Camera assembly with waterproof features

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11849197-B2
Application number	US-202017128592-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2020
Priority date	Jul 7, 2016
Publication date	Dec 19, 2023
Grant date	Dec 19, 2023

Abstract

This application is directed to a surveillance camera system including a magnet mount for physically receiving a camera module. The camera module includes a housing having an exterior surface of a first shape. A surface of the magnet mount has a second shape that is substantially concave and complementary to the first shape, and is configured to engage the exterior surface of the housing of the camera module. A magnetic material is disposed inside the magnet mount and configured to magnetically couple to a magnetic material of the camera module. A friction pad is embedded on the surface of the magnet mount, has a substantially concave shape and protrudes beyond the second surface. The friction pad is configured to come into contact with the exterior surface of the housing of the camera module at least via a peripheral edge of the substantially concave friction pad.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A camera system, comprising:
a camera module including a housing, wherein the housing has an opening and an exterior surface, and is sealed against water intrusion apart from the opening;
a transducer disposed inside the housing, the transducer having (1) a sound interface offset from the opening, (2) a hydrophobic membrane affixed to an interior surface of the housing and covering the opening thereon, and (3) a sound transmission channel that couples the sound interface to the opening; and
a mount for physically receiving the camera module, the mount including a surface and a friction pad attached to and protruding beyond the surface, wherein when the camera module is received by the mount, the mount comes into contact with the exterior surface of the housing via the friction pad, the camera module configured to move with respect to the mount when the exterior surface of the housing of the camera module is in contact with the friction pad of the mount, the camera module having an unlimited range of rotation with respect to a central axis of the camera module.

2. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein:
the exterior surface of the housing has a first shape;
at least a portion of the surface has a second shape that is concave, the second shape being substantially complementary to the first shape of the exterior surface of the housing of the camera module such that the surface of the mount fits with at least a portion of the exterior surface of the housing of the camera module; and
at least a portion of the friction pad has a concave shape and protrudes beyond the surface by a predefined height, the friction pad being configured to come into contact with the exterior surface of the housing at least via a peripheral edge of the friction pad.

3. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein the mount includes a first magnetic material disposed between the surface and an opposite surface, the opposite surface being configured to attach to a mounting surface directly or indirectly, and the first magnetic material is configured to magnetically couple to a second magnetic material of the camera module.

4. The camera system of claim 3 , wherein the second magnetic material of the camera module has a rear surface facing the mount, and the rear surface of the second magnetic material has a surface area that is greater than an area of a cross section of the first magnetic material included in the mount, the cross section of the first magnetic material facing the rear surface of the second magnetic material of the camera module.

5. The camera system of claim 3 , wherein the housing of the camera module is not magnetic, and the second magnetic material of the camera module is coupled to the exterior surface of the housing.

6. The camera system of claim 3 , wherein the second magnetic material of the camera module is concealed within the camera module and attached to an interior surface of the camera module opposing the exterior surface of the camera module.

7. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein the friction pad is made of a polymeric material that introduces friction between the surface of the mount and the exterior surface of the camera module, thereby maintaining stability of the camera module when it is mounted on a mounting surface via the mount.

8. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein the friction pad has a concave inner surface having a first radius of curvature, and the exterior surface of the housing of the camera module has a second radius of curvature that is larger than the first radius of curvature.

9. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein when the camera module is magnetically coupled to the mount, an adjustable union between the mount and the camera module is formed permitting adjustment of an angle of orientation of the camera module with respect to the mount, the angle of orientation being limited by a stopping structure of the camera module, wherein the stopping structure of the camera module includes a second magnetic material, and the angle of orientation of the camera module is limited by physical dimensions of the second magnetic material of the camera module.

10. A camera system comprising:
a camera module including a housing, wherein the housing has an opening and an exterior surface, and is sealed against water intrusion apart from the opening;
a transducer disposed inside the housing, the transducer having (1) a sound interface offset from the opening, (2) a hydrophobic membrane affixed to an interior surface of the housing and covering the opening thereon, and (3) a sound transmission channel that couples the sound interface to the opening; and
a mount for physically receiving the camera module, the mount including a surface and a friction pad attached to and protruding beyond the surface, wherein when the camera module is received by the mount, the mount comes into contact with the exterior surface of the housing via the friction pad, wherein:
the mount further comprises a mounting structure configured to be attached and fixed onto a mounting surface;
the surface of the mount is configured to attach to the mounting surface indirectly via the mounting structure; and
when the camera system is mounted onto the mounting surface, the mount attaches onto the mounting structure with a first attraction force and the camera module magnetically couples to the mount with a second attraction force that is smaller than the first attraction force.

11. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein an interior surface of the sound transmission channel is coated with a damping material that is hydrophobic and configured to reduce wind noise caused by sound waves transmitted by the sound transmission channel.

12. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic membrane being configured to allow transmission of sound waves and block water intrusion from the opening, and the sound transmission channel is configured to allow sound waves transmitted through the opening and the hydrophobic membrane to be coupled to the sound interface of the transducer without exposing the sound interface to damaging pressures due to environmental impacts on the camera system.

13. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein the transducer includes at least one of a speaker and a microphone.

14. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein when the camera system is applied in an outdoor environment, the sound interface of the transducer is oriented down towards a ground.

15. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein sound waves that are incident on the hydrophobic membrane are guided to transmit substantially upward within the sound transmission channel.

16. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein the sound transmission channel is substantially tortuous, and turns at least twice between the opening and the sound interface of the transducer.

17. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein the opening is located on an interior surface of the housing, and the sound interface of the transducer is offset from the opening towards a center of the interior surface of the housing, and wherein when the camera system is applied in an outdoor environment, the sound interface of the transducer is disposed at a higher level than the opening.

18. The camera system of claim 1 , wherein the transducer is configured to compensate an intensity loss of sound waves and noise signals introduced into the sound waves, and the intensity loss and the noise signal associated with the sound waves are at least partially caused by the hydrophobic membrane and the sound transmission channel.

19

Assignees

• Google Llc

Inventors

• Germe Gregory Daniel Louis
• Dong William Raeming
• Goulden Jason Evans
• Mittleman Adam Duckworth
• Webb Nicholas
• Shih Poll

Classifications

• H04N23/51 Primary

  Housings · CPC title

• G03B17/561 Primary

  Support related camera accessories · CPC title

• H04N23/55

  Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof · CPC title

• H04N23/56

  provided with illuminating means · CPC title

• F16M11/041

  Allowing quick release of the apparatus · CPC title