JP2011143831A - Cleaning device for vehicle lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device for a vehicle lamp that can surely clean the entire area of the vehicle lamp by adjusting an injection direction of a cleaning fluid freely in three dimensional directions, and in which the injection direction does not easily change after being adjusted. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning device for the vehicle lamp includes a cylinder to which the cleaning fluid is supplied, a piston slidably inserted into the cylinder, a valve case 7 attached to a tip end of the piston, nozzle holders 17 supported by the valve case 7, and injection nozzles 4 supported by the nozzle holders 17. The cleaning device injects the cleaning fluid from the injection nozzles 4 toward the vehicle lamp. Each of the injection nozzles 4 is press-fitted into the nozzle holder 17 by a spherical fitting part so as to be turnable in the three dimensional directions, and the nozzle holder 17 is press-fitted into the valve case 7 so as to be turnable around an axis along the pressing direction. A fitting protrusion 7f and a fitting groove 17b are formed in a part for fitting the nozzle holder 17 with the valve case 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for spraying a cleaning liquid onto a vehicle lamp such as a headlamp to clean the surface thereof.

  For example, if the front surface of a vehicle, such as a headlamp, becomes dirty due to adhesion of dust, mud, etc., the amount of light may be insufficient. Therefore, if necessary, the cleaning liquid is sprayed toward the headlamp to clean the surface of the headlamp. The cleaning device is installed behind the front bumper. The cleaning device includes a cylinder to which cleaning liquid is supplied, a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder, a valve case attached to the tip of the piston, and a nozzle holder supported by the valve case. The injection nozzle is supported by the nozzle holder, and the cleaning liquid is injected from the injection nozzle toward the vehicular lamp.

  In such a cleaning apparatus, the nozzle is stored behind the front bumper when not cleaning, and when the headlamp is cleaned, the injection nozzle is moved forward from the opening formed in the front bumper by the pressure of the cleaning liquid. When the pressure of the cleaning liquid rises above the predetermined value, the check valve opens and the cleaning liquid is supplied to the injection nozzle. Adhered dust and mud are removed. When the cleaning of the headlamp is completed, the spray nozzle is returned to the retracted position on the back side of the front bumper by a biasing means such as a spring.

  By the way, in the type of cleaning device in which the injection nozzle is fixed to the nozzle holder, it is not possible to adjust the injection direction of the cleaning liquid from the injection nozzle. For example, it is necessary to prepare a plurality of cleaning devices having different injection angles for each vehicle type. There is a problem that there is.

  Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a cleaning device that can adjust the spray direction of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle. FIG. 9 shows a part of such a cleaning apparatus.

  That is, FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the spray nozzle portion of the cleaning device, in which 117 is a nozzle holder for holding the spray nozzle 104, and the nozzle holder 117 has a connecting portion 117a as a water supply body ( The valve case 107 is connected to the water supply body 107 by being press-fitted into a cleaning liquid supply pipe 107 a protruding from the valve case 107. The nozzle holder 117 is formed with a bottomed cylindrical holding portion 117b that opens upward, and the substantially cylindrical held portion 104a of the injection nozzle 104 is inserted into the holding portion 117b from above. Has been.

  Accordingly, the injection nozzle 104 can rotate in the RR direction around the first axis (vertical axis) x in the insertion direction into the nozzle holder 117, and the press-fitting direction of the nozzle holder 117 into the water supply body 107. Since the second axis (horizontal axis) y can be rotated in the SS direction, the cleaning liquid spraying direction from the spray nozzle 104 can be adjusted.

  However, in the cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 9 proposed in Patent Document 1, the injection nozzle 104 rotates only in the RR direction centered on the first axis x and the SS direction centered on the second axis y. Since it cannot move, there exists a problem that a washing | cleaning liquid may not be sprayed toward the area to wash | clean a lens surface, such as a headlamp.

  Therefore, the present applicant previously proposed a configuration as shown in FIG. 10 (see Patent Document 2).

  That is, FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the spray nozzle portion of the cleaning apparatus, and cylindrical portions 207e are formed on the left and right of the tip of the valve case 207, and the nozzle holder 217 is press-fitted into these cylindrical portions 207e. It is mated. A spherical fitting portion 217a is formed at the base end portion of each nozzle holder 217, and a concave spherical bearing 207f is formed on the inner diameter portion of the cylindrical portion 207e of the valve case 207 to which the spherical fitting portion 217a is fitted. When the spherical fitting portion 217a of the nozzle holder 217 is press-fitted into the concave spherical bearing 207f, the nozzle holder 217 rotates in the three-dimensional direction (all directions) with respect to the valve case 207. It is held movable.

