Vehicle roof and vehicle passenger compartment
By creating a specific angle between the image acquisition device and the infrared light source, combined with mechanical separation and covering elements, the image quality problem caused by light reflection is solved, achieving high-quality image acquisition and effective utilization.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202423225918.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-12-29
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-26
- Publication Date
- 2026-02-03
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-12-26
AI Technical Summary
In existing technologies, the light emitted by the light source of the image acquisition device is reflected in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, resulting in a decrease in the quality of the acquired image and affecting the interpretation and utilization of the electronic system.
By creating an angle of 20° to 60° between the image acquisition device and the infrared light source, the light emitted by the light source is prevented from reflecting off the objective lens of the image acquisition device, while maintaining sufficient lighting in the passenger compartment. Mechanical separation elements and covering elements are used to reduce reflection, and the infrared light source is placed close to the image acquisition device to ensure image quality.
High-quality image acquisition was achieved, and the images can be effectively utilized by the vehicle's electronic systems, avoiding image quality degradation caused by light reflection.
Smart Images
Figure CN223864797U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to a vehicle roof panel.
[0002] This utility model also relates to a vehicle passenger compartment including the vehicle roof. Background Technology
[0003] It is known to equip a vehicle with a roof-mounted control console that enables the provision of several functions to vehicle occupants, such as one or more overhead light sources to illuminate all or part of the passenger compartment, and control elements for various vehicle functions.
[0004] It is also known to install an image acquisition device in an overhead console, the image acquisition device being arranged to acquire images of the passenger compartment and, more specifically, images of the vehicle's driver, in order to monitor the status of the vehicle occupants, such as their position in the passenger compartment, the wearing of seat belts, the driver's ability to drive the vehicle to ensure the safety of the vehicle occupants, and to verify the vehicle's ability to be driven safely.
[0005] The image acquisition equipment is therefore positioned within the overhead control console so that the maximum possible volume of the passenger compartment is within its acquisition area.
[0006] More specifically, the acquisition device is positioned, for example, towards the front of the overhead console near the upper edge of the windshield and oriented towards the rear of the vehicle to acquire a frontal image of the vehicle occupants.
[0007] Image acquisition devices are also associated with light sources, such as infrared light sources, so that vehicle occupants can be illuminated without having to emit light within the visible range inside the passenger compartment, which can interfere with vehicle occupants, especially the driver.
[0008] However, light emitted by a light source aligned with the optical axis of the image acquisition device is reflected within the vehicle's passenger compartment and returns towards the objective lens of the image acquisition device, thus significantly degrading the quality of the acquired images. This degradation may prevent the interpretation of images acquired by the vehicle's electronic systems, and therefore render the acquired images unusable. Utility Model Content
[0009] One object of this invention is to overcome these disadvantages by providing a roof panel that includes a top-mounted console equipped with an image acquisition device that acquires high-quality images of the passenger compartment of a vehicle.
[0010] Therefore, the present invention relates to a vehicle roof panel defining an inner surface extending above a vehicle passenger compartment, the inner surface extending longitudinally between a front edge and a rear edge and extending laterally substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction between two side edges, the roof panel including at least one overhead console extending on the inner surface and having an elongated shape extending longitudinally, the overhead console comprising:
[0011] - An image acquisition device having an optical axis and arranged to acquire images of the passenger compartment of a vehicle;
[0012] - At least one infrared light source, having an illumination axis and arranged to emit light in the infrared range toward the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
[0013] The illumination axis of the light source and the optical axis of the image acquisition device form an angle that is basically between 20° and 60°.
[0014] By misaligning the optical axis of the image acquisition device with the illumination axis of the light source, while maintaining a suitable angle between the two axes, destructive reflections of light emitted from the light source toward the objective lens of the image acquisition device are avoided, especially reflections by the covering element. At the same time, satisfactory lighting in the passenger compartment is maintained, resulting in images acquired by the image acquisition device of good quality that can be used by the vehicle's electronic systems.
