RETENTION SYSTEM, IN PARTICULAR FOR A CAMERA IN AN INSIDE COMPARTMENT OF A VEHICLE

Abstract

A retention system on a mounting structure for a generally cylindrical component extending in a transversal axis. The retention system includes a generally U-shaped spring clip comprising a base and a pair of resilient retainer arms extending from the base along a longitudinal axis and defining an inlet passage; and a member holding said U-shaped spring clip; the retainer arms are adapted to engage with an upper side of the component in front of the inlet passage. The member includes one or multiple rigid retention walls extending inside the spring clip and which are adapted to engage with a lower side of the component at distance of the base, in working position.

Claims

1. A retention system on a mounting structure for a generally cylindrical component, the retention system comprising: a U-shaped spring clip that includes a base and a pair of resilient retainer arms extending from the base along a main axis and defining an inlet passage; and a holding member for holding said U-shaped spring clip, wherein said retainer arms are adapted to engage with a first side of the component facing the inlet passage, and said holding member includes a rigid retention wall extending inside the spring clip and which are adapted to engage with a second side of the component opposite the first side, said second side located at a distance from the spring clip base in working position.

2. The retention system according to claim 1, characterized in that said holding member comprises two lateral sub-members that are disjoined, each of said lateral sub members comprising at least one retention wall engaging a respective lateral peripheral portion of said component.

3. The retention system according to claim 2, characterized in that each lateral sub-member) comprises at least one support wall, which is configured to be in contact with the end portion of the inner face of the spring clip base in working position.

4. The retention system according to claim 2, characterized in that each of the retainer arms is generally inwardly inclined and connected to the base via an elbow, and each of said lateral sub-members comprises a side face presenting a clearance with the corresponding elbow, in working position.

5. The retention system according to claim 4, characterized in that the spring clip base is received between said support walls and a reception sub-platform.

6. The retention system according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises a rear support, the holding member and the reception sub-platform protruding from said rear support.

7. The retention system according to claim 6, characterized in that said reception sub-platform is a second reception sub-platform, which receives a central portion of the outer side of said base, the retention system comprising a first reception sub-platform at distance from said second reception sub-platform, the system being configured to receive the outer face of the base on said first reception sub-platform, and allow sliding the base on the second reception sub-platform, for mounting the spring clip.

8. The retention system according to claim 7, characterized in that said reception sub-platform extends beyond said holding member to serve as guide during mounting of said spring clip.

9. The retention system according to claim 5, characterized in that said reception sub-platform comprises a cavity configured to receive a corresponding locking protrusion provided in the spring clip base.

10. The retention system according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the retainer arms engages said first side of the component over a peripheral portion, which has an angular extension (α) that is less than 45°

11. The retention system according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the retainer arms engages said first side of the component over a peripheral portion, which has an angular extension (α) that is between 1° and 5°.

12. The retention system according to claim 1, characterized in that the rigid retention wall is positioned inside the spring clip at an average distance from the clip base corresponding to at least 25% of the height of the spring clip, preferably between 30% and 40% of said height.

13. A camera assembly for mounting to a windscreen in a passenger compartment of an automotive vehicle, said camera assembly comprising: a camera the includes a cylindrical component; a mounting structure comprising a reception platform with a first side adapted to be fixed to the windscreen, and an opposite side adapted for receiving the camera; wherein said cylindrical component is fixed by a retention system that includes a U-shaped spring clip that includes a base and a pair of resilient retainer arms extending from the base along a main axis and defining an inlet passage; and a holding member for holding said U-shaped spring clip, wherein said retainer arms are adapted to engage with a first side of the component facing the inlet passage, and said holding member includes a rigid retention wall extending inside the spring clip and which are adapted to engage with a second side of the component opposite the first side, said second side located at a distance from the spring clip base in working position.

14. The camera assembly according to claim 13, characterized in that the camera further comprises two legs at an opposite end of the camera housing, the mounting structure further comprising two leg holders adapted for holding a respective leg.