  A cylindrical portion 217b is vertically formed at the outer end of each nozzle holder 217, and an injection nozzle 204 is press-fitted into the cylindrical portion 217b from above. The injection nozzle 204 is a nozzle holder. It is held so as to be horizontally rotatable around an axis (vertical axis) in the press-fitting direction to 217. Each ejection nozzle 204 is formed with an ejection port 218 that opens toward the front surface of the headlamp (not shown).

  According to such a configuration, since the nozzle holder 217 is press-fitted into the valve case 207 so as to be rotatable in a three-dimensional direction by spherical fitting, the cleaning liquid spraying direction from the spray nozzle 204 held by the nozzle holder 217 Can be freely adjusted in the actual three-dimensional direction, and the entire area of the surface of the vehicle lamp can be reliably cleaned with the cleaning liquid.

JP 2005-162146 A Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-118253

  However, according to the configuration shown in FIG. 10, since the nozzle holder 217 into which the injection nozzle 204 is press-fitted and fitted can be freely rotated in all directions by spherical fitting, the installation operator or user can install the nozzle holder 217. When the nozzle holder 217 is touched, the nozzle holder 217 rotates easily, and the injection port 218 of the injection nozzle 204 fitted and held by the nozzle holder 217 is displaced from the normal position, so that the cleaning liquid can be injected in the target direction. There was a problem of disappearing.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the intended process is to freely adjust the spraying direction of the cleaning liquid in the three-dimensional direction to reliably clean the entire area of the vehicle lamp, An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular lamp cleaning apparatus in which the injection direction does not easily change after adjustment.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cylinder to which cleaning liquid is supplied, a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder, a valve case attached to the tip of the piston, and a valve case. In a vehicular lamp cleaning apparatus that includes a supported nozzle holder and an injection nozzle supported by the nozzle holder, and injects a cleaning liquid from the injection nozzle toward the vehicular lamp, the injection nozzle is a spherical fitting portion. The nozzle holder is press-fitted to the nozzle holder so as to be rotatable in a three-dimensional direction, and the nozzle holder is press-fitted and fitted to the valve case so as to be rotatable about an axis in the press-fitting direction. A fitting protrusion and a fitting groove are formed in the fitting portion of the case.

  According to the present invention, since the injection nozzle is press-fitted and fitted to the nozzle holder in a three-dimensional direction by the spherical fitting portion, the injection direction of the cleaning liquid from the injection nozzle can be freely adjusted in the three-dimensional direction. And the entire area of the surface of the vehicular lamp can be reliably cleaned with the cleaning liquid. Since the nozzle holder for fitting and holding the injection nozzle is press-fitted and fitted to the valve case so as to be rotatable about a press-fitting direction axis (horizontal axis), it can be easily rotated even if the nozzle holder is touched. The position of the injection nozzle does not deviate from the adjustment position, and the cleaning liquid is reliably injected in the target direction from the injection port of the injection nozzle.

  In addition, since the nozzle holder is press-fitted and fitted to the valve case so as to be pivotable about the axis of the press-fitting direction, the nozzle holder does not easily come off from the valve case together with the injection nozzle, and the valve case is attached together with the injection nozzle in the press-fitting direction. It is possible to finely adjust the spraying direction of the cleaning liquid from the spraying nozzle by rotating about the axis.

It is a side view of the washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of the washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the principal part of the washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the injection nozzle part of the washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. (A), (b) is a plane sectional view of a check valve mechanism part and an injection nozzle part of a cleaning device concerning the present invention. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line of Fig.6 (a). It is CC sectional view taken on the line of Fig.6 (a). It is a disassembled perspective view of the injection nozzle part of the washing | cleaning apparatus proposed in patent document 1. FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the injection nozzle part of the washing | cleaning apparatus proposed in patent document 2. FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 is a side view of a cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cleaning apparatus, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main part of the cleaning apparatus, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of an injection nozzle portion of the cleaning apparatus. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, FIGS. 6A and 6B are plan cross-sectional views of a check valve mechanism portion and an injection nozzle portion of the cleaning device, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. BB sectional drawing, FIG. 8 is CC sectional view taken on the line of Fig.6 (a).

  The cleaning device 1 according to the present embodiment is a device for spraying cleaning liquid toward the front surface of a headlamp (not shown) to clean the front surface, and is disposed on the back side of a front bumper (not shown). . In addition, although the washing | cleaning apparatus 1 is each installed with respect to the right and left headlamps, since the structure and effect | action are the same, only one washing | cleaning apparatus 1 is demonstrated below.