[0015] The top plate according to this utility model may further include one or more of the following features, either individually or in any technically feasible combination:
[0016] - The illumination axis of the light source forms an angle of approximately 45° with the optical axis of the image acquisition device;
[0017] - The optical axis of the image acquisition device extends in a vertical direction that is substantially perpendicular to both the longitudinal and transverse directions;
[0018] -The light source is adjacent to the image acquisition device along the horizontal direction;
[0019] - The top-mounted console includes at least one mechanical separation element extending between the light source and the image acquisition device;
[0020] - The top plate includes at least two infrared light sources that extend laterally on either side of the image acquisition device;
[0021] -The illumination field of the light source is superimposed along the vertical direction facing the image acquisition device and away from the image acquisition device;
[0022] - The covering element includes at least one illumination area that extends relative to the light source along an illumination axis, the illumination area extending substantially perpendicular to the illumination axis;
[0023] - The cover element has a thickness that is substantially between 0.5 mm and 3 mm, measured along the direction of the illumination axis.
[0024] According to another aspect, the present invention also relates to a vehicle passenger compartment defining an internal volume for receiving at least one seat for vehicle occupants, the internal volume being closed in a vertical direction by a top plate as described above, a light source of a top-mounted console being arranged to illuminate the internal volume, and an image acquisition device being arranged to acquire an image of at least a portion of the internal volume including at least a portion of the seat. Attached Figure Description
[0025] Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become clearer when reading the following description, which is given only by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic perspective view of a portion of the passenger compartment of a vehicle according to the present invention;
[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic perspective view of a portion of the vehicle roof panel according to the present invention;
[0028] Figure 3 It is along Figure 2 A schematic cross-sectional view of axis III-III. Detailed Implementation
[0029] In this specification, for example, the longitudinal direction L corresponding to the front-rear direction of the vehicle, the lateral direction T which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and, for example, corresponds to the width of the vehicle, and the vertical direction Z which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L and the lateral direction T and, for example, corresponds to the height of the vehicle, are defined.
[0030] The term "substantially" refers to slight variations around a given value to allow for manufacturing tolerances. For example, in the case of angles, the term "substantially" refers to variations around a given angle value of ±5%.
[0031] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 It describes the vehicle passenger compartment 1, including the roof panel 2.
[0032] The vehicle passenger compartment 1 defines an interior volume 4, which is designed to accommodate vehicle occupants and is defined vertically in the Z direction by a roof panel 2 (also referred to as the roof liner). At least one vehicle seat 6 is arranged within the interior volume 4, mounted on the vehicle floor and positioned vertically in the Z direction opposite to the roof panel 2. Figure 1 As shown, multiple seats 6 can be arranged in the internal volume 4, for example, distributed along the longitudinal direction L between the front seats and the rear seats.
[0033] The top plate 2 extends longitudinally along L between the front edge 8 and the rear edge (not shown), and extends laterally along T between the two side edges 10. In particular, as shown... Figure 2 As shown, the front edge 8 extends vertically in the Z direction above the windshield 12 of the vehicle and forms the edge of the windshield 12. Also as... Figure 2 As shown, the roof panel is not necessarily flat and may be curved, particularly along the longitudinal direction L, i.e., the height of the front edge 8 extending in the vertical direction Z is, for example, lower than the height of the central region of the roof panel 2 extending between the front edge 8 and the rear edge. Alternatively, the roof panel 2 is substantially planar and substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction Z. The roof panel 2 includes an inner surface 14 extending into the passenger compartment 1 of the vehicle, i.e., the inner surface 14 is visible from the passenger compartment 1 of the vehicle and defines the internal volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1 along the vertical direction Z.