15. The camera assembly according to claim 14, characterized in that each leg holder comprises a rigid hook, which is adapted to retain a corresponding leg; and in that the rigid hook comprises a fool-proof mounting rib running on the external side of the rigid hook and extending by a noticeable amount over the top portion of the rigid hook.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0035] The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0036] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a camera assembled to a mounting structure featuring a retention system according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] FIG. 2 is a section view II-II of the camera assembly of FIG. 1 at the level of one retention system, in working position of the retention system;

[0038] FIG. 3 is a top view of the retention system of the camera assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2, without the spring clip;

[0039] FIG. 4 is a section view IV-IV of the camera assembly of FIG. 1 at the level of one engagement system;

[0040] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the mounting structure of FIG. 1, without the camera;

[0041] FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the assembly of the spring clip on its holding structure;

[0042] FIG. 7 is a front view of the spring clip assembled on its holding structure, in rest position;

[0043] FIG. 8 comprises three perspective principle views of an alternate design: a)-b) spring clip alone; c) view of the lateral sub-members and of the modified second sub-platform; and

[0044] FIG. 9 comprise perspective views of a) the camera, from its front side; and b), c) illustrating the camera assembly to the platform.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a camera assembly 2 featuring the present retention system. The camera assembly 2 comprises a camera 4 and a mounting structure 6. The camera assembly 2 as presented here is fixed behind the windscreen in a passenger compartment of an automotive vehicle (not represented). The camera 4 comprises a housing 7 with, at one end 9 of the housing, two generally cylindrical fixing components 8 and 8′, which extend transversally in opposite directions Y and Y′, and which are in this variant perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X of the mounting structure 6. The mounting structure 6 comprises a reception platform 12 with a lower, first side 14 adapted to be fixed on the windscreen. The mounting structure 6 is adapted for receiving the camera 4 lying on the upper, second side 16 of the reception platform. Upon assembly, the camera 4 has its front side facing the platform 12; the opposite rear side 7b is thus the visible side in FIG. 1. The mounting structure 6 comprises two retention systems 18 and 18′ according to the invention, each of them being adapted for holding one of the generally cylindrical components 8 and 8′ protruding from the camera housing. The sectional view II-II of FIG. 2 represents the retention system 18 of the mounting structure, which removably secures the cylindrical component 8 and which will be described in detail herein below.

[0046] The longitudinal, transversal and vertical axes (X, Y, Z) are presented in the figures mainly for ease of explanation. The same applies to the terms “upper” and “lower”, which refer to the orientation in the figures. It may be noticed that in practice, the reception platform 12 could have various orientations, depending on the application. In the case of a vehicle vision system, the camera assembly presented here will be fixed to the windscreen inside the passenger compartment, with the first side 14 against the windscreen (i.e. up-side down as compared to the drawing orientation).

[0047] The camera 4 further comprises two engagement means taking the form of legs, which are located at an opposite end 22 of the camera housing (in the direction of axis X) and cooperate with two leg holders 24 and 24′, as will be described below in relation to FIG. 4.

[0048] Turning now to FIG. 2, the retention system 18 comprises a generally U-shaped spring clip 26, which comprises a base 28 and a pair of resilient retainer arms 301 and 301′, which define an inlet passage 32. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the retainer arms 301 and 301′ extend from the base 28 and define the general extension axis of the spring clip 26, which is referred to as main axis and here corresponds to the direction of vertical axis Z. The retention system also comprises a holding member 34, which is designed for holding the U-shaped spring clip 26. The retainer arms 301 and 301′ are adapted to engage with a first side 361 (here upper side) of the generally cylindrical component 8 that faces the inlet passage 32. Holding member 34 comprises one rigid retention wall or multiple rigid retention walls—here two walls 302 and 302′, which extend inside the spring clip 26 and are adapted to engage with the opposite second side 362 (here lower side) of the component at distance from the clip base 28. The configuration shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the working position of the retention system: it is the stable position in which the fixing component is securely retained by the spring clip. In working position, the pin-like fixing component 8 is locked in place at its periphery by the resilient arms pressing the fixing component 8 against the retention walls 302, 302′.

