Abstract:
A camera device ( 1 ) for an automobile backing-up video assembly is disclosed. The device ( 1 ) comprises a base ( 10 ) and a camera box ( 11 ) attached to the base ( 10 ) and having a camera ( 12 ). The installation on the rear of the automobile is conducted as follows: arranging an electrical plug ( 17 ) on the base ( 10 ) to allow the electrical plug ( 17 ) to fit into an electrical socket at the rear of the automobile, thus completing the installation and fixation, and then connecting a power supply; alternatively, arranging on the base ( 10 ) a magnet capable of being attracted to the metal of the iron family, such that the entire device is firmly attached to the iron surface of the automobile shell via the magnetic force.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a camera device employed in an automobile backing-up video assembly. The automobile backing-up video assembly is used to provide a clear position indication for a driver when an automobile is backed up or parked. The camera device is used to provide information of a video or image behind the automobile. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    In the prior art, a technical solution in which a camera device is conveniently mounted to a tail portion of an automobile has not been provided. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    A general object of the present invention is to provide a technical solution to overcome the disadvantage in the prior art. 
         [0004]    An object of the present invention is to provide a camera device, the camera device includes a base and a camera box attached to the base, the camera device is adapted to be mounted outside a tail portion of an automobile so that a camera in the camera box faces rearward of the automobile, the base has a U-shaped space, a distance between two sides of the U-shape is approximately equal to a length of the camera box so that the camera box is exactly laid within the U-shaped space, pivot and bearing structures which enable the camera box to be rotated by an angle with respect to the U-shaped space of the base are provided at positions where each of both ends of the camera box adjoins to or connects with the U-shaped space, and an electrical plug which is matchable with an electrical socket in the tail portion of the automobile so as to be connected to a power supply is provided integrally with the base. 
         [0005]    A fixing catch which matches with a spring closing cap of the electrical socket in the tail portion of the automobile is provided on the base. 
         [0006]    A lock engaging ring to be connected to a theftproof lock is provided in the base. 
         [0007]    Semiconductor auxiliary light sources with the number of 2 to 12 are provided around the camera of the camera box. 
         [0008]    A pair of supersonic range alerting probes are provided on both sides of the camera box on the base. 
         [0009]    Another object of the present invention is to further provide a camera device, the camera device includes a base and a camera box attached to the base, the camera device is adapted to be mounted outside a tail portion of an automobile so that a camera in the camera box faces rearward of the automobile, the base has a U-shaped space, a distance between two sides of the U-shape is approximately equal to a length of the camera box so that the camera box is exactly laid within the U-shaped space, pivot and bearing structures which enable the camera box to be rotated by an angle with respect to the U-shaped space of the base are provided at positions where each of both ends of the camera box adjoins to or connects with the U-shaped space, a battery bin for storing a battery as a power supply is provided in the base, and a magnet which is magnetically attachable on metal of iron family is provided to a surface of the base. 
         [0010]    A power supply lead is led out from the base, and an electrical plug which is matchable with an electrical socket in the tail portion of the automobile is provided on a distal end of the power supply lead. 
         [0011]    A lock engaging ring to be connected to a theftproof lock is provided in the base. 
         [0012]    Semiconductor auxiliary light sources with the number of 2 to 12 are provided around the camera of the camera box. 
         [0013]    A pair of supersonic range alerting probes are provided on both sides of the camera box on the base. 
