Vehicle Camera System

• US 20090046150A1
• Filed: 08/06/2008
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: HAYAKAWA, Jun, Ohsumi, Ken
• Granted Patent: US 8,179,438 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a vehicle camera system adapted for easy position matching of an image sensor and a lens assembly, and capable of being reduced in assembling time.

After accommodation of the image sensor 20 in a concave portion 16 of the lens assembly 10, when (a) first and second protrusions 31a, 31b of an elastic body 30 are inserted into first and second clearances 18a, 18b, respectively, and (b) the elastic body 30 is pressed from a direction of a circuit board 40, curved surfaces 15a, 15b convert the pressing direction into a force direction in which first and second datum planes 21a, 21b of the image sensor will be positioned with respect to first and second optical datum planes 12a, 12b, respectively, and the conversion results in first and second opposed planes 24a, 24b of the image sensor being positioned with respect to the first and second optical datum planes 12a, 12b, respectively, and a third datum plane 21c of the image sensor being positioned with respect to a third optical datum plane 12c by the force applied in the pressing direction.

Claims

1. A vehicle camera system for mounting in a motor vehicle, the camera system comprising:

an image sensor for acquiring images of a vehicle periphery, the image sensor having three-dimensional datum planes;

a circuit board with the image sensor mounted thereon; and

a lens assembly with a lens for focusing an acquired image on the image sensor;

wherein;

the lens assembly further has a concave portion for accommodating the image sensor;

the concave portion of the lens assembly includes

first, second, and third optical datum planes, each of which lies in any one of three-dimensional directions,

first and second opposed planes of the lens assembly, opposed to the first and second optical datum planes, respectively, and

first and second force direction converters, one of which is provided between the third optical datum plane and the first opposed plane of the lens assembly, and the other is provided between the third optical datum plane and the second opposed plane of the lens assembly;

the camera system further comprises an elastic body having first and second protrusions; and

after the accommodation of the image sensor in the concave portion of the lens assembly, when

the first and second protrusions of the elastic body are inserted into first and second clearances, respectively, the first clearance being formed between a first image sensor opposed plane that is opposed to a first datum plane of the image sensor and the first opposed plane of the lens assembly, and the second clearance being formed between a second image sensor opposed plane that is opposed to a second datum plane of the image sensor and the second opposed plane of the lens assembly, and

the elastic body is pressed from a direction of the circuit board,

the force direction converters convert the pressing direction to a force direction in which the first and second datum planes of the image sensor will be positioned with respect to the first and second optical datum planes, respectively, and the conversion results in the first and second datum planes of the image sensor being positioned with respect to the first and second optical datum planes, and a third datum plane of the image sensor being positioned with respect to the third optical datum plane by the force applied in the pressing direction.

2. The vehicle camera system according to claim 1, wherein:

the elastic body is formed from silicone rubber.

3. The vehicle camera system according to claim 1, wherein:

the elastic body is slitted at lower edges of the first and second protrusions.

4. The vehicle camera system according to claim 1, wherein:

the lens assembly includes a snap-fit to fix the circuit board.

5. The vehicle camera system according to claim 1, wherein:

lengths of the first and second protrusions of the elastic body are greater than depths of the first and second clearances.