External rear view device with moveable head assembly

Abstract

An external rear view device for a motor vehicle includes a fixed base assembly provided for arrangement on the motor vehicle and a moveable head assembly attached to the base assembly via an articulation assembly. The rear view device may include a camera located within the base assembly or within the head assembly. The rear view device may include a cassette bezel that tilts and closes the rear view device. The rear view device may also include a fixed frame which supports downward load that is applied to the mirror and the articulation assembly of the mirror, and the articulation assembly may be configured to adjust the rear view device between an outboard drive condition, a standard drive condition, a park condition, and positions therebetween.

Claims

1. An external rear view device for a motor vehicle, comprising: a fixed base assembly provided for arrangement on the motor vehicle; a moveable head assembly attached to the base assembly; and an articulation assembly, the articulation assembly comprising a fixed part attached to the fixed base assembly and a moveable part attached to the head assembly, wherein the articulation assembly comprises two articulation axes, direction vectors of the articulation axes being independent of each other, and wherein the base assembly further comprises a foot providing a spherical seat for a lower casing element of the head assembly, and frame means providing at least one spherical seat for the casing, with the frame means being attached to the fixed part.

2. The external rear view device of claim 1, further comprising a camera unit immovably secured within at least one of the fixed base assembly or the moveable head assembly.

3. The external rear view device of claim 2, further comprising a camera connector which is positioned in a non-moving area of the fixed base assembly and receives the camera unit.

4. The external rear view device of claim 2, further comprising a camera connector which is positioned in a non-moving area of the moveable head assembly and receives the camera unit.

5. The external rear view device of claim 4, further comprising a glass element and a lens, wherein the camera is configured to obtain a rear view image through the glass element and obtain an image underneath the mirror through the lens.

6. The external rear view device of claim 1, further comprising a lower casing element, an upper casing element, and a removable cassette bezel, wherein the removable cassette bezel comprises a lower mating portion configured to hingedly attach to the lower casing element and an upper mating portion configured to fit into the upper casing element.

7. The external rear view device of claim 1, further comprising an upper cradle and a lower cradle, and the upper cradle and the lower cradle are attached to the moveable part of the articulation assembly.

8. The external rear view device of claim 7, further comprising a fixed case frame, the fixed case frame comprising a hole for receiving a joint attachment between the upper cradle and the lower cradle, wherein the fixed case frame is configured to absorb downward load applied on the external rear view device to protect the articulation assembly.

9. The external rear view device of claim 8, wherein the fixed case frame comprises a shape corresponding to a shape of the articulation assembly so that the fixed case frame wraps around and covers a side of the articulation assembly.

10. The external rear view device of claim 1, wherein the articulation assembly is configured to adjust the rear view device between an outboard drive condition, a standard drive condition, a park condition, and positions therebetween.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustration, certain examples of the present description are shown in the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an implementation of system, apparatuses, and methods consistent with the present description and, together with the description, serve to explain advantages and principles consistent with the invention.

(2) FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of a base assembly of a rear view device.

(3) FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are diagrams illustrating two perspective views of the base assembly of FIG. 1 having frame means attached thereto, as viewed from two different sides.

(4) FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are diagrams illustrating perspective views like FIG. 2a with an articulation assembly and an articulation assembly as well as a lower casing element being attached, respectively.

(5) FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b are diagrams illustrating perspective views of the base assembly of FIG. 1 with the lower casing element and the lower casing element plus the articulation assembly being attached, respectively.

(6) FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are diagrams illustrating perspective views of the base assembly to which the frame means, the articulation assembly and part of the casing are attached, as viewed from two different sides.

(7) FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are diagrams illustrating a front view of a camera located within the base assembly and a respective section view along the line 6b-6b illustrated in FIG. 6A.

(8) FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a side cross-sectional view of the head assembly with a camera located on a fixed base frame.

(9) FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating a side cross-sectional view of a head assembly depicting the way of attachment of the cassette bezel.

(10) FIG. 8B and FIG. 8C are diagrams illustrating side sections views of the front of a head assembly with two possible attachment types of the cassette bezel.

(11) FIG. 8D is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of the head assembly with the cassette bezel being attached thereto.

(12) FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating a side view of a support mechanism for the articulation assembly inside the head assembly.

(13) FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C are diagram illustrating sections views of FIG. 9A.

(14) FIG. 10 is a top down section view of the head assembly depicting the various head conditions achieved by a single 2 axis articulation assembly.

(15) FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are diagrams illustrating a top down section view of the head assembly with a articulation assembly of 2 single actuators and a respective section view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(16) In an aspect, an external rear view device of the invention, such as a rear view mirror, includes a base assembly 10, a frame means 20, an articulation assembly 30 and a casing 40. These parts will be described in the following with reference to the figures.

