A heated defogging structure for a lens window

Abstract

This utility model relates to a heated defogging structure for a lens window, comprising: a lens bracket; a lens window mounted on the lens bracket, with glass covering the lens window; an imaging lens mounted on the lens bracket, which collects external information through the glass; and a heating circuit board, which is a multi-zone heating circuit board that generates heat when powered on to heat the cavity enclosed by the glass and the lens bracket, thereby achieving defogging of the glass. This utility model provides a heated defogging structure for a lens window, employing a non-contact heating design that replaces the conventional design of directly mounting heating wires to the side of the glass. This expands the glass's visibility range, enables rapid heating of angled lens windows, reduces the impact of sub-zero temperatures, heavy fog, or rain on the camera, and improves the driving safety of autonomous vehicles.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of camera technology, and in particular to a heating and defogging structure for a lens window. Background Technology

[0002] With the advancement of technology, autonomous vehicles have become an important direction for future development. Autonomous vehicles primarily use camera sensors to collect information about their surroundings, thereby automatically planning routes and controlling the vehicle's driving. Among these, the camera sensors are like the vehicle's eyes, and are particularly important. It is crucial that the camera lenses remain in a clear state at all times to ensure the normal operation of the autonomous vehicle and improve its safety.

[0003] Currently, existing cameras used in autonomous vehicles often present various problems during use:

[0004] 1. When the external environment is in sub-zero winter temperatures, foggy conditions, or rain, water vapor will form on the camera lens, which will cause the autonomous driving system to have difficulty recognizing road conditions and obtain reliable road information, which may easily lead to traffic accidents.

[0005] 2. Although there are now devices for defogging lenses, one solution is to place an air duct diagonally opposite the lens, and the air in the air duct is heated to dry the surface of the lens, thereby ensuring the lens is dry. However, this will affect the monitoring range of the entire field of view through the lens. At the same time, the hot air flowing out of the air duct can only dehumidify a part of the lens, and cannot ensure that the lens surface is in complete contact with the hot air, which affects the dehumidification quality of the lens and reduces the monitoring quality of the camera. Utility Model Content

[0006] Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to overcome the problem that the cameras used in the existing unmanned driving equipment are usually affected by rain, fog and frost, resulting in blurred observation windows and inability to accurately capture external images.

[0007] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this utility model provides a heated defogging structure for a lens window, comprising: a lens bracket; a lens window mounted on the lens bracket, with glass covering the lens window; an imaging lens mounted on the lens bracket, which collects external information through the glass; and a heating circuit board with an adhesive layer between it and the lens bracket, the heating circuit board being bonded to the lens bracket via the adhesive layer. The heating circuit board is divided into multiple heating zones, and when powered on, one of these zones generates heat from multiple directions surrounding the glass to heat the glass and the cavity enclosed by the glass and the lens bracket, thereby achieving defogging, defrosting, and de-icing of the glass. This heated defogging structure for the lens window, through the heating circuit board surrounding the glass on the sides of the lens window, can heat and defog the glass of the imaging lens, ensuring that the imaging lens can operate normally in rainy weather, heavy fog, etc., avoiding recognition obstacles for autonomous vehicles in adverse weather conditions, and improving the stability and reliability of the autonomous driving system.

[0008] In one embodiment of this utility model, the lens bracket is provided with a plurality of air guide holes, the plurality of air guide holes are connected to the cavity, and the plurality of air guide holes are capable of discharging heated gas from the cavity.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the glass is tilted relative to the front of the imaging lens, and the heating circuit board is located on at least four sides of the lens bracket surrounding the tilted glass.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the heating circuit board includes a first heating area, a second heating area, a third heating area and a fourth heating area. The first heating area is located on the bottom surface of the lens bracket facing the glass, the second heating area is located on the vertical side of the lens bracket facing the glass, and the third heating area and the fourth heating area are respectively located on the two sides of the lens bracket connected to the glass.

[0011] In one embodiment of this utility model, flexible bending areas are provided between the first heating area and the second heating area, between the first heating area and the third heating area, and between the first heating area and the fourth heating area.

[0012] In one embodiment of this utility model, the flexible bending area is provided with a U-shaped groove and a through hole for reducing the bending elastic force.

[0013] In one embodiment of this utility model, heating wires for generating heat are provided on the first heating zone, the second heating zone, the third heating zone and the fourth heating zone, and the heating wires are connected to a power source.

[0014] In one embodiment of this utility model, the lens bracket is provided with a plurality of buckles, and the heating circuit board is provided with a plurality of reinforcing plates. The plurality of buckles and the plurality of reinforcing plates are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence, and the buckles and the reinforcing plates engage to fix the heating circuit board and the lens bracket.

