GB2227390A

GB2227390A - Vehicle lamp unit incorporating television camera

Info

Publication number: GB2227390A
Application number: GB8929235A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lucio Olivetti
Original assignee: Carello SpA
Current assignee: Carello SpA
Priority date: 1988-12-29
Filing date: 1989-12-28
Publication date: 1990-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 2009-12-28
Also published as: FR2641240B1; BE1003377A5; IT1224042B; IT8868164A0; ES2020694A6; FR2641240A1; GB8929235D0; GB2227390B; DE3942249A1

Description

1 1 J 1 1 "LAMP UNIT FOR VEHICLES WITH INCORPORATED OPTICAL VIEWING

DEVICE" The present invention relates to a lamp unit for road vehicles, in particular motor vehicles.

Recent research has demonstrated the usefulness of mounting, on road vehicles in general and on motor vehicles in particular, viewing devices designed to allow the user a perfect vison of the external environment and to cooperate with normal mirror reflection devices, generally already present on road vehicles, so as to eliminate substantially all the socalled "blind spots", the presence of which is, as is known, the primary cause both of numerous accidents and incidents which occur when performing low-speed manoeuvres such as, for example, parking manoeuvres.

At the same time,, statistics show that one of the major causes of toad accidents is the partial or total "obscuring" of the indicator lights of the road vehicles due to soiling, which cannot be constantly monitored by users.

The -object of the present invention is to provide, in a simple and economical manner, road vehicles in general, and motor vehicles in particular, with means designed to allow both substantial elimination of the is so-called "blind spots 11 and constant monitoring of the degree to which the indicator lights are "obscured".

According to the present invention, a lamp unit for road vehicles, in particular motor vehicles, is provided, comprising a substantially watertight casing in turn comprising an external transparent body and an internal lamp-carrying body, the lamp-carrying body defining at least one reflecting cavity arranged with its concavity directed towards the transparent body and accommodating a light source, characterized in that the said lamp-carrying body has, moreover, at least one additional cavity closed externally by the transparent body; at least one input sensor of at least one optical viewing device consisting of a telecamera being accommodated inside the said additional cavity.

The lamp unit def ined above allows mounting of an optical viewing device, in particular a telecamera, without the need for forming special holes in the bodywork and without involving substantial additional expenditure. In fact. the lamp unit constitutes, already per se. a watertight housing which provides easy access for maintenance and replacement operations. Furthermore, road vehicles, and in particular motor vehicles, are normally already designed for connection of the lamps both to an electrical energy source and to a control panel, generally a dashboard; consequently, the wiring of the optical viewing device mentioned is extremely simple and economical even in the case where the optical viewing device itself is installed at a later date as an "optional extra".

The positioning, in a predetermined position, of the said optical viewing device described above inside, or partially inside, the lamp unit, allows not only elimination of the "blind spots". but also direct and constant monitoring, by the user, of the degree of transparency of the external transparent body mentioned.

Preferably, in order to allow the user to detect the presence of another vehicle even in conditions of poor visibility, the lamp unit defined above comprises 14 r V 1 1 k two said additional cavities accommodating, each, at least the input sensor of one respective said telecamera; one of the telecameras being preferably an infrared-ray telecamera.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows. in diagrammatic form, a cross-section of a preferred embodiment, purely by way of a non-limiting example.

In the enclosed figure. 1 denotes, in its entirety, a rear lamp unit for road vehicles,, in particular motor vehicles.

Although the description which follows refers solely to a rear lamp unit, it is obvious that the features of the same may be transferred, by a person skilled in the art, to a front lamp unit without requiring any further explanation.

The lamp unit 1 comprises a casing 2, in turn comprising an external body 3 generally consisting of differently coloured transparent plastic and having, in the example illustrated, a flat section 4 and a curved section 5 connected to each other.

The casing 2 comprises,, morever, an internal lamp-carrying body 6 connected in a substantially watertight manner to the external body 3. For this purpose, the internal body 6 has a peripheral groove 7 inside which there is fixed, by means of screws 8 and with the interposition of a seal 9, a peripheral edge of the external body 3.

The internal body 6 comprises, in the example illustrated, three parabolic reflectors 10, the number of which may vary from one case to another, each of which defines a respective reflecting cavity 11 arranged with its concavity directed towards the external body 3 and closed by a respective portion 12 of the external body 3 itself, provided with a respective prismatic part 13 and suitable colouring. Each cavity 11 accommodates, in the region of its focus, a respective light source consisting of a lamp 14, a base 15 of which is mounted, in a known mannar, through a sleeve 16 in the apex of the associated 1 k reflector 10 by means of a bayonet-type attachment and is joined to at least one resilient electrical contact 17 of a known type.

