Automotive front camera system, and automobile

Abstract

The vehicle front camera device (2) comprises a camera (3) and an optical device (4) positioned within the field of view of the camera (3). The optical device (4) comprises a non-refracting portion (4a) designed to not change the propagation direction of light passing through it, and a refracting portion (4b) designed to change the propagation direction of light passing through it, thereby increasing the vertical angle of the propagation direction with respect to the direction of the optical axis (11) of the camera (3) facing the image sensor of the camera (3). The non-refracting portion (4a) covers a first portion of the vertical field of view of the camera (3), and the refracting portion (4b) covers a second portion of the vertical field of view adjacent to the first portion of the vertical field of view.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a front camera device mounted on an automobile equipped with a camera, and an automobile equipped with such a front camera device.

Background Art

[0002] A camera mounted on the windshield of an automobile to photograph the external environment of the automobile, specifically a front camera, can be used for various driver assistance functions or other functions for partial or overall automatic driving of the automobile. Such a front camera is designed, for example, as a rectilinear (spherical aberration correction) camera. However, the rectilinear camera has one drawback that its visual field, particularly the vertical visual field, is quite limited. Therefore, a certain area near the road surface in front of the automobile is not captured. The size of this dead zone varies depending on the mounting height of the camera from the road surface. In the case of a passenger car with a relatively low mounting height, the dead zone may be within an acceptable range for many applications. In the case of other types of vehicles such as buses and trucks with a higher mounting position, since the dead zone increases, the reliability of related driver assistance functions and vehicle guidance functions that utilize the camera images generated by this camera may decrease.

[0003] One way to increase the vertical visual field would be to use a non-rectilinear camera such as a fisheye camera instead of a rectilinear camera. However, one drawback of a fisheye camera and other non-rectilinear cameras is the large amount of distortion due to the special design of such cameras. For this reason, on the one hand, it is necessary to adjust computer algorithms using the camera. On the other hand, when displaying the camera image to the user of the vehicle, that is, the driver, further effort is required to obtain a non-distorted image.

[0004] U.S. Patent No. 11,391,820B2 describes a technique for improving or expanding the field of view of vehicle sensors configured to operate in autonomous driving mode. This technique involves the use of one or more mirrors to reflect or redirect beams emitted from on-board sensors. Such beams would otherwise be wasted, for example, because they are obstructed by parts of the vehicle or emitted laterally at a high pitch angle. Mirrors are also used to redirect incident beams from the external sensor environment toward one or more on-board sensors. However, mirrors can obstruct the sensor's field of view. [Overview of the project]

[0005] The objective of the present invention is to provide the possibility of reducing the blind spot area in front of a vehicle by expanding the vertical field of view of a front camera device for automobiles.

[0006] This objective is achieved by the subject matter of each independent claim. Further examples and preferred embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0007] The present invention is based on the concept of arranging an optical device within the camera's field of view. The optical device comprises a non-refracting section that does not change the propagation direction of light passing through the optical elements, and a refracting section that changes the propagation direction. The non-refracting section and the refracting section are arranged to cover different adjacent portions of the camera's vertical field of view.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a front camera device for mounting on an automobile is provided. The front camera device comprises a camera and an optical device positioned within the camera's field of view, in particular an optical device positioned entirely within the camera's field of view. The optical device includes a non-refracting portion, in particular a non-optical refracting portion, which is designed to not change the direction of propagation of light passing through the non-refracting portion. The optical device also includes a refractoring portion, in particular an optical refracting portion, which is designed and positioned relative to the camera to change the direction of propagation of light passing through the refractoring portion. When the direction of propagation of passing light changes, the vertical angle of the propagation direction with respect to the direction of the camera's optical axis toward the camera's image sensor increases. The optical device is positioned relative to the camera such that the non-refracting portion of the optical device covers a first portion of the camera's vertical field of view, and the refractoring portion of the optical device covers a second portion of the vertical field of view. The second portion is adjacent to the first portion.

