Imaging device and refrigerator

Abstract

To provide an imaging device that can properly implement measures against static electricity. [Solution] The imaging device 40 comprises a metal lens holder 42 on which a light-receiving window is provided, a partition plate 43 made of insulating material facing the light-receiving window and having an opening 44, an insulator 45, an image sensor 47, and an image sensor-side insulator 47b of the image sensor 47. The partition plate 43 has an optical axis surface 43a at one end attached to the lens holder 42 and extending along the axial direction of the light-receiving window, a vertical surface 43b that supports the insulator 45 and is perpendicular to the optical axis surface 43a, and a corner portion 43c connecting the optical axis surface 43a and the vertical surface 43b. The end of the image sensor 47 is located inside the corner portion 43c in the creepage direction of the image sensor 47, and has a lightning protection portion 51 located in the region between the image sensor-side insulator 47b and the corner portion 43c in the creepage direction of the image sensor 47, and between the image sensor-side insulator 47b and the vertical surface 43b in the optical axis direction of the light-receiving window 41.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an imaging device and a refrigerator.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes "an electronic device including an exterior member formed of an insulating material, an operation button that is pushable with respect to the exterior member and formed of an insulating material, a switch that outputs a signal when the operation button is pushed, a substrate on which the switch is mounted, and an element having an element terminal mounted on the substrate and connected to GND, wherein the element is arranged such that the element terminal is higher than the height of the switch terminal in the vicinity of the switch terminal of the switch".

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] According to Patent Document 1, by bringing the element terminal closer than the switch terminal, the element terminal functions like a lightning rod to prevent static electricity from being applied to the switch terminal (paragraphs 0025 to 0029, FIG. 3). Patent Document 1 is a document regarding an operation button, and as an intrusion path of static electricity, it guards against a plurality of paths from the end of the flange portion of the operation button, and provides a plurality of element terminals.

[0005] However, when considering an imaging device, such as a camera lens, there can be two or more different paths through which static electricity can enter, such as not only the edge surface of the light-receiving window, but also the corners of the partition plate that supports the light-receiving window to the lens holder. If a corresponding lightning rod function were to be provided for each of these, the lightning rod would occupy a considerable area of ​​the substrate, which is undesirable. Therefore, when considering a camera lens, there is room for further improvement in static electricity countermeasures. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The imaging device according to this disclosure comprises a metal lens holder having a light-receiving window on one side; a partition plate made of insulating material facing the light-receiving window and having an opening; an insulator covering the opening; an image sensor disposed on the opposite side of the lens holder across the opening; and an image sensor-side insulator substantially covering the surface of the image sensor facing the opening. The partition plate has an optical axis plane with one end attached to the lens holder and extending along the axial direction of the light-receiving window; a vertical plane perpendicular to the optical axis plane that supports the insulator; and a corner connecting the optical axis plane and the vertical plane. The end of the image sensor is located inward from the corner in the creepage direction of the image sensor, and has a lightning protection portion disposed in the region between the image sensor-side insulator and the corner in the creepage direction of the image sensor, and between the image sensor-side insulator and the vertical plane in the optical axis direction of the light-receiving window. Other embodiments of the present invention will be described in the embodiments described below. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the electrostatic discharge path of an imaging device in a comparative example. [Figure 2] This figure shows a schematic example of the cross-sectional configuration of the imaging device shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] This figure shows the measures to prevent semiconductor damage due to static electricity according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4A]This figure shows an example of the arrangement of a lightning rod having a lightning protection section according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4B] This figure shows an example of a side cross-section of a lightning rod having a lightning protection section according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5A] This diagram shows the configuration of the imaging device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 5B] This figure shows another configuration of the imaging device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 6] This is a front view of a refrigerator equipped with a camera unit. [Figure 7A] This is a front view of the refrigerator's camera unit. [Figure 7B] This is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in Figure 7A. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of applying an imaging device to a camera unit. [Figure 9] This figure shows a side view of the image sensor according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The imaging device of this embodiment is suitably applied to storage facilities and cabinets, including refrigerators. More specifically, the present invention relates to an imaging device for capturing images inside a storage facility, which is placed on top of a box-shaped structure that constitutes a storage facility or cabinet, and captures images of the interior when the door is opened for use in inventory management and other purposes. <First Embodiment> Before describing the first embodiment, a comparative example will be described. Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the electrostatic discharge path of the comparative imaging device 400. That is, first the overview of the comparative imaging device 400 and the electrostatic discharge path will be described.

