Camera Unit

Abstract

A technique according to the present disclosure has an objective to provide a vehicle-mounted camera unit having a reduced size. A camera unit according to the present disclosure has a camera for imaging an occupant of a vehicle. The camera unit according to the present disclosure comprises a rigid-flexible base and a holder. The rigid-flexible base is constituted by a plurality of bases connected by a flexible cable. The holder is a single component for directly fixing the rigid-flexible base and is an outermost contour component of the camera unit. The plurality of bases constituting the rigid-flexible base includes: an imaging base on which the light receiving element of the camera is mounted; and a transmission base on which an external output connector for connecting the rigid-flexible base to the outside of the camera unit is mounted. The holder fixes the imaging base and the transmission base in such a manner that the imaging base and the transmission base face in mutually different directions. The light receiving element and the external output connector are exposed from the holder in mutually different directions with the rigid-flexible base being fixed to the holder.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a camera unit. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there has been a demand for small camera units as components of driver monitoring systems that monitor the state of a vehicle driver. However, some conventional camera units have multiple boards connected by connectors, and such camera units require space to mount the connectors on each board, making it difficult to miniaturize them. Furthermore, even if a connector is not used to connect the multiple boards in a conventional camera unit, multiple parts are required to fix the multiple boards, and this requires space (see, for example, Patent Document 1). For these reasons, it has been difficult to miniaturize conventional camera units. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-275022 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] For example, the camera unit shown in Figure 1 of Patent Document 1 does not use connectors to connect multiple boards, but requires multiple parts, namely a front panel, a rear panel, and a top panel, to secure the multiple boards together, making it difficult to miniaturize.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to provide an in-vehicle camera unit that can be made compact. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The camera unit of the present disclosure is a camera unit equipped with a camera that captures images of vehicle occupants, and includes a rigid-flexible substrate and a holder. The rigid-flexible substrate is composed of multiple substrates connected by flexible cables. The holder is a single component that directly fixes the rigid-flexible substrate and is the outermost component of the camera unit. The multiple substrates that make up the rigid-flexible substrate include an imaging substrate and a transmission substrate. The imaging substrate is equipped with a light receiving element of the camera. The transmission substrate is equipped with an external output connector for connecting the rigid-flexible substrate to the outside of the camera unit. The holder fixes the imaging substrate and the transmission substrate in a state in which they face in different directions. With the rigid-flexible substrate fixed to the holder, the light receiving element and the external output connector are exposed from the holder in different directions. Effect of the Invention

[0007] In the camera unit of the present disclosure, since the multiple substrates are directly fixed to the holder, which is a single component and the outermost component, multiple components for fixing the multiple substrates are not required, and the camera unit can be made smaller. In addition, since the multiple substrates are fixed to the holder while facing in different directions, the dimensions of the camera unit in a plan view can be reduced. Objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a camera unit according to the first embodiment is arranged on a vehicle. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the camera unit according to the first embodiment, as viewed from the screen side. [Diagram 3] 1 is a perspective view of a camera unit according to a first embodiment, as viewed from the cover side. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the camera unit according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the rigid-flexible substrate in accordance with the first embodiment is unfolded. [Figure 6] It is a figure showing a state in which an imaging substrate is fixed to a holder according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 7] It is a figure showing a state in which a transmission substrate is fixed to a holder according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 8] It is a perspective view of a camera unit according to Embodiment 2 as seen from the screen side. [Figure 9] It is a perspective view of a camera unit according to Embodiment 2 as seen from the cover side. [Figure 10] It is a perspective view of a camera unit according to Embodiment 2 as seen from the cover side. [Figure 11] It is a figure showing a state in which an imaging substrate is fixed to a holder according to Embodiment 2. [Figure 12] It is a figure showing a state in which a transmission substrate is fixed to a holder according to Embodiment 2.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0009] <A. Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in which a camera unit 1A according to Embodiment 1 is mounted on a vehicle 100. The camera unit 1A is disposed, for example, on the front glass or pillar of the vehicle 100 so as to face the interior of the vehicle, and photographs passengers in the vehicle 100 such as a driver 101. The photographed image of the camera unit 1A is output to a device external to the camera unit 1A (hereinafter referred to as an external device), and is used, for example, to monitor a passenger's side glance, doze, or slouch.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the camera unit 1A as seen from the side of the screen 4, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the camera unit 1A as seen from the side of the cover 2A. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the camera unit 1A.

[0011] The camera unit 1A includes a camera for capturing images of vehicle occupants and a lighting device for illuminating the occupants. However, the lighting device may be configured separately from the camera unit 1A. The camera unit 1A includes a cover 2A, a holder 3A, a screen 4, a rigid-flexible substrate 6, an external output connector 7, and a camera lens 8.