[0009] Since the optical device is positioned within the camera's field of view, especially completely within the camera's field of view, when the camera is mounted on a vehicle, all light entering the camera, particularly the camera's lens unit, from the surrounding environment, especially the external environment, must inevitably pass through the optical device. Specifically, it must pass through either the refractive or non-refracting portion.

[0010] The camera's field of view can be defined, for example, as a combination of the vertical field of view and the corresponding horizontal field of view. The vertical field of view is defined, for example, as an angular range with respect to the optical axis of the camera and the optical center of the camera in a plane containing a given vertical direction. When the camera device is mounted on a vehicle, the vertical direction corresponds to the direction of the vehicle's height axis. In other words, the vertical direction corresponds to the direction that is essentially perpendicular to the road surface on which the vehicle is located. When the front camera device is not mounted on the vehicle, or has not yet been mounted, the vertical direction corresponds to the intended vertical direction according to the intended mounting position and orientation of the front camera device, in particular the camera, relative to the vehicle. The vertical field of view is defined similarly. In particular, the camera has a predetermined mounting orientation relative to the vehicle, in particular with respect to the vehicle's height axis. As a result, the placement of the optical device relative to the camera can be derived from the mounting orientation. Thus, when the front camera device is mounted in the intended manner, in particular when the camera is mounted on the vehicle in a predetermined mounting orientation, the above-described features of the front camera device according to the present invention are realized.

[0011] Hereafter, the terms "refracted" and "non-refracted" refer to a change or non-change in the direction of light propagation through each part of the optical device. Specifically, the non-refracted portion does not change the direction of light propagation in the vertical plane, and in the corresponding horizontal plane perpendicular to the vertical plane, which includes the optical axis of the camera. The refracted portion changes the direction of propagation at least in the vertical plane. However, in some embodiments, the direction of propagation may be further changed in the horizontal plane by the refracted portion.

[0012] Therefore, the vertical angle corresponds to the angle that the direction of light propagation has with respect to the optical axis in the vertical plane. The vertical angle increases due to the refraction. Here, the direction of the optical axis mentioned above is directed toward the camera's image sensor. The propagation direction is also defined as being toward the image sensor rather than away from it. Note that the vertical angle is defined with a sign. Specifically, the absolute value of the vertical angle does not necessarily have to increase due to the refraction; it may decrease depending on the propagation direction and arrangement. The vertical angle is defined to be 0° when the propagation direction is parallel to the optical axis. Specifically, the vertical angle is in the range of [-90°, 90°] before passing through the refraction.

[0013] Depending on the actual embodiment of the optical device, the refractive and non-refracting sections may be integrally configured, or they may be arranged adjacent to each other so as to cover the first and second portions of the vertical field of view, respectively. The non-refracting section covers the first portion of the vertical field of view. As a result, light propagating within the first portion of the vertical field of view after passing through the optical device necessarily passes through the non-refracting section. On the other hand, the refractive section covers the second portion of the vertical field of view. Therefore, light incident on the camera, particularly the lens unit of the camera, in the second portion of its vertical field of view necessarily passes through the refractive section before reaching it.

[0014] Changes in propagation direction due to refraction can occur due to diffraction, refraction, or a combination of both.

[0015] According to the front camera device of the present invention, the vertical field of view of the front camera device is increased compared to the vertical field of view of a camera without an optical device. By combining a refractive and non-refracting section, a portion of the image captured by the camera or image sensor, respectively, is distortion-free or essentially distortion-free because the corresponding light passed through the non-refracting section. The other portion of the image that passed through the refractive section is distorted, for example, like a fisheye lens. However, since the vertical field of view is enlarged or increased, this amount of distortion may be acceptable. In particular, because a large portion of the image is distortion-free, the use of the optical device described above in the present invention is advantageous compared to the use of a conventional fisheye lens.