  A cleaning device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a piston (not shown) slidably inserted into a cylindrical cylinder 2 and a pair of left and right injection nozzles via a check valve mechanism 3 at the tip of the piston. 4 is attached.

  The cylinder 2 is supplied with cleaning liquid from a washer tank (not shown), and a plug 5 is provided at the rear end thereof. The inside of the cylinder 2 is connected to a pipe (not shown) connected to the plug 5. To the washer tank. A bracket 6 is attached to the outer periphery of the front end of the cylinder 2, and the cleaning device 1 is attached to the back side of a front bumper (not shown) via the bracket 6. Although not shown, a return spring is interposed between the cylinder 2 and a piston that is slidably inserted in the cylinder 2 as a biasing means that biases the piston in a direction in which the piston is pulled into the cylinder 2. ing.

  Next, the details of the structure of the check valve mechanism 3 and the holding structure of the injection nozzle 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the check valve mechanism 3 includes a valve 8 inside the valve case 7, a guide 9 that slidably holds the valve 8, and a valve that urges the valve 8 in the closing direction. The spring 10 is accommodated, and the entire cross-sectional shape is an elliptical shape that is flat in the horizontal direction.

  The valve case 7 is configured by joining and integrating case halves 7A and 7B which are divided into two parts in the front and rear, and one case half 7A is formed by combining a cylindrical portion 7a and a flat elliptic cylinder portion 7b. The rectangular engagement holes 11 (only the upper two are shown in FIG. 3) are formed at four locations on the entire circumference of the elliptic cylinder portion 7b, and a part of the opening end surface of the elliptic cylinder portion 7b (see FIG. 3). A V-shaped fitting groove 12 is formed in the upper part). And as shown in FIG. 6, the cylindrical valve seat 14 is formed in the center part of the wall 13 which partitions off the cylindrical part 7a and the elliptical cylinder part 7b of case half 7A.

  The other case half 7B is composed of a flat oval cylindrical portion 7c and a rectangular column portion 7d connected to the tip of the oval cylindrical portion 7c. The oval cylindrical portion 7c has a small outer diameter and a thin small diameter portion 7c1. And a thick large-diameter portion 7c2. The engagement claws 15 (shown in FIG. 3) are provided at four locations on the outer periphery of the small diameter portion 7c1 of the elliptic cylinder portion 7c (locations corresponding to the engagement holes 11 formed in the elliptic cylinder portion 7b of the other case half 7A). (Only the upper two are shown) project. Further, a part of the boundary (step part) between the large diameter part 7c2 and the small diameter part 7c1 of the elliptic cylinder part 7c (part corresponding to the fitting groove 12 formed in the elliptic cylinder part 7b of the other case half body 7A). A V-shaped fitting projection 16 is formed on the.

  Further, cylindrical portions 7e are formed on the left and right sides of the prism portion 7d formed at the tip of the case half 7B, and the nozzle holder 17 is formed in these cylindrical portions 7e. Each is press-fitted. That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a cylindrical portion 17a is formed at the base end portion of each nozzle holder 17, and a fitting groove 17b (see FIG. 5) is formed on the inner periphery of the cylindrical portion. It is formed over. A fitting projection 7f (see FIG. 5) is formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 7e of the valve case 7 to which the cylindrical portion 17a of the nozzle holder 17 is fitted.

  Thus, the left and right nozzle holders 17 are press-fitted to the cylindrical portions 7e formed on the left and right of the distal end portion of the case half 7B of the valve case 7 with the cylindrical portions 17a formed at the base end portions thereof. Thus, the valve case 7 is held so as to be vertically rotatable about an axis (horizontal axis) in the press-fitting direction. This prevents the nozzle holder 17 from rotating easily even when an operator or the like touches the nozzle holder 17 as compared with the spherical fitting that can rotate in the three-dimensional direction. The spraying direction of the cleaning liquid from the spray port 18 of the spray nozzle 4 fitted and held in the holder 17 is prevented from deviating from the adjusted predetermined direction. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the fitting protrusion 7f formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 7e of the case half 7B of the nozzle holder 17 is fitted, so that the nozzle holder 17 is not detached from the case half 7B. It is surely prevented.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a cylindrical portion 17c is formed at the outer end portion of each nozzle holder 17 perpendicular to the press-fitting direction of the cylindrical portion 17a. Each injection nozzle 4 is press-fitted from above, and a concave spherical bearing 17 d is formed on the inner periphery of the cylindrical portion 17 c of each nozzle holder 17.

