Concave Camera Front Face for Thermal and Optical Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing camera systems face challenges in maintaining optimal temperature for image sensors, managing exposure to rain and direct sunlight, providing positional freedom, and ensuring security in unsecured locations.
Innovation Solution
The development of compact all-weather camera implementations with active heating and passive cooling mechanisms, waterproofing, impact resistance, and the ability to transmit multiple HD video streams wirelessly, along with features like a concave front face, light rings for visual feedback, and a mount that encloses interconnect wires and offers rotational freedom.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the camera assembly is mounted in unsecure locations to provide surveillance coverage, then the surveillance coverage area is improved, but the risk of theft or damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The camera assembly employs a dome-shaped housing with a curved exterior surface that provides a rounded, spherical form factor. This curved design inherently resists forced entry attempts and physical damage, as the rounded surface distributes impact forces and prevents easy access to internal components, thereby enhancing security while maintaining surveillance coverage in unsecure locations
2Adaptability or versatility
If the camera operates in direct sunlight to maintain surveillance capability, then the surveillance coverage is improved, but the image quality degrades due to overexposure
Solution Approach 1:
The dome housing incorporates a translucent or transparent upper portion that selectively filters and diffuses incoming sunlight before it reaches the camera sensor. This localized optical modification allows the camera to operate in direct sunlight by controlling the quality of light reaching the sensor, preventing overexposure while maintaining surveillance capability in outdoor environments
3Adaptability or versatility
If the camera operates in rain or wet conditions to expand surveillance coverage, then the environmental adaptability is improved, but the risk of water damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The camera assembly utilizes a sealed dome housing with a waterproof translucent or transparent membrane that acts as a protective barrier against rain and moisture. This flexible yet impermeable shell allows the camera to operate in wet conditions by preventing water ingress while still permitting light transmission, thereby expanding environmental adaptability without compromising reliability
4Productivity
If the camera generates high processing power to handle multiple HD video streams, then the productivity is improved, but the heat generation increases which may damage heat-sensitive components
Solution Approach 1:
The dome housing incorporates a thermally conductive yet electrically insulating intermediate layer or heat sink structure that acts as a thermal mediator between the processing components and the external environment. This intermediary element conducts heat away from heat-sensitive components while allowing the high-powered processor to maintain productivity in processing multiple HD video streams without causing thermal damage
Data Source
AI summary
The various implementations described herein include a video camera assembly that includes: (1) a housing; (2) an image sensor positioned within the housing and having a field of view corresponding to a scene in the smart home environment; and (3) a concave-shaped front face positioned in front of the image sensor such that light from the scene passes through the front face prior to entering the image sensor; where the front face includes: (a) an inner section corresponding to the image sensor; and (b) an outer section between the housing and the inner section, the outer section having a concave shape that extends from an outer periphery of the outer section to an inner periphery of the outer section; and where the concave shape extends around an entirety of the outer periphery.