[0034] The roof panel 2 also includes a roof-mounted console 16 extending along the vertical direction Z above the seat 6 on the inner surface 14 into the vehicle passenger compartment 1. (See also...) Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the top control console 16 has an elongated shape along the longitudinal direction L. The term "elongated shape along the longitudinal direction" means that the top control console 16 extends primarily along the longitudinal direction L; that is, its maximum dimension is measured along the longitudinal direction L, and the dimensions of the top control console 16 along the transverse direction T and the vertical direction Z are smaller than the dimension of the top control console 16 along the longitudinal direction L. According to one example, the dimension of the top control console 16 along the longitudinal direction L is approximately 3 to 10 times its dimension along the transverse direction T, and 10 to 20 times its dimension along the vertical direction Z. Therefore, for example, the length of the top control console 16 measured along the longitudinal direction L is between 1000 mm and 1500 mm, its width measured along the transverse direction T is between 160 mm and 200 mm, and its height measured along the vertical direction Z is approximately 100 mm.
[0035] The overhead console 16 extends longitudinally L between its front edge 18 and rear edge 20. The front edge extends near the front edge 8 of the roof panel 2, and the rear edge extends, for example, in the central region of the roof panel 2, horizontally across the space extending between the front and rear seats of the vehicle. Figure 1 As shown. For example, the front edge 18 of the overhead console 16 extends forward vertically in the Z direction above the windshield 12 and above the occupant sitting in the front seat 6 of the vehicle.
[0036] Along the transverse T, the top control console 16 extends substantially at the center of the top plate 2, i.e., it extends substantially equidistant from the side edge 10 of the top plate 2.
[0037] When the top plate 2 bends longitudinally, the top control console 16 also bends to match the shape of the top plate 2 along the longitudinal direction L.
[0038] The overhead console 16 forms a housing that protrudes from the inner surface 14 of the roof panel 2 into the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1. The housing houses various functional components of the overhead console 16, as well as electronic connections for connecting these components to the vehicle's electronic systems. Specifically, the housing is closed by a cover 22 to conceal components and electronic connections that need to be hidden, thereby giving the overhead console 16 a pleasing appearance. For example, the housing contains one or more visible light sources for illuminating the passenger compartment 1 of the vehicle as overhead lights and / or control elements for various vehicle functions.
[0039] Additionally, the overhead console 16 includes passenger compartment observation equipment housed within the housing, which will now be described.
[0040] like Figure 3 As shown, the observation device includes an image acquisition device 24 and at least one infrared light source 26.
[0041] The image acquisition device 24 is oriented to acquire images of most of the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1, particularly images of the heads and parts of the bodies of one or more vehicle occupants, more specifically images of at least the driver of the vehicle, preferably images of at least the person sitting in the front seat 6 of the vehicle, and even more preferably images of the person sitting in both the front and rear seats 6 of the vehicle. Alternatively, one observation device may be provided for the front seats and another observation device may be provided for the rear seats.
[0042] Image acquisition device 24 includes an objective lens 28 having an optical axis O and at least one optical sensor that receives light passing through the objective lens 28 from the passenger compartment 1. Image acquisition device 24 is designed to acquire images of the passenger compartment 1 of the vehicle. More specifically, image acquisition device 24 has a field of view in which it acquires images, the field of view having a generally conical shape about the optical axis O. The apex of the cone is formed by the objective lens 28 of image acquisition device 24, and the objective lens 28 and the optical sensor are connected to an acquisition unit 30, which is connected to the vehicle's electronic system, for example, via printed circuitry 32 mounted on connections forming, for example, the connections of all functional elements of an overhead console 16. Objective lens 28 includes, for example, an optical lens or a series of superimposed optical lenses, and is selected to have a wide viewing angle around the optical axis O, for example, between 60° and 150°, preferably between 70° and 130°. This viewing angle provides a wide field of view, enabling the acquisition of images of most of the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1.