(17) According to FIG. 1, the base assembly 10 includes a foot 12 provided with a spherical seat 13 from which a shaft type carrier part 14 extends, with the carrier part 14 being provided with a cable exit 15. The foot 12 can be closed at its end opposite the spherical seat 13 by an attachment part 11 discussed with respect to FIGS. 5A and 5B below.

(18) The base assembly 10 is fixedly secured to a motor vehicle (not shown) via the attachment part 11 when in use.

(19) FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the frame means 20 fixedly secured to the base assembly 10. The frame means 20 is provided by a support part 21 more or less with a ring shape, two spherical seats 22 and 25 provided by extensions 22a, 22b and 25a and a fixation part 23 into which the carrier part 14 of the base assembly 10 is inserted such that the lower spherical seat 22 in FIGS. 2a and 2b is facing the spherical seat 13 of the foot 12. The extensions 22a, 22b and 25a extend from opposite sides of the fixation part 23, with two lower extensions 22a, 22b providing a lower spherical seat 22 and the upper spherical seat 25 being provided by an upper extension 25a.

(20) The fixation part 23 is provided with a cable exit 24 in alignment with the cable exit 15 of the carrier part 14. For securing the attachment of the frame means 20 to the base assembly 10 a screw (not shown) can be entered into a screw hole 27 provided by the fixation part 23 and the carrier part 14.

(21) As can be seen in FIG. 3A the articulation means 30 can be attached to the frame means 20 by partly inserting a fixed part 32 of the articulation assembly 30 into the support part 21. The respective arrangement can be fixed with a clip connection or the like. The fixed part 32 is moveably connected to a moveable part 34 of the articulation assembly 30, with the moveable part 34 facing away from the frame means 20.

(22) The lower extensions 22a and 22b provide a part ring together with the lower part of support part 21 to provide the spherical seat 22, with a rim 28 being provided by a cut-out at the end facing the moveable part 34 of the articulation assembly 30. The moveable part 34 is provided with attachment means 35 in the form of recesses for the attachment of a casing 40. FIG. 3B shows the subassembly of FIG. 3A with a lower casing element 42 of the casing 40 attached thereto. The lower casing element 42 is provided with an attachment part 44 attached to the moveable part 34 of the articulation assembly 30 in a fixed manner in order to move together with the moveable part 34. For that purpose, the attachment part 44 is formed with attachment bosses 45 shown in FIG. 4A, with the attachment bosses 45 being insertable into the attachment recesses 35, and with a part ring 44a for partly encompassing the moveable part 34 to add strength to the connection of the lower casing element 42 and the moveable part 34 due to an enhanced power transmission. Further ribs and the like can be added to further increase the strength.

(23) As can be best seen in FIG. 3B the part ring 21, 22a, 22b and the part ring 44a are complementary to each other to lead to a compromise of the spherical seat 22 enabling a smooth movement of the lower casing element 42 together with the moveable part 34 on the one hand and a strong connection of the lower casing element 42 to the moveable part 34 on the other hand.

(24) In addition, the lower casing element 42 is provided with a base part 46 arranged between the foot 12 and the frame means 20, in particular the lower extension of the frame means. The base part 46 is provided with a lower spherical seat 47 cooperating with the spherical seat 13 of the foot 12 and an upper spherical seat 48 cooperating with the lowest spherical seat 22 of the frame means 20. Accordingly, the overall structure is that of three parts spheres. The inner part sphere is provided by the frame means 20 and the outer part sphere is provided by the foot 12 of the base assembly 10 being fixed. The part sphere provided by the lower casing element 42, and being arranged in the middle, can be moved around two articulation axes in order to provide an inboard/outboard and up/down movement. Attached to the attachment part 44 is a mirror glass (not shown) which can thus be moved via the articulation assembly 30 to fulfil the legal field of view requirements of the rear view mirror.

(25) FIG. 4A provides further details of the relative arrangement of the lower casing element 42 with respect to the base assembly 10.

(26) FIG. 4B shows the subassembly of FIG. 4A together with the fixed part 32 and movable part 34 attached between the carrier part 14 of the base assembly 10 and the attachment part 44 of the lower casing 42. The articulation assembly 30 also includes drive means (not shown), in particular including two motors for the movement of the moveable part 34 about the two articulation axes, and a control system 36 for the drive means which is partly shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

(27) The perspective view of FIG. 5A not only shows the subassembly provided by the base assembly 10, the articulation assembly 30 and the lower casing element 42, but also shows an upper casing element 41 of the casing 40 and a camera 50 both being attached to the lower casing element 42. FIG. 5B shows the subassembly of FIG. 5A from an opposite side, without the casing 40 closed via an additional casing element (not shown) to complete a head assembly 60. FIG. 5b shows. in addition to the upper casing element 41 and the lower casing element 42 a bezel 49 attached to the upper and lower casing elements 41, 42. The bezel 49 surrounds the mirror glass (not shown) of the completely assembled external rear view mirror.