[0049] The resilient retainer arms 301 and 301′ engage the upper side 361 (facing the inlet passage) and are each in contact with upper peripheral portions 381 and 381′ of the component 8. The upper peripheral portions 381 and 381′ preferably have a peripheral extension that is included in an angular sector a lower than 45°, preferably lower than 20°. In particular, the retainer arms 301 and 301′ engage the upper peripheral portions 381 and 381′ of the component's upper side 361 over an angular sector between 1° and 5°, a punctual contact being sufficient.

[0050] The rigid retention walls 302 and 302′ may be positioned to engage the lower side 362 of the component at an average distance D from the base, which is greater than 25% of the height L of the spring. As used herein, “height” means the height of the spring along its main axis of extension (i.e. along vertical axis Z in FIG. 2). For the sake of exemplification, the generally cylindrical component 8 may have a diameter between 3 mm and 15 mm, in particular between 5 mm and 10 mm. It should also be noted that whereas the shown cylindrical component 8 has a circular cross-section, other shapes are possible, for example square, rectangular, polygonal, oval, etc., and possibly mix of shapes.

[0051] In the present embodiment, the camera housing 7 is made from aluminum alloy and the components 8, 8′ are integrally manufactured with the housing. The component 8, 8′ is thus made from a rigid material able to withstand the mechanical efforts during insertion and extraction. To save for material and minimize deformation, the component 8, 8′ may be provided with a small longitudinal groove indicated 33. The spring clip 26 may have a height H between 6 mm and 30 mm, in particular between 10 mm and 20 mm.

[0052] In the preferred embodiment presented here, the holding member 34 comprises two lateral sub-members 40 and 40′, each of them comprising one retention wall 302, 302′ engaging a respective lateral lower peripheral portion 422, 422′ of the component. The lateral sub-members 40, 40′ are here disjoined, but in other embodiments they may be joined in the longitudinal X-direction. The sub-member 40, on the left of the figure, includes the retention wall 302, against which the lateral lower peripheral portion 422 of fixing component 8 is in abutment. Sub-member 40′, on the right on the figure, includes the retention wall 302′, against which the lateral lower peripheral portion 422′ of fixing component 8 is in abutment.

[0053] Each lateral sub-member 40 and 40′ further comprises a respective support wall 44 and 44′, which is configured to come into abutment with a corresponding end portion 46 and 46′ of the upper face 48 of the clip base 28 in working position of FIG. 2. As can be further seen, each retainer arm 301, 301′ is generally inwardly inclined and connects to the base via an elbow 49 and 49′. Each of the lateral sub-members 40 and 40′ comprises a side face 51 and 51′ with some clearance C, C′ with respect to the corresponding elbow 49 and 49′ and arm 301, 301′, in working position. By way of this clearance, it is ensured that the movement of the resilient arms 301, 301′ is not hampered by the side faces 51 and 51′, so that the full elastic force can act on the fixing component 8. This functional clearance C will also permit adsorbing dimensional variations, in particular due to manufacturing tolerances.

[0054] As will be seen in relation to FIGS. 2, 3, 6 and 7, the retention system 18 further comprises a first reception sub-platform 58 and a second reception sub-platform 50 that cooperate with the support walls 44 and 44′ in the assembly of the spring clip. It may be observed that the clip base 28 is received between the support walls 44 and 44′ and the second reception sub-platform 50. The spacing between the latter preferably defines a spacing, that corresponds to the thickness of the spring clip base 28 with some functional play, in particular for ease of mounting the spring clip. The second reception sub-platform 50 is positioned centrally below the two sub-members 40, 40′.

[0055] As can be seen, the second reception sub-platform 50 has an upper reception wall 501, which is in contact with the lower face 45 of the clip base 28. More specifically, the second reception sub-platform cooperates with a central portion 47 of the lower side 45 of the base.

[0056] A rear support 52 is provided on the reception platform 12, from which the holding member 34, together with the two lateral sub-members 40, 40′, and the second reception sub-platform 50 protrude along the transversal axis Y, i.e. perpendicularly to the rear support 52. As can be understood from the drawings, in this embodiment the rear support 52 is formed as a wall extending in a plane parallel to the XZ plane.

[0057] In practice, the reception platform 12 may typically be manufactured by injection molding, so that the holding member 34 and the second reception sub-platform 50 may be integral with the rear support 52.

