JP2010210498A - Pressure sensor for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pressure sensor for a vehicle that can prevent entering of a water droplet to an air inlet hole and can suppress lowering of an air flow amount due to a frozen water droplet. <P>SOLUTION: A cover member 13 for covering a peripheral of an air inlet hole 18 of a sensor housing 12 is attached to the sensor housing 12 that accommodates a sensor body. A lower opening 21 for introducing air from a lower portion is formed on the cover member 13. An eaves 26 diagonally protruding to the lower outside is provided on an external wall of the sensor housing 12 at a lower edge of the cover member 13. Entering of a water droplet to the air inlet hole 18 is blocked by the cover member 13 and narrowing of the air inlet hole 18 by an ice pillar in a cold time period is prevented by the eaves 26. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pressure sensor that is attached to a vehicle and used as a sensor that detects a vehicle collision.

  A sensor using a pressure sensor is known as a sensor for detecting a side collision of a vehicle (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  This pressure sensor is installed in a closed space between a door panel (door inner panel) and a door skin (door outer panel), and detects a change in internal pressure of the closed space due to deformation of the door skin at the time of a side collision. When a large change in the internal pressure of the closed space is detected by the pressure sensor, the detection signal is sent to the controller, and the controller outputs an operation command to the airbag or the seat belt device.

  The pressure sensor is fixed to the door panel so that a sensor body for detecting pressure is accommodated in the sensor housing and the sensor housing faces the closed space. The sensor housing is provided with an air intake port facing downward so as to face the closed space in the door, and the sensor body detects pressure through the air intake port.

JP 2007-064837 A JP 2007-110141 A JP 2007-315858 A

  However, in this conventional pressure sensor, although the air intake port of the sensor housing is provided downward, the air intake port is provided directly facing the closed space in the door. Can easily enter the air intake, and when the water droplets that have passed through the outer wall of the sensor housing are frozen in cold weather, the ice column formed there can possibly narrow the air intake.

  Therefore, the present invention is intended to provide a vehicle pressure sensor that can prevent the ingress of water droplets into the air intake and can reduce the decrease in the air flow rate due to the frozen water droplets.

The invention according to claim 1, which solves the above problem, includes a sensor main body (for example, a sensor main body 11 in an embodiment described later) for detecting pressure, and an air intake port that accommodates the sensor main body inside and is electrically connected to the outside. (For example, a sensor housing (for example, sensor housing 12 in the embodiment described later)) having a sensor housing having a sensor housing (for example, an air intake port 18 in an embodiment described later). A cover member (for example, a cover member 13 in an embodiment described later) having a lower opening (for example, a lower opening 21 in an embodiment described later) for introducing air from below to the air intake port is provided, and a lower edge of the cover member A hook part (for example, a hook part 26 in an embodiment to be described later) is provided on the part so as to protrude obliquely outward and downward relative to the outer wall of the sensor housing It is characterized in.
As a result, the peripheral area of the air intake port of the sensor housing is covered by the cover member, so that the water droplets do not easily enter the air intake port, and the water droplets that have traveled along the outer wall of the sensor housing follow the flanges of the cover member. And then dripping downward. Since the heel part is inclined outward and downward with respect to the outer wall of the sensor housing, even if a water droplet freezes at the lower end of the heel part and an ice column is formed, it is between the ice column part and the lower opening of the cover member. The space that allows air circulation is secured.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle pressure sensor according to the first aspect, a meandering passage (for example, a meandering passage in an embodiment described later) is provided inside the cover member and between the lower opening and the air intake port. 34), and a plurality of shielding plates (for example, a first shielding plate 30 and a second shielding plate 31 in the embodiments described later) are provided to cover at least the region directly below the air intake port from the lower side. To do.
Thereby, even if a water droplet may enter from the lower opening of the cover member, the water droplet hits the shielding wall between the lower opening and the air intake and drops downward.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle pressure sensor according to the first or second aspect, an upper wall of the cover member (for example, an upper wall 13b in an embodiment described later) is provided on the sensor housing from the outside. An upper fitting wall to be fitted (for example, an upper fitting wall 22 in an embodiment described later) is provided, and extends along the upper surface of the upper wall of the cover member fitted to the upper fitting wall. A wrap wall (for example, a wrap wall 23 in an embodiment described later) is provided.
Thereby, the upper part of the fitting portion between the upper wall of the cover member and the sensor housing is covered with the wrap wall, so that it is difficult for water droplets to directly enter the fitting gap between the upper wall of the cover member and the sensor housing.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent water droplets from entering the air intake port by the cover member covering the peripheral area of the air intake port and to incline outward and downward with respect to the outer wall of the sensor housing. A sufficient air circulation part can be ensured between the ice column formed along the outer wall of the sensor housing and the lower opening by the collar part of the cover member. Therefore, a stable sensor performance can be maintained by suppressing a decrease in the air flow rate.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, it is possible to stably ensure air circulation while preventing water droplets from entering the air intake port by the meandering passage provided between the lower opening and the air intake port. .