[0016] In particular, when the front camera device is mounted on a vehicle, the second portion of the vertical field of view is located below the first portion of the vertical field of view, in the sense that the entire field of view expands toward the road surface compared to the first portion of the vertical field of view. In other words, when mounted on an automobile, the refractive portion is positioned below the non-refracting portion. To put it another way, in this example, the refractive portion is positioned closer to the road surface.

[0017] According to several embodiments of the front camera device, the optical device is implemented as a metalens, where the refractive portion corresponds to a part of the metalens having a structured surface, particularly a microstructured surface.

[0018] The non-refracting portion corresponds to the surface of a metalens designed to maintain the direction of light propagation as it passes through the non-refracting portion, such as an unstructured surface.

[0019] In embodiments where the optical device is implemented as a metalens, a preferred design for the refractive element may be that described for the metalens presented in the publication "Single-element Diffraction-limited Fisheye Metalens" by MY Shalagienov et al., Nano Letters 2020, 20, 10, 7429.

[0020] Therefore, the refractive portion of the optical device can be designed with the structure described for the metalens. On the other hand, the non-refracting portion can be designed as a flat material piece without a surface structure, or as a flat material piece with a non-refracting surface structure. Thus, the metalens can increase the vertical field of view, and especially the horizontal field of view, in the region corresponding to the refractive portion. Meanwhile, light passing through the non-refracting portion remains unaffected. The advantage of using such a hybrid metalens design is that the metalens can be manufactured to be very flat, thus reducing the space required for the optical device. Furthermore, the concept of the surface structure of the metalens used in the refractive portion allows for flexible adjustment of the propagation direction to any desired degree.

[0021] According to several embodiments, the non-refracting portion corresponds to a flat plate made of an optically transparent material, particularly glass or plastic material, and especially an unstructured flat plate.

[0022] According to several embodiments, the refractive section comprises a row of prisms, particularly a row of microprisms.

[0023] In particular, the prisms in the row of prisms are formed on the first side of the refractive portion, and the refractive portion has a plane on the second side opposite to the first side.

[0024] The refractive portion may, for example, be essentially flat. The first side of the refractive portion is structured, in particular microstructured, to form a row of prisms, especially microprisms. While the structure may be denoted as microstructured and the prisms as microprisms, the minimum physical dimensions, for example, the side length of the base surface of the prism, can be in the range of a few micrometers to a few millimeters, for example, 1 μm to 5 mm.

[0025] The prism is formed, in particular, as a non-truncated prism, specifically as a right-angle prism, for example as a triangular right-angle prism. In other words, each prism has, for example, two matching base surfaces, which are parallel to each other and have a polygonal, specifically triangular shape or contour. Here, the edges of the polygon or triangle can be referred to as triangular or polygonal even if they are rounded. Such rounding can avoid the edge effect due to light scattering and / or can occur due to manufacturing constraints. Furthermore, each prism has a plurality of joining surfaces. These joining surfaces are, in particular, rectangular joining surfaces that connect the corresponding edges of the base surfaces. The number of joining surfaces is equal to the number of edges of the base surface. The joining surfaces are, in particular, perpendicular to the base surface. The longitudinal direction of the prism can be defined as the normal direction to the base surface. The normal direction is parallel to the joining surfaces.

[0026] In particular, the orientation of the prisms is the same for all of the prisms. In other words, the longitudinal directions of all of the prisms in a row of prisms are parallel to each other. The longitudinal direction of the prism is, in particular, parallel to the plane on the second side of the refraction part. For example, the optical device can include a substrate designed as a plate having two opposing planes. One of the planes forms the second side of the optical element, and the prism is arranged on the other side of the substrate. The non-refraction part corresponds, for example, to the plate of the substrate.

[0027] The prism and the optical element are, in particular, oriented such that the optical axis is parallel to the base surface of the prism with respect to the lens unit of the camera and the optical axis, respectively.