  On the other hand, a spherical fitting portion 4 a is formed on the outer circumference of each injection nozzle 4, and this spherical fitting portion 4 a is formed on the inner circumference of a cylindrical portion 17 c formed on the outer end portion of each nozzle holder 17. Each injection nozzle 4 is held so as to be capable of rotating in a three-dimensional direction (omnidirectional) with respect to the nozzle holder 17 by press-fitting into the concave spherical bearing 17d. Each injection nozzle 4 is formed with an injection port 18 that opens toward the front surface of the headlamp (not shown).

  Thus, in a state where the valve 8, the guide 9 and the valve spring 10 are accommodated therein, the elliptical cylindrical part 7b of one case half 7A is replaced with the outer periphery of the small diameter part 7c1 of the elliptical cylindrical part 7c of the other case half 7B. And the engagement claw 15 formed on the outer periphery of the small diameter portion 7c1 is engaged with the engagement hole 11 formed in the elliptic cylinder portion 7b of the case half body 7A. The mating protrusion 16 is fitted into the fitting groove 12 on the case half 7A side, and the two case halves 7A and 7B are joined while being positioned to assemble one valve case 7.

  The valve 8 is composed of a disc-shaped valve body 8a and a valve shaft 8b integrally extending in the direction perpendicular to the axis from the center of the valve body 8a. As shown in FIG. 6, the valve seat of the valve body 8a A ring-shaped seal member 19 is assembled to a portion seated on the ring 14.

  The guide 9 is composed of a small-diameter cylindrical portion 9A and an elliptical plate-like flange portion 9B integrally formed at the tip thereof. As shown in FIG. A rectangular fitting groove 21 is formed at the location. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, a crescent-shaped opening 9a communicating with the nozzle 4 is formed on the left and right sides of the cylindrical portion 9A of the flange portion 9B.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the triangular prismatic valve shaft 8 b of the valve 8 is slidably fitted in the cylindrical portion 9 </ b> A of the guide 9, so that the valve 8 is centered in the valve case 7. The valve 8 is urged by the valve spring 10 in a closing direction (a direction in which the valve seat 14 is seated). Here, the valve spring 10 is inserted through the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 9 </ b> A of the guide 9 and is contracted between the valve body 8 a of the valve 8 and the flange portion 9 </ b> B of the guide 9. The spring constant of the valve spring 10 is set larger than the spring constant of the return spring (not shown).

  Thus, the guide 9 has both a function as a valve guide and a function as a spring guide. In the valve case 7, the guide 9 is operated by the reaction force of the valve spring 10 as shown in FIG. The position is fixed by being pressed by the wall 21 in the case 7, and as shown in FIG. 8, the fitting groove 20 formed on the top, bottom, left, and right of the end surface of the flange portion 9 </ b> B has a wall 21 in the valve case 7. Positioning within the valve case 7 is performed by fitting the fitting protrusions 22 projecting at four places (places corresponding to the fitting grooves 2).

  In the cleaning apparatus 1 configured as described above, when the headlamp is not cleaned, a piston (not shown) is drawn into the cylinder 2 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 by the urging force of the return spring. At this time, the valve 8 of the check valve mechanism 3 is pressed against the valve seat 14 by the valve spring 10 as shown in FIG. The nozzle 4 is stored behind the front bumper (not shown).

  Thus, when the vehicle headlamp is cleaned by the cleaning device 1, a high-pressure cleaning liquid is supplied from a washer tank (not shown) to a cylinder 2 of the cleaning device 1 via a pipe (not shown). Then, the piston slides forward in the cylinder 2 by the pressure of the cleaning liquid, and pushes the nozzle 4 provided at the tip of the piston forward from the opening (not shown) formed in the front bumper of the vehicle. In this case, since the spring constant of the valve spring 10 is set larger than the spring constant of the return spring as described above, the valve 8 of the check valve mechanism 3 remains closed as shown in FIG. The cleaning liquid is not supplied to the nozzle 4.