(28) Still further, the control system 36 of the articulation assembly 30 is carried by the attachment part 11. When the attachment part 11 is secured to the foot 12, the control system 36 is completely arranged within the foot 12. Also arranged within the foot 12 are cables which exit the base assembly 10 at the cable exit 15 and reach the interior of the head assembly 60 by passing also through to the cable exit 24 of the frame means 20 in order to be connected to the camera 50 and other units like lighting units and the like (not shown), which are arranged within the head assembly 60.

(29) The head assembly 60, or rather the mirror head as a whole, can be articulated using the articulation assembly 30 in particular via the movable part 34. The movable part 34 is connected to the drive system which can be a part of the control system 36. The control system 36 can also comprise memory means for memorizing a position of the movable part 34 and, thus, the mirror glass attached thereto via the attachment part 44.

(30) The support part 21 may be an actuator ring which is clipped onto the fixed part 32 to provide improved support in an impact situation. Due to its upper spherical seat 25, the frame assembly 20 ensures a smooth movement of the upper casing element 41 which is also provided with an internal spherical seat (not shown).

(31) The arrangement of the support part 21 with its extensions 22a, 22b, and 25a, forming spherical seats 22, 25, relative to the movable upper and lower casing elements 41, 42, provide a support and stiffness in all three directions during dynamic and impact situations. The result is a smaller mirror system offering the customer a unique external rear view mirror weight as well as aero and vehicle fuel efficiency benefit.

(32) Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, due to the movement of the head assembly 60, a non-moving area for securing a camera 62 may be used. In this example, the camera 62 is positioned in a solid, non-moving area which does not move when the head actuates. FIGS. 6A and 6B show the camera 62 located in the mirror base assembly 61 fixed on the base frame 65 with a camera connector 66. The camera 62 is covered by a base cap 63 and the base assembly is covered by a base cover 64 and secured via a gasket 67 to a motor vehicle (not shown). FIG. 6B illustrates a section view along the line 6b-6b of FIG. 6A. In this example, the camera 62 is fixed in the mirror base assembly 61 of the rear view means.

(33) In another example, the camera may be fixed to the head assembly 60. As shown in FIG. 7, the camera 73 is mounted on the base frame 72 that is connected to the base assembly 77. Attached to the base frame 72, as well, is the articulation assembly 70 that moves the mirror head connected via the upper cradle 71a and lower cradle 71b. The upper casing element 76a is connected to the upper cradle 71a, and the lower casing element 76b is connected to the lower cradle 71b. The head assembly is finally locked through a bezel 75 that carries the mirror glass 80.

(34) The camera 73 is fixed by a camera cradle 74 and is directed to view through an opening in the bezel 75 through the glass 80 and/or to view under the mirror through a lens 78, which is installed in the lower casing element 76b. As in the configuration of FIGS. 6A and 6B, the camera of FIGS. 7A and 7B is secured to a solid, non-moving area that does not move when the head actuates. The camera 73 is packaged into the case frame of the head assembly 60. This provides the camera 73 with a number of different fields of view; in particular, producing at least images of the rear of the vehicle, the side of the vehicle, the front of the vehicle, or the underneath the mirror or the vehicle. In the illustrated example, the camera 73 is directed to view behind the vehicle through the glass 80 and underneath the mirror through the lens 78.

(35) Referring to FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, and 8D a cassette bezel 81a, 81b, and 81c may be used in combination with the head assembly 60 described throughout this application. The head unit may be supplied without the glass, bezel, or scalp being attached, thus allowing for late configuration and adjustability by the customer. There are a number of different ways that the cassette bezel 81a, 81b, 81c may be attached, as illustrated in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C. Different glass 80 types may be attached to the head assembly in a removable way and provide the final locking system to control the head assembly retention and alignment of the mirror head. Different substitutable glass types include, but are not limited to, standard glass or EC glass. Different substitutable bezel types include, but are not limited to, standard bezels or bezels including lighting elements and functionalities.

