Vehicle roof panel with roof console
Patent Information
- Application Number
- DE202024106972
- Authority / Receiving Office
- DE · DE
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-12-29
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-02
- Publication Date
- 2025-03-06
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-12-31
Smart Images
Figure 00000000_0000_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle roof panel of the type defining an inner surface intended to extend over a vehicle passenger compartment, the inner surface extending in a longitudinal direction between a front edge and a rear edge and in a transverse direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction between two side edges, the roof panel comprising at least one roof console extending over the inner surface and having a longitudinally extending elongate shape, the roof console comprising: - an image capture device having an optical axis arranged to capture images of the passenger compartment of the vehicle; - at least one infrared light source having an illumination axis arranged to emit light in the infrared range towards the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
[0002] The invention also relates to a vehicle passenger compartment comprising such a vehicle roof panel.
[0003] It is known to equip the roof panel of a vehicle, or the vehicle roof, with an overhead console that makes it possible to offer the vehicle occupants several functions, such as one or more light sources of the ceiling light type to illuminate the entire passenger compartment or part of it, as well as controls for various vehicle functions.
[0004] It is also known to provide an image capture device in the roof console, which is arranged to capture images of the passenger compartment and in particular of the driver of the vehicle, in order to monitor the condition of the vehicle occupants, for example 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 check whether the vehicle can be driven safely.
[0005] The image capture device is positioned in the roof console so that it has as large a volume of the passenger compartment as possible in its detection field.
[0006] More specifically, the detection device is positioned, for example, at the front of the roof console near an upper edge of the windshield and is directed towards the rear of the vehicle to capture frontal images of the vehicle occupants.
[0007] The image capture device is also associated with a light source, for example infrared, which enables illumination of the vehicle occupants without having to emit light in the visible range into the passenger compartment, which could disturb the vehicle occupants and in particular the driver.
[0008] However, the light emitted by the light source aligned with the optical axis of the image capture device is reflected in the vehicle's passenger compartment and back to the image capture device's lens, severely impairing the quality of the captured images. This impairment can prevent the vehicle's electronic system from interpreting the captured images, thus rendering the analysis of the captured images ineffective.
[0009] One of the objects of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks by providing a roof panel comprising an overhead console equipped with an image capture device that captures good quality images of the passenger compartment of a vehicle.
[0010] For this purpose, the invention relates to a roof panel of the type mentioned at the outset, wherein the illumination axis of the light source forms an angle of substantially between 20° and 60° with the optical axis of the image capture device.
[0011] By not aligning the optical axis of the image capture device and the illumination axis of the light source and at the same time maintaining a suitable angle between these two axes, disturbing reflections of the light emitted by the light source towards the lens of the image capture device are avoided, in particular reflections by the cover element, while at the same time maintaining satisfactory illumination of the passenger compartment so that the images captured by the image capture device are of good quality and can be used by the vehicle's electronic system.
[0012] The roof panel according to the invention may further comprise one or more of the following features, taken into account individually or in any technically possible combination: - the illumination axis of the light source forms an angle of substantially 45° with the optical axis of the image capture device; - the optical axis of the image capture device extends in a height direction which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal and transverse directions; - the light source is adjacent to the image capture device in the transverse direction; - the roof console comprises at least one mechanical separating element extending between the light source and the image capture device; - the roof panel comprises at least two infrared light sources, the light sources extending transversely on both sides of the image capture device; - the illumination fields of the light sources are superimposed opposite the image capture device and in the vertical direction away from the image capture device; - the cover element comprises at least one illumination zone extending along the illumination axis relative to the light source, the illumination zone extending substantially perpendicular to the illumination axis; - the cover element has a thickness, measured in the direction of the illumination axis, of substantially between 0.5 mm and 3 mm.
[0013] According to a further aspect, the invention also relates to a vehicle passenger compartment defining an interior volume accommodating at least one seat for a vehicle occupant, wherein the interior volume is closed in a height direction by a roof panel as described above, wherein the light source of the roof console is arranged to illuminate the interior volume, and wherein the image capture device is arranged to capture images of at least a portion of the interior volume, including at least a portion of the seat.
[0014] Further aspects and advantages of the invention will become better understood upon reading the following description, given only as a non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: [ Fig. 1] - Fig. Figure 1 is a schematic perspective sectional view of part of the vehicle passenger compartment according to the invention; [ Fig. 2] - Fig. Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of part of the vehicle roof panel according to the invention; [ Fig. 3] - Fig. 3 a schematic sectional view along the axis III-III of Fig. 2 is.
