abutting portion; 221. Sealing body; 222. Sealing ring; 30. Light-transmitting member; 301. Light-transmitting area; 31. Light-transmitting body; 32. Rack; 33. Guide groove; 40. Driving member; 50. Heating member; 60. Flexible circuit board; 70. Spraying member; 71. Spraying port; 80. Camera. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the utility model more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the utility model are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the utility model. However, the utility model can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the utility model, so the utility model is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0041] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0042] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present utility model, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0043] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0044] In the present utility model, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" or "above" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0045] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be the only implementation method.

[0046] The working environment of the vehicle-mounted camera is extremely harsh, and it is easily affected by vibration, rain and fog, high and low temperatures, drastic changes in light, etc. The purpose of the vehicle-mounted camera is to ensure safe driving, so stable, reliable and clear environmental data must be obtained in each of the above working conditions. Once dirt, water mist, etc. appear on the surface of the lens, the recognition ability of the camera itself will drop rapidly, so it is necessary to rely on external force to remove the dirt or water mist on the surface of the lens. Existing technical solutions generally use a driving cleaning part to clean the lens. This method requires the driving mechanism to be arranged on the outside or at least requires a driving part extending out of the vehicle body. This not only affects the flatness of the outer surface of the vehicle, but also the exposed structure is easily affected by external dust and water vapor, thereby reducing the service life of the driving part.

[0047] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a cleaning mechanism and a vehicle-mounted camera device that can improve the surface flatness of the vehicle body at the vehicle-mounted camera device and extend the service life of the vehicle-mounted camera device.

[0048] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of the vehicle-mounted camera device in one embodiment of the utility model. Figure 3 for Figure 1 The vehicle-mounted camera device provided by the present application comprises a camera 80 and a cleaning mechanism disposed in the light-sensing path of the camera 80, the cleaning mechanism comprising a mounting plate 10, a cleaning member 20, a light-transmitting member 30 and a driving member 40, the mounting plate 10 is provided with a lens window hole 11 corresponding to the camera 80, the cleaning member 20 is fixedly disposed at the lens window hole 11 of the mounting plate 10, the light-transmitting member 30 is slidably disposed on one side of the cleaning member 20 and abuts against the cleaning member 20, and the driving member 40 is drivingly connected to the light-transmitting member 30 to drive the light-transmitting member 30 to move against the cleaning member 20. In this way, the dirt adhered to the light-transmitting member 30 can be removed by the offset movement between the cleaning member 20 and the light-transmitting member 30. Since the cleaning member 20 is fixed and the light-transmitting member 30 moves, the driving member 40 can be arranged on the inner side of the mounting plate 10. This ensures the flatness of the outer side of the mounting plate 10 on the one hand, and prevents the driving member 40 from being disturbed by external factors such as water vapor and dust on the other hand, thereby extending the service life of the driving member 40 and the entire vehicle-mounted camera device.

[0049] It is worth noting that the camera 80 and the light-transmitting member 30 are spaced apart to avoid interference with the camera 80 during cleaning, and the distance between the camera 80 and the light-transmitting member 30 should be as close as possible. This can reduce the size of the vehicle-mounted camera device on the one hand, and reduce the interference of dirt on imaging on the other hand.

[0050] Optionally, in an embodiment provided in the present application, the light-transmitting member 30 is a glass lens, the mounting plate 10 is a body sheet metal member, and the cleaning member 20 is a liquid silicone injection molding member and is fixedly connected to the body sheet metal member, so that the connection between the mounting plate 10 and the cleaning member 20 is firm and not easy to loosen.

[0051] See also Figure 4 , Figure 4 for Figure 3 The enlarged partial view of the vehicle-mounted camera device at X is shown. Optionally, in one embodiment provided in the present application, the cleaning member 20 includes a first abutting portion 21 fixedly connected to the inner peripheral wall of the mounting plate 10 at the lens window hole 11 and a second abutting portion 22 extending radially outward from the first abutting portion 21 along the lens window hole 11, and the second abutting portion 22 is mounted on the mounting plate 10 and abuts against the light-transmitting member 30. The mounting plate 10 and the light-transmitting member 30 jointly clamp the second abutting portion 22 of the cleaning member 20 so that the cleaning member 20 is not easy to escape from the lens window hole 11, and the first abutting portion 21 of the cleaning member 20 is radially stopped by the inner peripheral wall of the lens window hole 11 of the mounting plate 10, which can also prevent the second abutting portion 22 from being displaced relative to the mounting plate 10. In other words, the cleaning member 20 is limited by the inner wall of the mounting plate 10 at the lens window hole 11, and will not be displaced in long-term use.