         [0014]    Another object of the present invention is to further provide a camera device, the camera device includes a base and a camera box attached to the base, the camera device is adapted to be mounted outside a tail portion of an automobile so that a camera in the camera box faces rearward of the automobile, the base is divided into an electrical plug portion and a camera portion which are connectable to and separatable from each other, two pair of protruding tab-recessing groove structures which are connectable to and separatable from each other are provided in the electrical plug portion and the camera portion respectively, and a pair of electric contacts which are connectable to each other are provided at respective positions of each pair of the protruding tab-recessing groove structures, an electrical plug which is matchable with an electrical socket in the tail portion of the automobile so as to be connected to a power supply is provided integrally with the electrical plug portion of the base, a battery bin for storing a battery as a power supply is provided in the camera portion of the base, the base has a U-shaped space, a distance between two sides of the U-shape is approximately equal to a length of the camera box so that the camera box is exactly laid within the U-shaped space, pivot and bearing structures which enable the camera box to be rotated by an angle with respect to the U-shaped space of the base are provided at positions where each of both ends of the camera box adjoins to or connects with the U-shaped space, an electrical plug device which can be inserted into an electrical socket for a power supply of 12V-24V DC in the automobile so as to be connected to the power supply is additionally provided, the electrical plug device has a recessing groove-protruding tab structure which is matchable with the protruding tab-recessing groove structure of the camera portion of the base, and connectable electric contacts are provided in the recessing groove-protruding tab structure. 
         [0015]    A magnet which is magnetically attachable on metal of iron family is also provided to a surface of the camera portion of the base. 
         [0016]    A fixing catch which matches with a spring closing cap of the electrical socket in the tail portion of the automobile is provided on the electrical plug portion of the base. 
         [0017]    A lock engaging ring to be connected to a theftproof lock is provided in the base. 
         [0018]    Semiconductor auxiliary light sources with the number of 2 to 12 are provided around the camera of the camera box. 
         [0019]    A pair of supersonic range alerting probes are provided on both sides of the camera box on the base. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0020]      FIGS. 1-A ,  1 -B and  1 -C are views showing a camera device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, where  FIG. 1-A  is a front view of the camera device,  FIG. 1-B  is a front perspective view, and  FIG. 1-C  is a rear perspective view. 
           [0021]      FIGS. 2-A ,  2 -B and  2 -C are views showing a camera device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, where  FIG. 2-A  is a front perspective view of the camera device,  FIG. 2-B  is a top view, and  FIG. 2-C  is a rear view. 
           [0022]      FIGS. 3-A ,  3 -B and  3 -C are views showing a camera device according to a third embodiment of the present invention, where  FIG. 3-A  is a front perspective view of the camera device,  FIG. 3-B  is a top view, and  FIG. 3-C  is a rear view. 
           [0023]      FIG. 4  is a view showing a camera device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIGS. 5-A ,  5 -B and  6  are views showing a camera device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0025]      FIG. 1-A  is a front view of a camera device  1  according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The camera device  1  includes a base  10  and a camera box  11 . The camera box  11  has a camera  12  and semiconductor auxiliary light sources  13  with the number of 2 to 12 (for example, 6 in  FIG. 1-A ) which are located around the camera  12 , and the semiconductor auxiliary light sources  13  are used to provide auxiliary illumination for the camera  12  in the dark. The base  10  and the camera box  11  are sized so that the camera box  11  can be put within a U-shaped space  10 ′ of the base  10  with a slight gap  15  left therebetween. In addition, pivot and bearing structures  16  are provided to the base  10  and the camera box  11  respectively so that the camera box  11  can be rotated by an angle (angle of depression or elevation) with respect to the U-shaped space  10 ′ of the base  10  to aim at a target to be picked up. The pivot and bearing structures  16  may be any common structure (not shown in  FIG. 1-A ). 
         [0026]      FIG. 1-B  is a front perspective view of the camera device  1 . A rearward extending portion other than the U-shaped portion  10 ′ of the base  10  can be seen from  FIG. 1-B , and an electrical plug  17  to be connected to a power supply is provided on a tip end of the rearward extending portion. The electrical plug  17  is constructed to match with a common electrical socket in a tail portion of an automobile (for example, a cross-country truck, a pickup truck and the like). When the electrical plug  17  is inserted into the electrical socket in the tail portion of the automobile and connected to the power supply, the camera device  1  is mounted and secured in a working position. The electrical socket in the tail portion of the automobile usually has a spring closing cap (not shown in  FIG. 1-B ). When the electrical plug  17  is inserted into the electrical socket in the tail portion of the automobile, the spring closing cap is firmly caught on a fixing catch  14  of the base  10  due to a resilient force of the spring closing cap so that the camera device  1  does not fall off as a result of travelling vibration of the automobile. As a matter of course, the shape and the position of the fixing catch  14  must perfectly match with those of the spring closing cap. Other reference numerals in  FIG. 1-B  are the same as those described above. 
