Camera bracket

Abstract

To provide a camera bracket containing a resin containing a reinforcement fiber as a material, which suppresses deformation during molding.SOLUTION: A camera bracket 4 containing a resin containing a reinforcement fiber as a material includes: a plate-like base part 11 arranged along a vehicle inner surface of a window panel 1; a lens hood part 13 which is recessed in a direction opposite to the window panel from the base part, and forms a visual field space 12 between the window panel and the lens hood part; and a lens hole 14 which is formed in the base part and communicates with the visual field space. A plurality of first projections 51 are provided on the inner face facing the visual field space side of the lens hood part. A plurality of second projections 52 are provided on an outer surface opposite to the inner surface of the lens hood part. The lens hood part expands in a second direction perpendicular to a first direction in which the lens hole faces, in the first direction, and the plurality of first projections and the plurality of second projections may extend in the second direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a camera bracket for fixing an in-vehicle camera to a window panel. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a camera unit that is provided on the interior side of a vehicle windshield. The camera unit has a camera body and a camera bracket (camera case) that supports the camera body. The camera bracket has a lens hood portion that forms a viewing space in front of the camera body. The inner surface of the lens hood portion is provided with a reflected wave reduction structure that suppresses stray light. The reflected wave reduction structure is formed by a plurality of protrusions. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6076460 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In some cases, a heater is provided on the camera bracket to remove fogging from the windshield facing the viewing space. In such cases, there is a demand to form the bracket from fiber-reinforced resin in order to improve the heat resistance of the resin bracket. However, when a lens hood part having irregularities is molded by injection molding of fiber-reinforced resin, a problem occurs in that warping occurs in the lens hood part.

[0005] In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to suppress deformation during molding in a camera bracket made of a resin containing reinforcing fibers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is a camera bracket (4) made of resin containing reinforcing fibers, and has a plate-shaped base portion (11) arranged along the interior side of a window panel (1), a lens hood portion (13) that is recessed from the base portion in a direction opposite to the window panel and forms a field of view (12) between the window panel and the lens hood portion, and a lens hole (14) formed in the base portion and communicating with the field of view space, and a plurality of first convex portions (51) are provided on the inner surface of the lens hood portion facing the field of view space, and a plurality of second convex portions (52) are provided on the outer surface opposite to the inner surface of the lens hood portion.

[0007] According to this aspect, deformation during molding can be suppressed in a camera bracket made of a resin containing reinforcing fibers. When injection molding is performed using a resin containing reinforcing fibers, if there are irregularities on the surface of the molded product, the resin meanders at the irregularities and the orientation of the reinforcing fibers becomes irregular. On the other hand, if the surface of the molded product is smooth, the resin flows in one direction and the reinforcing fibers are aligned in one direction. If there is a difference in structure between the front and back surfaces of the molded product, a difference in the orientation of the reinforcing fibers occurs. As a result, the resin is less likely to shrink in the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing fibers, and a difference in the amount of shrinkage occurs between the front and back surfaces of the molded product, causing the molded product to deform. In the above aspect, since a plurality of first convex portions are formed on the inner surface of the lens hood portion and a plurality of second convex portions are formed on the outer surface, a difference in the orientation of the reinforcing fibers is less likely to occur between the inner and outer surfaces. This suppresses deformation during molding of the camera bracket.

[0008] In the above aspect, the lens hood portion may extend in a second direction perpendicular to a first direction in which the lens hole faces, and the first convex portions and the second convex portions may extend in the second direction.

[0009] According to this aspect, the inner and outer surfaces of the lens hood have similar shapes, and the orientation of the reinforcing fibers on the inner and outer surfaces is less likely to differ, thereby suppressing deformation of the camera bracket during molding.

[0010] In the above aspect, when viewed from the second direction, each of the first convex portions has a triangular cross-section, a first inclined surface (51A) provided on the lens hole side, and a second inclined surface (51B) provided on the side opposite the lens hole, and in the first direction, the first inclined surface may be shorter than the second inclined surface.

[0011] According to this aspect, the multiple first convex portions reflect stray light to the outside, making it difficult for the stray light to reach the lens.

