OUTDOOR ENCLOSURE FOR A SMART CAMERA

Abstract

An enclosure for an outdoor smart camera includes an environmentally sealed main housing with a core formed by a hollow heatsink. The heatsink runs through the interior of the housing with openings on either end of the heatsink to allow airflow. Heat emitting electronics inside the sealed main housing are mounted directly to the heatsink to conduct the heat passively through the heatsink to the external environment. The heatsink and main housing can be cut to any desired length to adjust the size of the enclosure and accommodate variable size and quantity of internal components. Mounting slots are included for mounting the enclosure easily to poles and other structures.

Claims

1. An environmental housing comprising: an elongated body portion having a hollow core and extending from a lower end to an upper end of the body portion; an elongated heat sink portion in physical communication with the elongated body portion and extending from proximate the lower end of the body portion to proximate the upper end of the body portion, wherein the elongated heat sink portion is adapted to receive components in thermal communication with the heat sink portion; a top cap adapted to cover and seal an open upper end of the body portion; and a collar mount adapted to cover an open lower end of the body portion.

2. The environmental housing of claim 1, wherein the elongated heat sink portion is a hollow body having a plurality of internal fins.

3. The environmental housing of claim 1, wherein: the elongated heat sink portion is a hollow body; the top cap includes a grate portion adapted to cover an open upper end of the heat sink portion hollow body; and the collar mount includes a grate portion adapted to cover an open lower end of the heat sink portion hollow body.

4. The environmental housing of claim 1, wherein the top cap includes mounting slots adapted to receive a first band for securing the housing to a pole.

5. The environmental housing of claim 4, wherein the collar mount includes mounting slots adapted to receive a second band for securing the housing to a pole.

6. The environmental housing of claim 1, wherein the collar mount has an adjustable camera mount, a power jack and power switch.

7. The environmental housing of claim 6, further comprising a bottom cap configured to cover the camera mount.

8. The environmental housing of claim 7, wherein one of the collar mount or the bottom cap seal the core of the body portion from the environment.

9. The environmental housing of claim 1, wherein the body portion is composed of plastic and the heat sink portion is composed of metal.

10. The environmental housing of claim 9, wherein the body portion is composed of one of PVC or ABS.

11. The environmental housing of claim 9, wherein the heat sink portion is composed of aluminum.

12. The environmental housing of claim 1, further comprising at least two rods configured to extend from the top cap to the collar mount, and secure at least one of the top cap and collar mount to the body portion.

13. The environmental housing of claim 1, wherein at least one of the top cap or collar mount further have a mounting mast extending from the cover portion and into the hollow core of the elongated body portion

14. An environmental housing comprising: an elongated body portion having a hollow core and extending from a lower end to an upper end of the body portion; an elongated heat sink portion in physical communication with the elongated body portion and extending from the lower end of the body portion to the upper end of the body portion, and wherein the elongated heat sink portion is a hollow body having a plurality of internal fins extending along a length of the hollow body from a lower end toward an upper end, wherein a portion of the heat sink has an internal component mounting portion for receiving and mounting heat generating components and wherein the component mounting portion is disposed in the hollow core of the body portion; a top cap having a cover portion adapted to cover and seal an open upper end of the body portion, an adjacent grate portion to cover an open upper end of the elongated heat sink portion, and an attachment portion adapted with slots to receive a first attachment band whereby the environmental housing can be attached to a pole; a collar mount having a cover portion adapted to cover an open lower end of the body portion, an adjacent grate portion to cover an open lower end of the heat sink portion, an attachment portion adapted with slots to receive a second attachment band whereby the environmental housing can be attached to a pole; and at least one of the top cap or collar mount further having a mounting mast extending from the cover portion and into the hollow core of the elongated body portion.

15. The environmental housing of claim 14, wherein the collar mount has an adjustable camera mount, a power jack and power switch.

16. The environmental housing of claim 15, further comprising a bottom cap configured to cover the camera mount.

17. The environmental housing of claim 14, wherein the top cap and at least two of the collar mount, the bottom cap and the heat sink portion seal the core of the body portion from the environment.

18. The environmental housing of claim 14, further comprising at least two rods configured to extend from the top cap to the collar mount, and secure at least one of the top cap and collar mount to the body portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings illustrate various non-limiting examples and innovative aspects of the outdoor enclosure in accordance with the present description:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the one embodiment of an outdoor enclosure for a smart camera mounted to a pole.