[0009] The imaging device 400 includes a light-receiving window 41 on one side, a metal lens holder 42 that holds the lens, an insulating partition plate 43 facing the light-receiving window 41 and having a circular opening 44, an insulator 45 that covers the circular opening 44, and an image sensor 47 positioned on the opposite side of the lens holder 42 across the opening 44. The image sensor 47 includes a sensor section 47a and an image sensor-side insulator 47b that substantially covers the surface of the image sensor 47 facing the opening 44. The image sensor-side insulator 47b is a glass plate positioned to protect the semiconductor of the sensor section 47a from scratches, dust, oil, cleaning agents, etc.

[0010] The insulator 45 functions as an IR cut filter. The IR cut filter consists of a transparent glass substrate and a coating film formed on one surface of the glass substrate. The coating film is a film that constitutes the IR filter and has the function of allowing visible light to pass through but blocking unwanted infrared rays below a predetermined frequency. The insulator 45 is mounted with the glass substrate facing downwards in the figure and the coating film facing upwards. The insulator 45 may be rectangular in view along the optical axis, or it may be circular as described in the second embodiment.

[0011] To elaborate, in Figure 1, the lens holder 42 is cylindrical, and its lower end is a reduced-diameter section with a smaller diameter than the middle section of the lens holder 42. A partition plate 43 having a circular opening 44 is fitted into this reduced-diameter section. In this embodiment, the partition plate 43 is also cylindrical (annular). That is, in this embodiment, the partition plate 43 is configured to have an opening 44 at the bottom of a bottomed cylindrical member. Incidentally, in Figure 1, the front side of the partition plate 43 is omitted from the description, and the drawing is made so that the opening 44 and the insulator 45 can be seen when the partition plate 43 is fitted. Note that the partition plate 43 is not limited to an annular member, for example, the partition plate 43 may be composed of a pair of L-shaped arm members, but in Figure 3 and other figures described later, the front side of an annular partition plate 43 is omitted from the drawing, similar to Figure 1. In any case, the partition plate 43 can serve as a discharge path for static electricity.

[0012] Based on their previous experience, the inventors recognize that, as the path for static electricity, there are two main routes: Route A, which discharges through the outer peripheral surface of the lens holder 42, the contact surface between the insulator 45 and the partition plate 43, and then enters the sensor unit 47a through the image sensor side insulator 47b; and Route B, which discharges through the outer peripheral surface of the lens holder 42 and the outer peripheral surface of the partition plate 43, and then enters the sensor unit 47a through the image sensor side insulator 47b. Therefore, they decided to protect the sensor unit 47a from discharge caused by static electricity in these Route A and Route B.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a cross-section of the imaging device 400 of the comparative example in FIG. 1. The lens holder 42 is supported by a lens base 42h. In the lens holder 42, a relatively large plano-convex lens 42a and a relatively small plano-convex lens 42b are arranged, and light is incident on the image sensor 47 through the lenses 42a and 42b. Note that in FIG. 2, the image sensor 47 is depicted as having a smaller width than the image sensor 47 in FIG. 1, etc., and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing countermeasures against semiconductor destruction by static electricity according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, countermeasures against semiconductor destruction by discharge from the static electricity intrusion paths (Route A and Route B) shown in the comparative example of FIG. 1 will be explained. That is, FIGS. 1 and 3 have a substantially similar configuration, but FIG. 3 pertains to the first embodiment, and in the imaging device 40 in FIG. 3, countermeasures against destruction of the image sensor 47, which is a semiconductor, are implemented.

[0015] Before explaining specific examples of the countermeasures against destruction, the partition plate 43 will be explained in more detail. The partition plate 43 includes an optical axis surface 43a whose one end is attached to the lens holder 42 and extends along the axial direction of the light receiving window 41, a vertical surface 43b that is perpendicular to the optical axis surface supporting the insulator, and a corner portion 43c connecting the optical axis surface 43a and the vertical surface 43b. The end of the image sensor 47 is positioned inside the corner portion 43c in the surface direction along the image sensor.