[0052] See also Figure 4 Furthermore, in one embodiment provided in the present application, the first abutting portion 21 has a guiding slope 211 extending obliquely from the inner peripheral wall of the lens window opening 11 toward the light-transmitting member 30. In this way, the dirt scraped off by the cleaning member 20 can slide out of the lens window opening 11 through the guiding slope 211, thereby preventing the dirt from accumulating at the abutment between the cleaning member 20 and the light-transmitting member 30.

[0053] Optionally, in an embodiment provided in the present application, the first abutting portion 21 is disposed around and attached to the inner peripheral wall of the mounting plate 10 at the lens window opening 11, and the second abutting portion 22 surrounds the lens window opening 11 and is attached to the side of the mounting plate 10 facing the light-transmitting member 30. In other words, the cleaning member 20 fills the gap between the mounting plate 10 and the light-transmitting member 30 at the lens window opening 11, blocks the lens window opening 11 from the inside of the vehicle-mounted camera device, and ensures the sealing of the inside of the vehicle-mounted camera device. Furthermore, the second abutting portion 22 includes a sealing body 221 attached to the mounting plate 10 and a plurality of sealing rings 222 protruding from the sealing body 221 toward the light-transmitting member 30, which can reduce the abutting area between the cleaning member 20 and the light-transmitting member 30, thereby ensuring that the cleaning member 20 and the light-transmitting member 30 are in close contact with each other and reducing the friction of the light-transmitting member 30 when moving. In addition, the gaps between the plurality of sealing rings 222 can also accommodate dust that is accidentally squeezed in, preventing dust from entering the interior of the vehicle-mounted camera device with the displacement between the cleaning member 20 and the light-transmitting member 30. It is understandable that in other embodiments, the first abutting portion 21 of the cleaning member 20 can also be inserted into the lens window hole 11 with interference fit.

[0054] Please refer again Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 2 for Figure 1 The partial enlarged view at the X in the middle, optionally, in one embodiment provided in the present application, the light-transmitting member 30 includes a light-transmitting body 31 and a rack 32 fixed to the edge of the light-transmitting body 31, and the driving member 40 is meshingly connected to the rack 32. Driven by the driving member 40, the light-transmitting member 30 can achieve reciprocating movement, and the driving member 40 occupies a small space, which is conducive to improving the space utilization rate inside the vehicle-mounted camera device. Further, the light-transmitting member 30 is also provided with a guide groove 33 extending in the same direction as the rack 32, and the cleaning mechanism also includes a limit block fixedly connected to the mounting plate 10 and inserted in the guide groove 33, which is conducive to improving the sliding stability of the light-transmitting member 30. In addition, the guide groove 33 also cooperates with the limit block (not shown) to limit the light-transmitting body 31 toward the mounting plate 10, so that the cleaning member 20 is kept in close contact with the mounting plate 10 and the light-transmitting body 31. It is understandable that, in other embodiments, the driving member 40 may also be connected to the light-transmitting member 30 by means of a screw, a hydraulic pneumatic structure, etc., and the transmission method is not limited as long as the light-transmitting member 30 can be driven to and fro.

[0055] See also Figure 5 , Figure 5A schematic diagram of the structure of a light-transmitting member 30 and a heating wire in an embodiment provided by the present application. Optionally, in an embodiment provided by the present application, the light-transmitting body 31 has a light-transmitting area 301, and the projection of the lens window hole 11 on the light-transmitting member 30 is located in the light-transmitting area 301. The cleaning mechanism also includes a heating member 50 bonded to the light-transmitting body 31 and arranged around the light-transmitting area 301, and a flexible circuit board 60 arranged at the edge of the light-transmitting body 31 and electrically connected to the heating member 50. This is also suitable for cold weather such as rain and snow, and is convenient for wiping off ice or dirt after melting. At the same time, it also reduces the risk of reduced airtightness of the vehicle-mounted camera device caused by the cleaning member 20 being scratched or deformed by force. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the heating member 50 covers the non-light-transmitting area 301 of the mounting plate 10, so that overall rapid heating can be achieved, and it is also beneficial to reduce the temperature difference at various positions of the mounting plate 10, thereby reducing the deformation of the light-transmitting member 30.