(36) The cassette bezels 81a, 81b, 81c are single, unitary parts and they are first latched over the lower casing elements 84a, 84b, 84c and/or respectively partly in combination with the lower cradles 86a, 86b, 86c. Once latched to the lower casing elements 84a, 84b, 84c, the cassette bezels 81a, 81b, 81c are then rotatable about the lower casing elements 84a, 84b, 84c almost as if hingedly attached. The cassette bezels 81a, 81b, 81c then tilt into the upper cradles 85a, 85b, 85c, to also lock to the upper casing elements 83a, 83b, 83c. FIG. 8D best illustrates the cassette bezels 81a, 81b, 81c as attached to the lower casing elements 84a, 84b, 84c and before being tilted to attach to the upper casing elements 83a, 83b, 83c.

(37) Referring back to FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C, the linking portion of the bezels 81a, 81b, 81c which attaches to the lower casing elements 84a, 84b, 84c may have at least three different configurations including tapered square male-female attachment, as in FIG. 8A, tapered square male-female attachment with an extended support area, as in FIG. 8B, and a curved attachment with an extended support area, as in FIG. 8C. Also, the linking portion of the bezels 81a, 81b, 81c which attaches to the upper casing elements 83a, 83b, 83c may have at least three different configurations such as a tapered projection extending through the upper cradle 85a, as in FIG. 8A, a rectangular projection extending only partly into the upper cradle 85b, as in FIG. 8b, or a rectangular projection extending through the upper cradle 85c. A number of other configurations can also be used and the invention is not limited to these configurations.

(38) FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C are diagrams illustrating a support mechanism for the articulation assembly inside the head assembly. As the articulation assembly 90 is the mechanical fixing point between the moving mirror head and the fixed base, it needs protection from downward load exerted on the mirror head. It should be noted that the configuration of the articulation assembly 90 in this example is opposite to the example illustrated in FIGS. 1-5B. That is, the moving part of the articulation assembly 90 of this example is the spherical portion having the larger diameter shown on the left hand side of the drawing, and the non-moving part of the articulation assembly 90 is the fixed part with the smaller diameter shown on the right hand side of the drawing. As can be seen in FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C, additional support is provided by a bracket mounted on the fixed base frame 93 hugging the articulation assembly 90 with two elongated hole rings, one on each opposite side of the articulation assembly 90. Through the holes an upper cradle 91 mounted on the articulation assembly 90 and a lower cradle 92 mounted on the mirror head are joined to each other allowing rotational movement inboard/outboard and up/down. The elongated hole case frame rings create the locking mechanism and provide the inboard and outboard stops.

(39) FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view showing the attachment of the upper cradle 91 to the lower cradle 92 and the hole of the base frame 93 along the line 9b-9b of FIG. 9A. As shown in FIG. 9B, the upper cradle 91 and lower cradle 92 are fixedly attached and move together to one end or the other end of the hole of the base frame 93 as the mirror is actuated to move inboard or outboard. Referring to FIG. 9C, a cross-sectional view showing the attachment of the upper cradle 91 to the lower cradle 92 along the line 9c-9c of FIG. 9A is illustrated. As the mirror is actuated to move up or down, the upper cradle 91 and lower cradle 92 move together within the hole of the fixed base frame 93. The base frame 93 is thus a fixed surface which acts to cover the articulation assembly 90 and encompass the articulation assembly 90 to support downward or other types of load.

(40) FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a top down section view of the head assembly depicting the various head conditions achieved by a single 2 axis articulation assembly. A park fold position of the mirror head assembly 100 can be provided using the same articulation assembly 101 that is used to set the mirror in drive condition with a single 2 axis glass actuator orientated to utilize the full angular working range, as illustrated in FIG. 10.

(41) In another example, FIGS. 11A and 11B show an assembly with 2 single axis actuators 104 and 105 positioned independently of each other, along the mirror head rotational axis, controlled by integrated memory circuits or a separate memory module 106. Referring to FIG. 11B, a cross-sectional view along the line 11b-11b of FIG. 11A is shown with the two independent single axis actuators 104, 105 also illustrated. The two independent actuators allow the mirror to be adjusted inboard/outboard and up/down according to the desire of the driver. As with the articulation assembly described throughout this application, the two independent single axis actuators 104, 105 are also configured to allow adjustment of the mirror between an outboard drive condition, a standard drive condition, a park condition, and conditions therebetween.

(42) Different functions and devices can be incorporated into and/or controlled with the help of rearview devices including especially also cameras.

(43) Especially useful are functions and devices to enhance, extend and/or sustain the functionality of the rearview device during normal or extreme conditions. This may include heating and/or cooling means, cleaning means such as wipers, liquid and/or gaseous sprays, actuator means for moving the rearview device or parts of it, such as for example a display, a camera system and/or parts of a camera system, including for example lenses, filters, light sources, adaptive optics like deformable mirrors, sensors and/or mirrors, and/or actuator means for inducing movement of other objects, for example parts of the vehicle and/or objects surrounding the vehicle. Furthermore it can include linear tracks and/or rotating wheels, like for example a filter wheel, for exchanging optical elements, including for example lenses, mirrors, light sources, sensors, adaptive optics like deformable mirrors and/or filters.