[0028] The plurality of prisms includes three or more prisms. The total number of prisms can be, for example, in the range of 10 to 100,000 or several hundred thousand. For example, the number of prisms can be 50 to 100,000 prisms, or 50 to 10,000 prisms. The actual number of prisms varies depending on the actual implementation, the field of view of the camera, the available assembly space, etc.

[0029] For example, all prisms in a row of prisms may be identical and may form a one-dimensional row on the first side of the optical device. Alternatively, the prisms may have different sizes, but the aspect ratio of each edge of their base planes may be the same. In other words, the base planes of all prisms may be linearly enlarged or reduced to match.

[0030] In particular, multiple prisms can be arranged in a periodic manner. In other words, the first side has a periodic structure that forms multiple prisms or a row of prisms.

[0031] In particular, the bent portion is essentially flat. That is, the width and length of the bend are significantly larger than the thickness of the bend. The thickness is defined in the direction perpendicular to the second side plane. Here, significantly larger can be understood as both the length and width being at least 10 times, and especially at least 100 times, the thickness.

[0032] In particular, the non-bent sections, as well as the bent sections, especially the rows of prisms, and the substrate (where applicable), are transparent to visible light, i.e., light with wavelengths of 380 nm to 750 nm.

[0033] The non-flexible and bent sections, particularly the rows of prisms, and the substrate (if applicable) may be transparent to specific ranges of infrared light, such as infrared or near-infrared light. In the latter case, the front camera device can be used, for example, for corresponding infrared imaging applications.

[0034] The prism and / or substrate may be made of, or derived from, a plastic material, particularly a transparent plastic material, such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polydimethylglutarimid (PMGI), or polycarbonate (PC). In other embodiments, the prism and / or substrate may be made from glass.

[0035] The optical device may be connected to a camera or lens unit, for example, directly or indirectly, i.e., via further components of the camera. For example, the optical device may be part of the camera or lens unit, or it may be mounted, for example, in the lens housing of the lens unit. However, in other embodiments, the optical device is provided separately from the camera and lens unit. The optical device may be positioned between the lens unit and the windshield. Specifically, the first side of the refractive portion faces the lens unit, and the second side of the refractive portion faces the windshield, particularly the inner surface of the windshield.

[0036] Using rows of prisms, particularly rows of microprisms, in the curved sections is highly beneficial. This is because such rows of prisms do not require large assembly space and can be manufactured to be lightweight, making assembly and mounting of the front camera device to the vehicle easier. Furthermore, their lightweight nature makes it easier to stably hold the optical device relative to the camera.

[0037] According to several embodiments, the refractive section comprises two or more sub-sections that cover each adjacent vertical segment of the second portion of the vertical field of view. In particular, for any propagation direction of incident light, each sub-section is designed to increase the vertical angle that the propagation direction has with respect to the direction of the optical axis by a respective amount of angular change.

[0038] In particular, the amount of angular change differs for each sub-part. For example, if the optical device is realized as a metalens, different sub-parts may have different surface parts of different structures. If the optical device is realized such that the bending section comprises a row of prisms, different sub-parts correspond to different rows of prisms. The above explanation is carried over to each individual row of prisms. However, the angles within the polygons or triangles of the base surface of each prism may differ for different rows. This results in different amounts of angular change.

[0039] In other embodiments, each sub-section may comprise a single prism or consist of a single prism. Thus, the bent section consists of a single row of prisms formed by the single prisms comprising the sub-sections.

[0040] In particular, a single prism composed of different sub-sections can produce different amounts of angular change. This can be achieved, for example, by using a prism with a right triangle as its base plane, but with different angles included in each hypotenuse relative to the plane.

[0041] According to several embodiments, two or more sub-parts are designed such that for each pair of adjacent vertical segments of the second part, the angular change is greater for each vertical segment that is further away from the non-refracting portion.