[0012] In the above aspect, when viewed from the second direction, each of the second convex portions has a triangular cross-section, a third inclined surface (52A) provided on the lens hole side, and a fourth inclined surface (52B) provided on the side opposite the lens hole, and in the first direction, the fourth inclined surface may be shorter than the third inclined surface.

[0013] According to this aspect, the inner and outer surfaces of the lens hood have similar shapes, and the orientation of the reinforcing fibers on the inner and outer surfaces is less likely to differ, thereby suppressing deformation of the camera bracket during molding.

[0014] In the above aspect, each of the third inclined surfaces may be formed parallel to the second inclined surface that is closest to the third inclined surface, and each of the fourth inclined surfaces may be formed parallel to the first inclined surface that is closest to the third inclined surface.

[0015] According to this aspect, the inner and outer surfaces of the lens hood have similar shapes, and the orientation of the reinforcing fibers on the inner and outer surfaces is less likely to differ, thereby suppressing deformation of the camera bracket during molding.

[0016] In the above aspect, a first recess (55) is formed between each of two adjacent first convex portions, a second recess (56) is formed between each of two adjacent second convex portions, and a first imaginary line (57) connecting the bottoms of the first recesses and a second imaginary line (58) connecting the bottoms of the second recesses may be separated from each other in the thickness direction of the lens hood portion.

[0017] According to this aspect, a flat intermediate layer having a predetermined thickness is formed between the multiple first convex portions and the multiple second convex portions, improving the rigidity of the lens hood portion and thereby suppressing deformation during molding of the camera bracket.

[0018] In the above aspect, the reinforcing fibers may be glass fibers.

[0019] According to this aspect, the heat resistance of the camera bracket can be improved.

[0020] In the above aspect, the base portion may be adhered to the window panel.

[0021] According to this aspect, deformation of the camera bracket during molding is small, so that the adhesion between the camera bracket and the window panel can be improved. Effect of the Invention

[0022] According to the above-mentioned configuration, deformation during molding can be suppressed in a camera bracket made of a resin containing reinforcing fibers. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an in-vehicle camera unit according to an embodiment, seen from the outside of a vehicle; [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an in-vehicle camera unit according to an embodiment, seen from inside the vehicle; [Diagram 3] A perspective view of the vehicle-mounted camera unit from the inside of the vehicle, with the cover omitted. [Figure 4] A perspective view of the camera bracket from inside the vehicle, with the lid omitted. [Diagram 5] A perspective view of the lid from inside the vehicle [Figure 6] Cross-sectional view of the camera bracket (cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in Fig. 1) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] An embodiment of a camera bracket of the present invention will be described below. The camera bracket is a part of an in-vehicle camera unit provided on the passenger compartment side of a window panel of a vehicle. The window panel includes a front window panel that defines the front of the passenger compartment, a rear window panel that defines the rear of the passenger compartment, and a pair of side window panels that define the left and right sides of the passenger compartment.

[0025] In this embodiment, the window panel 1 is a front windshield. The window panel 1 is inclined upward and backward (see FIG. 6). The vehicle-mounted camera unit 2 is provided at the upper end of the window panel 1 on the interior side of the vehicle.

[0026] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the vehicle-mounted camera unit 2 has a camera body 3, a camera bracket 4 that is attached to the interior side of the window panel 1 and supports the camera body 3, and a cover 5 that is positioned below the camera body 3 and the camera bracket 4.

[0027] The camera bracket 4 is made of a resin containing reinforcing fibers. The reinforcing fibers improve the heat resistance and rigidity of the camera bracket 4. The reinforcing fibers may be glass fibers, carbon fibers, aramid fibers, or the like. The resin used as the base material may be polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), styrene acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN), or a mixture thereof. The camera bracket 4 is formed by injection molding using a resin in which finely chopped reinforcing fibers are uniformly mixed.

[0028] 3 and 4, the camera bracket 4 has a plate-shaped base portion 11 arranged along the interior side surface of the window panel 1, a lens hood portion 13 recessed from the base portion 11 in a direction opposite to the window panel 1 and forming a visual field space 12 between it and the window panel 1, and a lens hole 14 formed in the base portion 11 and communicating with the visual field space 12. The base portion 11 is formed in a flat shape and has a front surface 16 that runs along the interior side surface of the window panel 1, and a rear surface 17 opposite the front surface 16. A first mirror mounting hole 18 that penetrates through the thickness direction is formed in the rear portion of the base portion 11.