[0056] Please refer again Figure 5 , further, in an embodiment provided by the present application, the light-transmitting area 301 is waist-shaped and extends along the moving direction of the light-transmitting member 30. In this way, the light-transmitting area 301 matches the lens shape of the camera 80, so that the arrangement position of the heating element 50 is as close as possible to the dirty part of the light-transmitting area 301, thereby reducing the heat transfer loss, improving the heating efficiency and saving energy. In addition, due to the reduction in the amount of heat transfer loss, the temperature difference of the entire light-transmitting member 30 is also reduced accordingly, which is also conducive to further reducing the deformation of the light-transmitting member 30. It can be understood that the waist-shaped light-transmitting area 301 provided by the present application is only a preferred solution adopted for adapting the circular lens of the camera. In other embodiments, in order to adapt to lenses of different shapes or adapt to the moving path of the cleaning member 20, the light-transmitting area 301 can also be designed into different shapes such as rectangle or ellipse, etc., which is not further limited here.

[0057] See also Figure 6 , Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a vehicle-mounted camera device in another embodiment provided by the present application. Optionally, in another embodiment provided by the present application, the cleaning mechanism also includes a spray member 70 mounted on the side of the mounting plate 10 away from the light-transmitting member 30, and the spray member 70 has a spray port 71 located at the edge of the lens window opening 11. For stubborn solid dirt such as mucus and spots, it can be rinsed with clean water or cleaning liquid sprayed through the spray port 71, and the solid dirt can be softened, which facilitates the removal of the softened dirt through the cleaning member 20, which not only improves the cleaning efficiency, but also improves the cleaning effect.

[0058] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0059] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the utility model, and the description is relatively specific and detailed, but it cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the utility model patent. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this field, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the utility model, which all belong to the protection scope of the utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of the utility model patent shall be based on the attached claims.

Claims

1. A cleaning mechanism for cleaning the field of view of a camera, characterized in that: include: A mounting plate, the mounting plate being provided with a lens opening hole corresponding to the camera; A cleaning member, the cleaning member being fixedly mounted on the lens window hole of the mounting plate; A light-transmitting member, the light-transmitting member is slidably disposed on one side of the cleaning member and abuts against the cleaning member; as well as A driving member is drivingly connected to the light-transmitting member to drive the light-transmitting member to move close to the cleaning member.

2. A cleaning mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cleaning member includes a first abutment portion fixedly connected to the inner circumferential wall of the mounting plate at the lens window opening and a second abutment portion extending radially outward from the first abutment portion along the lens window opening, wherein the second abutment portion is mounted on the mounting plate and abuts against the light-transmitting member.

3. A cleaning mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first abutting portion has a guiding inclined surface which extends obliquely from the inner peripheral wall of the lens window opening toward the light-transmitting member.

4. A cleaning mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first abutting portion is arranged around and attached to the inner peripheral wall of the mounting plate at the lens window opening, and the second abutting portion surrounds the lens window opening and is attached to a side of the mounting plate facing the light-transmitting member.

5. A cleaning mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that: The second abutting portion includes a sealing body attached to the mounting plate and a plurality of sealing rings protruding from the sealing body toward the light-transmitting member.

6. A cleaning mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The light-transmitting member comprises a light-transmitting body and a rack fixed to an edge of the light-transmitting body, and the driving member is meshingly connected to the rack; and / or The light-transmitting member is further provided with a guide groove in the same extension direction as the rack, and the cleaning mechanism further comprises a limit block fixedly connected to the mounting plate and inserted into the guide groove.

7. A cleaning mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The light-transmitting member has a light-transmitting area, the projection of the lens window hole on the light-transmitting member is located in the light-transmitting area, and the cleaning mechanism also includes a heating element bonded to the light-transmitting member and arranged around the light-transmitting area.

8. A cleaning mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that: The light-transmitting area is waist-shaped and extends along the moving direction of the light-transmitting member.

9. A cleaning mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cleaning mechanism further comprises a spraying member installed on a side of the mounting plate away from the light-transmitting member, and the spraying member comprises a spraying port located at the edge of the lens window opening.

10. A vehicle-mounted camera device, characterized in that: include: Camera; and A cleaning mechanism as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the cleaning mechanism is arranged in the light-sensitive path of the camera.

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