[0016] The imaging device 40 includes an insulating material 49 provided around an opening 44 that ensures insulation between the partition plate 43 and the insulator 45. Specifically, the insulating material 49 is an adhesive that bonds the partition plate 43 and the insulator 45. Thereby, the creeping discharge gap on the contact surface between the partition plate 43 and the insulator 45 can be blocked, and the withstand voltage in the creeping discharge direction can be improved.

[0017] The imaging device 40 disposes a lightning rod 50 near the image sensor 47. The lightning rod 50 has a lightning protection part 51 at its head. The lightning protection part 51 is provided in a lightning protection part region 53 indicated by a broken line in the figure. The lightning protection part region 53 is arranged in the region between the image sensor side insulator 47b and the corner part 43c in the creeping discharge direction of the image sensor 47, and between the image sensor side insulator 47b and the vertical surface 43b in the optical axis direction of the light receiving window 41. Thereby, regarding both the B route that becomes the lightning strike route from the outer peripheral surface of the partition plate 43 and the A route that becomes the lightning strike route from the edge of the opening 44, the lightning protection part 51 can be positioned closer to the corner of the image sensor side insulator 47b that should be prevented from being the lightning strike target. Therefore, it is possible to prevent discharge to the image sensor side insulator 47b.

[0018] FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an arrangement example of the lightning rod 50 having the lightning protection part 51 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a side cross-sectional example of the lightning rod 50 having the lightning protection part 51 according to the first embodiment.

[0019] FIG. 4A is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the image sensor 47 and the lightning rod 50. There is one lightning rod 50 near the image sensor 47. The lightning rod 50 is arranged near the substrate 55. As the lightning rod 50, chip components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc.) are used, and two wiring terminals of the chip component function as the lightning protection part 51.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 4B, the lightning protection part 51 of the chip component which is the lightning rod 50 is soldered to the conductive pad 56 of the substrate 55 with solder 52. The conductive pad 56 is connected to GND (ground).

[0021] In this embodiment, a key feature is that there is only one (single) lightning rod 50 to protect the image sensor 47 from discharges via both route A and route B. In Figure 3, since the lens holder 42 is cylindrical and made of metal, even if static electricity enters from different positions on the circumference, it can be discharged to the location of the lightning rod 50 via the cylindrical creepage surface of the lens holder 42. This has been demonstrated in the inventors' discharge verification experiments.

[0022] On the other hand, in the case of Patent Document 1, as shown in Figure 3(b) of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to arrange four elements having lightning protection parts around the flange portion (see paragraph 0027 of Patent Document 1). This is because the operating button into which static electricity enters is made of an insulating material, and the static electricity held by a person forms multiple discharge paths depending on the contact position of the operating button, so it cannot be protected by a single lightning rod. If a corresponding lightning rod function is to be provided for each of these, the lightning rod will occupy a considerable area of ​​the substrate, which is undesirable. In contrast, in this embodiment, a single lightning rod 50 can provide protection, so the lightning rod does not occupy a considerable area of ​​the substrate.

[0023] As described above, the imaging device 40 of this embodiment comprises a metal lens holder 42 with a light-receiving window 41 on one side, a partition plate 43 made of insulating material facing the light-receiving window 41 and having an opening 44, an insulator 45 covering the opening 44, an image sensor 47 positioned on the opposite side of the lens holder 42 across the opening 44, and an image sensor-side insulator 47b that substantially covers the surface of the image sensor 47 facing the opening 44. As described above, the partition plate 43 comprises an optical axis surface 43a with one end attached to the lens holder 42 and extending along the axial direction of the light-receiving window 41, a vertical surface 43b that supports the insulator 45 and is perpendicular to the optical axis surface 43a, and a corner portion 43c connecting the optical axis surface 43a and the vertical surface 43b.

[0024] Furthermore, the end of the image sensor 47 is located inside the corner 43c in the creepage direction of the image sensor 47, and the lightning protection portion 51 is positioned in the region between the image sensor-side insulator 47b and the corner 43c in the creepage direction of the image sensor 47, and between the image sensor-side insulator 47b and the vertical surface 43b in the optical axis direction of the light receiving window 41.