[0029] The lens hood portion 13 is provided in front of the base portion 11. The lens hood portion 13 is recessed with respect to the front surface 16 and protrudes with respect to the rear surface 17. That is, the lens hood portion 13 bulges from the base portion 11 toward the vehicle interior side. The lens hood portion 13 has a bottom wall portion 21 and left and right side wall portions 22. The bottom wall portion 21 and the left and right side wall portions 22 are formed in a plate shape. When viewed from above, the bottom wall portion 21 has a front edge extending in the left and right direction and left and right side edges inclined inwardly to the left and right toward the rear, and is formed in an isosceles triangle shape. The bottom wall portion 21 is connected to the base portion 11 at its front edge and inclined downward with respect to the base portion 11. That is, the rear end portion of the bottom wall portion 21 is disposed downward with respect to the base portion 11. The left and right side wall portions 22 extend in the up-down direction and connect the left and right side edges of the bottom wall portion 21 to the base portion 11.

[0030] The lens hole 14 is defined by the rear end of the bottom wall portion 21, the rear ends of the left and right side wall portions 22, and the base portion 11. The lens hole 14 penetrates the camera bracket 4 in the thickness direction. The lens hole 14 opens in a first direction. In this embodiment, the first direction is the front. The lens hood portion 13 expands in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, toward the first direction in which the lens hole 14 faces. In this embodiment, the lens hood portion 13 expands in the left and right directions toward the front.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, the rear part of the bottom wall part 21 is formed by a removable lid 25. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, a work hole 26, which is a through hole, is formed in the rear part of the bottom wall part 21. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, the lid 25 has a plate-shaped main body part 25A that closes the work hole 26. The lid 25 is rotatably supported by the base part 11. As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of left and right support shafts 28 extending in the left-right direction are provided on the lower surface of the base part 11. As shown in FIG. 5, a bearing part 25C that receives each support shaft 28 is provided on the rear part of the main body part 25A of the lid 25. The lid 25 rotates between a closed position that closes the work hole 26 and an open position that opens the work hole 26. When the lid 25 is in the closed position, the lid 25 forms a part of the bottom wall part 21. As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of left and right locking claws 31 are provided on the lower surface of the base part 11. 5, a pair of left and right elastic claws 25D are provided on the front part of the main body 25A of the lid 25. Each elastic claw 25D is locked with a corresponding locking claw 31, thereby maintaining the lid 25 in the closed position.

[0032] A plate-shaped heater 29 is provided on the outer surface of the lid 25 facing the vehicle interior. The heater 29 is a heater that generates heat when supplied with electric power. The heater 29 may be, for example, a PTC heater or an electric heating wire.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 4, the rear surface 17 of the camera bracket 4 is provided with a pair of left and right front locking portions 33 and a rear locking portion 34 for supporting the camera body 3. Each front locking portion 33 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the bottom wall portion 21. Each front locking portion 33 is arranged on the left and right of the working hole 26. A locking claw having elasticity is attached to each front locking portion 33, and the front end of the camera body 3 is locked via the locking claw. The rear locking portion 34 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the base portion 11. The rear locking portion 34 is arranged behind the working hole 26. A locking claw is attached to the rear locking portion 34, and the rear end of the camera body 3 is locked via the locking claw. The camera body 3 is supported by the camera bracket 4 by being locked to the left and right front locking portions 33 and the rear locking portions 34. When the camera body 3 is supported by the camera bracket 4, the lens 35 of the camera body 3 is disposed in the lens hole 14 and faces forward through the lens hole 14.

[0034] A plurality of cover locking portions 36 are provided on the underside of the camera bracket 4. The cover 5 is locked to the plurality of cover locking portions 36 and disposed below the camera bracket 4. The cover 5 covers the lower portion of the camera bracket 4 and the camera body 3. As shown in Fig. 2, the cover 5 has a plurality of ventilation holes 38 and a second mirror mounting hole 39 formed therein.

[0035] 1 and 2, a mirror stay 41 for mounting a rearview mirror is adhered to the window panel 1, passes through the first mirror mounting hole 18 and the second mirror mounting hole 39, extends downward, and protrudes below the cover 5. The rearview mirror is joined to the lower end of the mirror stay 41.