[0012] The holder 3A is configured with a bottom surface portion 31 that constitutes the bottom surface of the holder 3A, and a plurality of side surface portions 32 that constitute the sides of the holder 3A. The plurality of side surface portions 32 are connected to the bottom surface portion 31 and are provided approximately perpendicular to the bottom surface portion 31. A part of the rigid-flexible substrate 6 is stored in an internal space 33 of the holder 3A that is surrounded by the bottom surface portion 31 and the plurality of side surface portions 32. Although not shown in FIG. 4, a screw hole is formed in the bottom surface portion 31 of the holder 3A. The camera lens 8 is fitted into this screw hole from the lower side in FIG. 4.

[0013] The rigid-flexible substrate 6 is made up of multiple substrates connected by flexible cables 11. The multiple substrates that make up the rigid-flexible substrate 6 include an imaging substrate 9 and a transmission substrate 10. Since the imaging substrate 9 and the transmission substrate 10 are connected by flexible cables 11, there is no connector for connecting the two substrates.

[0014] 4, a light receiving element of a camera and an illumination device (not shown) are mounted on the imaging board 9. If the illumination device is configured separately from the camera unit 1A, the imaging board 9 will not be equipped with the illumination device.

[0015] An external output connector 7 for connecting the rigid-flexible board 6 to an external device is mounted on the transmission board 10. A light receiving signal from a light receiving element of a camera mounted on the imaging board 9 is transmitted from the external output connector 7 to an external device and is used to monitor whether a passenger is looking away from the vehicle, falling asleep, or losing their posture.

[0016] Fig. 4 shows a state in which the flexible cable 11 is bent and the imaging board 9 and the transmitting board 10 overlap. In this state, the imaging board 9 and the transmitting board 10 are fixed to the holder 3A with screws 5. Fig. 5 shows a state in which the rigid-flexible board 6 is removed from the holder 3A and the imaging board 9 and the transmitting board 10 are unfolded.

[0017] A screen 4 is attached to the bottom surface portion 31 of the holder 3A so as to cover the camera lens 8. The screen 4 is made of a light-transmitting material. By covering the camera lens 8 with the screen 4, the camera lens 8 is protected from scratches or dirt.

[0018] On the other hand, the side opposite to the bottom surface portion 31 of the holder 3A, i.e., the upper side in Fig. 4, is covered with a cover 2A. The rigid-flexible board 6 fixed to the holder 3A is covered with the cover 2A. The cover 2A has an opposing surface 21 that faces the transmission board 10 fixed to the holder 3A, and a plurality of side surfaces 22 connected to the opposing surface 21. A hole 23 is provided in the opposing surface 21 of the cover 2A, and the external output connector 7 is connected to an external device through this hole 23.

[0019] 6 and 7 are perspective views showing the procedure for attaching rigid-flexible board 6 to holder 3A.

[0020] First, as shown in Fig. 6, with the rigid-flexible substrate 6 unfolded, the imaging substrate 9 is inserted into the internal space 33 of the holder 3A, and the imaging substrate 9 is fixed to the bottom surface portion 31 of the holder 3A with the screws 5. At this time, the fixing direction with the screws 5 is from top to bottom in Fig. 6. With the imaging substrate 9 fixed to the holder 3A, the light receiving element and the lighting device of the camera mounted on the imaging substrate 9 are exposed from the holes in the bottom surface portion 31 of the holder 3A, and face the camera lens 8.

[0021] Next, the flexible cable 11 is bent so that the transmitting board 10 overlaps the imaging board 9, and then the transmitting board 10 is fixed to the upper end surface 34 of the side portion 32 of the holder 3A with the screw 5. This state is shown in FIG. 7. At this time, the fixing direction by the screw 5 is from top to bottom in FIG. 7. In this way, the fixing directions of the imaging board 9 and the transmitting board 10 to the holder 3A are both from top to bottom in FIGS. 6 and 7, and are the same. This makes it possible to reduce the number of work steps in manufacturing the camera unit 1A, and to reduce manufacturing costs.

[0022] When the transmitting board 10 is fixed to the upper end surface 34 of the side surface portion 32 of the holder 3A, the end surface of the transmitting board 10 is flush with the side surface portion 32 of the holder 3A. With this configuration, the mounting area of ​​the transmitting board 10 is maximized while the transmitting board 10 is fixed to the holder 3A. Also, the area of ​​the transmitting board 10 can be made larger than that of the imaging board 9 housed in the internal space 33 of the holder 3A.

[0023] With the transmitting board 10 fixed to the holder 3A, the external output connector 7 mounted on the transmitting board 10 is exposed from the holder 3A in the upward direction in Fig. 7. Meanwhile, the light receiving element and the illumination device of the camera mounted on the imaging board 9 are exposed from the bottom surface portion 31 of the holder 3A in the downward direction in Fig. 7. In this way, the imaging board 9 and the transmitting board 10 are attached in different directions to the holder 3A, and accordingly, the external output connector 7 mounted on the transmitting board 10 and the light receiving element etc. mounted on the imaging board 9 are exposed from the holder 3A in different directions.

