JP2011187251A - Method of cleaning inside surface of front cover of headlight - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To clean an inside surface of a front cover without decomposing a headlight. <P>SOLUTION: A cleaning tool 30 having a cleaning mat 34 wound around a magnet 32 is inserted inside a headlight 10 from a bulb-inserting port 20 of a reflector 12, the cleaning tool 30 is attracted to the inside surface 22 of the front cover 14 by a magnetic force acting between a magnet 40 placed on the outside of the front cover 14 and the magnet 32, and the magnet 40 is moved along the outside surface 24 of the front cover 14 in a state of the cleaning mat 34 being contacted on the inside surface 22 of the front cover 14. The cleaning tool 30 following a movement of the magnet 40 slides on the inside surface 22 and a cleaning agent of the cleaning mat 34 removes soiled materials and moisture attached to the inside surface 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a method for cleaning an inner surface of a front cover of a headlight.

Currently, multi-reflector headlights are the mainstream. The multi-reflector type headlight uses a system that distributes light using a reflector (reflector) composed of a series of reflective surfaces with different orientations, instead of the conventional system that distributes light using a lens-cut front cover. ing. The front cover, which no longer needs to be lens-cut, is now made of clear resin, which is lighter than glass and has a high degree of freedom in design. As a result, there were many restrictions when using the lens-cut method. The headlight design can be integrated with the body design.
However, clear resin has the disadvantage that yellowing and white turbidity are likely to occur due to secular change, which not only impairs the appearance of the vehicle, but also reduces the amount of light irradiated to the front of the vehicle through the front glass, making it visible at night It causes problems such as damaging sex.
In order to solve such a problem, a cleaning agent that restores a resin cover that has deteriorated over time to the state of a new vehicle has already been developed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-297557 A

Many headlights are waterproof caulked at the junction between the reflector and the front cover so that they cannot be easily disassembled. Therefore, it was thought that the front cover could be cleaned only on the outer side and not the inner side. However, users who want to keep their favorite cars as good as new cars and used car dealers who want to sell old cars as close to new cars as possible want to clean not only the outside but also the inside. There was a request.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for cleaning the inner surface of a front cover without disassembling the headlight.

A magnet or magnetic material provided with a cleaning agent holding medium at least in part is inserted into a space surrounded by the reflector and the front cover from the valve insertion port of the reflector, and the magnet is applied by a magnetic attraction force acting from the outside of the front cover. Alternatively, the magnetic material is pulled toward the inner side surface of the front cover, and the location where the magnetic attractive force is applied is changed in a state where the cleaning agent holding medium is in contact with the inner side surface of the front cover. The magnet or the magnetic body follows this change, and the cleaning agent held on the cleaning agent holding medium cleans the inner surface.

Since the magnet or magnetic material may come into contact with and damage the inner surface of the front cover, the cleaning agent holding medium should be appropriately sized so that the magnet or magnetic material does not contact the inner surface of the front cover. Provided. As long as the magnet or magnetic material is used only in a specific direction, it is sufficient to provide the cleaning agent holding medium only on a part that contacts the inner surface, but it is prepared to cover the outside of the periphery of the magnet or magnetic material. If this is done, the magnet or magnetic body will not contact the inner surface in any orientation, so the cleaning work can be performed without using extra care against scratches, and work efficiency is improved. improves.

According to the present invention, even if the headlight cannot disassemble the reflector and the front cover, the inner surface of the front cover can be easily and reliably cleaned. Thereby, not only the aesthetics of the headlight is improved, but also the nighttime visibility is improved, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of traffic accidents due to the reduction in visibility. Furthermore, if the inner surface of the front cover, which was previously impossible to clean, can be cleaned, depending on the degree of yellowing etc., the other functions are normal and the life of the headlight that must be discarded must be extended. It is possible to effectively use limited resources.

Schematic diagram showing the structure of the headlight Schematic diagram showing the structure of the cleaning tool Schematic showing how to clean the inner surface of the front cover

First, a general structure of a headlight will be described with reference to FIG. The headlight 10 includes a reflector 12, a front cover 14, and a headlight bulb 16. The joint 18 between the reflector 12 and the front cover 14 is waterproof caulk so that it cannot be disassembled by the user. The reflector 12 is provided with a bulb insertion port 20, and the headlight bulb 16 is inserted into the bulb insertion port 20. Installation and removal of the headlight bulb 16 can be easily performed by the user.

Next, the cleaning tool 30 used for cleaning the inner side surface 22 of the front cover 14 will be described with reference to FIG. The cleaning tool 30 includes a magnet 32, a cleaning mat 34, and a take-out string 36. The cleaning mat 34 is wound around a plate-shaped magnet 32, and the magnet 32 does not directly touch the front cover 14 by covering the outer periphery of the magnet 32. The cleaning mat 34 functions as a medium that holds the cleaning agent. As the cleaning agent, an abrasive, a surfactant, an ultraviolet absorber, a polymer, or the like can be used. These cleaning agents are impregnated into the cleaning mat 34 alone or in an appropriate combination in a state of being included in the solvent.

A non-woven fabric such as felt is used for the cleaning mat 34. Since the nonwoven fabric has an action of capturing fine particles such as contaminants adhering to the inner side surface 22 of the front cover 14 between the fibers, the fine particles may damage the front cover 14 during cleaning. Problems can be prevented. One end of the take-out string 36 is connected to the magnet 32 or the cleaning mat 34.