[0015] In the description, we define a longitudinal direction L, which corresponds, for example, to the front-rear direction of a vehicle, a transverse direction T, which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and corresponds, for example, to the width of the vehicle, and a height direction Z, which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L and the transverse direction T and corresponds, for example, to the height of the vehicle.
[0016] The term "substantial" refers to a slight deviation from a given value to account for manufacturing tolerances. For example, in the case of an angle, the term "substantial" refers to a deviation of plus or minus 5% around the given angle value.
[0017] With reference to the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 describes a vehicle passenger compartment 1 which comprises a roof panel 2.
[0018] The vehicle passenger compartment 1 defines an interior volume 4 intended to accommodate vehicle occupants and is delimited in the vertical direction Z by the roof panel 2, also called the roof liner. At least one vehicle seat 6 is arranged in the interior volume 4, wherein the seat 6 is mounted on the vehicle floor opposite the roof panel 2 in the vertical direction Z. As shown in Fig. 1, several seats 6 can be arranged in the interior volume 4, for example distributed along the longitudinal direction L between the front and rear seats.
[0019] The roof panel 2 extends in the longitudinal direction L between a front edge 8 and a rear edge (not shown) and in the transverse direction T between two side edges 10. As shown in particular in Fig. 2, the front edge 8 extends in the vertical direction Z above a windscreen 12 of the vehicle and forms an edge of this windscreen 12. As in Fig. 2, the roof panel is not necessarily flat and can, in particular, be curved in the longitudinal direction L, i.e., the front edge 8 runs in the height direction Z, for example, at a lower height than the height of a central region of the roof panel 2 extending between the front edge 8 and the rear edge. Alternatively, the roof panel 2 is substantially flat and substantially perpendicular to the height direction Z. The roof panel 2 comprises an inner surface 14 extending into the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1, i.e., the inner surface 14 is visible from the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1 and delimits the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1 in the height direction Z.
[0020] The roof panel 2 further comprises a roof console 16, which extends over the inner surface 14 into the vehicle passenger compartment 1 above the seats 6 in the height direction Z. As shown in the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the roof console 16 has an elongated shape in the longitudinal direction L. By “elongated shape in the longitudinal direction” is meant that the roof console 16 extends mainly in the longitudinal direction L, that is, its largest dimension is measured in the longitudinal direction L, and the dimensions of the roof console 16 in the transverse direction T and in the height direction Z are smaller than the dimension of the roof console 16 in the longitudinal direction L. According to one example, the dimension of the roof console 16 in the longitudinal direction L is substantially 3 to 10 times the dimension in the transverse direction T and 10 to 20 times the dimension in the height direction Z. For example, the length of the roof console 16, measured in the longitudinal direction L, is between 1000 and 1500 mm, its width, measured in the transverse direction T, is between 160 mm and 200 mm, and its height, measured in the height direction Z, is approximately 100 mm.
[0021] The roof console 16 extends in the longitudinal direction L between a front edge 18, which extends near the front edge 8 of the roof panel 2, and a rear edge 20, which extends, for example, in a central region of the roof panel 2, for example at the level of the space extending between the front and rear seats of the vehicle, as in Fig. 1. The front edge 18 of the roof console 16 extends, for example, above the windshield 12 in the vertical direction Z to the front and above the occupants sitting on the front seats 6 of the vehicle.
[0022] In the transverse direction T, the roof console 16 extends, for example, essentially in the middle of the roof panel 2, that is to say essentially at the same distance from the side edges 10 of the roof panel 2.
[0023] If the roof panel 2 is curved in the longitudinal direction, the roof bracket 16 is also curved to correspond to the shape of the roof panel 2 in the longitudinal direction L.
[0024] The roof console 16 forms a housing that projects from the inner surface 14 of the roof panel 2 into the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1. The housing accommodates the various functional elements of the roof console 16 as well as the electronic connectors for connecting these functional elements to the vehicle's electronic system. In particular, the housing is closed by a cover 22 to conceal the elements to be concealed and the electronic connectors, thus giving the roof console 16 an attractive appearance. For example, the housing contains one or more visible light sources for illuminating the passenger compartment 1 of the vehicle, similar to a ceiling light, and / or controls for various vehicle functions.
[0025] In addition, the roof console 16 includes a passenger compartment observation device housed in the housing, which will now be described.
[0026] As in Fig. 3, the observation device comprises an image capture device 24 and at least one infrared light source 26.