[0012] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the enclosure.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the heatsink.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the top cap.

[0015] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the collar mount.

[0016] FIG. 6 is a side view of the enclosure with the body hidden, showing the internal components.

[0017] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the enclosure with the body and bottom cap hidden to reveal the overall assembly.

[0018] FIG. 8 is perspective view of the collar mount with the camera sub-assembly attached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] An embodiment of the outdoor enclosure for a smart camera 100 is shown in FIG. 1. The main external housing consists of a cylindrical body 101, a top cap 102, a collar mount 103, and a bottom cap 104. The body 101 may made of any material capable of sealing internal components from the external environment, including extruded plastic such as PVC or ABS that has limited radio frequency interference. The top cap 102 and collar mount 103 may also be made of a rigid material and preferably a high strength material such as cast or machined aluminum, giving the overall housing additional strength when mounted on a pole or building. The bottom cap 104 may similarly be made of any rigid or semirigid material plastic, which can be injection molded or 3D printed. The bottom cap also includes a transparent lens cover 105 which is preferably made of glass or optical grade PMMA, and is large enough to accommodate the entire camera field of view without obstruction. Lens cover 105 may also be chemically coated to reduce glare and reflections to ensure the camera can obtain high quality images in all lighting conditions. The enclosure is easily mounted to a pole 106 such as a light pole or traffic signal pole using steel hose clamps 107 passed through mounting slots 108 on the top cap and collar mount.

[0020] The exploded view of FIG. 2 shows how the main housing components go together. This view also reveals the heatsink 200 which fits between the top cap 102 and collar mount 103 and is hidden inside the body 101 when assembled. The heatsink is preferably made of aluminum by extrusion. A cross-section of the heatsink is shown in FIG. 3. The fins 300 run the full length of the heatsink, maximizing the surface area for heat transmission while leaving sufficient room for good air flow through the heatsink. Screw holes 301 at one end are used to secure the heat sink to the collar mount with machine screws 702 which are visible in FIG. 7.

[0021] The top and bottom of the heatsink fit into grooves 400 and 500 in the top cap 102 and collar mount 103, shown respectively in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. The body 101 mates to both the top cap 102 and collar mount 103, forming seals with gaskets 401 and 501. The gaskets are preferably made of rubber or silicone, and may be pre-formed or formed in place using a UV cured liquid silicone gel. Grates 403 and 503 allow air flow through the heatsink while protecting it from debris. As can be seen in FIG. 7, the entire assembly is held together using threaded rods 700 inserted through holes 502 in the collar mount, screwed into threaded holes 402 in the top cap, and secured with steel locknuts 701. Bottom cap 104 is attached to collar mount 103 using screws 703. Internal components are mounted directly to the heatsink 200 as shown in FIG. 6. Heat generating components such as a processor board 602 are mounted using a thermal conductive paste such as silicone CPU grease. Heat is passively conducted into the heatsink 200, where it is in turn conducted to the air from fins 300. Air flows freely through the heatsink 200 via grates 403 and 503, allowing the heat to dissipate into the ambient environment. Components that do not need heat conduction, or components such as radio antennae that should not be placed near aluminum or other metals, are mounted on a separate mounting mast 601 that is preferably made of plastic.

[0022] As can be seen in FIG. 8, the camera sub-assembly 800 is attached to camera mount 801, which in turn is connected to camera yoke 802 using dowel pins 803 or shoulder bolts. Resistance is provided by wire torsion spring 804, holding the camera's vertical tilt in place. Tilt is adjusted by tightening or loosening set screw 805. The entire assembly is mounted on collar mount 103. The camera is connected to processor board 602 by passing a cable through hole 806. Power switch 807 and power jack 808 are also attached to collar mount 103.

[0023] It should be understood that this description (including the figures) is only representative of some illustrative embodiments. For the convenience of the reader, the above description has focused on representative samples of all possible embodiments, and samples that teach the principles of the disclosure. The description has not attempted to exhaustively enumerate all possible variations. That alternate embodiments may not have been presented for a specific portion of the disclosure, or that further undescribed alternate embodiments may be available for a portion, is not to be considered a disclaimer of those alternate embodiments. One of ordinary skill will appreciate that many of those undescribed embodiments incorporate the same principles of the disclosure as claimed and others are equivalent.