JP2000255331A - Beacon head case for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To reduce the mounting height and cost of a case of a vehicle-mounted beacon head of a horizontal mounting specification that can cope with an inclined surface. SOLUTION: One flat plate as a pedestal 20 is rotatably and removably attached with one bolt 17 to one of the side edges orthogonal to the light receiving direction of a lower case 2, and in the middle of the turning range, It can be fixed to the case 10 with bolts 17. When the case 10 is placed on the inclined surface 52 ', the case 10 is placed at an angle so that the case 10 becomes horizontal. The “corner” on the bottom side of the side surface of the case 10
, The height of the case upper surface from the inclined surface is substantially the same as the height of the case 10, and the inclined surface 52 is smaller than the case where a pedestal such as a conventional small structure is mounted at the center of the case bottom width direction. The height from 'is suppressed. Since the pedestal 20 is composed of one flat plate and one bolt 17, the material cost and the production labor are low.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-vehicle beacon head, and more particularly to an optical beacon head for transmitting and receiving light.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned optical beacon head uses an optical element as an element instead of an antenna, receives an optical signal emitted from a transmitter on a road by a light receiving element, and emits light from a car to a receiver on the road by the light emitting element. It is a type of two-way communication system between road and vehicle that sends signals.

[0003] The in-vehicle device is usually, as shown in FIG.
The case 50 is installed on the upper surface of the instrument panel 52 in the vehicle facing the windshield glass 51, which impairs the driver's view.
Is designed to be as low as possible.

For example, in order for the optical beacon head to obtain the maximum transmission efficiency, the light emitting element for transmission must have its optical axis oriented in the optimal direction (in Japanese standards, about 47 ° with respect to the horizontal plane). However, for this purpose, the mounting board on which it is mounted must be disposed at an angle. In this case, the height of the case 50 is reduced by the amount of the inclination as compared with the case where the substrate is disposed parallel to the bottom surface. Get higher.

In order to solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 6, the substrate 3 is disposed in parallel with the bottom of the case 50, and the LED (light emitting diode) of the light emitting element 4 has a support shaft. By tilting, the optical axis is directed in the optimum directivity direction, and the upper surface of the case 50 is placed as close as possible to the upper edge of the LED 4 and is parallel to the bottom surface. By doing so, the height of the case 50 can be reduced by the height of the top when the substrate 3 is tilted. Since the PD (photodiode) of the receiving element has high directivity, it is not necessary to tilt the light receiving surface in this case.

An antenna for a radio wave beacon mounted in the same case 50 (see reference numeral 6 'in FIG. 1) also has a maximum transmission efficiency when the case 50 is mounted on a plane.

[0007]

By the way, the instrument panel 52 is designed in consideration of the interior of the vehicle.
Usually, it has a curved surface.
Is generally not necessarily horizontal but also inclined, and the degree of the inclination varies depending on the type of vehicle.

Therefore, if the on-vehicle device having the maximum transmission efficiency is directly mounted on such an inclined surface when the above-described flat mounting is performed, the optical axis of the LED 4 does not point in the optimum directivity direction. This means that the maximum transmission efficiency cannot be obtained.

Therefore, a pedestal 30 having a form as shown in FIG. 5 is provided on the bottom surface of the case so as to obtain the maximum transmission efficiency even when the case is mounted on an inclined surface.

The pedestal 30 has a bottom plate 31 on which a bearing 32 is erected, and a pin 3 inserted into one of the bearings 32.
3 and a bolt 34 inserted into the other side.
5 is rotatably supported.
Are engaged with the projections 36 provided at the four corners of the
Fixed on top.

With such a pedestal 30, the bottom plate 31 of the pedestal 30 can be inclined with respect to the inclined surface 5 as shown in FIG.
Along the 2 ′, the case 50 rotates the pedestal 35 around the bearing 32 so that the bottom surface is horizontal. When mounting on a horizontal surface, the pedestal 35
Is removed and the case 50 is placed directly.

[0012] Thus, with the pedestal 30 as described above,
The same effect as that of mounting on a horizontal surface can be obtained when mounted on the inclined surface 52 ′. However, providing such a pedestal 30 requires only the height of the pedestal 30 and the case. The height of 50 is going to be high,
This is a factor that hinders the driver's view. Therefore, by attaching the pedestal 30, the case 50 is newly added.
It is necessary to devise a method to reduce the height.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to reduce the height of a beacon head for a vehicle having a pedestal capable of coping with both an inclined surface and a horizontal surface from a mounting surface of a case.

[0014]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides, as the pedestal, a flat plate along a bottom surface of the case so as to be rotatable around a side edge of the bottom surface of the case, and It is mounted so that it can be fixed at an arbitrary position in the rotation range, and the above operation is performed by the rotation and the fixation.

When such a case is mounted on an inclined surface, the flat plate is rotated with respect to the bottom surface of the case and fixed at a position where the bottom surface of the case and the flat plate form an inclined angle. Then, when the flat plate is placed along the inclined surface, the case portion becomes horizontal, and the same effect as when placed on a horizontal surface can be obtained.

