In-vehicle information acquisition device cover

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle information acquisition device cover with which an in-vehicle information acquisition device can be protected at low cost. To achieve this purpose, the present invention is an in-vehicle information acquisition device cover inside of which an in-vehicle information acquisition device is housed, wherein the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover has: a window portion to which a first resin member that transmits electromagnetic waves from the outside is fixed so that information can be acquired by the in-vehicle information acquisition device; and a second resin member that is installed in front of the window portion, that is separate from the first resin member, and that transmits electromagnetic waves from the outside so that information can be acquired by the in-vehicle information acquisition device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cover for an in-vehicle information acquisition device.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, when mounting an in-vehicle camera on a four-wheeled vehicle, the in-vehicle camera housing is mounted inside the vehicle behind the windshield. However, when installing the in-vehicle camera outside the vehicle, in order to waterproof the camera, it is necessary to cover the camera housing and electronic components with an integral, seamless cover. For example, Patent Document 1 describes that "a cover body is placed over an optical element housing portion that protrudes outside the front bumper in a case body that houses and arranges an optical element and an imaging unit" (abstract).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In recent years, there has been a movement to adopt an advanced driving assistance system using in-vehicle information acquisition devices such as in-vehicle cameras and millimeter-wave radars in straddle-type vehicles. When mounting an in-vehicle information acquisition device on a straddle-type vehicle, its cover is generally considered to use a resin member because it is required to be lightweight and have a shape as a vehicle design. However, in straddle-type vehicles, the vehicle height is relatively low, and there are many opportunities for collisions with projectiles such as stones and sand, which is a severe environment for resin members that are inferior in strength compared to the windshield. Although some resin members are relatively resistant to impact and sunlight degradation, covering the entire in-vehicle information acquisition device with such a resin material for waterproofing will lead to a significant cost increase.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle information acquisition device cover that can protect an in-vehicle information acquisition device at low cost.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an in-vehicle information acquisition device cover for housing an in-vehicle information acquisition device therein, the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover including a window portion to which a first resin member that transmits electromagnetic waves from the outside so that information can be acquired by the in-vehicle information acquisition device is fixed, and a second resin member that is installed in front of the window portion, is separate from the first resin member, and transmits electromagnetic waves from the outside so that information can be acquired by the in-vehicle information acquisition device.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an in-vehicle information acquisition device cover that can protect an in-vehicle information acquisition device at low cost. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the description of the following embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Example

[0010] Regarding the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover according to the first embodiment, it will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing the schematic configuration of the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the direction in which the vehicle travels is defined as the front. As the in-vehicle information acquisition device, for example, a camera that images the front of the vehicle can be mentioned, but other devices such as a millimeter-wave radar may also be used.

[0011] The cover body 1 has a box-shaped container shape that covers the periphery of the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2 and is continuously integrally formed of a first resin member that is the same material, so that moisture can be prevented from entering from the outside of the cover body 1. Note that the cover body 1 does not necessarily have to be composed only of the first resin member, and it does not prevent the use of another member for a part that has nothing to do with waterproofness. Further, since a transparent material that transmits electromagnetic waves from outside the cover body 1 is used for the first resin member, it is possible to acquire information about the front of the vehicle by the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2. However, for the region outside the window portion 1a that includes the visual field range of the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2 among the first resin members, the outer surface side of the first resin member is painted so that the inside of the cover body 1 cannot be seen through. As an example of the specific material of the first resin member, polycarbonate can be mentioned, but it is not limited thereto.

[0012] In particular, the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover mounted on a straddle-type vehicle as in this embodiment has a low vehicle height, so there are many opportunities for contact with the flying object. On the other hand, it is difficult to adopt an expensive material such as a windshield. Therefore, as described above, the cover body 1 is formed of resin. Thus, in this embodiment, a second resin member 3 is disposed in front of the cover body 1 so as to cover at least the front of the visual field range of the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2, thereby preventing damage and deterioration of the first resin member in the cover body 1, particularly in the window portion 1a. This second resin member 3 is fixed to the front surface side of the cover body 1 using an adhesive 5. However, it is desirable that the location where the adhesive 5 is provided be outside the visual field range (information acquisition area 4 shown in FIG. 2) of the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2 so as not to affect information acquisition.

[0013] Here, since the waterproof property for the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2 is ensured by the cover body 1, the waterproof property when fixing the second resin member 3 to the cover body 1 does not need to be considered. For this reason, in this embodiment, the fixing locations of the second resin member 3 to the cover body 1 are limited to two locations, namely, the upper and lower portions, rather than the entire circumference. Therefore, when the second resin member 3 is damaged or the like, the second resin member 3 can be removed while maintaining the waterproof property for the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2. The material of the second resin member 3 may be a material with higher strength than the first resin member (for example, ceramic or glass). However, as long as it is a separate member from the first resin member, even if it is the same material as the first resin member, the effect of protecting the first resin member can be expected. Also, although the resin member may deteriorate due to sunlight irradiation, since the second resin member 3 is located outside, the deterioration of the first resin member is suppressed.

Embodiment

[0014] Regarding the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover according to Embodiment 2, it will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the schematic configuration of the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover according to Embodiment 2, and corresponds to FIG. 2 of Embodiment 1. In this embodiment, at least within the visual field range of the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2, a gap is formed between the cover body 1 and the second resin member 3. Therefore, even when a mechanical impact is applied to the second resin member 3, it is possible to suppress the first resin member from being scratched. Furthermore, as in this embodiment, due to the presence of the gap, moiré of visible light can also be suppressed.

