JP2011148382A - Cleaning device of lighting fixture for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device of a lightning fixture for a vehicle capable of cleaning stains dripped and attached to a lens surface of the lighting fixture for the vehicle without increasing the complication of a structure or the cost. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning device 1 of a head lamp 20 includes: a cylinder 2; a piston 3; a return spring for pulling the piston 3 in the cylinder 2; a spraying nozzle 5 for spraying cleaning fluid toward the head lamp (lighting fixture for the vehicle) 20; and a check bulb mechanism 6 which supplies the cleaning fluid to the spraying nozzle 5 when the pressure of the spraying fluid is not less than the predetermined value and the bulb opens against the biasing force of a bulb spring. The spring force of the return spring and the bulb spring is set so that a relation of P<SB>1</SB><P<SB>2</SB><P<SB>3</SB>≤Pmax is satisfied between the extension starting pressure P<SB>1</SB>of the piston 3 and the bulb open pressure P<SB>2</SB>of the check bulb mechanism 6, and the extension ending pressure P<SB>3</SB>of the piston 3 and the maximum pressure Pmax of the pump 22. <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 headlamp of a vehicle becomes dirty due to adhesion of dust, mud, etc., there is a possibility of causing a shortage of light quantity. Therefore, if necessary, the cleaning liquid is sprayed toward the headlamp to clean the front surface of the headlamp. The cleaning device is installed behind the front bumper. An example of this cleaning apparatus is shown in FIG.

  That is, FIG. 8 is a system configuration diagram of a conventional injection device. The illustrated injection device 101 includes a cylinder 102, a piston 103 slidably fitted in the cylinder 102, and the piston 103 connected to the cylinder 102. A return spring (not shown) that urges in the direction of drawing in, an injection nozzle 105 that jets the cleaning liquid toward the headlamp 120, and a valve (not shown) that opens when the pressure of the cleaning liquid exceeds a predetermined value opens the jet of the cleaning liquid. A check valve mechanism 106 for supplying the nozzle 105 is provided.

  In such a cleaning apparatus 101, when not in use, the injection nozzle 105 is stored behind the front bumper. When the headlamp 120 is cleaned, the cleaning liquid in the washer tank 121 is pressurized by the pump 122, and the cleaning liquid is It is supplied to the cylinder 102 via the hose 123. Then, the piston 103 is extended by the pressure of the cleaning liquid supplied to the cylinder 102, and the injection nozzle 105 attached to the tip of the piston 103 protrudes forward from the opening formed in the front bumper. Then, when the pressure of the cleaning liquid becomes higher than a predetermined value from that state, the valve of the check valve mechanism 106 is opened and the cleaning liquid is supplied to the injection nozzle 105, and the cleaning liquid is supplied from the injection port opened to the injection nozzle 105 to the headlamp 120. Dust, mud, and the like that are ejected toward the lens and adhered to the lens surface 120a of the headlamp 120 are removed. When the cleaning of the headlamp 120 is completed in this way, the ejection nozzle 105 is returned to the retracted position on the back side of the front bumper by the biasing force of a return spring (not shown).

  By the way, in the conventional cleaning apparatus 101, since the valve of the check valve mechanism 106 is opened after the piston 103 is fully extended, the position of the injection nozzle 105 at the time of cleaning is fixed, and the cleaning liquid injected from the injection nozzle 105 Is ejected only within a predetermined range of the headlamp 120. For this reason, mud adhering to the upper part of the lens surface 120a of the headlamp 120 above the upper end of the spray angle of the cleaning liquid hangs down as muddy water after cleaning, and the mud water adheres again to the lens surface 120a of the headlamp 120. The shortage may not be resolved.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, an auxiliary washer nozzle different from the original washer nozzle (injection nozzle) and a pump for supplying a cleaning liquid to the head washer are separately provided, and the main washer nozzle to the cleaning liquid to be injected are used. A cleaning device has been proposed in which muddy water that hangs down the lens surface after cleaning the headlamp is washed away by a cleaning liquid sprayed from an auxiliary washer nozzle.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-017367