[0058] Reference sign 54 indicates a cavity in the second reception sub-platform 50, which is configured for receiving a corresponding locking protrusion 56 in the clip base 28. The locking protrusion 56 is here formed as a protruding annular edge in the base (e.g. by punching). For ease of assembly, a straight guide groove 57 is arranged in the upper reception wall of sub-platform 50, extending from the free front edge of sub-platform 50 to cavity 54.

[0059] The assembly of the spring clip 26 in the retention system 18 will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 6. FIG. 3 is a top view of the retention system 18 of the camera assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2 (without the spring clip), in which one can see the rear support 52 as well as the lateral sub-members 40 and 40′, and the second sub-platform 50 protruding from the rear support 52. The first reception sub-platform 58, better seen in FIG. 6, is spaced from the second reception sub-platform 50 and arranged before the latter in direction Y. The upper side 581 of the first sub-platform 58 is preferably at about the same level as the reception wall 501 in the second sub-platform 50. A straight guide groove 61 is arranged in upper side 581, which is aligned with guide groove 57. The first and second sub-platforms 58, 50 are advantageously designed to assist during the assembly of the spring clip 26. The spring clip 26 (represented by phantom lines) is first positioned with the lower face of the spring base on the first reception sub-platform 58. The spring's locking protrusion 56 is located in guide groove 61 of the first sub-platform 58 and oriented to be substantially parallel to the support wall 52. From this position, the spring clip 26 is translated towards support wall 52 on the second reception sub-platform 50, by simply sliding on the reception sub-platforms 50, 58. The alignment is ensured by the cooperating guide grooves 57 and 61. The resulting configuration of the spring clip 26 held in place by the holding member is shown in FIG. 7: this is the rest position≠the fixing component 8 is not inside the spring clip 26.

[0060] For ease of mounting, the second reception sub-platform 50 extends beyond the length L′ of the holding member in the transversal direction Y, namely beyond the lateral sub-members 40 and 40′. The length L′ of the second reception sub-platforms may be greater than the length of the lateral sub-members 40 and 40′ by 20% or more. Referring particularly to FIG. 3, a gap g is thus formed between the two sub-platforms 58 and 50, the first sub-platform hence being situated in front of (in Y direction) the front edge of the second sub-platform 50 and sub-members 40, 40′.

[0061] One will also notice that the first reception sub-platform 58 comprises inclined lateral support walls 60 and 60′, which run parallel to the lower, external corner of each sub-member 40, 40′, at predetermined distance therefrom. These lateral support walls 60 and 60′ are adapted to contact the external face of the elbows 49 and 49′, in order to limit the pivoting of the spring clip around the transversal axis, as it may occur during the extraction of the component out of the working position.

[0062] The spring clip 26 may typically be a metal foil made from carbon steel. The metal foil may have a thickness between 0.3 mm and 1.5 mm, in particular between 0.5 mm and 0.8 mm.

[0063] In the rest position, i.e. when the fixing component 8 is not present in the spring clip, the inlet passage 32 may have a passage width of 3 mm to 6 mm, as seen in the longitudinal axis X. During the introduction of the fixing component in the spring clip 26, the resilient arms 301 and 301′ are spread apart up to the point where the width of the inlet passage 32 corresponds to the diameter of the fixing component 8, before the arms come closer again. In working position, the passage width is greater than in the rest position, preferably increased by less than 5 mm. In particular, the passage width is increased by less than 2 mm. The variety of shapes taken by the spring clip, between the rest position of FIG. 7 and the working position of FIG. 2, in order to allow insertion or extraction of the fixing component 8 may be referred to as bending positions or configurations.

[0064] The inlet passage 32 is defined by parallel sections 59 and 59′ of the arms, which extend along vertical axis Z. The end portions of arms 301, 301′ are formed as flanges 61 and 61′ extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis X. As it will be understood, pressing one or both flanges 61, 61′ downwards (direction of arrows 63) will increase the inlet passage's width and hence facilitate the extraction of the fixing component 8 from the spring clip 26.