         [0027]      FIG. 1-C  is a rear perspective view of the camera device  1 . It can be seen that a lock engaging ring  18  to be connected to a theftproof lock is provided in a lower portion of the base  10 . For example, the camera device  1  can be connected to a body of the automobile through the theftproof lock or a theftproof chain by use of the lock engaging ring  18  to avoid being stolen. Other reference numerals in  FIG. 1-C  are the same as those described above. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2-A  is a front perspective view of a camera device  2  according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The camera device  2  includes a base  20  and a camera box  21 . A reference numeral  29  denotes a switch of a power supply. Other reference numerals in  FIG. 2-A  are the same as those described above. 
         [0029]      FIG. 2-B  is a top view of the camera device  2 . As is apparent from  FIG. 2-B , the base  20  and the camera box  21  are sized so that the camera box  21  can be put in a U-shaped space  20 ′ of the base  20  with the slight gap  15  left therebetween. In addition, the pivot and bearing structures  16  are provided to the base  20  and the camera box  21  respectively so that the camera box  21  can be rotated by an angle (angle of depression or elevation) with respect to the U-shaped space  20 ′ of the base  20  to aim at a target to be picked up. Other reference numerals in  FIG. 2-B  are the same as those described above. 
         [0030]      FIG. 2-C  is a rear view of the camera device  2 . A back surface of the camera device  2  is substantially a plane, and a reference numeral  22  denotes a strong magnet magnetically attachable on metal of iron family which is provided to the back surface. The whole camera device  2  can be attached to a surface made of metal of iron family in the tail portion of the automobile by use of the strong magnet  22  so that the camera device  2  is mounted and secured in a working position. A reference numeral  23  denotes a battery bin which is provided in the base  10  to store a battery as a power supply, and thus the camera device  2  can provide the power supply per se without the electrical plug  17  to be connected to the power supply in the first embodiment. Other reference numerals in  FIG. 2-C  are the same as those described above. 
         [0031]      FIGS. 3-A ,  3 -B and  3 -C are views showing a camera device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 3-A  is a front perspective view of the camera device  3 ,  FIG. 3-B  is a top view of the camera device  3 , and  FIG. 3-C  is a rear view of the camera device  3 . The camera device  3  includes a base  30  and a camera box  31 . 
         [0032]    A structure of the camera device  3  is almost the same as that of the camera device  2 , and redundant explanation thereof is omitted here. The only one difference resides in a pair of supersonic range alerting probes  34  which are additionally provided to the base  30  of the camera device  3 . The supersonic range alerting probes  34  are located on both sides of the camera device  31 , and function to issue an alarm (sound, light and the like) according to an obstacle safe distance previously set, when the automobile is backed up (particularly when the automobile is backed up to park), so that safety is further improved. Other reference numerals in  FIGS. 3-A ,  3 -B and  3 -C are the same as those described above. 
         [0033]      FIG. 4  shows a camera device  4  according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. A main body portion of the camera device  4  is the same as that of the camera device  2  according to the second embodiment or that of the camera device  3  according to the third embodiment. The difference resides in that a power supply lead  48  is led out from the base of the camera device  4  and the other end of the power supply lead  48  is connected to the electrical plug  17 . In this way, the camera device  4  not only can use the battery in its own battery bin as the power supply but also can use the power supply obtained through the electrical socket in the tail portion of the automobile via the electrical plug  17  so that it is more flexible and convenient. 