[0027] The image capture device 24 is oriented to capture images of a large portion of the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1, in particular the head and part of the body of one or more vehicle occupants, in particular at least the driver of the vehicle, preferably at least the persons sitting in the front seats 6 of the vehicle, more preferably the persons sitting in the front and rear seats 6 of the vehicle. Alternatively, one observation device may be provided for the front seats and another observation device for the rear seats.
[0028] The image capture device 24 comprises a lens 28 with an optical axis O and at least one optical sensor that receives light from the passenger compartment 1 passing through the lens 28. The image capture device 24 is designed to capture images of the passenger compartment 1 of the vehicle. More specifically, the image capture device 24 has a field of view in which the image capture device 24 captures images, this field of view being substantially in the shape of a cone whose axis is the optical axis O. The apex of the cone is formed by the lens 28 of the image capture device 24, the lens 28 and the optical sensor being connected to a capture unit 30 connected to the vehicle's electronic system, for example by being mounted on a printed circuit 32, which, for example, provides the connectivity for all the functional elements of the roof console 16.The lens 28 comprises, for example, an optical lens or a series of optical lenses arranged one above the other and is selected to have a wide angle of view around the optical axis O, for example, an angle between 60° and 150°, preferably between 70° and 130°. Such an angle of view provides a wide field of view, allowing images of a large part of the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1 to be captured.
[0029] In order to capture images of at least the occupants in the front seats 6, the image capture device 24 is positioned near the front edge 18 of the roof console 16, and the optical axis O is oriented toward the rear of the vehicle. For example, the optical axis O is substantially perpendicular to the inner surface 14 of the roof panel 2, where the image capture device 24 is positioned. Therefore, if the image capture device 24 is positioned near the front edge 18 of the roof console 16 and the inner surface 14 of the roof panel 2 is curved, the optical axis O forms a shallow angle with the height direction Z or is substantially aligned with this height direction Z, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the optical axis O is aligned with the head and / or an upper part of the body of the occupants of the front seats 6 of the vehicle.
[0030] The infrared light source 26 is arranged to illuminate the field of view of the image capture device 24 such that the captured images are sharp enough to be interpreted, for example, by the vehicle's electronic system. For this purpose, the infrared light source 26 is positioned adjacent to the image capture device 24, for example, adjacent to it in the transverse direction T, as shown in Fig. 3. The light source 26 is arranged to emit light in the infrared range along an illumination axis I in the direction of the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1. In particular, the infrared light source 26 has an illumination field in which the light source 26 emits light in the infrared range, this illumination field having substantially the shape of a cone C ( Fig. 3), whose axis is the illumination axis I. The apex of the cone C is formed by the infrared light source 26, which is formed, for example, by an infrared light-emitting diode. The infrared light source 26 is selected such that it has a wide illumination angle around the illumination axis I, for example an angle between 100° and 160°, preferably between 130° and 150°. Such an illumination angle makes it possible to illuminate a large part of the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1 and, in particular, a large part, if not the entire, field of view of the image capture device 24.
[0031] The illumination axis I forms an angle α with the optical axis O, which is substantially between 20° and 60° and preferably substantially equal to 45°. The angle α is measured between the illumination axis I and the optical axis O, which is projected into a plane containing the transverse direction T and the height direction Z, the illumination axis I deviating from the optical axis O, as in Fig. shown. Such an angle α makes it possible to effectively illuminate all or part of the field of view of the image capture device while avoiding reflections of the infrared light emitted toward the image capture device 24, in particular toward its lens 28. At an angle α of less than 20°, the light emitted by the infrared light source 26 is likely to be reflected by the cover element 22 toward the image capture device 24, which impairs the quality of the captured images, and at an angle α of more than 60°, the emitted light does not sufficiently illuminate the field of view of the image capture device 24, which also impairs the quality of the captured images.Preferably, the angle α is substantially equal to 45°, which represents a good compromise between limiting reflections towards the image capture device 24 and the area of the field of view illuminated by the infrared light source 26.
[0032] To further limit reflections in the direction of the image capture device 24, the observation device according to one embodiment comprises a mechanical separating element 34 between the infrared light source 26 and the image capture device 24, as shown in Fig. 3. Such a mechanical separating element (34) consists, for example, of a material that prevents light from reaching the image capture device (24) directly or by reflection.
[0033] According to the Fig. 3, the observation device comprises at least two infrared light sources 26, as described above.
[0034] In this case, the two infrared light sources 26 are arranged in the transverse direction T on both sides of the image capture device 24 and, in one embodiment, are separated from it by two mechanical separating elements 34, as described above.