[0042] In other words, the amount of angular change increases with the distance of each sub-section from the non-refracting area. In this way, the distortion of the resulting image is relatively small in the region near the non-refracting area and gradually increases towards the outer boundary of the vertical field of view of the front camera device. In particular, a smooth transition between different regions of the resulting image can be achieved.

[0043] According to several embodiments, the front camera device includes a windshield for an automobile. The optical device is mounted on the inside of the windshield. The camera is mounted on the inside of the windshield such that the optical device is positioned between the windshield and the camera.

[0044] According to a further aspect of the present invention, an automobile is provided that is equipped with a front camera device according to the present invention.

[0045] According to several embodiments of the automobile, the automobile is a bus, or a truck, or a special vehicle (e.g., a forestry vehicle, a harvesting vehicle, a bulldozer, a caterpillar, or other heavy machinery or vehicle).

[0046] According to several embodiments of the automobile, the mounting height of the optical device on the automobile, measured from the ground or road surface, is at least 1.4 m, and more particularly at least 2 m.

[0047] For example, the mounting height of the optical device may correspond to the height of a typical human driver's head, particularly when measured from the ground or road surface, or may be slightly greater (e.g., at least 1.4 m or at least 2 m). Thus, it can be achieved that the front camera device is detectable in at least the area visible to the driver. This is particularly beneficial when safety-related functions are performed based on the camera image of the front camera device.

[0048] Further features of the present invention are evident from the claims, drawings, and description of the drawings. Features and combinations of features mentioned in the above description, as well as features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of the drawings, and / or features and combinations of features shown in the drawings, may be included in the invention not only in the combinations described, but also in other combinations. In particular, embodiments and combinations of features that do not possess all of the features defined in the original claims may also be included in the present invention. Furthermore, embodiments and combinations of features that exceed or deviate from the combinations of features defined in the claims may also be included in the present invention.

[0049] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments and their respective schematic drawings. In the drawings, identical or functionally identical elements may be denoted by the same reference numeral. Descriptions of identical or functionally identical elements are not necessarily repeated for different drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0050] [Figure 1] Figure 1 schematically shows an embodiment of the automobile according to the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 schematically shows an embodiment of the front camera device according to the present invention. [Figure 3]Figure 3 schematically shows two different examples of optical devices in each further embodiment of the front camera device according to the present invention. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows a further embodiment of the front camera device according to the present invention. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a row of prisms used in a further embodiment of the front camera device according to the present invention. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows a side view of the row of prisms shown in Figure 5. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows a side view of a row of prisms used in a further embodiment of the front camera device according to the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0051] Figure 1 schematically shows an embodiment of an automobile 1 according to the present invention, which includes an embodiment of the front camera device 2 according to the present invention. For example, the front camera device 2 is mounted on the windshield 5 of an automobile 1, which is a truck, such that the optical device 4 of the front camera device 2 is positioned between the windshield 5 and the camera 3 of the front camera device 2.

[0052] The optical device 4 includes a non-refracting section 4a. The non-refracting section 4a is designed to not change the propagation direction of light passing through it. The optical device 4 also includes a refraction section 4b. The refraction section 4b is designed to change the propagation direction of light passing through it and is positioned relative to the camera 3. Here, the vertical angle of the propagation direction with respect to the direction of the optical axis 11 of the camera 3 toward the image sensor of the camera 3 is increased. The optical device 4 is positioned relative to the camera 3 such that the non-refracting section 4a of the optical device covers a first portion of the vertical field of view of the camera 3, and the refraction section of the optical device 4 covers a second portion of the vertical field of view adjacent to the first portion of the vertical field of view.