[0025] <Second Embodiment> Figure 5A shows the configuration of the imaging device 40A according to the second embodiment. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the configuration and installation method of the insulator 45. The insulator 45 is enlarged along the inner circumference of the optical axis plane 43a of the partition plate 43, and the insulator 45 is circular in shape.

[0026] The imaging device 40A is equipped with an insulating material 49 to ensure insulation between the partition plate 43 and the insulator 45. Specifically, the insulating material 49 is an adhesive that bonds the partition plate 43 and the insulator 45. This seals the gap in the optical axis direction at the contact surface between the partition plate 43 and the insulator 45, thereby improving the withstand voltage in the optical axis direction.

[0027] Figure 5B shows another configuration of the imaging device 40B according to the second embodiment. The imaging device 40A includes an insulating material 49 that ensures insulation between the partition plate 43 and the insulator 45. Specifically, the insulating material 49 is an adhesive that bonds the partition plate 43 and the insulator 45. The adhesive is inserted between the lower part of the insulator 45 and the inner surface of the vertical surface 43b of the partition plate 43.

[0028] The insulator 45 is circular and approximately concentric with the opening 44 located on the central side of the partition plate 43. The insulation distance is approximately equal from any direction within the plane of the partition plate. This reduces discharge due to the discharge path A shown in Figure 1.

[0029] <Examples of application> An example of applying the imaging device 40 described above to a camera unit for a refrigerator will be described. Figure 6 is a front view of a refrigerator with a camera unit. Figure 7A is a front view of the camera unit of the refrigerator. Figure 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in Figure 7A.

[0030] Figure 6 is a front view of a refrigerator 100 according to an embodiment. The refrigerator 100 (storage unit) shown in Figure 1 is a device for storing food and other items at low temperatures, and includes a housing 1, various doors such as refrigerator doors 211 and 212, and a camera unit 3. The housing 1 has a structure in which an insulating material such as vacuum insulation material or foamed urethane (not shown) is filled between a steel plate outer box 11 and a resin inner box. The housing 1 is also provided with multiple storage compartments. In the example in Figure 1, the multiple storage compartments are, from top to bottom, a refrigerator compartment 21, ice-making compartments 22 and an upper freezer compartment 23 arranged on the left and right, a lower freezer compartment 24, and a vegetable compartment 25.

[0031] Furthermore, the refrigerator 100 is equipped with multiple doors corresponding to each storage compartment, including refrigerator compartment doors 211 and 212, an ice maker door 221, an upper freezer compartment door 231, a lower freezer compartment door 241, and a vegetable compartment door 251. The refrigerator compartment doors 211 and 212 are a pair of left and right French-style doors that form the refrigerator compartment 21 by closing the opening on the front side of the housing 1. The left refrigerator compartment door 211 is rotatable around the axis of the hinge at the left end. The same applies to the right refrigerator compartment door 212.

[0032] The remaining doors—the ice maker door 221, the upper freezer door 231, the lower freezer door 241, and the vegetable compartment door 251—are all retractable doors. These retractable doors are positioned lower than the refrigerator doors 211 and 212. In other words, the French-style refrigerator doors 211 and 212 are positioned higher than the multiple retractable doors (the refrigerator doors 211 and 212 are closer to the camera unit 3 and camera LED 31f than the retractable doors).

[0033] A vegetable compartment container 252 (see Figure 8B) is installed behind the vegetable compartment door 251 (at the back). The vegetable compartment door 251 and the vegetable compartment container 252 are designed to be pulled out together as a single unit (the same applies to other pull-out doors). The "storage compartment" corresponding to a pull-out door is defined as the internal space of the container that is pulled out together with that pull-out door. For example, vegetable compartment 25 is the internal space of the vegetable compartment container 252 (see Figure 8B) that is pulled out together with the vegetable compartment door 251.

[0034] The refrigerator 100, although not shown in the diagram, is equipped with a compressor, a heat sink (condenser), a capillary tube (throttling mechanism), and a cooler (evaporator). The refrigerant circulates sequentially through the compressor, heat sink, capillary tube, and cooler, and the air in each storage compartment is cooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant flowing through the cooler. The camera unit 3 shown in Figure 1 is installed on the upper side of the housing 1 and is used to photograph the storage compartment when a predetermined door is opened.