(44) Prominent examples for functions and devices incorporated into and/or controlled with the help of rearview devices include also illumination devices, for example any kind of light module like an external light module, an internal light module, a front light, a back light, a fog light, a brake light, an acceleration light, a turn signal, a logo lamp, a puddle light, a flash light, a navigation light, a position light, an emergency light, a spotlight, a green light, a red light, a warning light, a turn signal light module, an approach light, a search light, an information light, a display and/or any combination thereof.

(45) Further examples for functions and devices incorporated into and/or controlled with the help of rearview devices may include for example a tiredness detection system, a microsleep detection system, a distance and/or velocity determination system, for example a LIDAR (Light detection and ranging) system, a blind spot indicator system, a lane change assistant system, a navigation assistant system, a tracking assistant system, a human-machine interaction system, a machine-machine interaction system, an emergency and precaution assistant system, like an accident avoiding assistant system, a counter-measures assistant system, a brake assistant system, a steering assistant system, an acceleration assistant system, an escape assistant system, including for example an ejection seat system, a direction indicator, a blind spot indicator, an approach system, a strong braking system, an emergency braking system, a charging status indicator, a vehicle mode system, including for example a sports mode system, an economy mode system, an autonomous drive mode system, a sleep mode system and an anti-theft system, a vehicle locked indicator system, a vehicle stolen indicator, a warning signal system, a temperature indicator system, a weather indicator system, a traffic light signal system, a fuel status system and/or any combination thereof.

(46) An example for a rearview device including an illumination device fulfilling the brake light functions is disclosed in German patent application No. 102012108488, filed on Sep. 11, 2012 for REARVIEW ASSEMBLY FOR MOTOR VEHICLE and hereby incorporated herein by reference. A light guidance unit for an illumination device used in a back vision system is disclosed in German patent application No. 102012104529, filed on May 25, 2012 for LIGHT GUIDANCE UNIT which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. An illumination device for a rearview device is disclosed in German patent application No. 102012107833, filed on Aug. 24, 2012 for ILLUMINATION DEVICE AND REARVIEW DEVICE which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. A lighting device for a back-vision unit is disclosed in German patent application No. 102012107834, filed on Aug. 24, 2012 for LIGHTING DEVICE AND BACK-VISION UNIT which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. A housing and display device of a rearview device is disclosed in European patent No. 2738043, filed on Dec. 3, 2012 for HOUSING AND DISPLAY DEVICE which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. An optical light guide for a vehicle lighting unit is disclosed in European patent No. 2947378, filed on May 22, 2014 for OPTICAL LIGHT GUIDE FOR A VEHICLE LIGHTING UNIT which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. A display device of a rearview device of a vehicle is disclosed in International patent application No. 2015/173695, filed on May 7, 2015 for DISPLAY DEVICE, REAR VIEW DEVICE AND MOTOR VEHICLE and claiming priority to European patent application No. 2944866, filed on May 12, 2014 for OPTICAL UNIT, DISPLAY DEVICE, REAR VIEW DEVICE AND MOTOR VEHICLE INCLUDING THE SAME which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. Further a light guiding device for an illumination device, in particular for a motor vehicle or a display device, in a rearview device of a motor vehicle is disclosed in European patent application No. 3045944, filed on Jan. 19, 2015 for LIGHT GUIDING DEVICE which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Still further a light guiding device for an illumination device, especially for a motor vehicle or an indicator device in a rearview device of a motor vehicle is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/228,566, filed on Aug. 4, 2016, for LIGHT GUIDING DEVICE and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/000,733, filed on Jan. 19, 2016 for LIGHT GUIDING DEVICE which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. In addition, an illumination device, particularly for a rear-view device of a motor vehicle and a method for producing the same are disclosed in International patent application No. 2016/147154, filed on Mar. 18, 2016 for ILLUMINATION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING AN ILLUMINATION DEVICE and claiming priority to German patent application No. 102015104163, filed on Mar. 19, 2015 for ILLUMINATION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING AN ILLUMINATION DEVICE which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. An improved rear-view device for a motor vehicle which includes an electronic device is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/256,532, filed on Sep. 3, 2016 for ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND REAR-VIEW DEVICE and claiming priority to European patent application No. 3139711, filed on Sep. 3, 2015 for ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND REAR VIEW DEVICE which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. A lighting device for a rearview device or a footwell device of a vehicle, including at least one luminous means is disclosed in German patent application No. 102015115555, filed on Sep. 9, 2015 for ILLUMINATION DEVICE, REAR VIEW DEVICE, FOOTWELL DEVICE AND VEHICLE which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. A light module for a light assembly of an exterior rear view device is disclosed in European patent application No. 3138734, filed on Sep. 3, 2015 for LIGHT MODULE, LIGHT ASSEMBLY AND REAR VIEW DEVICE FOR A VEHICLE which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. A lighting device for a vehicle component, in particular for a rearview device of a motor vehicle, including a logo lamp and a deflection mirror are disclosed in European patent application No. 3144183, filed on Sep. 13, 2016 for LIGHTING DEVICE, VEHICLE COMPONENT AND VEHICLE and claiming priority to German utility patent application No. 202015104894, filed on Sep. 15, 2015 for LIGHTING DEVICE, VEHICLE COMPONENT AND VEHICLE which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(47) A camera module can include in particular a plurality of different optical elements, including a.o. a variety of sensors and light sources, as well as housing parts.