[0024] With the rigid-flexible board 6 fixed to the holder 3A, the cover 2A fits into the side surface portion 32 of the holder 3A. The cover 2A, the side surface of the bottom portion 31 of the holder 3A, and the screen 4 are the outermost parts that make up the outermost portion of the camera unit 1A.

[0025] According to the above configuration, the rigid-flexible board 6, which is made up of multiple boards including the imaging board 9 and the transmission board 10, can be directly fixed to the holder 3A, which is one of the outermost components of the camera unit 1A. Therefore, the camera unit 1A can be configured with a small number of parts and without using connectors for connecting the boards. Therefore, with the camera unit 1A, no space loss occurs due to the fixing of the boards or the connection structure of the boards, and it is possible to realize a compact size.

[0026] The rigid-flexible substrate 6 may include at least one other substrate (hereinafter referred to as additional substrate) in addition to the imaging substrate 9 and the transmitting substrate 10. The additional substrate is connected to the imaging substrate 9 and the transmitting substrate 10 by a flexible cable 11. The additional substrate is fixed to the holder 3A while being sandwiched between the imaging substrate 9 and the transmitting substrate 10. More specifically, the rigid-flexible substrate 6 is bent at the flexible cable 11 so that the imaging substrate 9, the additional substrate, and the transmitting substrate 10 overlap in this order, and is fixed to the holder 3A.

[0027] Incidentally, the positional relationship of the imaging board 9 and the transmitting board 10 with respect to the holder 3A may be reversed from that described above. That is, the transmitting board 10 may be fixed to the bottom surface 31 in the internal space 33 of the holder 3A, and the imaging board 9 may be fixed to the upper end surface 34 of the side surface 32 of the holder 3A. This allows the imaging board 9 to have a larger area than the transmitting board 10. In this case, the positional relationship of the cover 2A and the screen 4 with respect to the holder 3A is changed as appropriate.

[0028] As described above, the camera unit 1A according to the first embodiment includes the rigid-flexible substrate 6 and the holder 3A. The rigid-flexible substrate 6 is composed of multiple substrates connected by the flexible cable 11. The holder 3A is a single component that directly fixes the rigid-flexible substrate 6 and is the outermost component of the camera unit 1A. The multiple substrates that make up the rigid-flexible substrate 6 include the imaging substrate 9 and the transmission substrate 10. The imaging substrate 9 is equipped with a light receiving element of the camera. The transmission substrate 10 is equipped with an external output connector 7 for connecting the rigid-flexible substrate 6 to the outside of the camera unit 1A. The holder 3A fixes the imaging substrate 9 and the transmission substrate 10 in a state in which they face in different directions. The light receiving element and the external output connector 7 are exposed in different directions from the holder 3A when the rigid-flexible substrate 6 is fixed to the holder 3A.

[0029] Since the imaging board 9 and the transmission board 10 are fixed to the holder 3A while facing in different directions, it is possible to reduce the dimensions of the camera unit 1A in a plan view, thereby realizing a compact camera unit 1A.

[0030] Furthermore, in the camera unit 1A, the holder 3A fixes the imaging board 9 and the transmission board 10 in an overlapping state. Then, with the rigid-flexible board 6 fixed to the holder 3A, the light receiving element and the external output connector 7 are exposed in opposite directions from each other from the holder 3A. With this configuration, when manufacturing the camera unit 1A, the imaging board 9 and the transmission board 10 can be fixed to the holder 3A from the same direction. Therefore, the number of work steps when manufacturing the camera unit 1A can be reduced, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

[0031] In the camera unit 1A, the holder 3A includes a bottom surface portion 31 that forms the bottom surface of the holder 3A and has holes, and a plurality of side surface portions 32 that are connected to the bottom surface portion 31 to form the side surfaces of the holder 3A and form an internal space 33 between the bottom surface portion 31. The imaging substrate 9 is fixed in the internal space 33 such that the light receiving element is exposed from the holes in the bottom surface portion 31, and the transmission substrate 10 is mounted on the upper end surfaces 34 of the plurality of side surface portions 32 such that the external output connector 7 is exposed from the holder 3A. With such a configuration, it is also possible to make the end surface 12 of the transmission substrate 10 flush with the side surface portion 32 of the holder 3A. Therefore, while fixing the transmission substrate 10 to the holder 3A, the substrate mounting area can be maximally secured. Also, the transmission substrate 10 can be made larger in area than the imaging substrate 9.

