Device having a camera unit

• US 9,444,984 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2013
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huf Hulsbeck & Furst GmbH & Co. KG
• Original Assignee: Huf Hulsbeck & Furst GmbH & Co. KG
• Inventors: Scudder, Austen Kolar, Walters, Alex Scott, Fichert, Ulrike, Bartlett, Shannon Christian, Jungmann, Richard Heinz
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Tung
• Assistant Examiner(s): CATTUNGAL, ROWINA J
• Application Number:
  US13/845,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20130293713A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,275 Days
• Field of Search: 348/148
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2011/0094 characterised by means for covering after user, e.g. boxes, shutters or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 11/00 Filters or other obturators specially adapted for photographic purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 11/04 Hoods or caps for eliminating unwanted light from lenses, viewfinders or focusing aids
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/04 collapsible, foldable or extensible, e.g. book type
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 29/00 Combinations of cameras, projectors or photographic printing apparatus with non-photographic non-optical apparatus, e.g. clocks or weapons; Cameras having the shape of other objects combinations with flash apparatus G03B15/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

The invention relates to a device, comprising a camera unit, which is used to record images of the exterior area of a motor vehicle, and a cover element, which can be moved from a closed position to an open position by means of a drive, wherein the camera unit is behind the cover element and inaccessible from outside in the closed position of the cover element and images can be recorded in the open position of the cover element. For this purpose, the cover element has an outer surface facing away from the camera unit, and the drive interacts with a mechanism in such a way that the outer surface is always in the exterior area of the motor vehicle in each position of the cover element during the movement of the cover element between the closed position and the open position.

Claims

1. A device with an assembly element and a cover that together form a housing, specifically for a camera unit and/or an actuation element wherein at least one component, specifically a component of a drive, is arranged inside the housing, wherein the component receives support in the assembly element on the one hand, and in the cover, on the other hand,

wherein a camera unit that serves for recording images of the exterior area of a motor vehicle and a cover element are present, the cover element being movable by means of the drive from a closed position to an open position, the camera unit is located, inaccessible from the outside, behind the cover element when the cover element is in closed position, and the recording of images can be performed when the cover element is in open position, and the component is a part of the drive,

wherein at least one support of a movable component is formed by two support halves, wherein, in an attachment area, a first support half is provided on the rear side of the assembly element and/or a second support half is provided on the inner surface of the cover,

wherein the first support halves having a semi-circular cross-section and are molded into the assembly element.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one component is supported movably in the support of the assembly element and the cover, with specifically the component being a component of the drive.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein an opening provided in the assembly element through which the recording of images by the camera unit can be performed, with the opening being closed by the cover element in the closed position.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one component resting in the housing is formed by a motor, a camera unit, and/or a control unit, with the support of the resting components comprising a receptacle, on the one hand, and a securing element, on the other hand.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one movable component is formed by a rotatable shaft that represents a component of the drive, specifically a gear of the drive, with the component held in the housing by the support only on one side or on several sides.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second support half are semicircular and specifically comprise an open side.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second support half mirror each other and specifically comprise a free space in order to provide sufficient space for the component during movement.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein one or all components are placed loosely into the associated supports in the assembly element so that they are held in a fixed location in the housing only after the cover is placed on top.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one support on the assembly element protrudes bridge-like from the rear side that is specifically of a flat design, simultaneously forming a guide contour for the movable cover element.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the cover, on its inner surface facing the assembly element, comprises a contour that serves as a support for at least one element of the drive or of the camera unit.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the cover is arranged on the assembly element by means of at least one holding element.

12. The device according to claim 1, wherein the cover may be designed as a shell with a surrounding rim on the inner surface, having specifically at least one passage for an electrical plug or a power cord.

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one gasket that specifically is positioned flat against the assembly element is provided between the cover and the assembly element.