[0053] Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the optical device 4, as well as a camera 3 and its lens unit 7. As shown in Figure 2, in a cross section parallel to the vertical plane, the non-refracting portion 4a may be provided by a glass plate or plastic material having parallel surfaces, i.e., a surface facing the lens unit 7 and a surface facing the opposite side of the lens unit 7. For example, the rear side of the plate may face the lens unit 7, while the front side of the plate may face the opposite side of the lens unit 7. In contrast, the refractive portion 4b may have, for example, a plane facing the lens unit 7, while the opposing surface facing the opposite side of the lens unit 7 is curved like a lens, such as a fisheye lens. Therefore, the vertical angle of light passing through the refractive portion 4b increases. The larger the angle change, the further the light passes through the refractive portion 4b from the non-refracting portion 4a. A similar optical device 4 may be formed according to the concept of a Fresnel lens, as schematically shown in Figure 3. The central part of the Fresnel lens corresponding to the non-refracting portion 4a has, for example, two parallel planes.

[0054] An alternative example of the optical device 4 is shown in Figure 4. In this example, the optical device 4 comprises one or more non-refracting segments 8a, 8b, 8c formed by, for example, one or more plates having flat parallel surfaces. The refraction section 4b may comprise one or more rows 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d of prisms 10 positioned below the non-refracting section 4a, i.e., closer to the road surface. An example of one of the rows of prisms 10, 9a, is shown in a perspective view in Figure 5 and a side view in Figure 6.

[0055] Each prism 10 in row 9a is designed, for example, as a triangular prism, specifically a right-angled triangular prism with a right-angled base plane, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. The prism 10 is formed on the first side of the refractive portion 4b. The refractive portion 4b has a plane on the second side, which is opposite the first side. For example, the second side faces the windshield and the first side faces the lens unit 7.

[0056] The prisms 10 are arranged in row 9a such that the right triangles forming the base planes have adjacent sides parallel to the plane. In particular, the base planes of all prisms 10 in any row 9a coincide, and their orientations are identical. On the other hand, the prisms 10 in different rows 9a, 9b, 9c, and 9d have non-conforming base planes as a whole. Specifically, the prisms 10 can be designed so that the change in the direction of light propagation by row 9a is minimized. Furthermore, the amount of change can be designed to increase in rows 9b and 9c, and to be maximized in row 9d, which is closest to the road surface.

[0057] The number of rows 9a, 9b, 9c, and 9d, and the number of prisms 10 in each row 9a, 9b, 9c, and 9d are not limited to the illustrated example. Furthermore, by replacing rows 9a, 9b, 9c, and 9d with diffracting microstructured regions having the same or similar optical refraction effect as the prisms, further embodiments can be obtained. In this way, the optical device 4 can be made thinner.

[0058] An alternative embodiment is shown in Figure 7. In this example, the refraction section 4b comprises a single row of multiple prisms 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, and 12e. These prisms 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, and 12e are formed on the first side of the refraction section 4b opposite the plane. The prisms 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, and 12e are arranged such that the right triangles forming their base surfaces have adjacent sides parallel to the plane. However, in this example, the prisms 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, and 12e have non-conforming base surfaces. The respective hypotenuses of the base surfaces of each prism 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, and 12e are at their respective angles φ with respect to the plane. a , φ b , φ c , φ d , φ e It includes the angle φ of the prism 12a adjacent to the non-refracting portion 4a. a The angle φ of the prism 12e is the minimum and increases as each prism moves away from the non-refracting section 4a. e It is the maximum.

[0059] The number of prisms 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, and 12e is not limited to the five prisms shown in the figure. Specifically, there may be more prisms to reduce the angular change between adjacent prisms. Furthermore, further embodiments can be obtained by replacing rows 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, and 12e with diffracting microstructured regions having the same or similar optical refraction effect as the prisms. In this way, the optical device 4 can be made thinner.

[0060] As particularly illustrated in the drawings, the present invention can reduce the blind spot area in front of a vehicle by expanding the vertical field of view of a front camera device for automobiles.