[0015] The heating and defogging structure of the lens window of this utility model has the following beneficial effects:

[0016] 1. This utility model provides a heating design method for an inclined lens window, which can quickly heat the inclined lens window, reduce the impact of sub-zero winter temperatures, heavy fog or rain on the camera, and improve the driving safety of unmanned vehicles.

[0017] 2. This utility model provides a non-contact heating design for glass, replacing the conventional design of directly installing heating wires to the side of the glass, thereby expanding the transparency range of the glass and increasing its aesthetic appeal. Attached Figure Description

[0018] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the heating and defogging structure of the lens window of this utility model;

[0020] Figure 2 This is an unfolded view of the heating circuit board of this utility model.

[0021] Explanation of reference numerals in the accompanying drawings: Lens bracket 1, air vent 11, clip 12, lens window 2, glass 3, imaging lens 4, heating circuit board 5, first heating zone 51, second heating zone 52, third heating zone 53, fourth heating zone 54, flexible bending zone 55, U-shaped groove 551, through hole 552, heating wire 56, reinforcing plate 57, adhesive layer 7, power supply 100. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, so that those skilled in the art can better understand and implement the present invention. However, the embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0023] Reference Figure 1As shown, the lens window heating and defogging structure of this utility model includes several main parts: a lens bracket 1, a lens window 2, a glass 3, an imaging lens 4, and a heating circuit board 5. The lens bracket 1 is connected to the autonomous vehicle. The lens window 2 is mounted on the lens bracket 1, and the glass 3 is covered on the lens window 2. The glass 3 and the lens bracket 1 together form a cavity to accommodate the imaging lens 4. The imaging lens 4 is mounted on the lens bracket 1, and the imaging lens 4 collects external information through the glass 3. The heating circuit board 5 has an adhesive layer 7 between it and the lens bracket 1, and the heating circuit board 5 is bonded to the lens bracket 1 through the adhesive layer 7. The heating circuit board 5 is divided into multiple heating zones, and when a power source is connected, one of the multiple heating zones generates heat from multiple directions around the glass 3 to heat the glass 3 and the cavity enclosed by the glass 3 and the lens bracket 1 to achieve defogging, defrosting, and de-icing of the glass 3. The heat generated by the heating circuit board 5 can heat the cavity. The increased temperature of the gas inside the cavity will eliminate the fog on the glass 3, thereby maintaining the transparency of the glass 3 and making it easier for the imaging lens 4 to take pictures within the field of view through the glass cleaning.

[0024] Specifically, the glass 3 is tilted relative to the front of the imaging lens 4, and the tilt angle of the glass 3 relative to the horizontal plane is in the range of 10° to 80°. The heating circuit board 5 is located on at least four sides of the lens bracket 1 surrounding the tilted glass 3. In one case, the glass 3 is located on the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle, and the lens bracket 1 has two right-angled sides of the right-angled triangle where the glass 3 is located. Therefore, the cavity formed by the lens bracket 1 and the glass 3 has a right-angled triangle cross-section. In this case, in order to achieve good heating of the tilted glass 3, the heating circuit board 5 is configured as follows.

[0025] Reference Figure 2As shown, the heating circuit board 5 has a specific structure of multiple heating zones. The heating circuit board 5 includes a first heating zone 51, a second heating zone 52, a third heating zone 53, and a fourth heating zone 54. The first heating zone 51 is located on the bottom surface of the lens bracket 1 facing the glass 3. The second heating zone 52 is located on the vertical side of the lens bracket 1 facing the glass 3. The third heating zone 53 and the fourth heating zone 54 are respectively located on the two sides where the lens bracket 1 and the glass 3 are connected. The first heating zone 51, the second heating zone 52, the third heating zone 53, and the fourth heating zone 54 heat the glass 3 from four sides surrounding the inclined glass 3. To expel the heated gas, the lens support 1 is provided with several vent holes 11. Preferably, the vent holes 11 are located in the second heating zone 52, on the vertical side directly opposite the glass 3, and at the upper end of the second heating zone 52. The horizontal position of the vent holes 11 is required to be higher than that of the imaging lens 4, ensuring that the vent holes 11 are connected to the cavity, allowing the heated gas inside the cavity to be discharged, thereby forming a... Figure 1 The direction of gas flow is indicated by the middle arrow A, therefore the several air guide holes 11 provided are conducive to the upward transfer of heat.