  As described above, after the piston moves forward due to the pressure of the cleaning liquid, the pressure of the cleaning liquid rises above a predetermined value, and the force based on the pressure of the cleaning liquid acting on the valve 8 of the check valve mechanism 3 is greater than the biasing force of the valve spring 10. When the valve 8 becomes larger, the valve 8 moves forward along the guide 9 and moves away from the valve seat 14 as shown in FIG. 6 (b), so that the valve 8 is opened and the cleaning liquid is in FIG. 6 (b). As shown by the arrows in FIG. 8, the valve case 7 flows forward, passes through the left and right openings 9a formed in the flange portion 9B of the guide 9 and branches to the left and right. It is supplied to the nozzle 4. The cleaning liquid supplied to the jet nozzle 4 is jetted from the jet port 18 (see FIG. 4) toward the headlamp, and the dust, mud and the like adhering to the front face of the headlamp are washed away.

  Here, in the cleaning device 1 according to the present embodiment, the movement direction of the valve 8 of the check valve mechanism 3 is the same as the sliding direction of the piston, that is, the cleaning liquid flow direction. When opened, the cleaning liquid passes through the valve 8 and flows straight and smoothly to the nozzle 4 without changing its direction. For this reason, the pressure loss of the cleaning liquid is suppressed to a low level, the reduction of the spraying pressure and the spraying speed of the cleaning liquid from the nozzle 4 is prevented, and the cleaning device 1 can stably maintain a high cleaning ability.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, as described above, the injection nozzle 4 is connected to the spherical fitting portion 4a of the cylindrical portion 17 of the valve holder 17 and the concave spherical bearing 17d formed on the inner periphery thereof in a three-dimensional direction. Since the press-fitting fit is pivotable, the spray direction of the cleaning liquid from the spray port 18 of the spray nozzle 4 can be freely adjusted in the actual three-dimensional direction, and the entire area of the headlamp surface is reliably cleaned with the cleaning liquid. can do. Since the nozzle holder 17 for fitting and holding the injection nozzle 4 is press-fitted into the valve case 7, even if the nozzle holder 17 is touched, the nozzle holder 17 can be easily rotated to shift the position of the injection nozzle 4 from the adjustment position. Rather, the cleaning liquid is reliably ejected from the ejection port 18 of the ejection nozzle 4 in the target direction.

  Further, since the nozzle holder 17 is press-fitted and fitted to the valve case 7 so as to be rotatable about the axis in the press-fitting direction, the nozzle holder 17 is not easily detached from the valve case 7 together with the injection nozzle 4. The injection direction of the cleaning liquid from the injection nozzle 4 can be finely adjusted by rotating the nozzle together with the injection nozzle 4 about the axis in the press-fitting direction.

  When the cleaning of the headlamp is completed as described above, the supply of the cleaning liquid to the cleaning device 1 is interrupted, and a piston (not shown) is drawn into the cylinder 2 by the return spring. The valve 8 of the check valve mechanism 3 is closed again as shown in FIG.

  In the above, the embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a cleaning device used for cleaning a headlamp has been described. However, the present invention is applied to a cleaning device used for cleaning any other vehicular lamp. Of course, the present invention can be similarly applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cleaning apparatus 2 Cylinder 3 Check valve mechanism 4 Injection nozzle 4a Spherical fitting part of injection nozzle 5 Plug 6 Bracket 7 Valve case 7A, 7B Case half 7a Cylindrical part 7b, 7c Case half elliptic cylinder Part 7c1 Small diameter part of the elliptical cylinder part 7c2 Large diameter part of the elliptical cylinder part 7d Square column part of the half case 7e Cylindrical part of the prism part 7f Fitting projection of the cylindrical part 8 Valve 8a Valve body 8b Valve shaft 9 Guide 9A Guide cylinder Part 9B Guide flange part 9a Flange part opening 10 Valve spring 11 Engagement hole 12 Fitting groove 13 Wall in valve case 14 Valve seat 15 Engagement claw 16 Fitting projection 17 Nozzle holder 17a Nozzle holder 17b Cylindrical fitting groove 17c Nozzle holder cylindrical portion 17d Concave spherical bearing 18 Cylindrical portion 18 Injection port 19 Sealing member 2 Groove 21 wall 22 fitting projection in the valve case

Claims (1)

A cylinder to which cleaning liquid is supplied, a piston slidably inserted in the cylinder, a valve case attached to the tip of the piston, a nozzle holder supported by the valve case, and a nozzle holder In a vehicular lamp cleaning apparatus that includes a supported injection nozzle and injects a cleaning liquid from the injection nozzle toward the vehicular lamp.
The injection nozzle is press-fitted and fitted to the nozzle holder in a three-dimensional direction by a spherical fitting portion, and the nozzle holder is press-fitted to the valve case so as to be rotatable about an axis in the press-fitting direction. And a fitting projection and a fitting groove are formed in a fitting portion between the nozzle holder and the valve case.

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