[0043] To acquire images of at least the occupants of the front seats 6, the image acquisition device 24 is positioned near the front edge 18 of the overhead console 16, with the optical axis O oriented towards the rear of the vehicle. The optical axis O is substantially perpendicular, for example, to the inner surface 14 of the headliner 2 where the image acquisition device 24 is located. Therefore, when the image acquisition device 24 is positioned near the front edge 18 of the overhead console 16 and the inner surface 14 of the headliner 2 is curved, the optical axis O forms a small angle with or is substantially aligned with the vertical direction Z, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the optical axis O is oriented toward the head and / or upper body of the occupant of the front seat 6 of the vehicle.
[0044] Infrared light source 26 is arranged to illuminate the field of view of image acquisition device 24, ensuring that the acquired image is clear enough for interpretation, for example, by the vehicle's electronic systems. For this purpose, infrared light source 26 is positioned adjacent to image acquisition device 24, for example, next to it along the lateral direction T. Figure 3 As shown. The light source 26 is arranged to emit light in the infrared range along the illumination axis I toward the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1. More specifically, the infrared light source 26 has an illumination field in which the light source 26 emits light in the infrared range, and this illumination field has a substantially conical C-shaped form. Figure 3 The axis of the cone C is the illumination axis I. The apex of the cone C is formed by an infrared light source 26, which is formed, for example, by an infrared light-emitting diode. The infrared light source 26 is selected to have a wide illumination angle around the illumination axis I, for example, between 100° and 160°, preferably between 130° and 150°. This illumination angle allows for the illumination of most of the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1, and more specifically, most (if not all) of the field of view of the image acquisition device 24.
[0045] The illumination axis I and the optical axis O form an angle α that is substantially between 20° and 60°, preferably substantially equal to 45°. Angle α is measured between the illumination axis I and the optical axis O in a plane projected onto the plane containing the transverse direction T and the vertical direction Z, wherein the illumination axis I deviates from the optical axis O, such as... Figure 3 As shown. This angle α allows for effective illumination of all or part of the field of view of the image acquisition device, while avoiding reflection of infrared light emitted toward the image acquisition device 24, and more specifically toward the objective lens 28 of the image acquisition device. In practice, when the angle α is less than 20°, the light emitted by the infrared light source 26 may be reflected toward the image acquisition device 24 by the covering element 22, which degrades the quality of the acquired image. And when the angle α is greater than 60°, the emitted light does not sufficiently illuminate the field of view of the image acquisition device 24, which also degrades the quality of the acquired image. Preferably, the angle α is substantially equal to 45°, which strikes a good trade-off between limiting reflection toward the image acquisition device 24 and the area of the field of view illuminated by the infrared light source 26.
[0046] To further limit reflections toward the image acquisition device 24, according to one embodiment, the observation device includes a mechanical separation element 34 located between the infrared light source 26 and the image acquisition device 24, such as... Figure 3 As shown. This mechanical separation element (34) is made of, for example, a material that prevents light from being directly transmitted or transmitted to the image acquisition device (24) by reflection.
[0047] according to Figure 3 The embodiment shown includes an observation device comprising at least two infrared light sources 26, as described above.
[0048] In this configuration, two infrared light sources 26 are arranged along the transverse T on either side of the image acquisition device 24, and in one embodiment, they are separated from the image acquisition device by two mechanical separation elements 34, as described above.
[0049] Advantageously, the infrared light sources 26 are also arranged relative to each other and relative to the image acquisition device 24, such that their illumination axes I are substantially parallel. Furthermore, the illumination field C of the infrared light sources 26 is arranged to be superimposed on the image acquisition device 24 relative to it and at a certain distance along the vertical direction Z. This superposition, away from the image acquisition device 24, also reduces the risk of infrared light reflecting towards the image acquisition device 24.