[0032] <B. Embodiment 2> In the camera unit 1A according to Embodiment 1, the imaging substrate 9 and the transmission substrate 10 are fixed to the holder 3A so as to overlap each other. In contrast, in the camera unit 1B according to Embodiment 2, the imaging substrate 9 and the transmission substrate 10 are arranged in an L shape and fixed to the holder 3B. Even with such a configuration, since the imaging substrate 9 and the transmission substrate 10 are fixed to the holder 3B facing in different directions, miniaturization of the camera unit 1B is achieved.

[0033] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the camera unit 1B seen from the side of the screen 4, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the camera unit 1B seen from the side of the cover 2B. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the camera unit 1B.

[0034] The camera unit 1B includes a cover 2B, a holder 3B, a screen 4, a rigid flexible substrate 6, an external output connector 7, and a camera lens 8. In the camera unit 1B, the shape of the holder 3B is different from that of the holder 3A in Embodiment 1 in order to arrange and fix the imaging substrate 9 and the transmission substrate 10 in an L shape. Also, the shape of the cover 2B is different from that of the cover 2A in Embodiment 1 according to the holder 3B.

[0035] 11 and 12 are perspective views showing a procedure for attaching rigid-flexible board 6 to holder 3B.

[0036] 11 , with the rigid-flexible substrate 6 unfolded, the imaging substrate 9 is inserted into the internal space 33 of the holder 3B, and the imaging substrate 9 is fixed to the bottom surface portion 31 of the holder 3B with the screws 5. With the imaging substrate 9 fixed to the holder 3B, the light receiving element and the illumination device of the camera mounted on the imaging substrate 9 are exposed from the holes in the bottom surface portion 31 of the holder 3B, and face the camera lens 8.

[0037] Next, the flexible cable 11 is bent so that the transmission board 10 is at a substantially right angle to the imaging board 9, and then the transmission board 10 is fixed to the side end surface 35 of the side portion 32 of the holder 3B with the screws 5. This state is shown in Figure 12. In this way, the imaging board 9 and the transmission board 10 are fixed to the holder 3B in an L-shaped arrangement. This reduces the dimensions of the camera unit 1B in a plan view, achieving a compact camera unit 1B.

[0038] In addition, the embodiment can be modified or omitted as appropriate. The above description is an example in every respect. It is understood that countless modified examples not illustrated can be imagined. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1A, 1B camera unit, 2A, 2B cover, 3A, 3B holder, 31 bottom surface, 32 side surface, 33 internal space, 34 top end surface, 35 side end surface, 4 screen, 5 screws, 6 rigid-flexible board, 7 external output connector, 8 camera lens, 9 imaging board, 10 transmission board, 11 flexible cable.

Claims

1. A camera unit including a camera for capturing an image of a vehicle occupant, A rigid-flexible board consisting of multiple boards connected by flexible cables; a holder which is a single part that directly fixes the rigid-flexible board and is the outermost part of the camera unit; The plurality of substrates include an imaging board on which a light receiving element of the camera is mounted; a transmission board having an external output connector mounted thereon for connecting the rigid-flexible board to an external device outside the camera unit; the holder fixes the imaging board and the transmission board in a state in which the imaging board and the transmission board face in different directions from each other; the light receiving element and the external output connector are exposed in different directions from each other from the holder in a state in which the rigid-flexible substrate is fixed to the holder; Camera unit.

2. The imaging board and the transmission board are fixed to the holder in a stacked state. With the rigid-flexible substrate fixed to the holder, the light receiving element and the external output connector are exposed in opposite directions from each other from the holder. The camera unit according to claim 1 .

3. The holder is a bottom surface portion forming a bottom surface of the holder and having a hole; a plurality of side surfaces connected to the bottom surface portion to form a side surface of the holder and forming an internal space between the bottom surface portion and the side surfaces; the imaging board is fixed in the internal space such that the light receiving element is exposed through the hole in the bottom surface portion; the transmission board is mounted on end faces of the side surfaces such that the external output connectors are exposed from the holder; The camera unit according to claim 2 .

4. The imaging board and the transmission board are fixed to the holder from the same direction. The camera unit according to claim 3.

5. The transmission board has a larger area than the imaging board. The camera unit according to claim 3.

6. the transmission substrate is fixed to the holder such that an end surface of the transmission substrate is flush with the plurality of side surface portions; The camera unit according to claim 3.

7. The imaging board and the transmission board are fixed to the holder in an L-shaped arrangement. The camera unit according to claim 1 .

8. the plurality of boards includes at least one additional board other than the imaging board and the transmission board, The at least one additional board is fixed to the holder in a state where it is sandwiched between the imaging board and the transmission board. The camera unit according to any one of claims 2 to 4.

9. The light receiving signal of the light receiving element is used to monitor the occupant regarding the occupant's inattentiveness, drowsiness, or poor posture. The camera unit according to claim 1 .

Images