JP2002293131A - Ventilation device of room mirror for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ventilation device of a room mirror for a vehicle capable of preventing dust or foreign matters from intruding from a vent hole which is provided for preventing temperature rise in the room mirror. SOLUTION: A GPS receiving antenna is accommodated in the room mirror 3. The relatively large vent holes 8 are formed on a back surface of a mirror housing 6, and each of the vent holes 8 is closed with a cover 9. The cover 9 is made of a shape memory alloy. The cover 9 is deformed and opens the bent hole 8 at a predetermined transformation temperature or more. Thereby the heated air in the room mirror 3 escapes from the vent hole 8 to outside. Therefore, reliability of the receiving antenna in the room mirror 3 can be prevented from deteriorating.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular rearview mirror ventilation device having a built-in electronic device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, GPS has been installed in a rearview mirror in a passenger compartment.
It is considered to incorporate a receiving antenna or a wireless device of a keyless entry system. This is because the position of the rearview mirror is relatively good in the radio wave environment in the cabin, and the reception sensitivity of the antenna is good. This is because there is space for installation and the interior space of the vehicle can be used effectively.

[0003] As is well known, the rearview mirror is provided at a position close to the windshield, and the sunlight incident on the rearview mirror from the windshield is directly radiated to the rearview mirror. If left for a long time, the surface temperature of the rearview mirror rises to nearly 100 ° C. For this reason, it is inevitable that the temperature inside the rearview mirror will rise. If a wireless device is built in the rearview mirror, the temperature of the electronic components that make up the wireless device will rise and the reliability of the wireless device will decrease. There is a problem of doing.

As a prior art for reducing the temperature rise around the electronic components built in the rearview mirror, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 9-188195 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6860, there is known a mirror housing provided with a plurality of elongate vents and ventilating through the vents to reduce the temperature around the electronic component.

[0005]

However, in such a configuration, the ventilation port formed in the mirror housing is elongated, so that the air inlet / outlet is narrow, the ventilation function is insufficient, and the ventilation port is not provided. There is a problem that dust or foreign matter enters the rearview mirror and lowers the reliability of the electronic component. Furthermore, since the vent is always open, there is also a problem that the solar radiation incident on the interior of the vehicle is irradiated from the vent to the electronic components in the mirror housing and the temperature rises.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a ventilation hole for preventing a temperature rise in a rearview mirror, and to allow dust or foreign matter to enter from the ventilation hole. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ventilation device for a vehicle rearview mirror, which can prevent the occurrence of the sunshine on the electronic components in the rearview mirror.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the vent formed in the mirror housing is normally closed, dust and foreign matter enter the mirror housing from the vent. There is no.

When the room mirror is irradiated with solar radiation, the temperature of the air in the mirror housing rises. , The warmed air in the mirror housing escapes to the outside through the vent. Thus, the temperature inside the mirror housing can be reduced, so that the reliability of the electronic components of the mirror housing can be guaranteed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even when the heat responsive member has the ventilation port opened, the solar radiation is prevented from entering the mirror housing through the ventilation port. It is possible to prevent the temperature of the electronic component from rising due to direct irradiation with solar radiation.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the heat responsive member is made of a shape memory alloy, the temperature at which the heat responsive member opens the ventilation hole can be set with high accuracy.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the non-deformable portion of the heat responsive member is formed of a heat insulating member, it is possible to irradiate solar radiation compared to a case where the entire heat responsive member is formed of, for example, a shape memory alloy. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in the temperature of the heat responsive member and to reduce the cost.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle. In FIG. 2, a room mirror 3 is provided in a cabin of a vehicle 1 at a position close to an upper portion of a windshield 2.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the room mirror 3. In FIG. 1, a rearview mirror 3 is mounted on a ceiling surface 4 of a vehicle 1.
It is swingably supported at the tip of a column 5 fixed to (see FIG. 2). GPS (Glob
al Positioning System) (not shown) is built-in, and the GPS controller processes the signal received by this receiving antenna so that the current position of the vehicle can be displayed on the display device. .

FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal side view of the rearview mirror 3 (however, electronic components in the rearview mirror 3 are omitted).
In FIG. 3, the room mirror 3 is configured by fixing a mirror 7 to an opening of a mirror housing 6. A plurality of relatively large vents 8 (see FIG. 1) are formed in the rear part of the mirror housing 6.
Is closed by a cover (corresponding to a response member) 9.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cover 9. This figure 4
, The cover 9 is made of a shape memory metal.
The shape corresponding to the temperature is stored in the curved portion 9a which is curved so as to traverse. That is, when the temperature of the cover 9 is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, as shown in FIGS.
a is a curved shape which is a shape stored in advance,
The cover 9 as a whole has a planar shape. On the other hand, when the temperature of the cover 9 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined transformation temperature,
As shown in FIG. 5, the curved portion 9a has a bent shape which is a shape stored in advance, and the entire cover 9 has the curved portion 9a.
It becomes a two-fold shape centered on.

In FIG. 4, a pair of holes 9b are formed at the end of the cover 9, and the cover 9 is crushed by inserting a stud 6a formed in the mirror housing 6 into the hole 9b. Are mounted on the mirror housing 6 (see FIG. 3). When the cover 9 is mounted on the mirror housing 6 in this manner, the vent 8 of the mirror housing 6 is closed by the cover 9 as shown in FIG.

Since the rear-view mirror 3 is located close to the windshield 2, the rear-view mirror 3 is not mounted on the rear-view mirror 3 in a state where the front-view windshield 2 is irradiated with sunlight from the front or side of the vehicle. 2 is irradiated with solar radiation.