  However, in the cleaning apparatus proposed in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to separately provide an auxiliary washer nozzle, a pump, and a circuit for controlling them, there is a problem that the structure becomes complicated and the cost is increased.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is for a vehicle that can wash away dirt adhering to the lens surface of a vehicular lamp without complicating the structure or increasing the cost. It is in providing the washing | cleaning apparatus of a lamp.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a cylinder to which cleaning liquid pressurized by a pump is supplied, a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder, and pulling the piston into the cylinder. A return spring that urges in the direction, an injection nozzle that injects the cleaning liquid toward the vehicular lamp, and a valve that opens against the urging force of the valve spring when the pressure of the cleaning liquid exceeds a predetermined value. In a vehicular lamp cleaning device having a check valve mechanism for supplying to a vehicle,
Between the extension start pressure P _{1 of} the piston, the valve opening pressure P ₂ of the check valve mechanism, the extension end pressure P _{3 of the} piston, and the pump maximum pressure Pmax,
P ₁ <P ₂ <P ₃ ≦ Pmax
The spring force of the return spring and the valve spring is set so that the following relationship is established.

According to a second aspect of the invention, claimed in the invention of claim 1, wherein the piston extension starting pressure P ₁ and the check valve mechanism of the valve opening pressure P ₂ and the elongation Exit pressure P ₃ of the piston pump maximum pressure Pmax Against
P ₁ = (15-30%) Pmax
P ₂ = (40~60%) Pmax
P ₃ = (70 to 85%) Pmax
It is characterized by being set to.

  A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a pressure receiving rib is formed on the upstream side of the valve seat on which the valve of the check valve mechanism is seated so as to be separated from the wall surface.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the pressure receiving area of the pressure receiving rib is set to be equal to or larger than the open area of the valve.

According to the invention of claim 1 and 2, wherein, since the set lower than the valve opening pressure P ₂ the extension termination pressure P ₃ of the piston, before the valve of the check valve is opened to when cleaning of the vehicle lamp piston as possible elongation Since the spray nozzle moves upward from below along the lens surface of the vehicle lamp while spraying the cleaning liquid, it is possible to reliably wash away the dirt that has been dripped from the previous cleaning and adhered to the lens surface of the vehicle lamp. . Further, since the set lower than the valve opening pressure P ₂ the extension termination pressure P ₃ of the piston, as described above, the pressure of the cleaning liquid for washing is completed it falls piston is retracted by the biasing force of the return spring, the check valve While the valve of the mechanism is open, the spray nozzle moves from the top to the bottom along the lens surface of the vehicle lamp while spraying the cleaning liquid, so that dirt on the lens surface of the vehicle lamp can be surely cleaned. Can be washed away.

  As described above, the cleaning liquid is sprayed while the injection nozzle is raised at the initial stage of cleaning the vehicle lamp, and the cleaning liquid is sprayed while the spray nozzle is lowered at the end of the cleaning, so that the liquid drops depending on the lens surface of the vehicle lamp. It is possible to surely wash away the dirt without increasing the complexity of the structure and increasing the cost.

  According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the pressure receiving rib can compensate for the decrease in the pressing force of the piston due to the opening of the valve of the check valve mechanism before the piston is fully extended when the vehicle lamp is cleaned. The injection nozzle can be moved to the target fixed position by reliably extending the nozzle to the fully extended position. Further, since the pressure receiving rib is separated from the wall surface, the pressure of the cleaning liquid acts on the valve in the closed state of the check valve mechanism, and when the force acting on the valve exceeds the urging force of the valve spring based on this pressure, the valve Can reliably open and supply the cleaning liquid to the spray nozzle. If the pressure receiving area of the pressure receiving rib is set to be equal to or larger than the open area of the valve, the piston can be more reliably extended to the fully extended position.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a cleaning apparatus according to the present invention. It is a top view of the washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a plane sectional view of the washing device concerning the present invention, (a) is a figure showing the state at the time of non-cleaning, and (b) is a figure showing the state at the time of washing. 3A is an enlarged detail view of a portion A in FIG. 3A, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged detail view of a portion B in FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view of a C part in FIG. It is the DD sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the time change of the cleaning liquid pressure in the cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a system block diagram of the conventional injection apparatus.

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

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cleaning apparatus, FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view of the cleaning apparatus, and FIG. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing a state during cleaning, FIG. 4A is an enlarged detail view of a portion A in FIG. 3A, FIG. 4B is an enlarged detail view of a portion B in FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view of a portion C in FIG. 4A, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 5, and FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment sprays a cleaning liquid toward the lens surface 20a of the headlamp 20 disposed on the left and right of the front of the vehicle to clean the lens surface 20a. And provided for the left and right headlamps 20 on the back side of a front bumper (not shown).

