CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0136327 filed on Oct. 20, 2020 and No. 10-2020-0136328 filed on Oct. 20, 2020, which applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a camera mirror assembly for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a camera mirror assembly for a vehicle, which enables folding and unfolding of a camera mirror housing.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a vehicle is equipped with an inside mirror therein to allow a driver to recognize a rear situation of the vehicle and outside mirrors in front doors at both sides of the vehicle. The driver recognizes another vehicle or a pedestrian when reversing, passing, or changing lanes via a field of vision secured by the inside mirror and/or the outside mirrors.

Recently, a vehicle is provided with a camera mirror that includes a camera, instead of an outside mirror, to reduce the possibility of breakage due to external impact and reduce air resistance when the vehicle operates. Side and rear images of the vehicle, which are acquired by the camera mirror, are displayed via a display device provided within the vehicle to allow a driver to easily recognize another vehicle or a pedestrian.

This camera mirror may be folded by the need of the driver when the driver parks the vehicle or may be temporarily folded when the vehicle passes through a narrow space. In this case, the camera mirror may be manually folded by the driver or be automatically folded using a motor, allowing the camera mirror to be folded without opening a window.

When the camera mirror is rotated to be folded or unfolded using the motor, vibration occurs due to the operation of the motor. This vibration may cause failure or breakage of the camera mirror.

Also, since the camera mirror is provided outside the vehicle, it is likely that external particles may enter the camera mirror. In this case, it is likely to cause failure or defect of the motor due to the external particles entering the camera mirror.

Therefore, a method capable of preventing external particles from entering a camera mirror while attenuating vibration caused by the operation of a motor has been required.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure has been devised to solve the above problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a camera mirror assembly for a vehicle, which may attenuate vibration generated by the operation of a motor during folding and unfolding actions of a camera mirror housing.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a camera mirror assembly for a vehicle, which may prevent or reduce the risk of failure or defect of a motor by preventing external particles or substances from entering there.

The objects of the present disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and additional objects of the present disclosure, which are not mentioned herein, will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description of the present disclosure.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a camera mirror assembly for a vehicle may include a folding unit configured to be rotated with respect to a fixed shaft formed in a base provided in the vehicle; and a support frame in which the folding unit and a camera are respectively mounted at both ends thereof. The support frame may be configured to be folded or unfolded to change a position of the camera as the folding unit rotates. The folding unit may include a driving housing; a driving portion being seated on the driving housing and including a driving motor and a driving gear disposed on a rotational shaft of the driving motor; a driven gear portion affixed to the fixed shaft; a driving force transfer portion for transferring a driving force transferred through the driving gear to the driven gear portion; and a vibration attenuator configured to attenuate vibration generated by the driving portion. The vibration attenuator may include an elastic member mounted in a cover coupled to the driving housing and disposed to contact an end portion of the rotational shaft when the cover is coupled to the driving housing, and the elastic member may include a guide portion formed at a distal end thereof, which is extended toward the driving housing from a proximal end mounted in the cover and curved away from the end portion of the rotational shaft.

The elastic member may include a mounting portion mounted in the cover, a first extension portion extended from the mounting portion in a direction from the driving housing toward the cover, and a second extension portion extended from an end portion of the first extension portion in a direction from the cover toward the driving housing. The guide portion may be formed at an end portion of the second extension portion to be curved away from the end portion of the rotational shaft.

When the cover is coupled to the driving housing, the end portion of the rotational shaft may move along the guide portion to contact the second extension portion, and the elastic member may be elastically deformed by the end portion of the rotational shaft to allow the elastic member to apply a restoring force to the end portion of the rotational shaft. The elastic member may attenuate vibration generated along a direction of a rotational axis of the rotational shaft.

A wire may be further provided to enable transfer of a control signal for operation control of the folding unit and the camera, and the wire may be disposed along a side of the support frame. The support frame may further include a wire fixing portion inserted into an insertion groove formed at the side thereof to fix the wire.

The driving force transfer portion may include at least one gear portion including an input gear to which the driving force is input and an output gear that outputs the driving force, the input gear may be engaged with the driving gear, and the output gear may be engaged with the driven gear portion.