(48) The housing of a camera module can be made out of plastic, metal, glass, any other suitable material and/or any combinations thereof and can be used in combination with the techniques described below to change or modify the properties of the material or the material surface. Housings are for example described in German patent application No. 102016108247.3, filed on May 3, 2016 for CLEANING SYSTEM FOR A CAMERA and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/281,780, filed Sep. 30, 2016 for TELESCOPING REARVIEW ASSEMBLY WITH CAMERA AND LENS WIPING SYSTEM, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(49) The camera can include for example CCD or CMOS or light field sensors, as for example described in German patent application No. 102011053999, filed Sep. 28, 2011 for DETECTION SYSTEM FOR OPTICAL DETECTION OF OBJECT AND/OR REGION OF SPACE FOR DRIVER ASSISTANCE AND/OR DISPLAY SYSTEMS OF MOTOR VEHICLE, HAS OPTICAL SENSOR ARRANGED AS LIGHT FIELD SENSOR FOR DETECTION and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/771,140, filed on Jan. 26, 2001 for MONITORING DEVICE FOR VEHICLES, IN PARTICULAR, MOTOR VEHICLES, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,703,925, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. Also an area of the sensor can be reserved for different purposes, for example to detect a test beam, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,031,224, filed on Sep. 9, 2014 for CAMERA SYSTEM, METHOD FOR OPERATION OF A CAMERA SYSTEM AND SENSOR DEVICE OF A CAMERA SYSTEM, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(50) The optical elements can be molded or formed from any type of glass or any other suitable material. Glass is here used in the meaning of a non-crystalline amorphous solid showing a glass transition when heated towards the liquid state. It includes for example the group of polymeric glasses, metallic glasses, silica glasses, but any other suitable material showing the glass transition can also be used. The glass can be either in a flat, wedge, rectangular, cylindrical, spherical, conical, elliptical, and/or circular shape, as described for example in German patent application No. 102016108247.3, and German patent application No. 102011103200, filed on May 31, 2011 for LIGHT WINDOW FOR USE AS LIGHT CONDUCTOR FOR TURN INDICATOR IN OUTSIDE MIRROR ARRANGEMENT OF VEHICLE, HAS UNCOUPLING STRUCTURES AT CERTAIN LOCATION OF WINDOW, AND OPTICAL FILM WITH MOLDED COATING AND PROVIDED WITH UNCOUPLING STRUCTURES, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference, or have a shape according to different needs or lens types. As non-limiting examples camera modules can be equipped with lenses, like a wide-angle or fish-eye lens suitable to provide peripheral images, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/281,780, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/090,127, filed on Apr. 19, 2011 for REAR VIEW MIRROR SIMULATION, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,238,434, a Fresnel lens or micro lenses as described in German patent application No. 102011053999, filed Sep. 28, 2011 for DETECTION SYSTEM FOR OPTICAL DETECTION OF OBJECT AND/OR REGION OF SPACE FOR DRIVER ASSISTANCE AND/OR DISPLAY SYSTEMS OF MOTOR VEHICLE, HAS OPTICAL SENSOR ARRANGED AS LIGHT FIELD SENSOR FOR DETECTION, and a TIR (total internal reflection) lens as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,740,427, filed Sep. 8, 2010 for OPTIMAL LIGHT COUPLING FOR REAR VIEW DEVICES, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. Another type of optical elements know to be used in camera modules are optical fibers, especially in form of fiber bundles and preferably in form of fiber bundles having an optical head, as described for example in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/771,140. Different methods can be used to produce such optical elements, for example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,460,060, filed on Jan. 30, 2009 for METHOD FOR CREATING A COMPLEX SURFACE ON A SUBSTRATE OF GLASS, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(51) The optical elements can be transparent as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 8,031,224, German patent application No. 102016108247.3, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/242,829, filed Sep. 23, 2011 for CAMERA ARRANGEMENT AND DOOR HANDLE FOR MOTOR VEHICLE, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. But the optical elements can also be semitransparent, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/771,140 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/090,127, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. Still further, the optical elements can be completely or partially coated with different type of coatings to realize different effects, such as for example anti-reflective coatings as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,031,224, chromium-based reflective coatings as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,181,616, filed on Jan. 24, 2012 for CHROMIUM-BASED REFLECTIVE COATING, and other coatings, for example for polymeric substrates as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/936,024, filed on Nov. 9, 2015 for COATED POLYMERIC SUBSTRATES and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/124,310, filed on Feb. 20, 2015 for DECORATIVE COATINGS FOR PLASTIC SUBSTRATES, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. Preferably the optical elements are made of a scratch-proof material as described for example in German patent application No. 102016108247.3, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The optical elements can have uncoupling structures at certain locations of the optical elements, and an optical film, for example an extrusion film, and a molded coating can be applied as described in German patent application No. 102011103200, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. A coating to spectrally and stress control is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/124,310, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Different filters can be integrated into the optical elements such as for example gray filters or polarization filters, described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/809,509, filed Jul. 27, 2015 for APPARATUS FOR LIGHT INTENSITY ADJUSTMENT, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(52) Electrochromic substrates, polymer electrolytes and other charge conducting medias may be used for the optical elements based on the descriptions of European patent application No. 08103179.1, filed on Mar. 31, 2008 for PROCESS FOR PRODUCING ELECTROCHROMIC SUBSTRATES AND ELECTROCHROMIC ARTICLES MADE THEREFROM, European patent No. 2202826, filed on Dec. 23, 2008 for POLYMER ELECTROLYTES AND DEVICES CONTAINING, U.S. Pat. No. 7,999,992, filed on Jan. 7, 2005 for CHARGE CONDUCTING MEDIUM and U.S. Pat. No. 8,537,451, filed on Mar. 26, 2008 for PROCESSES FOR PRODUCING ELECTROCHROMIC SUBSTRATES AND ELECTROCHROMIC ARTICLES MADE THEREFROM, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(53) The camera module can also be equipped with apparatuses for light intensity adjustment as described for example in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/809,509 and light level intensifier tubes as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/771,140, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. The electrochromic substrates and devices used in European patent application No. 08103179.1, European patent No. 2202826, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,999,992 and 8,537,451, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference, can also be used for this purpose as well as a transflector to transmit or reflect light based on a corresponding input signal, as described in German patent application No. 102016106126.3, filed on Apr. 4, 2016 for IMAGING SYSTEM, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(54) The camera module or a cover adapted to the camera module can be moved using different actuators, drives and/or a flexible track, as for example described in German application No. 102016108247.3 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/281,780, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(55) Still further, the camera module can also include cleaning elements to clean the optical element facing outwards and being exposed to the environment. The cleaning element can for example include wipers, brushes, lips, nozzles, fans and similar elements as are described in European patent application No. 14165197.6, filed Apr. 17, 2014 for OPTICAL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE, CLEANING DEVICE AND VEHICLE COMPRISING AN OPTICAL SYSTEM, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/281,780, German patent application No. 102016108247.3, European patent application No. 13163677.1, filed Apr. 15, 2013 for LENS WIPER, European patent application No. 15173201.3, filed Jun. 22, 2015 for LENS CLEANING WITH FLEXIBLE ACTUATOR and European patent No. 1673260, filed on Oct. 14, 2003 for CLEANING DEVICE which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. The cleaning devices are not limited in composition, and may for example include any fabric, elastomeric, sponge, brush, or combination of these. Special wiper elements including wiper arms, wiper blades, wiping cloth, wiping tissue and combinations thereof are described in European patent application No. 14165197.6, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. A wiper element may for example be controlled according to the method described in European patent application No. 130164250.6, filed Apr. 18, 2013 for METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A WIPER DEVICE, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. A reservoir for holding a cleaning liquid as described in European patent application No. 14165197.6, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Such a reservoir can be attached to or integrated into the camera module to provide the cleaning liquid to the optical elements of the camera module.