  As shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the pair of left and right injection devices 1 includes a cylinder 2, a piston 3 slidably fitted in the cylinder 2, and the piston 3 in the cylinder 2. A return spring 4 for energizing in the pulling direction, an injection nozzle 5 for injecting the cleaning liquid toward the headlamp 20, and a check valve mechanism 6 for supplying the cleaning liquid to the injection nozzle 5 when the pressure of the cleaning liquid exceeds a predetermined value. ing.

  In such a cleaning apparatus 1, when not in use, the injection nozzle 5 is stored behind the front bumper. When the headlamp 20 is cleaned, the cleaning liquid in the washer tank 21 shown in FIG. The cleaning liquid is supplied to the cylinder 2 through the hose 23.

  By the way, the cylinder 2 is supplied with cleaning liquid from a washer tank 21 shown in FIG. 1 by a pump 22, and a plug 7 is integrally formed along the axial direction at the center of the rear end thereof. 2 communicates with a washer tank 21 via a hose 23 and a pump 22 connected to the plug 7. As shown in FIG. 2, a bracket 8 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 8.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the urging means for urging the piston 3 in the direction in which the piston 3 is pulled into the cylinder 2 is interposed between the cylinder 2 and the piston 3 slidably fitted therein. A return spring (compression coil spring) 4 is interposed. A cleaning liquid passage extending in the axial direction is formed inside the cylindrical piston 3.

  Next, details of the structure of the check valve mechanism 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The check valve mechanism 6 is configured such that a valve 10, a guide 11 that slidably holds the valve 10, and a valve spring 12 that urges the valve 10 in a closing direction are accommodated in a valve case 9. The overall cross-sectional shape is an elliptical shape that is flat in the horizontal direction.

  The valve case 9 is configured by joining and integrating case halves 9A and 9B which are divided into two parts in the front and rear, and one case half 9A includes a small-diameter cylindrical portion 9a and a flat elliptic cylindrical portion 9b. A cylindrical valve seat 14 is formed at the center of the wall 13 that partitions the cylindrical portion 9a and the elliptical cylindrical portion 9b of the case half 9A.

  The other case half 9B is composed of a flat oval cylindrical portion 9c and left and right cylindrical portions 9d connected to the tip thereof. The oval cylindrical portion 9d is the inner circumference of the oval cylindrical portion 9b of the case half 9A. The valve case 9 is assembled by being fitted and fixed to. The end portions of the fitting portions of the case halves 9A and 9B are sealed by a seal ring 15.

  Further, the base end portion of the nozzle holder 16 is fitted and held in the left and right cylindrical portions 9d formed at the distal end portion of the case half 9B so as to be rotatable in all directions. 1 and 2, each of the injection nozzles 5 is fitted and held. Each injection nozzle 5 has an injection port 17 that opens toward the lens surface 20a of the headlamp 20 shown in FIG. Are formed respectively. Here, flow paths S1 and S2 for the cleaning liquid are formed on the left and right sides of the valve 10 and the guide 11 in the valve case 9, respectively, and the left and right nozzle holders 16 open to the left and right flow paths S1 and S2, respectively. is doing.

  The valve 10 is composed of a disc-shaped valve body 10a and a valve shaft 10b extending integrally from the center of the valve body 10a in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and a portion of the valve body 10a seated on the valve seat 14 is A ring-shaped seal member 18 is assembled.

  The guide 11 is integrally formed in a cylindrical shape at the center of the case half 9B of the valve case 9, and the valve shaft 10b of the valve 10 is disposed in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4). It is slidably fitted and held. Accordingly, the valve 10 is supported by the guide 11 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (moving direction of the piston 3), and the valve 10 is attached in the closing direction (direction in which the valve seat 14 is seated) by the valve spring 12. It is energized. Here, the valve spring 12 is inserted into the outer periphery of the guide 11 and is contracted between a valve body 10 a of the valve 10 and a step portion (spring receiver) 11 a formed on the outer periphery of the guide 11.

  By the way, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the wall 13 on the upstream side of the valve seat 14 in the cylindrical portion 9a of the case half 9A of the valve case 9 and on which the valve 10 is seated is crossed in the axial direction. The pressure receiving ribs 19 that cross in a shape are formed in a state of being separated from the surface of the wall 13 by a predetermined distance δ (for example, 1 to 2 mm). Here, the pressure receiving area of the pressure receiving rib 19 is set to be larger than the open area of the valve 10 shown in FIG.