[0035] As shown in Figure 7A, the camera unit 3 comprises a main body 31 and a support 32. The main body 31 has the function of photographing the storage compartment, etc., when a predetermined door of the refrigerator 100 is opened. The support 32 supports the main body 31 and is installed on the upper surface of the housing 1.

[0036] As shown in Figure 7B, a lens 31a is provided near the front end of the main body 31. The lens 31a is an optical element that refracts light and focuses it onto the image sensor 31d. For example, a fisheye lens can be used as such a lens 31a. The lens 31a is positioned to face downwards so that the storage compartment can be photographed when a predetermined door of the refrigerator 100 is opened. The camera unit 3 is then configured to photograph downwards. Note that in addition to the case where the optical axis of the lens 31a is in the vertical direction, the case where the optical axis is tilted at a predetermined angle from the vertical direction is also included in the description of "photographing downwards."

[0037] The lens 31a is positioned in front of the front end of the housing 1. More preferably, the lens 31a is positioned even further in front of the front surface of the closed refrigerator compartment doors 211 and 212 (see Figure 6). This makes it easier for the refrigerator compartment 21 (see Figure 6) to come into the field of view of the lens 31a when, for example, the refrigerator compartment doors 211 and 212 are opened. Also, it makes it easier for the vegetable compartment 25 (see Figure 6) to come into the field of view of the lens 31a when, for example, the vegetable compartment door 251 is pulled out.

[0038] The refrigerator compartment 21 is equipped with multiple shelves that divide it into predetermined sections. The inner panel of the left refrigerator compartment door 211 is equipped with multiple door pockets for storing food and other items (the same applies to the right refrigerator compartment door 212). When, for example, the left and right refrigerator compartment doors 211 and 212 are opened, the food and other items in the refrigerator compartment 21 and the door pockets are brought into the field of view of the lens 31a of the camera unit 3 from an overhead perspective.

[0039] Furthermore, when manually photographing the storage compartment using the camera unit 3, a shutter button is provided on each of the left and right refrigerator doors 211 and 212 for the user to press. On the left refrigerator door 211, the shutter button is located on the lower part of the side opposite the hinge axis of the refrigerator door 211. Similarly, the right refrigerator door 212 also has a shutter button in the same position.

[0040] Figure 7A is a front view of the camera unit 3 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 7A, the main body 31 of the camera unit 3 is installed on the upper side of the support 32. In the left-right direction, the main body 31 is installed near the center of the support 32.

[0041] Figure 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in Figure 6A. The main body 31 of the camera unit 3 includes, in addition to the lens 31a, case 31b, and cover 31c mentioned above, an image sensor 31d, an LED substrate 31e, a camera LED 31f, a buzzer 31g, and a camera control substrate 31h. The image sensor 31d is an element that converts light incident through the lens 31a into photoelectric data and generates captured image data. For example, a CCD sensor (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS sensor (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) can be used as such an image sensor 31d.

[0042] The LED board 31e is a board on which the camera LED 31f and buzzer 31g are installed. The camera LED 31f is a light source that lights up when the camera unit 3 takes a picture. This ensures that, for example, when the vegetable compartment door 251 (see Figure 6) is opened, the vegetable compartment 25 (see Figure 1) is photographed with appropriate brightness. The buzzer 31g emits a predetermined sound when the camera unit 3 takes a picture. The camera control board 31h is a board on which the camera microcontroller 311h is mounted and is installed at the rear of the case 31b.

[0043] Figure 8 shows an example in which the imaging device 40 is applied to the camera unit 3. The aforementioned lens 31a corresponds to the lens holder 42, and the aforementioned image sensor 31d corresponds to the image sensor 47. A lightning rod 50 is positioned near the image sensor 47.

[0044] In other words, the refrigerator comprises a storage compartment with an opening at the front, a revolving door that opens and closes the opening and has a door storage compartment, and an imaging device 40 located outside the storage compartment.

[0045] Figure 9 is a side view of the image sensor according to this embodiment. As described above, the image sensor 47 comprises a sensor portion 47a and an image sensor side insulator 47b that substantially covers the surface of the image sensor 47 facing the opening 44. The sensor portion 47a and the image sensor side insulator 47b are bonded together with adhesive 57, and the lower part of the sensor portion 47a has a plurality of solder portions 52 which are joined to the substrate 55.