(56) Different methods may be used to detect dirt or other obscurations preventing or reducing the functioning of the camera module, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,395,514, filed on Jun. 24, 2008 for OPTICAL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING OPTICAL SYSTEM OBSCURATION IN A VEHICLE, European patent No. 1328141, filed on January 12, for ASSEMBLY HAVING A CONDUCTOR FROM FLEXIBLE MATERIAL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH AN ASSEMBLY, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,031,224, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(57) Also light sources can be installed or integrated into the camera module to increase the visibility of surrounding objects, measure distances and directions and detect dirt, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,031,224, U.S. patent application No. 62/470,658, filed on Mar. 13, 2017, 2016 for LIGHT EMITTING MIRROR BEZEL and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/771,140, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(58) Different heating means, like heating coils, heating devices integrated into the lens holder or the bezel, or other heating elements can be used to impede condensation and icing at the surface of optical elements, as for example described in German patent application No. 102016108247.3, U.S. patent application No. 62/470,658, and German patent application No. 102016107545.0, filed on Apr. 22, 2016 for HEATING DEVICE FOR A CAMERA LENS, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(59) A watertight seal against weather effects, as well as against the influence of washing processes with detergents, solvents and high pressure cleaners can be used on the housing of the camera module as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/090,127, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(60) In another example, the housing can be made of a body including plastic and conductive material, wherein the conductive material is dispersed in the plastic material to form a conductive mass to allow a power source, preferably a DC voltage source, to connect via at least two electrodes to the body and heat the body accordingly, as described in German patent application No. 102016107545.0, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(61) A conductor track can be embedded within plastic parts of the camera module as described in European patent No. 1328141 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,311, filed on Jan. 12, 2002 for CONDUCTOR OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL, COMPONENT COMPRISING SUCH FLEXIBLE CONDUCTOR, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SUCH CONDUCTOR, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(62) The camera module can include a power harvesting system as described for example in European patent application No. 09171683.7, filed on Sep. 29, 2009 for SELF SUSTAINING REAR VIEW MIRROR, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(63) A fault detection system for electric consumers as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,487,633 filed on Jan. 14, 2010 for FAULT DETECTION OF ELECTRIC CONSUMERS IN MOTOR VEHICLES, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, can be used to detect failure of the camera module.