Further, FIG. 7 shows the change over time in the pressure P of the cleaning liquid when the headlamp 20 is cleaned in the cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. _1, P ₂ (the pressure at which begins to open the valve 10) the opening pressure of the valve 10 of the check valve mechanism _6, if the extension termination pressure of the piston 3 and P _3, the maximum pressure of the pump 22 and Pmax, between them In addition,
P ₁ <P ₂ <P ₃ ≦ Pmax (1)
The spring force of the return spring 4 and the valve spring 12 is set so that the following relationship is established. Specifically, the extension start pressure P ₁ of the piston 3, the opening pressure P ₂ of the valve 10 of the check valve mechanism 6, and the extension end pressure P ₃ of the piston 3 are relative to the maximum pressure Pmax of the pump 22.
P ₁ = (15-30%) Pmax
P ₂ = (40 to 60%) Pmax (2)
P ₃ = (70 to 85%) Pmax
Is set to

  Next, the operation of the cleaning device 1 configured as described above will be described.

  In the cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the headlamp 20 is not cleaned, the piston 3 is moved into the cylinder 2 by the urging force of the return spring 4 as shown in FIGS. At this time, the valve 10 of the check valve mechanism 6 is pressed against the valve seat 14 by the valve spring 12 as shown in FIG. The injection nozzle 5 is stored on the back side of a front bumper (not shown).

Thus, when the headlamp 20 is cleaned by the cleaning device 1, the cleaning liquid pressurized by the pump 22 from the washer tank 21 is supplied to the cylinder 2 of the cleaning device 1 through the hose 23. When the pressure P of the cleaning liquid exceeds extension start pressure P ₁ of the piston 3, the piston 3 slides forward while compressing the return spring 4 in the cylinder 2 by the pressure of the cleaning liquid, provided in the front end injection The nozzle 5 is pushed forward from the opening (not shown) formed in the front bumper.

Incidentally, the opening pressure P ₂ because it is set smaller than the extension ends the pressure P ₃ of the piston 3 (P 2 _<P 3) of the valve 10 of the check valve mechanism 6 as described _above, before the piston 3 as possible elongation, that is, the valve 10 in the middle of the piston 3 is extended at the time when the pressure P of the cleaning liquid exceeds the pressure P ₂ from the valve seat 14 moves forward along the guide 11, as shown in FIG. 4 (b) To separate, the valve 10 opens as shown. Then, as shown by an arrow in FIG. 4 (b), the cleaning liquid is divided into left and right without largely changing the direction and smoothly flows forward when the left and right flow paths S1 and S2 in the valve case 9 are straightened. The flow then flows through the left and right nozzle holders 16 without being merged and branched, and is supplied to the spray nozzles 5 as they are.

  When the valve 10 is opened while the piston 3 is extending as described above, the spray nozzle 5 moves from below to above while spraying the cleaning liquid toward the lens surface 20a of the headlamp 20 as shown in FIG. The dirt that has been dripped by the previous cleaning and adhered to the lens surface 20a of the headlamp 20 is surely washed away.

By the way, if the valve 10 is opened while the piston 3 is extending, the pressure acting on the valve 10 is released, and the force for pushing the piston 3 through the valve 10 decreases. The decrease is suppressed by the area of the pressure receiving rib 19 compensating for the open area of the valve 10. As a result, even after the valve 10 is opened, a force based on the pressure (cleaning liquid pressure P) acting on the pressure receiving rib 19 is applied to the pressing force of the piston 3. Therefore, by cleaning liquid valve 10 is reliably opened is supplied to the injection nozzle 5 at the time this P exceeds the urging force of the valve spring 12 acting on the valve 10 exceeds the P _2, the piston 3 is stretched The lens surface 20a is cleaned by extending reliably to the cutting position, and the injection nozzle 5 attached to the tip of the nozzle moves to the target fixed position, and the cleaning liquid is injected from the injection nozzle 5 toward the headlamp 20 at that position. Is done. The pressure P of the cleaning liquid when the piston 3 is fully extended has reached P _3. Further, in the present embodiment, since the pressure receiving area of the pressure receiving rib 19 is set to be equal to or larger than the open area of the valve 10 as described above, the piston 3 can be more reliably extended to the fully extended position.