[0015] Also, in the gap, there is a transparent medium 6 that is different from the first resin member and the second resin member 3. When the medium 6 is air, the size of the gap, that is, the distance between the first resin member and the second resin member 3, is desirably set to a predetermined size such that the first resin member does not come into contact even when the second resin member 3 is elastically deformed to the limit. Here, when the medium 6 is air, there is a possibility of dew condensation occurring on the inner surface of the second resin member 3. However, since the second resin member 3 is fixed to the first resin member with an adhesive 5 only in the upper and lower regions of the window portion 1a, the generated condensed water can escape from the left and right of the window portion 1a. Also, since the distance between the first resin member and the second resin member 3 is ensured to be a predetermined size as described above, it is possible to prevent the condensed water from forming a film due to surface tension, and it is possible to suppress the influence on the information acquisition accuracy by the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2.

[0016] On the other hand, when a gel or a liquid is used as the medium 6, it is possible to prevent dew condensation from occurring in the gap. In this case, the second resin member 3 needs to seal the gap by fixing the entire circumference to the first resin member. When a solid is used as the medium 6, for example, an elastic body having a smaller Young's modulus than the first resin member and the second resin member 3 is desirable.

[0017] In this embodiment, convex portions protruding forward are formed in at least the upper region and the lower region of the window portion 1a of the cover body 1, and the rear surface of the second resin member 3 and the first resin member are fixed by an adhesive 5 applied to the front surface of this convex portion. Thus, due to the presence of the convex portions, it becomes possible to secure the above-described gap to a predetermined size. Further, instead of providing convex portions on the front surface side of the cover body 1, a concave portion may be provided within the visual field range (information acquisition region 4 shown in FIG. 3) of the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2 to form a similar gap. Note that by adopting a configuration in which convex portions or concave portions are provided on the cover body 1 instead of the second resin member 3, the handleability after installation in the vehicle, including the replacement operation of the second resin member 3, is improved.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an in-vehicle information acquisition device cover according to a modified example of Embodiment 2. In this modified example, convex portions protruding rearward are formed in the upper region and the lower region of the second resin member 3, and the rear surface of this convex portion and the first resin member of the cover body 1 are fixed by an adhesive 5. Instead of providing convex portions on the rear surface side of the second resin member 3, a concave portion may be provided within the visual field range (information acquisition region 4 shown in FIG. 4) of the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2 to form a gap. According to this modified example, since it is only necessary to process the second resin member 3, which is a smaller part compared to the cover body 1, there is an advantage that it is easy to manufacture as an entire in-vehicle information acquisition device cover. Note that a configuration may be adopted in which convex portions or concave portions are provided on both the second resin member 3 and the cover body 1 to form the above-described gap.

Embodiment

[0019] Regarding the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover according to Example 3, it will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a front perspective view showing the schematic configuration of the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover according to Example 3, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 5. In this embodiment, different from Example 1 and Example 2, the second resin member 3 is fixed to the cover body 1 by a rivet 7. In this embodiment, since the second resin member 3 is fixed to the first resin member only at one location above the visual field range of the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2 (the information acquisition area 4 shown in FIG. 6), not only is the fixing of the second resin member 3 easy, but also the replacement is easy when the second resin member 3 is damaged or the like. Further, the location where the rivet 7 penetrates the first resin member is set to a location that does not face the installation space of the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2, so that the waterproof property of the in-vehicle information acquisition device 2 by the cover body 1 is maintained.

[0020] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the schematic configuration of the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover according to a modification of Example 3. In this modification, instead of the rivet 7, a screw 8 is used to fix the second resin member 3 to the cover body 1. According to this modification, the replacement when the second resin member 3 is damaged or the like becomes even easier than in the case of Example 3.

Example

[0021] Regarding the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover according to Example 4, it will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the schematic configuration of the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover according to Example 4, and corresponds to FIG. 2 of Example 1. In this embodiment, the second resin member 3 is directly fixed to the vehicle support 9, which is a structure of a straddle-type vehicle, by a rivet 7. According to this embodiment, since the hole through which the rivet 7 penetrates is not formed in the first resin member, the waterproof property of the cover body 1 is maintained, and the manufacturability of the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover is also improved.

[0022] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. The above-described embodiments are exemplified for easy understanding and explanation of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Also, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, it is possible to add, delete, or replace other configurations for a part of the configuration of each embodiment.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0023] 1... Cover body, 2... Vehicle-mounted information acquisition device, 3... Second resin member, 4... Information acquisition area, 5... Adhesive, 6... Medium, 7... Rivet, 8... Screw, 9... Vehicle support

Claims

1. An in-vehicle information acquisition device cover for housing an in-vehicle information acquisition device therein, wherein the in-vehicle information acquisition device cover has a window portion to which a first resin member that transmits electromagnetic waves from the outside is fixed so that information can be acquired by the in-vehicle information acquisition device, and a second resin member that is installed in front of the window portion, is separate from the first resin member, and transmits electromagnetic waves from the outside so that information can be acquired by the in-vehicle information acquisition device, and the second resin member is fixed only to the upper and lower regions of its periphery to the first resin member or a structure of a straddle-type vehicle, and air is interposed between the first resin member and the second resin member in at least the entire area within the visual field range of the in-vehicle information acquisition device. An in-vehicle information acquisition device cover characterized by this.

2. The in-vehicle information acquisition device cover according to claim 1, wherein the second resin member is removably fixed. An in-vehicle information acquisition device cover characterized by this.

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