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the upper wall of the cover member is covered with the wrap wall extending from the sensor housing, the intrusion of water droplets from the fitting gap of the upper wall of the cover member is surely prevented. be able to.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the side door which attached the pressure sensor for vehicles of one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing corresponding to the AA cross section of FIG. 6 of the pressure sensor for vehicles of one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing corresponding to the BB cross section of FIG. 2 of the pressure sensor for vehicles of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the cover member which constitutes the pressure sensor for vehicles of one embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the pressure sensor for vehicles of one embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of the pressure sensor for vehicles of one embodiment of this invention.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, up and down means up and down in a vehicle mounting state, and about front and rear, the vehicle outer side in the vehicle width direction is described as front and the vehicle inner side is described as rear. .
FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a side door 1 of a vehicle to which a vehicle pressure sensor 10 (hereinafter referred to as “pressure sensor 10”) is attached.
The side door 1 has a steel plate door skin (door outer panel) 2 disposed outside the vehicle, a steel plate door panel (door inner panel) 3 disposed on the vehicle compartment side with respect to the door skin 2, and the door panel 3. A non-metallic door lining 4 made of resin or the like disposed on the vehicle interior side, and a closed space 5 is formed between the door skin 2 and the door panel 3. A door window glass 6 is installed in the closed space 5 to be movable up and down, and the door window glass 6 is moved up and down by a window regulator (not shown). The pressure sensor 10 is attached to the vehicle outer surface of the door panel 3 so as to face the closed space 5, and detects the pressure in the closed space 5.

2 to 6 show the pressure sensor 10 and its components.
As shown in these drawings, the pressure sensor 10 includes a sensor main body 11 (see FIG. 3) including a sensor element for pressure detection, a signal processing circuit, and the like, and a resin sensor housing 12 that accommodates the sensor main body 11 therein. And a resin cover member 13 that is attached to the sensor housing 12 and covers a part of the outside of the sensor housing 12.

  The sensor housing 12 includes a sensor housing chamber 14 that houses the sensor body 11, a door fixing portion 15 that extends upward from the upper wall of the sensor housing chamber 14, and a connector connection that is provided on the lower wall of the sensor housing chamber 14. Part 16.

  The front wall 14a (the left wall in FIG. 3) of the sensor housing chamber 14 is provided with an introduction duct 17 whose opening area expands toward the bottom and has a substantially triangular shape when viewed from the front. An air intake 18 that opens downward is formed at the lower end of 17. The air intake 18 communicates with the sensor main body 11 (sensor element) inside the sensor housing chamber 14 through the introduction duct 17.

  The door fixing portion 15 includes a support wall 19 that extends upward from an end portion (right end portion in FIG. 3) of the upper wall of the sensor housing chamber 14, and a fixing nut 27 and a locking projection are provided on the support wall 19. 29 is provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the support wall 19 is brought into contact with the vehicle outer side surface (the surface facing the closed space 5) of the door panel 3 in a state where the locking projection 29 is fitted in the mounting hole of the door panel 3. The screw 28 is fixed to the door panel 3 by being screwed into the fixing nut 27 from the vehicle compartment side.

  The connector connecting portion 16 is provided so as to extend downward from the lower wall of the sensor housing 12 so that a power supply system and a signal system (not shown) connected to the sensor body 11 are detachably attached via the connector 20. It has become.

  On the other hand, the cover member 13 is attached to the front side of the sensor housing 12 so as to cover the peripheral area of the introduction duct 17 (air intake port 18) of the sensor housing 12. The cover member 13 includes a front wall 13a that covers the front side of the introduction duct 17, an upper wall 13b that is continuous with the front wall 13a, and side walls 13c and 13d on both sides. A lower opening 21 for introduction into the intake 18 is provided. The upper wall 13b of the cover member 13 and the front edge portions of the side walls 13c and 13d on both sides are overlapped and closely fitted to the outer surface of the sensor housing 12.

  The sensor housing 12 is provided with an upper fitting wall 22 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) on which the upper wall 13b of the cover member 13 is superposed, and the cover member 13 fitted to the upper fitting wall 22 is also provided. A wrap wall 23 extending along the upper surface of the upper wall 13b is provided. The upper wall 13 b of the cover member 13 is fitted to the upper fitting wall 22 in such a manner that it is inserted between the upper fitting wall 22 and the lap wall 23.

Further, on each side surface of the sensor housing 12, a pair of locking pieces 24 and 24 are provided that are superposed on the outer side surfaces of the side walls 13 c and 13 d of the cover member 13 fitted to the sensor housing 12. A locking protrusion 24 a that protrudes outward is provided on the distal end side of each locking piece 24.
On the other hand, when the cover member 13 is fitted to the sensor housing 12 to a predetermined depth, the side walls 13c and 13d of the cover member 13 get over the upper portions of the locking protrusions 24a of the locking pieces 24 and engage with each other. A lock piece 25 that engages with the stop protrusion 24a is extended.