[0036] The detailed structure of the camera bracket 4 will be described below. As shown in Figs. 1 and 6, a plurality of first convex portions 51 are provided on the inner surface of the lens hood portion 13 facing the visual field space 12. Also, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, a plurality of second convex portions 52 are provided on the outer surface opposite to the inner surface of the lens hood portion 13. The plurality of first convex portions 51 function as a reflected wave reduction structure that suppresses stray light. That is, the plurality of first convex portions 51 reflect stray light to the outside of the vehicle and suppress the stray light from reaching the lens 35. The plurality of second convex portions 52 function to suppress deformation of the camera bracket 4 during molding.

[0037] 1, the multiple first convex portions 51 are provided on the inner surface of the bottom wall portion 21 facing the visual field space 12, and the multiple second convex portions 52 are provided on the outer surface of the bottom wall portion 21 facing the vehicle interior. The multiple first convex portions 51 are also provided on the inner surface of the main body portion 25A of the lid 25. The multiple second convex portions 52 are not provided on the outer surface of the lid 25. Note that in other embodiments, the multiple second convex portions 52 may also be provided on the outer surface of the lid 25.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, the first convex portions 51 and the second convex portions 52 extend in the left-right direction (second direction). As shown in FIG. 6, when viewed from the left-right direction, each of the first convex portions 51 has a triangular cross section and has a first inclined surface 51A provided on the lens hole 14 side and a second inclined surface 51B provided on the side opposite the lens hole 14. In the front-rear direction, the first inclined surface 51A is shorter than the second inclined surface 51B. When viewed from the left-right direction, each of the second convex portions 52 has a triangular cross section and has a third inclined surface 52A provided on the lens hole 14 side and a fourth inclined surface 52B provided on the side opposite the lens hole 14. In the first direction, the fourth inclined surface 52B is shorter than the third inclined surface 52A.

[0039] The first protrusions 51 may have the same cross-sectional shape as each other. The second protrusions 52 may have the same cross-sectional shape as each other. The first protrusions 51 and the second protrusions 52 may have the same cross-sectional shape as each other.

[0040] Each of the third inclined surfaces 52A is preferably formed parallel to the nearest second inclined surface 51 B. Also, each of the fourth inclined surfaces 52B is preferably formed parallel to the nearest first inclined surface 51A.

[0041] A first recess 55 is formed between each pair of adjacent first protrusions 51. A second recess 56 is formed between each pair of adjacent second protrusions 52. A first imaginary line 57 connecting the bottoms of the first recesses 55 and a second imaginary line 58 connecting the bottoms of the second recesses 56 are spaced apart from each other in the thickness direction of the lens hood part 13. That is, the bottom wall part 21 has a flat intermediate layer 59 defined by the first imaginary line 57 and the second imaginary line 58. The first protrusions 51 and the second protrusions 52 protrude outward from the surface of the intermediate layer 59.

[0042] The effect of the camera bracket 4 according to the embodiment will be described. In the camera bracket 4 made of resin containing reinforcing fibers, a plurality of second convex parts 52 are provided on the outer surface of the bottom wall part 21, so that deformation during molding can be suppressed. When injection molding is performed using resin containing reinforcing fibers, if there are irregularities on the surface of the molded product, the resin meanders at the irregularities and the orientation of the reinforcing fibers becomes irregular. On the other hand, if the surface of the molded product is smooth, the resin flows in one direction and the reinforcing fibers are aligned in one direction. In this way, if there is a difference in structure between the front and back surfaces of the molded product, a difference occurs in the orientation of the reinforcing fibers. As a result, the resin is less likely to shrink in the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing fibers, so that a difference occurs in the amount of shrinkage between the front and back surfaces of the molded product, and the molded product is deformed. In the above embodiment, a plurality of first convex parts 51 are formed on the inner surface of the bottom wall part 21 of the lens hood part 13, and a plurality of second convex parts 52 are formed on the outer surface, so that a difference in the orientation of the reinforcing fibers is less likely to occur between the inner and outer surfaces during injection molding. This suppresses deformation of the camera bracket 4 during molding.

