Vehicular forward camera module with cooling fan

A vehicular windshield electronics module, the vehicular windshield electronics module comprising:

• a camera module;
• a cover element, wherein, with the vehicular windshield electronics module mounted at an in-cabin side of a windshield of a vehicle, the cover element at least partially hides the camera module from view by a driver of the vehicle;
• wherein the camera module comprises a camera housing, the camera housing accommodating a camera and circuitry;
• wherein the camera comprises a lens and an imager, and wherein the imager comprises a two-dimensional array of at least one million photosensor elements arranged in a plurality of rows and columns;
• wherein, with the vehicular windshield electronics module mounted at the in-cabin side of the windshield of the vehicle, the camera views through the windshield and forward of the vehicle;
• wherein the camera is operable to capture image data;
• wherein the circuitry comprises an image processor operable to process image data captured by the camera;
• wherein the camera housing of the camera module comprises (i) lower heat dissipating fins that are disposed at a lower portion of the camera housing, and (ii) rear heat dissipating fins that are disposed at a rear portion of the camera housing;
• a cooling fan assembly;
• wherein the cooling fan assembly comprises a self-contained unit that includes a fan motor, fan blades and a housing, and wherein the cooling fan assembly is mounted at the lower portion of the camera housing;
• wherein the cooling fan assembly is at least partially received in a recessed region of the lower portion of the camera housing;
• wherein the fan motor comprises a variable speed motor controlled via pulse-width modulation (PWM);
• wherein an air intake conduit extends from the cooling fan assembly toward an air inlet of the cover element;
• wherein the cooling fan assembly, with the vehicular windshield electronics module mounted at the in-cabin side of the windshield of the vehicle, and when the fan motor is electrically powered, draws air from an interior cabin of the vehicle via the air inlet of the cover element of the vehicular windshield electronics module and directs the drawn air as airflow (i) in a radial direction with respect to an axis of rotation of the fan blades, and (ii) in an axial direction with respect to the axis of rotation of the fan blades;
• and
• wherein, when the cooling fan assembly directs the drawn air as airflow, the cooling fan assembly directs the airflow (i) in the radial direction along and between the lower heat dissipating fins, and (ii) in the axial direction along and between the rear heat dissipating fins.

A vehicular windshield electronics module, the vehicular windshield electronics module comprising:

• a camera module;
• wherein the camera module comprises a camera housing, the camera housing accommodating a camera and circuitry;
• wherein the camera comprises a lens and an imager, and wherein the imager is disposed at an imager circuit board, and wherein the imager comprises a two-dimensional array of at least one million photosensor elements arranged in a plurality of rows and columns;
• wherein, with the vehicular windshield electronics module mounted at an in-cabin side of a windshield of a vehicle, the camera views through the windshield and forward of the vehicle;
• wherein the camera is operable to capture image data;
• wherein the circuitry comprises an image processor operable to process image data captured by the camera;
• wherein the camera housing of the camera module comprises (i) lower heat dissipating fins that are disposed at a lower portion of the camera housing, and (ii) rear heat dissipating fins that are disposed at a rear portion of the camera housing;
• wherein the rear heat dissipating fins are disposed at the rear portion of the camera housing where an imager circuit board of the camera module is in thermal conductive connection with the rear portion of the camera housing;
• a cooling fan assembly;
• wherein the cooling fan assembly comprises a self-contained unit that includes a fan motor, fan blades and a housing, and wherein the cooling fan assembly is mounted at the lower portion of the camera housing;
• wherein the fan motor comprises a variable speed motor controlled via pulse-width modulation (PWM);
• wherein the cooling fan assembly, with the vehicular windshield electronics module mounted at the in-cabin side of the windshield of the vehicle, and when the fan motor is electrically powered, draws air from an interior cabin of the vehicle via an air intake of the vehicular windshield electronics module and directs the drawn air as airflow (i) in a radial direction with respect to an axis of rotation of the fan blades, and (ii) in an axial direction with respect to the axis of rotation of the fan blades;
• wherein the cooling fan assembly comprises a first exit duct that, when the fan motor of the cooling fan assembly is electrically powered, directs the airflow in the radial direction along and between the lower heat dissipating fins;
• and
• wherein the cooling fan assembly comprises a second exit duct that, when the fan motor of the cooling fan assembly is electrically powered, directs the airflow in the axial direction along and between the rear heat dissipating fins.