The state is shown in FIG.
When viewed from the side view shown in (c), one end of the flat plate serving as the pedestal 20 is located at a “corner” on the bottom side of the case 10 and extends from the “corner” along the inclined surface 52 ′. It is shaped. At the position of the corner, the inclined surface 52 '
The position of the upper surface of the case, which rises right above, is almost equal to the height of the case 10.

However, in the case of the conventional example, the base 30 is attached to the center of the bottom surface of the case 50 as shown in the side views of FIGS. The height from the surface 52 to the upper surface of the case 50 is not only the height of the case 50 but also the height of the bearing 32 (Ha, H
b) is added, which is higher than that of the present invention.

Also, comparing the form of the pedestal itself,
According to the present invention, one flat plate 20 (see reference numeral 20 in FIG. 2)
The conventional example is formed of two sheets of metal (see reference numerals 31 and 35 in FIG. 5) and has a complicated shape, so that both material costs and manufacturing costs are high.

In the above invention, the flat plate serving as the pedestal can be attached to both side edges of the bottom surface of the case and can be detached, so that it is possible to cope with the inclined surface having the opposite direction. .

If the cost is acceptable, two flat plates can be attached to both side edges of the case from the beginning, so that it is possible to immediately cope with the inclined surface which has been turned in the opposite direction without the need for replacement. it can.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The entire case 10 of the optical beacon head of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 forms a flat rectangular body,
The upper case 1 and the lower case 2 are divided into upper and lower portions, and the upper case 1 is formed of a light-transmitting resin plate. The upper and lower cases 1 and 2 are designed so that the contact portions are fitted and killed, and can be assembled freely. To the lower case 2, elements 4 and 5 for transmission and reception, an element 6 for controlling them, and an antenna 6 ′ for a radio beacon
Is mounted parallel to the bottom surface.

The transmitting element 4 is an LED, and the case 1
0 is placed along the longitudinal direction of the case 10 (direction orthogonal to the optical axis) on the spacer 7 forming an inclined surface provided on the substrate 3 so that the optical axis is oriented in the optimal direction when the 0 is placed on a plane. Are multiple in parallel.

The receiving element 5 is a rectangular plate-shaped PD, which has a higher directivity than the LED 4 and does not need to be tilted itself. ing. Its height is much lower than LED4.

The other control element 6 also has a height of LE.
Since nothing is higher than D4, it is the LED4 that determines the height of the case 10, and the upper case 1 that is slightly above the uppermost surface of the LED4 is parallel to the bottom surface of the lower case 2. The top plate is located. Thus, the entire case 10 forms a flat rectangular body,
It has a low height structure.

According to the present invention, as described above, the pedestal 20 is mounted so as to obtain the same effect as mounting on a horizontal surface when mounting on an inclined surface.

FIG. 2A shows the case 10 and the pedestal 20.
Are shown on the bottom side of the case 10, respectively. The pedestal 20 has a substantially trapezoidal shape as shown in the figure, and its longitudinal side edge is in the longitudinal direction (LE) of the lower case 2.
This is a single flat plate having a dimension substantially equal to the side edge (in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis of D4). Attachment pieces 1 at both ends of the side edge
Reference numerals 1 and 12 extend perpendicular to the surface of the pedestal 20. One mounting piece 11 has a burring bolt hole 11a.
Are formed inwardly, and the other mounting piece 12 is provided with an assembling hole 12a which passes through the center of the bolt hole 11a and is centered on a straight line parallel to the side edge.
Reference numeral 21 denotes a double-sided tape for fixing the pedestal 20 to the mounting surface.

On the other hand, the lower case 2 to which the pedestal 20 is attached is provided with through holes 13 and 14 on both sides perpendicular to the longitudinal direction on a line parallel to the side edge. The hole 13 is formed in a step portion 15 provided on the surface of the side surface, and the other through hole 14 is formed.
Is a cylindrical hole protruding outward from the side surface. A cutout 16 is provided in a portion of the bottom surface adjacent to the cylindrical hole 14.

When attaching the pedestal 20 to the lower case 2 as described above, the burring-processed mounting piece 11 is inserted into the notch 16 and the other mounting piece 12 is attached to the side surface in the thickness direction. Step 15 of
2B, in this state, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), a bolt 17 is inserted from the cylindrical hole 14 on the side of the case on the side of the mounting piece 11 so as to sandwich the side of the case.
Screw holes 11a. The other mounting piece 12
Is fitted into the step 15 on the side in the thickness direction, so that it does not shift unless a large force is applied.

Thus, the pedestal 20 is rotatably and removably attached to one of the side edges of the lower case 2. Further, at an arbitrary position in the middle of the rotation range, the bolt 17 is strongly tightened, so that the case 1
0 (lower case 2). In addition,
The holes 13 and 14 on the side surface and the notch 16 on the bottom surface provided in the lower case 2 are provided on both opposing side edges at point-symmetric positions with respect to the center of the bottom surface as a center of symmetry. This will be described in the description of the handling of the next case 10. Hereinafter, handling of the case 10 will be described.