Further, when the support frame is rotated to a position configured for acquiring an image of a predesignated side-rear region of a vehicle, it may be determined that the support frame is completely unfolded.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a camera mirror assembly for a vehicle may include a folding unit configured to be rotated with respect to a fixed shaft formed in a base provided in the vehicle; and a support frame in which the folding unit and a camera are respectively mounted at both ends thereof. The support frame may be configured to be folded or unfolded to change a position of the camera as the folding unit rotates. The folding unit may include a driving housing; a driving portion being seated on the driving housing and including a driving motor and a driving gear disposed on a rotational shaft of the driving motor; a driven gear portion affixed to the fixed shaft; a first gear portion; and a second gear portion. The first gear portion may include a first shaft configured to be rotated about a first axis, a first input gear configured to be rotated with the first shaft and engaged with the driving gear, and a first output gear configured to be rotated with the first shaft and to output a driving force that is input to the first input gear. The second gear portion may include a second shaft configured to be rotated about a second axis, a second input gear configured to be rotated with the second shaft and engaged with the first output gear, and a second output gear configured to be rotated with the second shaft and to output a driving force that is input to the second input gear to the driven gear portion. Further, a reinforcing plate may be disposed between end portions of the first shaft and the second shaft and an inner surface of the driving housing, and the driving housing and a cover coupled to the driving housing may respectively include a first partition and a second partition configured to divide a space in which the first gear portion and the second gear portion are accommodated and a space in which the driving portion is accommodated.

A sealing member may be further disposed between an edge of the driving housing and an edge of the cover. A number of gear teeth of the first output gear and a number of gear teeth of the second input gear may be different. For example, the first output gear may have more gear teeth than the second input gear.

An end portion of at least one of the first partition or the second partition may include a step difference having a recessed shape to allow a driving force of the driving portion to be transferred to the driving force transfer portion.

Tooth profiles of the first output gear may be symmetrical at both sides of the first input gear, and tooth profiles of the second input gear may be symmetrical at both sides of the second output gear. The first output gear and the second input gear may include hollow holes into which the end portions of the first shaft and the second shaft are inserted, and each of the hollow holes of the first output gear and the second input gear may exhibit a non-circular shape.

The driving housing may include seating grooves into which the end portions of the first shaft and the second shaft are respectively inserted; and a mounting groove formed to be communicated with the seating grooves, allowing the reinforcing plate to be mounted therein.

Further, a retainer ring may be coupled to an end portion of the fixed shaft, and an elastic member may be disposed between the driven gear portion and the retainer ring. In particular, the fixed shaft may include at least one coupling groove formed at the end portion thereof, such that the at least one coupling groove of the fixed shaft is open toward the driven gear portion, and the retainer ring may include at least one coupling protrusion formed on an inner circumferential surface of a through hole through which the end portion of the fixed shaft passes. Accordingly, as the retainer ring is rotated while compressing the elastic member, the at least one coupling protrusion may be aligned at the at least one coupling groove of the fixed shaft, and the at least one coupling protrusion may be inserted into the at least one coupling groove by a restoring force of the elastic member.

When the support frame is rotated to a position configured for acquiring an image of a predesignated side-rear region of a vehicle, it may be determined that the support frame is completely unfolded.

The aforementioned camera mirror assembly for a vehicle of the present disclosure has one or more of the following advantageous effects. When a cover is coupled to a driving housing on which a driving motor is seated, vibration of the driving motor may be attenuated by an elastic member provided in the cover, whereby assembly may be more easily facilitated and at the same time, the vibration may be effectively attenuated, preventing failure or breakage of the driving motor. Also, since a partition formed by the driving housing and the cover may divide a space in which the driving motor is disposed, in a space formed by the driving housing and the cover, failure or defect of the driving motor caused by particles entering the driving motor may be prevented. Also, a sealing member may be disposed between edges of the driving housing and the cover, whereby external particles or substances may be prevented from entering the space formed by the driving housing and the cover.

The effects according to the embodiment of the present disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and more various effects are included in the following description of the present disclosure.