[0050] Facing the observation device, the cover 22 is arranged to allow infrared light emitted by the infrared light source 26 to pass through and to allow image acquisition by the image acquisition device 24 through the cover 22, enabling the observation device to perform its functions without being visible from the vehicle's passenger compartment. For this purpose, the cover 22 includes at least one covering element made of a material that absorbs light in the visible range and is transparent to light in the infrared range. For example, the covering element is made of polycarbonate (PC) or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and is, for example, black or opaque. In one embodiment, the covering element is integrally formed with the rest of the cover 22, or, for example, releasably attached to the rest of the cover 22.
[0051] Furthermore, at least along the illumination axis I opposite each of the infrared light sources 26, the cover element 22 advantageously includes an illumination region 36 extending substantially perpendicular to the illumination axis I. This illumination region 36 allows light to pass directly through the cover element without being reflected thereon, thereby further limiting the risk of reflection onto the image acquired by the image acquisition device 24.
[0052] The cover element is also designed to be as thin as possible so as not to obstruct light transmission through the cover element into the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1. To this end, the cover element has a thickness that is substantially between 0.5 mm and 3 mm, measured along the direction of the illumination axis I.
[0053] The aforementioned roof panel 2 and its overhead control console 16 can be used to acquire available images of the vehicle's passenger compartment 1, particularly by providing sufficient illumination and preventing distracting reflections of emitted light on the acquired images. Furthermore, the observation equipment is harmoniously integrated into the overhead control console 16, especially in a manner invisible to vehicle occupants.
Claims
1. A vehicle roof (2) defining an inner surface (14) extending above a vehicle passenger compartment (1), the inner surface (14) extending in a longitudinal direction (L) between a front edge (8) and a rear edge and between two side edges (10) in a transverse direction (T) substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (L), the vehicle roof comprising at least one overhead console (16) extending over the inner surface (14) and having an elongated shape extending in the longitudinal direction (L), the overhead console (16) comprising: - an image capturing device (24) having an optical axis (O) and arranged to capture images of the vehicle passenger compartment (1), - at least one infrared light source (26) having an illumination axis (I) and arranged to emit light in the infrared range towards the vehicle passenger compartment (1), - at least one covering element (22) facing the image capturing device (24) and the infrared light source (26), characterized in that the illumination axis (I) of the infrared light source (26) forms an angle (a) with the optical axis (O) of the image capturing device (24) substantially between 20° and 60°.
2. The vehicle roof as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the illumination axis (I) of the infrared light source (26) forms an angle (a) with the optical axis (O) of the image capturing device (24) substantially equal to 45°.
3. The vehicle roof according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the optical axis (O) of the image capturing device (24) extends in a vertical direction (Z) substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (L) and the transverse direction (T).
4. The vehicle roof according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the infrared light source (26) is adjacent to the image capturing device (24) in the transverse direction (T).
5. The vehicle roof as defined in claim 4, characterized in that the overhead console (16) comprises at least one mechanical separation element (34) extending between the infrared light source (26) and the image capturing device (24).
6. The vehicle roof as defined in claim 3, characterized in that comprises at least two infrared light sources (26) extending on either side of the image capturing device (24) in the transverse direction (T).
7. The vehicle roof according to claim 6, characterized in that the illumination field of the infrared light source (26) overlaps the image capturing device (24) and is distanced from the image capturing device (24) in the vertical direction (Z).
8. The vehicle roof according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the covering element (22) comprises at least one illumination area (36) extending opposite the infrared light source (26) along the illumination axis (I), the illumination area (36) extending substantially perpendicular to the illumination axis (I).
9. The vehicle roof according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the covering element has a thickness measured in the direction of the illumination axis (I) substantially between 0.5 mm and 3 mm.
10. A vehicle passenger compartment (1) defining an interior volume (4) receiving at least one seat (6) for a vehicle occupant, characterized in that, the inner volume (4) is enclosed in a vertical direction (Z) by a vehicle roof (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the infrared light source (26) of the overhead console (16) is arranged to illuminate the inner volume (4) and the image capturing device (24) is arranged to capture images of at least a portion of the inner volume (4) comprising at least a portion of the seat (6).