[0061] Specifically, in order to cover a larger field of view and significantly reduce the blind spot detection space in front of the vehicle, the present invention uses an optical device to divide the field of view into an unmodified area and an area in which light is optically refracted. In this way, the characteristics of a normal lens and a fisheye lens can be effectively optically fused.

[0062] Optical devices are flat or thin layers and can be realized in various ways. For example, for one or more rows consisting of multiple prisms, the optical device may be 3D printed, for example, using an optically transparent material, using a Fresnel lens with a flat section in the center, or utilizing a combination of a non-refracting section and a structured surface in a metalens.

Claims

1. A front camera device (2) that is installed on an automobile (1), Camera (3), The optical device (4) is positioned within the field of view of the camera (3), and comprises - The optical device (4) includes a non-refracting portion (4a), and the non-refracting portion (4a) is designed so as not to change the propagation direction of light passing through the non-refracting portion (4a). - The optical device (4) includes a refractor (4b), which is designed to change the propagation direction of light passing through the refractor (4b) and is positioned relative to the camera (3), thereby increasing the vertical angle of the propagation direction with respect to the direction of the optical axis (11) of the camera (3) toward the image sensor of the camera (3). - The optical device (4) is positioned relative to the camera (3) such that the non-refracting portion (4a) of the optical device (4) covers a first portion of the vertical field of view of the camera (3), and the refraction portion (4b) of the optical device (4) covers a second portion of the vertical field of view adjacent to the first portion of the vertical field of view. The optical device (4) is implemented as a metalens, and the refractive portion (4b) corresponds to a part of the metalens having a structured surface. Front camera device (2).

2. The refractive section (4b) comprises a row (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) consisting of prisms (10, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e), The front camera device (2) according to feature 1.

3. The prisms (10, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e) in the row (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) are designed as triangular prisms (10, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e). The front camera device (2) according to feature 2.

4. The row (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) consisting of prisms (10, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e) has a first side of the refractive portion (4b), and the refractive portion (4b) has a flat surface on the second side opposite to the first side. The front camera device (2) according to one of the claims 2 or 3.

5. Each prism (10, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e) in the row (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) consists of prisms (10, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e) and has two base surfaces perpendicular to the plane. The front camera device (2) according to feature 4.

6. The base surfaces of all the prisms (10, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e) in the row (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) consisting of prisms (10, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e) are parallel to each other. The front camera device (2) according to feature 5.

7. The base surfaces of all prisms (10, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e) in the row (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) consisting of prisms (10, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e) are designed as right triangles with adjacent sides parallel to the plane. The front camera device (2) according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that it is the same as the one described in claim 5 or 6.

8. The base surfaces of all prisms (10) in the row (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) consisting of prisms (10, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e) coincide, and their orientations are identical. The front camera device (2) according to feature 7.

9. - The refraction portion (4b) comprises two or more sub-parts (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) that cover each adjacent vertical segment of the second portion of the vertical field of view. - For any propagation direction, each of the sub-parts (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) is designed to increase the vertical angle of the propagation direction with respect to the direction of the optical axis (11) by the respective amount of angle change. The front camera device (2) according to one of claims 1 to 8.

10. Two or more of the sub-sections (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) are designed such that, for each pair of adjacent vertical segments of the second section, the amount of angular change with respect to each vertical segment increases as it moves further away from the non-bending section (4a). The front camera device (2) according to feature 9.

11. - The front camera device (2) is equipped with a windshield (5) for the automobile (1), - The optical device (4) is mounted on the inside of the windshield (5), - The camera (3) is mounted on the inside of the windshield (5) such that the optical device (4) is positioned between the windshield (5) and the camera (3). The front camera device (2) according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized by the above.

12. An automobile (1) equipped with a front camera device (2) according to one of claims 1 to 11.

13. - The aforementioned automobile (1) is a bus, or a truck, or a special vehicle, and / or - The mounting height of the optical device (4) on the automobile (1) is at least 1.4 m. The automobile (1) according to feature 12.

Images