Since the cleaning tool 30 is used by being inserted into the space surrounded by the reflector 12 and the front cover 14 from the valve insertion opening 20, the cleaning tool 30 has a substantially square plate shape that is easy to put in and out regardless of the orientation. Is desirable. Of course, the shape of the cleaning tool 30 is not limited to a substantially square plate-like body. For example, if the inner surface 22 of the front cover 14 is curved, a curved surface matching the curvature is provided on the surface. Deformation can be added. In addition, magnets 32 of various sizes and shapes, and cleaning mat 34 of various materials in addition to these are prepared in advance, and the vehicle type and the degree of dirt, as well as the pretreatment process and the main treatment process. Further, it may be properly used depending on the stage of cleaning such as a finishing process.

Next, a method of cleaning the inner side surface 22 of the front cover 14 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the hood of the automobile is opened, and the headlight bulb 16 is removed from the headlight 10. Next, the cleaning tool 30 is inserted into the headlight 10 from the bulb insertion opening 20. The other end 38 of the take-out string 36 is not placed inside the headlight 10 but left outside the bulb insertion port 20. When the cleaning tool 30 is inserted, it is lightly hooked on the tip of the rod-shaped body or magnetically attracted to the magnetic body so that the reflector 12 is not scratched or the solvent contained in the cleaning mat 34 is not attached. insert. The same applies when taking out. If the cleaning tool 30 is accidentally dropped inside the headlight 10, it can be taken out using the take-out string 36.

A magnet 40 is disposed outside the front cover 14. The cleaning tool 30 inserted inside the headlight 10 is attracted to a position facing the magnet 40 across the front cover 14 by the magnetic attractive force between the magnet 40 and the magnet 32, and the cleaning mat 34 is attached to the inner surface 22. Contact. When the magnet 40 is moved along the outer side surface 24 of the front cover 14 in this state, the position where the magnetic attractive force acts changes, and the cleaning tool 30 follows the movement of the magnet 40. Since the cleaning mat 34 is pressed against the inner surface 22 of the front cover 14 by the magnetic attractive force between the magnet 40 and the magnet 32, the cleaning mat 34 slides while applying an appropriate pressure to the surface of the inner surface 22. To do. As a result, the cleaning agent held on the cleaning mat 34 acts on the inner surface 22 to remove contaminants, moisture, and the like attached to the inner surface 22.

Thus, the inner surface 22 of the front cover 14 is cleaned without disassembling the headlight 10 by remotely operating the inner cleaning tool 30 from the outer side of the headlight 10 using the magnetic attraction force using the magnet 40. can do. The sliding speed and direction of the cleaning tool 30 are controlled by the movement of the magnet 40. Although the sliding direction of the cleaning tool 30 is not limited to a specific direction, it is desirable to finish the operation by sliding it in the vertical direction (vertical direction) at least in the finishing process. This is because even if the inner surface 22 is scratched, a scratch in the vertical direction (vertical direction) is less noticeable than a scratch in other directions. Also, if the scratch is in the vertical direction (up and down direction), the light is refracted in the horizontal direction (left and right direction), so there is less effect on visibility and oncoming vehicles compared to the case of refracting in the vertical direction .

The cleaning tool 30 can be configured using a magnetic material such as iron instead of the magnet 32. If a magnetic material is used instead of the magnet 32, the possibility that the cleaning tool 30 magnetically attracts to the metal portion inside the headlight 10 and interferes with the cleaning work can be eliminated.

If the cleaning mat similar to the cleaning tool 30 is attached to the magnet 40, the outer surface 24 can be cleaned simultaneously with the cleaning of the inner surface 22 of the front cover 14. If both the inner and outer surfaces can be cleaned simultaneously, the working time can be greatly reduced. Further, if the cleaning mat is interposed between the magnet 40 and the outer surface 24, the magnet 40 will not come into contact with the outer surface 24. Therefore, damage and damage that may occur when the magnet 40 and the outer surface 24 come into contact with each other. Can be prevented.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Headlight 12 Reflector 14 Front cover 16 Headlight bulb 20 Valve insertion port 22 Inner side surface 30 Cleaning tool 32 Magnet 34 Cleaning mat 36 Takeout string

Claims (4)

A method of cleaning the inner surface of the front cover of the headlight,
Inserting a magnet or magnetic body having at least a part of the cleaning agent holding medium into a space surrounded by the reflector and the front cover from the valve insertion port of the reflector;
Attracting the magnet or magnetic body to the inner surface of the front cover by a magnetic attractive force acting from the outside of the front cover, and bringing the cleaning agent holding medium into contact with the inner surface of the front cover;
A method comprising the steps of causing the magnet or the magnetic body to follow a change in a location where the magnetic attractive force is applied, and sliding the cleaning agent holding medium on the inner surface of the front cover. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of sliding the cleaning agent holding medium along the inner surface of the front cover, the cleaning agent holding medium is slid in the vertical direction of the headlight. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cleaning agent holding medium is a non-woven fabric covering up to the outside of the periphery of the magnet or magnetic material. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one end of the cleaning agent holding medium or a string-like body connected to either the magnet or the magnetic body is exposed outside the valve insertion port during cleaning. .

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