CZ305743B6 - Device to moisten headlight interior - Google Patents

Abstract

The invented device to moisten headlight interior forms a part of an experimental apparatus for monitoring build-up of condensate on inner side of the headlight glass. The device consists of a vertical cylindrical reservoir (1) that is adapted for insertion into the headlight. A heating element (3), connected by conductors (4) to a power supply unit, projects from the reservoir (1) bottom (2) inside the reservoir (1), wherein the device is provided with means for sealing itself in an opening performed in the headlight.

Description

Device for humidifying the interior of the headlamp

Field of technology

The invention relates to a device which introduces into the interior of a headlight, intended in particular for motor vehicles, a precisely determined amount of moisture. The device serves as part of an experimental device for storing condensation on the inside of the headlamp windscreen and for proposing measures to eliminate it.

Prior art

The humidity contained in the air filling the interior of a car headlight is a serious problem for car manufacturers and headlight manufacturers. Humidity condenses when the temperature drops below the dew point. In addition to compromising the functionality of the electronics, it creates a more or less continuous layer on the inside of the glass, which can persist for a relatively long time. Fogging of the headlight reduces the luminous flux, but what is even more significant from the point of view of the car manufacturer, fogging is considered by the vehicle user to be a defective condition. Car manufacturers therefore spend considerable resources to analyze this phenomenon and, if possible, eliminate it.

To reduce this undesirable phenomenon, ventilation openings are located on the rear of the headlight body. The positions of these holes are in places with the greatest differences in dynamic pressures, which are created by the heat generated during engine operation. The pressure drop, together with the heat generated by the switched on halogen bulb, xenon lamp or LED chip, ensures the flow of air inside the reflector and thus the ventilation of moisture. In some cars, forced circulation of air supplied from the radiator space is introduced.

In order to be able to design an efficient location of vents and ensure adequate pressure conditions, car manufacturers carry out numerous numerical simulations of the engine compartment at their research centers in order to find locations with higher air velocities and correspondingly higher dynamic pressures. The first step is to bring a precisely determined amount of moisture into the interior of the headlight. This is done by leaving the headlamp in a climate chamber of known temperature and relative humidity for a period of time until the conditions outside and inside the headlamp have been equalized.

The disadvantage of this method is time consuming. This method cannot be performed operatively, eg during field test runs.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple device with minimal dimensions which would bring a narrowly determined amount of water vapor into the headlight in a very short time.

The essence of the invention

This task is solved by a device for humidifying the interior of a headlight as part of an experimental device for storing the formation of condensate on the inside of the glass of the headlight. The device consists of a vertical cylindrical reservoir adapted to be inserted into a headlamp. From the bottom of the tank, a heater connected by conductors with an energy source protrudes inwards. In this case, the device is provided with means for sealing it in an opening formed in the headlight.

The tank can be housed in a Teflon tubular housing with holes for dosing water into the tank and for steam extraction.

A sealing flange can be slidably mounted on the housing.

- 1 CZ 305743 B6

The tank is preferably provided with a grid to atomize the steam bubbles rising from the heater.

To determine the moment of completion of the process of evaporation of all water in the tank, a temperature sensor is preferably built into its bottom. This sensor also serves to prevent damage to the entire device due to the heat generated.

Explanation of the drawing

The invention will be further elucidated by means of a drawing representing a preferred embodiment of a headlamp humidification device, in Fig. 1 in side view, in Fig. 2 in section AA according to Fig. 1, in Fig. 3 in axonometric projection and in Fig. 4 in section BB according to Fig. 1.

Examples of embodiments of the invention

The device for wetting the interior of the headlamp documented in the drawing is intended to be inserted into the headlamp through a circular hole formed for this purpose in the upper part of the headlamp body. A substantial part of the device is a reservoir 1, from the bottom of which a heating element 3 protrudes into the space of the reservoir 1 connected to an external source of electrical energy by conductors 4. The reservoir is open at the top, has a cross lattice 5 inserted in the upper part in a cross-shaped plan. steam bubbles rising from the heater 3. The purpose of the grille 5 is to prevent water in the liquid phase from entering the headlight space. In addition, a temperature sensor 6 connected to the monitoring devices is built into the bottom 2. The tank is housed in a cylindrical housing 7 made of Teflon. A sealing flange 8 is slidably mounted on it, which has the task of sealing the device in the opening of the headlight. At the same time, it allows you to select the insertion depth. Openings 9 are made in the housing above the level of the upper side of the tank 1, through which the tank 1 communicates with the surroundings.

A precisely determined amount of water is fed into the reservoir 1 via a syringe through the openings 9. By means of an adjustable source, a power is set on the heater 3 which heats the water in the reservoir 1 as quickly as possible, but does not leak or splash water into the headlight space. Water vapor escapes through the openings 9. The end of the evaporation is determined by means of a temperature sensor 6 built into the bottom 2 of the tank 1. Once the process is completed, the device is pulled out of the headlight and the opening in the headlight is sealed.

The device for humidifying the interior of the headlight is part of a complex apparatus consisting of a device for supplying air with a precisely determined pressure to several places of the headlight and a device for sensing and evaluating the fogging of the reflector glass.

Claims (5)

PATENT CLAIMS 5. A device for humidifying the interior of a headlamp as part of an experimental device for monitoring the formation of condensate on the inside of the headlamp glass, characterized in that it consists of a vertical cylindrical reservoir (1) adapted for insertion into the headlamp, from the bottom (2) a heating element (3) connected by a conductor (4) to the energy source protrudes from the reservoir (1), the device being provided with means for its sealing in an opening formed in the light. Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the reservoir (1) is accommodated in a plastic tubular housing (7) with openings (9) for dosing water into the reservoir (1) and for removing steam. 15 Device according to Claim 2, characterized in that a sealing flange is slidably mounted on the housing (7). Device according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the reservoir (1) is provided with a grid (5) for atomizing steam bubbles. Device according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a temperature sensor (6) is integrated in the bottom (2) of the tank (1).