The cavities 11 are defined, between two substantially plane and mutually parallel horizontal walls 18 (only one of which is shown). by a plurality of vertical baffles 19, the free end of part of which engages in an associated groove 20 formed on the internal surface of the external body 3.

In particular, two baffles 19 adjacent to each other, indicated by 19a, define, between them, a first additional cavity 21 consisting of a through-opening formed through the internal body 6 between the walls 18 and closed off from the outside by a respective portion 12a of the external body 3, which is substantially smooth, namely does not have any prismatic parts.

The two baffles 19a extend backwards, with respect to the apices of the reflectors 10, so as to form two elastic wings 22 provided with teeth 23 for fixing by means of snap-engagement a first axial end of the body 24 of a telecamera 25 mounted inside the cavity 21 and engaging. via its second axial end, with a stop rib 26 arranged inside the cavity 21 itself. At its second axial end, the telecamera 25 has an optical input sensor or objective 27 provided with a lens 28 arranged facing the portion 12a of the external body 3.

At the end of the internal body 6 arranged facing the curved section 5 of the external body 3, an end baffle 19 of the internal body 6 itself defines an additional cavity 29, which is externally closed by a portion 30 of the curved section 5 of the external body 3, said portion being substantially smooth, namely not having any prismatic parts, and is internally limited by an end wall 31 through which there passes a substantially cylindrical sleeve 32 which extends, parallel to the walls 18, towards the portion 30 of the curved section 5.

Through the sleeve 32 there is mounted, by means of snap-engagement and in an extractable manner, an additional optical input sensor or objective 33, which is t 1 1 is provided with a lens 34 arranged facing the portion 30 of the curved section 5, and is connected to the telecamera 25 by means of a bundle of optical fibres 35.

According to a variation not shown, the objective 27 is also separate from the telecamera 25 and is mounted inside the cavity 21 by means of a supporting and snapengagement connecting device similar to the sleeve 32. In this case, the body 24 of the telecamera 25 is connected to the objective 27 by. means of an additional bundle of optical fibres,, not shown, ind is arranged outside the actual lamp unit 1.

With regard to the telecamera 25, which is provided with a power cable 36 and a cable 37 for transmitting the image to a viewer (not shown), it should be pointed out that it consists either of two telecameras linked to each other, or, according to a known method, of a single telecamera with a double objective designed to provide, on the aforementioned viewere two separate images next to each other.

In the case where two separate telecameras are used, one of them, and in particular the one carrying the objective 27, may be an infrared-ray telecamera.

According to a further variation not shown, one of the two objectives 27 or 33, together with the associated telecamera and, if necessary, the associated cavity 21 or 29 on the internal body 6, is not provided.

a

Claims

1. Lamp unit (1) for road vehicles, in particular motor vehiclesf comprising a substantially watertight casing (2) in turn comprising 'an external transparent body (3) and an internal lamp-carrying body (6), the lamp-carrying body (6) defining at least one reflecting cavity (11) arranged with its doncavity directed towards the transparent body (3) and accom modating a light source (14)r characterized in that the said lamp-carrying body (6) has, moreover, at least one additional cavity (21) (29) closed externally by the transparent body (3); at least one input sensor (27) (33) of at least one optical viewing device consisting of a telecamera (25) being accommodated inside the said additional cavity (21) (29).

2. Lamp unit according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said input sensor device (27) is integral with a body (24) of the said telecamera (25); the said additional cavity (21) being defined by a through-opening formed through the lamp-carrying body (6), and releasable fixing means (22, 23) being provided for fixing the said telecamera (25) inside the said additional cavity (21) with the said input sensor (27) directed towards the said transparent body (3).

3. Lamp unit according to Claim 1, characterized in that the aid input sensor (33) is removed from a body (24) of the said telecamera (25) and is optically con nected to the said body (24) by means of a bundle of optical fibres (35); releasable fixing means (32) being provided in order to fix the said input sensor (33) inside the saia additional cavity (29) and in a position facing the said transparent body (3).

4. Lamp unit according to any one of the preced ing claims, characterized in that the said transparent body (3) comprises a substantially smooth portion (12a) (30) arranged so as to clcse the said additional cavity (21) (259).

j

5. Lamp unit according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises two said additional cavities (21, 29) accommodating, each, at least the input sensor (27, 33) of one said telecamera 25.

6. Lamp unit according. to Claim 5,, characterized in that it comprises two telecameras (25) each connected to one respective said input sensor (27, 33).

7. Lamp unit according to Claim 6, characterized in that one of the said two telecameras (25) is an 10 infrared-ray telecamera.

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