[0026] To ensure that the first heating zone 51, the second heating zone 52, the third heating zone 53, and the fourth heating zone 54 form a closed enclosure around the glass, flexible bending zones 55 are provided between the first heating zone 51 and the second heating zone 52, between the first heating zone 51 and the third heating zone 53, and between the first heating zone 51 and the fourth heating zone 54. To reduce the rebound force when the first heating zone 51, the second heating zone 52, the third heating zone 53, and the fourth heating zone 54 are connected to the lens bracket 1, U-shaped grooves 551 and through holes 552 are provided on the flexible bending zones 55 to reduce the bending elastic force.

[0027] In the above structure, heating wires 56 for generating heat are provided on the first heating zone 51, the second heating zone 52, the third heating zone 53, and the fourth heating zone 54. The heating wires 56 are connected to the power supply 100. When defogging is required, the power supply 100 is turned on and the heating wires 56 are connected, so that the heating wires 56 can quickly generate heat.

[0028] The heating circuit board 5 and the lens bracket 1 are connected by an adhesive layer 7 between them, and the heating circuit board 5 is bonded to the lens bracket 1 through the adhesive layer 7. Preferably, the thickness of the adhesive layer 7 is controlled to be between 20 and 200 μm when bonding the heating circuit board 5 to the outer surface of the lens bracket 1.

[0029] To ensure the stability of the connection between the heating circuit board 5 and the lens bracket 1 and to prevent the heating circuit board 5 from falling off the lens bracket 1, the lens bracket 1 is provided with a plurality of buckles 12 and the heating circuit board 5 is provided with a plurality of reinforcing plates 57. The plurality of buckles 12 and the plurality of reinforcing plates 57 are provided in a one-to-one correspondence, and the buckles 12 and the reinforcing plates 57 engage to fix the heating circuit board 5 and the lens bracket 1. The reinforcing structure can be set at different positions according to the specific structure of the lens bracket 1 and the heating circuit board 5.

[0030] Obviously, the above embodiments are merely illustrative examples for clear explanation and are not intended to limit the implementation. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other variations or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is neither necessary nor possible to exhaustively list all possible implementations here. However, obvious variations or modifications derived therefrom are still within the protection scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A lens window heating defogging structure, characterized by, include: Lens bracket (1); A lens window (2) is mounted on a lens bracket (1), and a glass (3) is provided over the lens window (2); An imaging lens (4) is mounted on a lens holder (1), and the imaging lens (4) collects external information through the glass (3); A heating circuit board (5) is provided with an adhesive layer (7) between it and the lens bracket (1). The heating circuit board (5) is bonded to the lens bracket (1) through the adhesive layer (7). The heating circuit board (5) is divided into multiple heating zones, and one of the multiple heating zones generates heat from multiple directions around the glass (3) when the power is connected to the circuit. This heat is used to heat the glass (3) and the cavity surrounded by the glass (3) and the lens bracket (1) to achieve defogging, defrosting and de-icing of the glass (3).

2. The lens window demisting structure of claim 1, wherein: The lens bracket (1) is provided with a plurality of air guide holes (11), which are connected to the cavity and can discharge the heated gas in the cavity.

3. The lens window demisting structure of claim 2, wherein: The glass (3) is tilted relative to the front of the imaging lens (4), and the heating circuit board (5) is located on at least four sides of the tilted glass (3) on the lens bracket (1).

4. The lens window demisting structure of claim 3, wherein: The heating circuit board (5) includes a first heating area (51), a second heating area (52), a third heating area (53) and a fourth heating area (54). The first heating area (51) is located on the bottom surface of the lens bracket (1) facing the glass (3). The second heating area (52) is located on the vertical side of the lens bracket (1) facing the glass (3). The third heating area (53) and the fourth heating area (54) are located on the two sides of the lens bracket (1) and the glass (3) respectively.

5. The lens window demisting structure of claim 4, wherein: Flexible bending areas (55) are provided between the first heating area (51) and the second heating area (52), between the first heating area (51) and the third heating area (53), and between the first heating area (51) and the fourth heating area (54).

6. The lens window demisting structure of claim 5, wherein: The flexible bending area (55) is provided with a U-shaped groove (551) and a through hole (552) for reducing the bending elastic force.

7. The lens window demisting structure of claim 4, wherein: The first heating zone (51), the second heating zone (52), the third heating zone (53) and the fourth heating zone (54) are each provided with heating wires (56) for generating heat, and the heating wires (56) are connected to a power source.

8. The lens window demisting structure of claim 7, wherein: The lens bracket (1) is provided with several buckles (12), and the heating circuit board (5) is provided with several reinforcing plates (57). The several buckles (12) and several reinforcing plates (57) are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence, and the buckles (12) and the reinforcing plates (57) are engaged to fix the heating circuit board (5) and the lens bracket (1).

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