Windshield Camera Housing Layout for Reduced Driver Obstruction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Front-facing vehicular camera systems often obstruct a driver's view and require more space than available on the windshield, limiting their effectiveness and usability.
Innovation Solution
A vehicular camera system design that includes a main circuit board with an opening to accommodate a flexible imager assembly, allowing for a reduced camera housing height and profile, which is achieved by tilting the imager circuit board and using a flexible connector to maintain electrical connections, thereby minimizing the system's footprint while maintaining functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a front-facing vehicular camera system is installed on the windshield, then the driver can obtain valuable information about driving conditions, but the camera system obstructs the driver's field of view and requires excessive space within the vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements nesting by placing the imager assembly inside a cavity formed in the circuit board. The circuit board is configured with a recess that receives the imager assembly, allowing the camera components to be nested within the housing structure rather than occupying separate space on the windshield. This resolves the contradiction by eliminating the need for additional windshield space while maintaining the camera's information-gathering function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional layout where the camera and circuit board occupy separate areas on the windshield to a three-dimensional integrated structure. By forming a cavity within the circuit board and nesting the imager assembly inside it, the design utilizes the third dimension (depth) to accommodate components, thereby reducing the footprint on the windshield surface while preserving all functional capabilities.
2Length of stationary object
If the camera housing height is reduced to minimize obstruction, then the driver's field of view is improved, but the space required for accommodating standard camera components becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The imager assembly is nested within a cavity formed in the circuit board, allowing the camera components to be housed inside the circuit board structure. This nesting arrangement reduces the external height of the camera housing while providing sufficient internal volume to accommodate the imager assembly and associated components, thereby resolving the contradiction between compact external dimensions and adequate internal space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible printed circuit board that can be bent and configured to fit within the housing constraints. The flexible nature of the circuit board allows it to be shaped to accommodate the imager assembly within the reduced-height housing, providing the necessary volume for component placement without increasing the external dimensions, thus resolving the contradiction between compact size and component accommodation space.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicular camera system includes a camera module having an imager assembly, a main circuit board and a camera housing. The imager assembly includes (i) an imager disposed on an imager circuit board and (ii) a lens holder having a lens assembly that includes a lens barrel accommodating a lens. The imager assembly includes a flexible ribbon cable that electrically connects to an electrical connector at a multilayered PCB of the main circuit board. The camera housing includes an upper cover and a lower cover and includes a forward portion and a rearward portion. The main circuit board is accommodated within the forward and rearward portions, and the imager is disposed at the rearward portion and is not disposed at the forward portion of the camera housing. The lens holder is attached at the upper cover of the camera housing.