  Then, by separating the pressure receiving rib 19 from the wall 13 of the valve case 9 by a predetermined distance δ, a space for the cleaning liquid to enter is formed between the pressure receiving rib 19 and the valve 10, compared with a case where no separation distance is provided. A decrease in the flow rate of the cleaning liquid accompanying a decrease in the pressure P acting on the valve 10 is prevented. In the present embodiment, the shape of the pressure receiving rib 19 is a cross in the axial direction, but the shape of the pressure receiving rib 19 is not limited to this as long as there is an action similar to the above.

When the cleaning liquid pressure P becomes smaller than the extension end pressure P ₃ (P <P ₂ ) because the cleaning is completed, the piston 3 starts to contract due to the urging force (extension force) of the return spring 4. While P is higher than the opening pressure P ₂ (P> P ₂ ), the valve 10 is open. For this reason, since the spray nozzle 5 moves from the upper side to the lower side along the lens surface 20a of the headlamp 20 while spraying the cleaning liquid, the dirt dripping on the lens surface 20a of the headlamp 20 is surely washed away by the cleaning.

When the pressure P of the cleaning liquid drops below the open pressure P ₂ (P <P ₂ ), the valve 10 is closed and the injection of the cleaning liquid from the injection nozzle 5 is stopped, and the piston 3 is moved into the cylinder 2 by the return spring 4. The injection nozzle 5 is retracted and stored on the back surface of the front bumper of the vehicle.

  As described above, according to the cleaning device of the present invention, the cleaning liquid is injected while the spray nozzle 5 is raised at the initial stage of cleaning of the headlamp 20, and the cleaning liquid is sprayed while the spray nozzle 5 is lowered at the end of cleaning. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect that the dirt that hangs down and adheres to the lens surface 20a of the headlamp 20 can be surely washed out without causing a complicated structure and an increase in cost.

  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 Piston 4 Return spring 5 Injection nozzle 6 Check valve mechanism 7 Plug 8 Bracket 9 Valve case 9A, 9B Case half 9a Case half cylindrical part 9b, 9c Case half elliptic cylinder part 9d Case half Cylindrical portion of the body 10 Valve 10a Valve body 10b Valve shaft 11 Guide 11a Guide step (spring receiver)
12 Valve Spring 13 Valve Case Wall 14 Valve Seat 15 Seal Ring 16 Nozzle Holder 17 Injection Port 18 Sealing Ring 19 Pressure-Receiving Rib 20 Head Lamp (Vehicle Lamp)
20a Lens surface of the headlamp 21 Washer tank 22 Pump 23 Hose P Cleaning liquid pressure P ₁ Piston extension start pressure P ₂ Piston opening pressure P ₃ Piston extension end pressure Pmax Pump maximum pressure S1, S2 Cleaning fluid flow path δ Distance between pressure receiving rib and wall surface

Claims (4)

A cylinder to which cleaning liquid pressurized by a pump is supplied, a piston slidably inserted into the cylinder, a return spring that urges the piston in a direction to draw the piston into the cylinder, and the cleaning liquid to the vehicle lamp A vehicular lamp cleaning apparatus comprising: an injection nozzle that injects toward the nozzle; and a check valve mechanism that opens the valve against the biasing force of a valve spring when the pressure of the cleaning liquid exceeds a predetermined value and supplies the cleaning liquid to the injection nozzle In
Between the extension start pressure P _{1 of} the piston, the valve opening pressure P ₂ of the check valve mechanism, the extension end pressure P _{3 of the} piston, and the pump maximum pressure Pmax,
P ₁ <P ₂ <P ₃ ≦ Pmax
A vehicular lamp cleaning apparatus, wherein the spring force of the return spring and the valve spring is set so that the following relationship is established. The valve opening pressure P ₂ and extension ends the pressure P ₃ of the piston of the the extension start pressure P ₁ of the piston check valve mechanism to the pump maximum pressure Pmax,
P ₁ = (15-30%) Pmax
P ₂ = (40~60%) Pmax
P ₃ = (70 to 85%) Pmax
The vehicle lamp cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein   3. The vehicular lamp cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pressure receiving rib is formed on the upstream side of the valve seat on which the valve of the check valve mechanism is seated and spaced from the wall surface. 4. The vehicular lamp cleaning apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a pressure receiving area of the pressure receiving rib is set to be equal to or larger than an open area of the bulb.

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