[0046] In this embodiment, a case in which a fisheye lens is used as the lens 31a of the camera unit 3 (see Figure 7) has been described, but the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, a general-purpose lens other than a fisheye lens may be used as the lens 31a of the camera unit 3.

[0047] Furthermore, the refrigerator 100 etc. described in each embodiment are merely examples, and the embodiments can be applied to other types of refrigerators. For example, the embodiments can be applied to refrigerators equipped with a single-opening refrigerator door (not shown) or portable refrigerators (not shown).

[0048] Furthermore, the "storage facilities" to which each embodiment can be applied are not limited to refrigerators. In this case, the casing (box) of the "storage facility" may have a configuration without a particular distinction between an outer box and an inner box. Also, each embodiment can be applied to freezers and storage rooms as "storage facilities." It can also be applied to storage rooms and shelves with temperature and humidity control functions, such as warming rooms and drying rooms, as well as those without such functions. In addition, the installation location of the imaging device is not limited to being placed on top of the box. Furthermore, it can also be applied to equipment other than storage rooms and storage rooms (electronic devices such as those in Patent Document 1).

[0049] Furthermore, each embodiment is described in detail to clearly illustrate the present invention and is not necessarily limited to having all the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace some of the configurations in the embodiments with other configurations. Furthermore, the mechanisms and configurations described above are those deemed necessary for explanatory purposes and do not necessarily represent all of the mechanisms and configurations shown in the actual product. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1 cabinet 3. Camera Unit (Shooting Section) 11 Outer box 21. Refrigerated Rooms (Storage Rooms, First Storage Room) 22 Ice-making room (storage room, second storage room) 23. Upper freezer compartment (storage room, second storage room) 24. Lower freezer compartment (storage room, second storage room) 25. Vegetable compartment (storage room, second storage room) 31 Main body 31a lens 31b Case 31c cover 31d Image Sensor 31e LED board 31f Camera LED 31g buzzer 31h Camera control board 32 Support part 40 Imaging device 41 Light-receiving window 42 Lens holder (metal part) 42a, 42b lenses 42h lens base 43 Partition Plate 43a Optical axis plane 43b Vertical plane 43c Corner 44 openings 45 Insulator 47 Image Sensor 47a Sensor section 47b Image sensor side insulator 49 Insulating material 50 Lightning Rod 51 Lightning protection part 52 Soldering section 53 Lightning protection area 55 circuit boards 56 Conductive pads 57 Adhesives 211,212 Refrigerator door 221 Ice maker door 231 Upper freezer door 241 Lower freezer door 251 Vegetable compartment door 100 Refrigerator (storage)

Claims

1. A metal lens holder with a light-receiving window on one side, A partition plate made of insulating material, facing the light-receiving window and having an opening, An insulator covering the aforementioned opening, An image sensor is positioned on the opposite side of the lens holder, with the aforementioned opening in between. The image sensor comprises an image sensor-side insulator that substantially covers the surface of the image sensor facing the opening, The partition plate comprises an optical axis plane having one end attached to the lens holder and extending along the axial direction of the light-receiving window, a vertical plane perpendicular to the optical axis plane that supports the insulator, and a corner connecting the optical axis plane and the vertical plane. The end of the image sensor is located inward from the corner in the creepage direction of the image sensor. An imaging device having a lightning protection unit disposed in the region between the image sensor-side insulator and the corner portion in the creepage direction of the image sensor, and between the image sensor-side insulator and the vertical surface in the optical axis direction of the light-receiving window.

2. The imaging device includes an insulating material provided around the opening to ensure insulation between the partition plate and the insulator. The imaging apparatus according to feature 1.

3. The insulating material is an adhesive used to bond the partition plate and the insulator. The imaging device according to feature 2.

4. The insulator is circular in shape and is approximately concentric with the opening (located on the central side of the partition plate). The imaging device according to feature 2.

5. A storage room with an opening at the front, A revolving door that opens and closes the opening and has a door storage compartment, A refrigerator comprising an imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, disposed outside the storage chamber.

Images