[0035] Advantageously, the infrared light sources 26 are also arranged relative to each other and to the image capture device 24 such that their illumination axes I are substantially parallel. Furthermore, the illumination fields C of the infrared light sources 26 are further arranged such that they overlap opposite the image capture device 24 and at a distance from it along the height direction Z. This overlap, which is remote from the image capture device 24, also makes it possible to reduce the risk of infrared light being reflected toward the image capture device 24.
[0036] Facing the observation device, the cover 22 is arranged to allow the passage of infrared light emitted by the infrared light source(s) 26 and image capture by the image capture device 24 through the cover 22, so that the observation device can perform its function without being visible from the passenger compartment of the vehicle. For this purpose, the cover 22 comprises at least one cover element made of a material that absorbs light in the visible range and is transparent to light in the infrared range. For example, the cover element is made of polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), e.g., black or opaque. In one embodiment, the cover element is formed integrally with the remaining cover 22 or is attached, e.g., releasably, to the remaining cover 22.
[0037] Furthermore, the cover element 22 advantageously has, at least opposite the or each infrared light source 26 along the illumination axis I, an illumination zone 36 extending substantially perpendicular to the illumination axis I. Such an illumination zone 36 allows light to pass directly through the cover element without being reflected therefrom, thereby further limiting the risk of reflections on images captured by the image capture device 24.
[0038] The cover element is also designed to be as thin as possible so as not to impede the transmission of light through the cover element into the interior volume 4 of the passenger compartment 1. For this purpose, the cover element has a thickness, measured in the direction of the illumination axis I, of substantially between 0.5 mm and 3 mm.
[0039] The roof panel 2 described above and its overhead console 16 can be used to capture usable images of the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1, in particular by providing adequate lighting and preventing the emitted light from creating distracting reflections on the captured images. Furthermore, the viewing device is harmoniously integrated into the overhead console 16, in particular by being invisible to the vehicle occupants.
Claims
[1] Vehicle roof panel (2), the panel defining an inner surface (14) intended to extend over a vehicle passenger compartment (1), the inner surface (1) extending in a longitudinal direction (L) between a front edge (8) and a rear edge and in a transverse direction (T) substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (L) between two side edges (10), the roof panel comprising at least one roof console (16) extending over the inner surface (14) and having an elongated shape extending in the longitudinal direction (L), the roof console (16) comprising: - an image capture device (24) having an optical axis (O) arranged to capture images of the passenger compartment (1) of the vehicle; - at least one infrared light source (26) having an illumination axis (I) arranged to emit light in the infrared range towards the passenger compartment (1) of the vehicle; - at least one cover element (22) facing the image capture device (24) and the light source (26), characterized by that the illumination axis (I) of the light source (26) forms an angle (α) of substantially between 20° and 60° with the optical axis (O) of the image capture device (24). [2] Roof panel according to claim 1, wherein the illumination axis (I) of the light source (26) forms an angle (α) of substantially 45° with the optical axis (O) of the image capture device (24). [3] Roof panel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the optical axis (O) of the image capture device (24) extends in a height direction (Z) which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (L) and the transverse direction (T). [4] Roof panel according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the light source (26) is adjacent to the image capture device (24) in the transverse direction (T). [5] Roof panel according to claim 4, wherein the roof console (16) comprises at least one mechanical separating element (34) extending between the light source (26) and the image capture device (24). [6] Roof panel according to one of claims 1 to 5, comprising at least two infrared light sources (26), wherein the light sources (26) extend in the transverse direction (T) on both sides of the image capture device (24). [7] Roof panel according to claim 6, wherein the illumination fields of the light sources (26) overlap opposite the image capture device (24) and in the height direction (Z) away from the image capture device (24). [8] Roof panel according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cover element (22) comprises at least one illumination zone (36) extending along the illumination axis (I) relative to the light source (26), the illumination zone (36) extending substantially perpendicular to the illumination axis (I). [9] Roof panel according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the cover element has a thickness, measured in the direction of the illumination axis (I), of substantially between 0.5 mm and 3 mm. [10] Vehicle passenger compartment (1) defining an interior volume (4) accommodating at least one seat (6) for a vehicle occupant, wherein the interior volume (4) is closed in a height direction (Z) by a roof panel (2) according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the light source (26) of the roof console (16) is arranged to illuminate the interior volume (4), and wherein the image capture device (24) is arranged to capture images of at least a part of the interior volume (4), including at least a part of the seat (6).