However, the rearview mirror 3
Even in the case where sunlight is applied to the mirror housing 6, the temperature inside the rear-view mirror 3 does not rise excessively in winter when the outside air temperature is low, or in spring or autumn when the outside air temperature is relatively low. The vent hole 8 remains closed by the cover 9. As a result, the vent 8 of the room mirror 3 is not opened, and dust or dust is normally prevented from entering the interior of the room mirror 3.

In the summertime when the outside air temperature is high, when the sunlight coming from the windshield 2 is irradiated on the room mirror 3, the temperature of the air inside the room mirror 3, that is, the temperature of the cover 9 becomes higher than usual. . When the temperature of the cover 9 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined transformation temperature stored in the shape memory alloy, the curved portion 9a of the cover 9 becomes bent, so that the cover 9 is folded in two as shown in FIG. It is deformed and the vent 8 is opened. As a result, the heated air in the rear-view mirror 2 escapes to the outside through the ventilation port 8, so that the temperature in the rear-view mirror 3 and, eventually, the electronic components constituting the GPS receiving antenna housed in the rear-view mirror 3 Can be prevented from rising excessively, and the life of the receiving antenna can be prevented from being shortened.

In this case, even if the cover 9 has the ventilation opening 8 opened, the ventilation opening 8 is covered by the cover 9, so that the solar radiation radiated into the interior mirror 3 through the ventilation opening 8 is covered. 9, the temperature inside the rear-view mirror 3 can be prevented from rising excessively. Further, since the upper end of the cover 9 is fixed to the mirror housing 6, even when the cover 9 has the vent 8 open, the upper part of the vent 8 is closed.
Dust or foreign matter is prevented from entering the interior mirror 3 from the vent 8.

Incidentally, even in summer when the outside air temperature is high, in an environment where the room mirror 3 is not irradiated with sunlight, such as when the vehicle is parked at night or in the shade, the temperature inside the room mirror 3 may not rise excessively. Absent. As a result, the vent 8 of the room mirror 3 is closed by the cover 9,
Needless to say, dust and foreign matter do not enter the interior mirror 3 from the vent 8.

According to such a configuration, the rearview mirror 3
In addition to forming a relatively large vent 8 at all times, the vent 8 is normally closed with a cover 9 made of a shape memory alloy, and when the temperature inside the room mirror 3 becomes higher than a predetermined temperature, the cover 9 is deformed. The heated air in the interior mirror 3 is allowed to escape to the outside through the ventilation opening 8 by opening the ventilation opening 8 so that the interior of the interior mirror is always in communication with the outside through the ventilation opening formed in the interior mirror. Unlike the conventional example, the ventilation port 8 can be always closed with the cover 9, so that dust and dust can be prevented from entering the interior mirror 3.

Further, since the upper end of the cover 9 is fixed to the mirror housing 6, even when the cover 9 has the vent 8 opened, the solar radiation applied to the vent 8 is effectively blocked. In addition to this, dust or foreign matter can be prevented from entering the interior mirror 3 from the ventilation port 8.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. The description will be omitted, and only different portions will be described. The second embodiment is characterized in that the non-deformed portion of the cover is formed by a heat insulating member.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cover 9. This figure 6
In the cover 9, the end portion including the curved portion 9a is formed of a shape memory alloy, while the non-deformed portion is formed of a plastic member (corresponding to a heat insulating member) 11.

When most of the cover 9 is formed of the plastic member 11 as described above, the temperature of the cover 9 is excessively high even if the cover 9 is irradiated with solar radiation because the plastic member 11 has high heat insulation. This is effective in suppressing the temperature rise in the interior mirror 3 and at the same time reducing the cost.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified or expanded as follows. Forming a vent in the upper wall or the side wall of the mirror housing 6;
The vent may be closed by a cover.
In this case, when the ventilation hole is formed in the upper wall portion of the mirror housing 6, the fixing position of the cover with respect to the mirror housing 6 is set to the windshield 2 side, so that the room is opened in a state where the ventilation hole is opened by the cover. The heated air in the mirror 3 can be quickly released to the outside, and the irradiation of the interior mirror 3 with solar radiation can be effectively prevented.

The cover may be formed from a plastic member having shape memory characteristics, and the cover may be formed integrally with the mirror housing 6. The cover may be formed from a thermally responsive member such as a bimetal instead of the shape memory alloy. A heat ray reflection film may be adhered to a portion of the windshield 2 that is to be the rear surface of the room mirror 3 so as to block heat rays containing sunlight radiated to the room mirror 3 through the windshield 2.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a room mirror according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view of a room mirror.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cover.

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing a state in which a cover opens a ventilation hole.

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4, showing a second embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a vehicle, 2 is a windshield, 3 is a rearview mirror, 6
Is a mirror housing, 8 is a vent, and 9 is a cover (heat responsive member).

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle interior mirror incorporating an electronic device, wherein a ventilation opening communicating between the interior and the exterior of the interior mirror is provided, and the ventilation opening is always closed. A ventilation device for a vehicle rearview mirror, comprising: a heat responsive member for opening a mouth. 2. The heat responsive member is provided so as to prevent solar radiation from entering the interior mirror through the vent when the vent is open. Vehicular rearview mirror ventilation system. 3. The ventilation device for a vehicle rearview mirror according to claim 1, wherein the heat responsive member is made of a shape memory alloy. 4. The ventilation device for a vehicle rearview mirror according to claim 3, wherein the non-deformed portion of the heat responsive member is formed of a heat insulating member.