(64) Different types of fixings can be used to fix the camera module to the vehicle or other components, such as for example the snap-fit connection described in European patent No. 2233360, filed on Mar. 27, 2009 for SNAP FIT CONNECTION IN A REAR VIEW MIRROR, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(65) Different control means and analyzing devices can be used, such as the computation units described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/090,127, German patent application No. 102016106126.3, German patent application No. 102011053999, European patent No. 2146325, filed on July 16, for Recording Device for Receiving, Processing and Storing Image Files in a Vehicle and Method, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,849,104, filed on Jul. 16, 2008 for RECORDING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CAPTURING AND PROCESSING IMAGE DATA IN A VEHICLE, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. In addition, HDR (high dynamical range) technology can be used according to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/830,406, filed on Aug. 19, 2015 for REAR VIEW DEVICE FOR A MOTOR and published as US 20150358590, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

(66) Although modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art, it is the intention of the application to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and probably come within the scope of this contribution to the art. The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth in detail in the appended claims. The features disclosed in the description, the figures as well as the claims could be essential alone or in every combination for the realization of the invention in its different embodiments.

(67) TABLE-US-00001 Reference Signs 10 base assembly 11 attachment part 12 foot 13 spherical seat 14 carrier part 15 cable exist 20 frame means 21 support part 22 spherical seat 22a extension 22b extension 23 fixation part 24 cable exit 25 spherical seat 25a extension 26 shoulder 27 screw hole 28 rim 30 articulation assembly 32 fixed part 34 moveable part 35 attachment means 36 control system 40 casing 41 upper casing element 42 lower casing element 44 attachment part 44a part ring 44b cut-out 45 attachment boss 46 base part 47 spherical seat 48 spherical seat 49 bezel 50 camera 60 head assembly 61 base assembly 62 camera 63 base cap 64 base cover 65 base frame 66 camera connector 67 gasket 70 articulation assembly 71a upper cradle 71b lower cradle 72 base frame 73 camera 74 camera cradle 75 bezel 76a upper casing element 76b lower casing element 77 base assembly 78 lens 80 glass 81a cassette bezel 81b cassette bezel 81c cassette bezel 83a upper casing element 83b upper casing element 83c upper casing element 84a lower casing element 84b lower casing element 84a lower casing element 85a upper cradle 85b upper cradle 85c upper cradle 85c upper cradle 86a lower cradle 86b lower cradle 86c lower cradle 90 articulation assembly 91 upper cradle 92 lower cradle 93 base frame 94 pivot ball joint 95 centre of rotation 100 head assembly 101 articulation assembly 102 bezel 103 glass 104 actuator 105 actuator 106 memory module 107 pivot ball joint 108 case frame 109 lower casing element