         [0034]      FIG. 5-A  is an overall side view of a camera device  5  according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the base is divided into an electrical plug portion and a camera portion which are connectable to and separatable from each other. The electrical plug portion and the camera portion of the base are denoted by reference numerals  10   a  and  10   b  respectively. A reference numeral  101  in  FIG. 5-A  indicates a seam position where the electrical plug portion  10   a  and the camera portion  10   b  can be separated or joined ( FIG. 5-A  shows a case in which both of them are joined together). In this embodiment, a battery bin (not shown in  FIG. 5-A ) for storing a battery as a power supply is also provided in the camera portion  10   b  of the base. 
         [0035]      FIG. 5-B  shows a case in which the camera device  5  according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention separates the electrical plug portion  10   a  from the camera portion  10   b.  A pair of protruding tabs  40  are provided on a back surface of the electrical plug portion  10   a,  and a pair of recessing grooves  41  are provided in a back surface of the camera portion  10   b.  The position, shape and size of the protruding tabs  40  are matchable with those of the recessing grooves  41  so that the pair of protruding tabs  40  on the back surface of the electrical plug portion  10   a  can be inserted into the pair of recessing grooves  41  in the back surface of the camera portion  10   b  as shown by dot dash lines  102  and  103  in  FIG. 5-B . In this way, the electrical plug portion  10   a  and the camera portion  10   b  can be connected together, as is shown in  FIG. 5-A . The structure of protruding tab and recessing groove can have various specific design forms. Electric contacts  42  and  42 ′ for current conducting and switching on are provided at the protruding tabs  40  and the recessing grooves  41  respectively, and when the electrical plug portion  10   a  and the camera portion  10   b  are connected together, the electric contacts  42  and  42 ′ switch a circuit on. As a matter of course, it is possible that recessing grooves are provided in the back surface of the electrical plug portion  10   a  and protruding tabs are provided on the back surface of the camera portion  10   b  (not shown in  FIG. 5-B ). 
         [0036]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , in the embodiment, one electrical plug device  6  is additionally provided, and an electrical plug  51  which can be inserted into an electrical socket for a power supply of 12V-24V DC in the automobile so as to be connected to the power supply is provided on one end of the electrical plug device  6 . The electrical plug  51  has an electric contact  52  (usually used as a positive pole) and an electric contact  53  (usually used as a negative pole). A recessing groove-protruding tab structure (herein, protruding tabs  40 ) which is matchable with the protruding tab-recessing groove structure of the camera portion  10   b  of the base is provided on a back surface  54 ′ of a main body portion  54  of the electrical plug device  6 , and connectable electric contacts  42  are also provided on the back surface  54 ′. Other reference numerals in  FIGS. 5-A ,  5 -B and  6  of the present embodiment are the same as those described above. 
         [0037]    In an alternative of the embodiment, like the second embodiment, the strong magnet which is magnetically attachable on metal of iron family is provided to the back surface of the camera portion  10   b  of the base. The camera portion  10   b  of the base can be used as an integral camera device attached to a surface made of metal of iron family in the tail portion of the automobile by use of the strong magnet. This alternative is not shown in  FIGS. 5-A ,  5 -B and  6 . 
         [0038]    The present embodiment offers more flexibility and convenience for the camera device of the present invention. When the electrical plug portion  10   a  and the camera portion  10   b  are joined together as shown in  FIG. 5-A , they can be inserted into the electrical socket in the tail portion of the automobile, and when the automobile does not provide a power supply, the battery contained in the camera portion can be used as the power supply. When electrical plug portion  10   a  and the camera portion  10   b  are separated from each other as shown in  FIG. 5-B , the camera portion  10   b  of the base and the electrical plug device  6  can be connected to each other to charge the battery in the camera portion  10   b  of the base by use of the electrical socket for the power supply of 12V-24V DC in the automobile, or the camera portion  10   b  provided with the strong magnet of the base can be used as an integral camera device attached to the surface made of metal of iron family in the tail portion of the automobile. 
         [0039]    In the above embodiments, a transmission device which transmits an image signal picked up by the camera in a wireless manner is provided in the camera box  11 ,  21  or  31 , or provided in the base  10 ,  10   a,    10   b,    20  or  30 , so that a display screen device in the automobile receives the image signal in a wireless manner and displays the picked up image.