[0065] As indicated above, the camera 4, in the assembly position, is held at one end of the camera housing 7 by its fixing components 8, 8′ locked in the retention systems 18, 18′; and at the other end by a pair of legs 66, 66′ extending from the camera housing 7. These legs with their leg holders 24′ are better seen in FIG. 4. In the shown embodiment, the leg holder 24′ comprises a rigid hook 62′ that is configured to retain the leg 66′ in the upper and lateral directions of the camera. Reference sign 64′ designates a spring finger extending from the platform 12 and engaging with the camera housing (the housing front side 7a facing the platform 12). The spring finger 64′ assists in the pivoting movement of the camera when the legs are positioned in the leg holders. The free end of the hook 62′ forms a positioning cavity 63 open towards the reception platform 12 and spaced therefrom; the leg 66′ has a bulge 65 engaging this cavity 63.

[0066] It may be appreciated that the leg holder 24′ also comprises a fool proof mounting rib 70′. This rib 70′ extends from the platform 12 and runs on the external side of hook 62′ to increase its stiffness. Rib 70′ also extends over the hook portion defining the positioning cavity 63. The rib 70′ extends by a noticeable amount over the top portion of hook 62′. This design prevents a misassembly of the camera. Indeed, if the camera is engaged properly in one of the leg holders, but rests on the top of the other leg holder, the operator will inevitably notice the fact that the camera body appears to be tilted and hence not properly assembled. The second leg and leg holder as presented in FIG. 5 comprise the same characteristics as the ones presented here.

[0067] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the mounting structure 6 without the camera, where the two retention systems 18 and 18′ and the two leg holders 24 and 24′ can be better seen.

[0068] The assembly of the camera to the mounting structure will now be explained in relation to FIG. 9. As already understood from the other FIGS, the camera housing is generally rectangular and comprises at a first end 9 the fixing components 8, 8′ and at the opposite end 22 the fixing legs 66, 66′, all of which are integral with the metallic housing 7. FIG. 9a) is a perspective view of the camera, seen from the front side 7a of the camera housing 7. Reference sign 7c designates the camera lens, which is situated in a stepped portion in the front side 7a. Assembling the camera to the platform 12 starts by positioning the legs 66, 66′ in the leg holders 24, 24′, as shown in FIG. 9b). From this position, the camera 4 is rotated about the legs 66, 66′ towards the platform 12 (as indicated by the arrow 67), in such a way as to present the fixing components 8, 8′ at the inlet passage 32 of the spring clips of the respective retention systems 18, 18′ : this intermediate position is represented by the dashed circle 90 in FIG. 7. By further pressing the camera housing 7 towards the platform 12, the fixing components 8, 8′ are forced into the inlet passage 32 of the spring clips, until both fixing components 8, 8′ come into abutment with the reception walls 302, 302′ in the configuration of FIG. 2. Hence, during assembly of the camera 4, the spring clip 26, initially in the rest position of FIG. 7, is subject to deformation during the insertion of the fixing component 8, 8′, taking a plurality of bending configurations, to arrive at the working position shown in FIG. 2, in which the components 8, 8′ are stably locked in place.

[0069] If desired, the camera 4 may be removed from the retention systems 18 and 18′ by first removing the fixing components from the spring clips 26, 26′ (by pressing in the direction of arrows 63, as explained above). The camera housing 7 is then pivoted about the legs 66, 66′ in the direction opposite arrow 67 in FIG. 9c), and may finally be removed from the leg holders.

[0070] The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In particular, the holding member and/or the spring clip may have alternative designs.

[0071] FIG. 8 for example shows a principle design of an alternative spring clip 126, where the punched protrusion in the base 128 is replaced by a snap element. The base portion 128 is cut to form a downwardly protruding elastic tongue 156. As can be seen in the sketch of FIG. 8c), the lateral sub-member 140, 140′ of the holding member 134 and the second sub-platform 150 are configured similarly to FIG. 6, except for the locking cavity 54 and guide groove 57. Here the upper reception wall 1501 has a rectangular cavity 154 matching the width of snap tongue 156. The front portion of the second reception platform comprises a slope 180 that allows guiding the spring clip during assembly and forms an abutment wall 182 for the tongue 156 inside the camera.

[0072] While this invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiments thereof, it is not intended to be so limited, but rather only to the extent set forth in the claims that follow.