[0043] Since the first protrusions 51 and the second protrusions 52 have the same shape, the inner and outer surfaces of the bottom wall 21 have similar shapes, and the orientation of the reinforcing fibers on the inner and outer surfaces is unlikely to differ. This suppresses deformation of the camera bracket 4 during molding.

[0044] A flat intermediate layer 59 defined by the first imaginary line 57 and the second imaginary line 58 is formed between the multiple first convex portions 51 and the multiple second convex portions 52, improving the rigidity of the lens hood portion 13. This suppresses deformation during molding of the camera bracket 4. Also, resin can flow smoothly through the intermediate layer 59 during injection molding.

[0045] An injection port for resin during injection molding is provided at the front end or rear end of the camera bracket 4. It is preferable that the resin flows in the front-to-rear direction from the injection port. Since the first protrusions 51 and the second protrusions 52 extend in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the resin flows, the flow of the resin is disturbed at the first protrusions 51 and the second protrusions 52, and the orientation of the reinforcing fibers is dispersed.

[0046] Since the lid 25 is relatively small, deformation during injection molding is small even if the second protrusions 52 are omitted. A plurality of second protrusions 52 may be formed on the rear surface of the main body 25A of the lid 25.

[0047] Although the description of the specific embodiment is finished above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified in a wide range. For example, the working hole 26 and the lid 25 may be omitted from the camera bracket 4. In this case, the bottom wall portion 21 may be formed of one continuous member. Also, the second protrusions 52 may be arranged over the entire range of the rear surface of the bottom wall portion 21 in correspondence with the multiple first protrusions 51.

[0048] Various shapes can be applied to the multiple first protrusions 51. For example, each first protrusion 51 may be in the shape of a hemisphere, a cylinder, a square prism, a cone, a triangular pyramid, a square pyramid, or the like, and may be disposed in a dispersed or dense manner on the bottom wall portion 21. The multiple second protrusions 52 may be formed in the same or similar shape as the multiple first protrusions 51. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1: Window Panel 2: Vehicle-mounted camera unit 3: Camera body 4: Camera bracket 5: Cover 11: Base section 12: Visual space 13: Lens hood part 14: Lens hole 35: Lens 51: First protrusion 51A: 1st slope 51B: 2nd slope 52: Second convex part 52A: 3rd slope 52B: 4th slope 55: First recess 56: Second recess 57: First virtual line 58: Second virtual line 59: Middle class

Claims

1. A camera bracket made of a resin containing reinforcing fibers, A plate-shaped base portion disposed along an interior side surface of the window panel; a lens hood portion recessed from the base portion in a direction opposite to the window panel and forming a visual field space between the lens hood portion and the window panel; a lens hole formed in the base portion and communicating with the field of view space; a plurality of first protrusions are provided on an inner surface of the lens hood portion facing the visual field space; A camera bracket having a plurality of second protrusions on an outer surface of the lens hood portion opposite the inner surface.

2. the lens hood portion extends in a second direction perpendicular to a first direction in which the lens hole faces, The camera bracket according to claim 1 , wherein the first protrusions and the second protrusions extend in the second direction.

3. When viewed from the second direction, each of the first convex portions has a triangular cross section and includes a first inclined surface provided on the lens hole side and a second inclined surface provided on a side opposite to the lens hole, The camera bracket according to claim 2 , wherein the first inclined surface is shorter than the second inclined surface in the first direction.

4. When viewed from the second direction, each of the second convex portions has a triangular cross section and includes a third inclined surface provided on the lens hole side and a fourth inclined surface provided on a side opposite to the lens hole, The camera bracket according to claim 3 , wherein the fourth inclined surface is shorter than the third inclined surface in the first direction.

5. Each of the third inclined surfaces is formed parallel to the nearest second inclined surface, The camera bracket according to claim 4 , wherein each of the fourth inclined surfaces is formed parallel to the nearest first inclined surface.

6. a first recess is formed between each of two adjacent first protrusions, a second recess is formed between each of two adjacent second protrusions, The camera bracket according to claim 1 , wherein a first virtual line connecting the bottoms of the first recesses and a second virtual line connecting the bottoms of the second recesses are spaced apart from each other in a thickness direction of the lens hood portion.

7. 2. The camera bracket according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing fibers are glass fibers.

8. The camera bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the base portion is adhered to the window panel.

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