First, when the portion of the instrument panel 52 on which the case 10 is placed is horizontal, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Is placed directly, but even if the pedestal 20 remains attached, in that case, it is folded and placed, so that the height of the case 10 from the placement surface 52 is at most at the time of direct placement. It becomes just the thickness of the flat plate 20 added.

Next, a case in which the portion of the instrument panel 52 on which the case 10 is placed forms an inclined surface 52 'in a direction from the front to the rear of the vehicle (from the windshield to the driver). The pedestal 20 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the mounting side edge is attached to the side edge of the case 10 on the LED 4 side, and the angle is set so that the case 10 becomes horizontal when the pedestal 20 is placed on the inclined surface 52 ′. Put it on. Case 10 and pedestal 2
The fixing of the angle with 0 can be performed by strongly tightening the mounting bolt 17.

Finally, when the direction of the inclination is opposite to the above,
That is, in the case where the pedestal 20 descends from the rear to the front of the car, the pedestal 20 attaches its mounting side edge to the side edge of the case 10 opposite to the LED 4 side, as shown in FIG. . In this case and in the case of the inclined surface 52 ′ having the above-mentioned orientation, the pedestal 20 has an angle such that the rotation axis is attached to the side edge of the lower case 2 and the opposite edge is located inside the bottom surface of the lower case 2. Since the mounting is performed, the bolt holes 11a of the mounting pieces 11 come to the point symmetrical positions as in the above case. This is the reason why the position of the notch 16 of the case 10 is provided point-symmetrically.

Thus, in this embodiment, when the mounting surface is inclined, the pedestal plate 20 is fixed to the bottom surface of the case 10 so as to form an inclined angle, and the mounting surface is In the case of the horizontal surface 52, the pedestal 20 can be folded or removed, and then placed, so that the case 10 can always be placed in the horizontal direction.

As described above, the case 10 of this embodiment
Since the mounting position of the flat plate 20 serving as the pedestal is located at the “corner” on the bottom side of the side surface of the case 10, when the flat plate 20 is placed on the inclined surface 52 ′, the inclined surface 5
The height from 2 'is substantially the height of the case 10, and the height from the inclined surface 52' is smaller than when the pedestal 30 such as a conventional small structure is attached to the center of the bottom of the case 50 in the width direction. Is suppressed.

Further, since the pedestal is composed of one flat plate 20 and one bolt 17, the pedestal 30 as in the conventional example is provided.
As compared with the case 50 having the above, the material cost and the labor in manufacturing can be realized at a lower price.

In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to the case of the optical beacon head, but it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied not only to the optical beacon but also to the radio wave beacon.

[0037]

As described above, according to the case of the present invention, as a pedestal for mounting on an inclined surface, a single flat plate along the case bottom surface is rotatable around the side edge of the case.
Also, it is fixed so that it can be fixed at any position within its rotation range, and when it is placed on an inclined surface, it is placed at an angle between the flat plate and the case bottom, so that it is a small structure The height can be reduced as compared with a conventional case having a bearing such as that described above and having a pedestal attached to the center of the case bottom surface, and the degree of obstruction of the driver's view can be reduced.

Further, since the main structure of the pedestal requires only one flat plate, material costs and manufacturing costs can be significantly lower than those of the conventional one.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment.

2A is a perspective view of the pedestal and the case of the embodiment as viewed from the bottom side of the case, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the state where the pedestal is attached to the case as viewed from the bottom side. Is

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are side views showing states of use of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a general use state of the optical beacon head.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a pedestal attached to a conventional case.

FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b) are side views showing states of use of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 upper case 2 lower case 3 substrate 4 transmitting element (LED) 5 receiving element (PD) 10, 50 case 20 pedestal (flat plate) 30 pedestal of conventional case 52 mounting surface (horizontal surface) 52 'inclined surface

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takayoshi Ichiki 1-3-1 Shimaya, Konohana-ku, Osaka F-term in Osaka Works, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. 3D020 BA13 BC03 BD02 BD13

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An in-vehicle instrument panel mounted on an upper surface of an instrument panel via a pedestal. The pedestal is operated in accordance with the inclination of the upper surface so that an internal optical element is oriented in an optimal direction. In the case of a vehicle-mounted beacon head that is enabled, a flat plate along the bottom surface of the case is rotatable around a side edge of the bottom surface of the case as the pedestal, and at any position within the rotation range. A case for a vehicle-mounted beacon head, wherein the case is mounted so as to be fixable, and the above operation is performed by turning and fixing the case. 2. The case for a vehicle-mounted beacon head according to claim 1, wherein said flat plate is attached to and detachable from both side edges of said bottom surface. 3. The case for a vehicle-mounted beacon head according to claim 1, wherein two flat plates are provided, each of which is attached to both side edges of the bottom surface.