Monitoring Camera Dome Cover Water Droplet Guide Surface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Monitoring camera devices with wiper mechanisms and drive units are costly and increase the height of the device when attached to ceilings, hindering thinness and causing image quality deterioration due to water droplets on the dome cover.
Innovation Solution
A monitoring camera design with a dome cover assembly featuring a water droplet guide surface tilted downward and a receiving portion positioned outside the camera's field of view, allowing water droplets to flow and accumulate outside the imaging area, preventing image quality deterioration without the need for wiper mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wiper mechanism and wiper drive unit are added to remove water droplets from the dome cover, then image quality is improved, but device cost and height increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of water droplets on the dome cover into a beneficial self-cleaning effect. By designing the dome cover with a specific curvature and tilt angle (15-45 degrees), water droplets naturally slide down due to gravity and surface tension, clearing the imaging area without requiring any active wiper mechanism. This resolves the contradiction by eliminating the need for complex mechanical components while maintaining image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The dome cover is designed to automatically remove water droplets through its own geometric properties and interaction with gravity, without requiring external drive units or power sources. The specific curvature and tilt angle enable the dome cover to serve its own cleaning function, eliminating the need for separate wiper mechanisms and reducing both device complexity and height.
2Reliability
If the dome cover is tilted to guide water droplets away from the camera, then water droplet removal is improved, but the camera field of view may be restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the field of view restriction by tilting the dome cover in a specific dimension (15-45 degrees from vertical) while maintaining rotational symmetry. This dimensional adjustment allows water droplets to slide down the tilted surface away from the camera lens without blocking the horizontal field of view. The tilt creates a three-dimensional water flow path that directs droplets to the periphery, preserving the camera's imaging capability while achieving effective water removal.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively removes water droplets from the dome cover without increasing device height or cost, preventing image quality deterioration by directing water droplets away from the camera's field of view, thus enhancing image clarity.
Implementation Method 1
a water droplet guide surface continuous with an R surface and tilted downward when approaching the axis
Implementation Method 2
a water droplet guide surface continuous with an R surface and tilted downward when approaching the axis, and a water droplet receiving portion continuous with the water droplet guide surface
Data Source
AI summary
A monitoring camera includes a plurality of camera units mounted in a circumferential direction of a device body, and a dome cover assembly including a dome cover collectively covering the plurality of camera units. The dome cover includes a water droplet guide surface continuous with an R surface and tilted downward as approaching an axis of the dome cover, and a water droplet receiving portion continuous with the water droplet guide surface. The camera unit includes a camera rotating a lens center axis on the virtual plane about a tilt rotation center in a direction perpendicular to the virtual plane. The water droplet receiving portion is provided outside of a field angle boundary of a field angle of the camera close to the axis in a state where the camera is tilted toward the axis side at a maximum tilt angle.