  By the way, the lower edge of the side walls 13c and 13d of the cover member 13 is integrally formed with a flange portion 26 that protrudes outward and inclined with respect to the side wall of the sensor housing 12. The upper side regions (hereinafter referred to as “general portions”) of the side walls 13c and 13d of the cover member 13 are superposed only on the front edge region in the depth direction of the sensor housing 12, but the flange portion 26 is formed on the side wall 13c. , 13d extends from the lower end of the general portion to the rear end of the sensor housing 12 in the depth direction. Here, if a portion (see FIGS. 4 and 6) extending in the depth direction from the lower end of the general portion of the flange portion 26 is referred to as an extension piece 26 a, the upper end portion of the extension piece 26 is the side wall of the sensor housing 12. It comes into contact with the lower edge in close contact.

  Further, on the inner surface of the cover member 13, a first shielding plate 30 is provided between the lower opening 21 and the air intake 18 so as to face the air intake 18 when the cover member 13 is attached to the sensor housing 12. In addition, a pair of second shielding plates 31, 31 are provided so as to be located closer to the air intake 18 than the first shielding plate. The first shielding plate 30 covers a wider area than the air intake port 18 when viewed from below, and forms the first vents 32 and 32 between the side walls 13c and 13d of the cover member 13. The cover member 13 extends substantially horizontally on the front wall 13a. The second shielding plates 31, 31 are extended on the side walls 13 c, 13 d of the cover member 13 so that the front end portions are inclined obliquely downward and the second vent holes 33 are formed between the two front end portions. . The first shielding plate 30 and the second shielding plates 31 and 31 overlap each other by a predetermined amount in the vertical direction, and the meandering passage 34 is formed between the lower opening 21 and the air intake port 18 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. Forming.

  In the above configuration, when the side door 1 is deformed due to a side collision or the like, and the pressure in the internal closed space 5 suddenly increases, the increased pressure is transmitted from the lower opening 21 of the cover member 13 to the sensor housing 12 through the meandering passage 34. Is detected by the sensor body 10 through the air intake 18.

  Further, when a water droplet enters the closed space 5 of the side door 1 and the water droplet scatters to the pressure sensor 10, the water droplet falls down along the outer wall of the cover member 13 and the sensor housing 12. At this time, since the air introduction port 18 of the sensor housing 12 is covered with the cover member 13, water droplets do not enter directly.

  In addition, since a flange 26 that is inclined downward and outward with respect to the outer wall of the sensor housing 12 is provided at the lower edge portion of the cover member 13, water droplets that travel along the outer wall of the cover member 13 and the sensor housing 12 It falls downward from the lower end of the portion 26. Since the lower end of the collar portion 26 is sufficiently separated from the outer wall of the sensor housing 12, even if the water droplets transmitted along the outer wall of the cover member 13 or the sensor housing 12 are frozen in cold weather, the ice column I may grow. The icicle I does not greatly squeeze the lower opening 21 of the cover member 13. Therefore, in this pressure sensor 10, even in a situation where the ice column I is generated, a sufficient air circulation space of the lower opening 21 can be secured and stable sensor performance can be maintained.

  Further, in the pressure sensor 10, the first shielding plate 30 and the second shielding plate 31 overlap so that a meandering passage 34 is formed between the lower opening 21 and the air intake 18 inside the cover member 13. Therefore, even if water droplets scatter from the lower side of the pressure sensor 10, the first shielding plate 30 and the second shielding plate 31 ensure that the water droplets enter the air intake port 18. In addition, the air circulation can be stably secured by the meandering passage 34.

  In the case of this pressure sensor 10, since the wrap wall 23 extends from the sensor housing 12 so as to cover the upper surface of the upper wall 13 b of the cover member 13 fitted to the sensor housing 12, Water droplets can be prevented from entering the fitting gap between the upper wall 13 b and the sensor housing 12 from above by the wrap wall 23.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A various design change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Pressure sensor 11 ... Sensor main body 12 ... Sensor housing 13 ... Cover member 13b ... Upper wall 18 ... Air intake 21 ... Lower opening 22 ... Upper fitting wall 23 ... Lap wall 26 ... Gutter 30 ... 1st shielding board 31 ... second shielding plate 34 ... meandering passage

Claims (3)

A sensor body for detecting pressure;
A sensor housing that houses the sensor body and has an air intake port that communicates with the outside;
In a vehicle pressure sensor comprising:
Covering the peripheral area of the air intake, providing a cover member having a lower opening for introducing air into the air intake from below,
A vehicular pressure sensor characterized in that a flange portion is provided at a lower edge portion of the cover member so as to be inclined outward and downward with respect to an outer wall of the sensor housing.   The meandering passage is formed between the lower opening and the air intake, and a plurality of shielding plates are provided on the inner side of the cover member to cover at least a region directly below the air intake from the lower side. The vehicle pressure sensor according to claim 1.   The sensor housing is provided with an upper fitting wall in which the upper wall of the cover member is fitted from the outside, and extends along the upper surface of the upper wall of the cover member fitted to the upper fitting wall. The vehicle pressure sensor according to claim 1, wherein a wrapping wall is provided.

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