JP5689217B2 - Ultrasonic sensor device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic sensor device attached to a bumper of a vehicle.

As a prior art, there is a sensor device disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. A wire clamp is attached to the sensor device, and a wire taken out from the sensor portion of the sensor device is held.
JP 2005-257385 A

  When the sensor unit is an ultrasonic sensor device mounted in the bumper so as to be exposed to the outside through a through hole formed in the bumper of the vehicle, a wire electrically connected to a connector provided in the sensor unit In many cases, the wire holding portion of the wire clamp for holding cannot be protruded to the back side due to restrictions such as wire clamp molding processability and mounting space on the back side of the sensor unit. For this reason, it is common to cause the wire holding part to protrude in the vertical direction of the sensor part.

  However, the bumper generally has a substantially U-shaped cross section and extends in the horizontal direction. When the wire holding part of the wire clamp protrudes vertically from the sensor part, it interferes with the upper and lower surfaces of the bumper. There is a problem that the degree of freedom of setting the mounting position in the bumper is low.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic sensor device capable of improving the degree of freedom of setting the mounting position in the bumper.

In order to achieve the above object, in the first aspect of the present invention, at least one of transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves is mounted in the bumper so as to be exposed to the outside from a through hole formed in the bumper of the vehicle. A wire clamp having a sensor unit to be performed, a locking unit that locks to a portion of the sensor unit that is inside the bumper, and a holding unit for holding a wire that is electrically connected to a connector provided in the sensor unit; With
The holding part is an ultrasonic sensor device that protrudes from the locking part to the outside of the projection range of the sensor part in the axial direction of the through hole, and the holding part has a horizontal direction in a state where the sensor part is mounted on the bumper. The connector protrudes laterally on the side opposite to the holding part with respect to the sensor part in a state where the sensor part is mounted on the bumper, and is flush with the holding part. Arranged ,
A plurality of configurations comprising a sensor unit and a wire clamp are provided, and the plurality of sensor units are mounted separately from each other in the bumper. A plurality of wire clamps hold a common wire, , A wire harness in which wires connected to each connector are bundled, or a wire connected to each connector in common is a bus line,
The holding part protrudes in the lateral direction without protruding upward with respect to the sensor part in a state where the sensor part is mounted on the bumper, and further protrudes toward the back side of the sensor part. Even if the wire is pulled in the extending direction while holding the inside of the bumper so as to extend horizontally along the bumper, the sensor unit is intended to rotate around the axis of the through hole. It is characterized by preventing the energizing force from being energized .

According to this, the holding | maintenance part of the wire clamp for holding a wire can be made to protrude in the horizontal direction with respect to a sensor part in the attitude | position in which a sensor part is mounted in a bumper. Therefore, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom of setting the bumper mounting position in the vertical direction. That is, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom for setting the mounting position in the bumper extending in the lateral direction. According to this, the holding part holding a wire and the connector to which the wire of the sensor part is connected can be made the same height. Therefore, even when the wire is pulled in the extending direction due to the vibration of the vehicle or the like, it is possible to prevent the force to rotate the sensor unit around the axis of the through hole from being biased. it can. That is, the influence of the load applied to the sensor unit by the wire can be suppressed. According to this, even when the wire is pulled in the extending direction when the sensor unit is mounted on the bumper, the force to rotate the other sensor unit already mounted around the axis of the through hole Can be prevented from being energized. Therefore, the influence of the load applied to the sensor unit by the wire can be suppressed not only during vehicle vibration but also during mounting work.

  In the second aspect of the present invention, the holding portion of the wire clamp includes a protruding portion that protrudes outside the projection range of the sensor portion from the engaging portion, and a binding member that is attached to the protruding portion and binds the wire. And the locking portion and the protruding portion are integrally formed.

  According to this, other than the binding member that binds the wire among the wire clamps can be easily formed integrally.

Further, in the invention described in claim 3 , a plurality of configurations each including a sensor portion and a wire clamp are provided, and the plurality of sensor portions are mounted separately from each other in the bumper. Is characterized in that a common wire is held.

  Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an ultrasonic sensor device 1 according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. 2 is a side view showing the ultrasonic sensor device 1 mounted on the bumper 50, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ultrasonic sensor device 1 mounted on the bumper 50 as viewed from the inside of the bumper 50. As shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the ultrasonic sensor device 1 includes a wire that is electrically connected to a sensor unit 10 that is a main body and a connector 14 (see FIG. 1) provided on a side surface of the sensor unit 10. The wire clamp 20 for holding 60, and the bezel 30 and the spring member 40 for mounting the sensor unit 10 in the through hole 51 of the bumper 50.

The sensor unit 10 includes a case 11 made of, for example, resin (in this example, made of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin) that forms an outer casing. The case 11 has a shape in which a rectangular tube portion 12 on the right side in the figure is connected to a cylindrical portion 13 on the left side in the drawing, and performs at least one of transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves (both in this example). An ultrasonic transducer is provided in the cylindrical portion 13 of the case 11.

A connector 14 is formed on a side surface portion (a surface portion on the horizontal direction orthogonal to the axis of the cylindrical portion 13) on the horizontal direction side (lateral side) (back side in FIG. 2) of the rectangular tube portion 12 of the case 11. .

  A wire clamp 20 for holding the wire 60 connected to the connector 14 is mounted on the back side of the case 11 of the sensor unit 10 (the side opposite to the cylindrical portion 13 of the square tube portion 12).

  The wire clamp 20 is integrally formed of the same material on the back mounting portion 21 and the back mounting portion 21 made of, for example, resin (polyoxymethylene (POM) resin, which is more flexible than polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin in this example). The protruding portion 22 and the binding portion 23 (corresponding to a binding member) made of, for example, rubber or thermoplastic elastomer for binding the wire 60 are configured.

Rear mounting portion 21, as is clear from FIG. 2, vertical section has no a substantially U-shape, and the engaging claw 211 is formed at both end portions shaped for co corners of the case 11 The cylindrical portion 12 is adapted to be locked to protrusions 121 formed on the upper and lower surfaces. As shown in FIG. 1, the protruding portion 22 has a shape in which the front end side of the rectangle is semicircular, and is opposite to the side on which the connector 14 is formed from the rear mounting portion 21 (opposite in the horizontal direction). It is formed so as to protrude to the lateral side (the front side in FIG. 2).

  The binding portion 23 includes a belt-like belt portion 231 for binding the wire 60, and an engaging projection portion that is inserted into a through-hole formed at substantially the center of the protruding portion 22 and is engaged with the protruding portion 22. 232. Here, the back mounting portion 21 corresponds to a locking portion, and the protruding portion 22 and the binding portion 23 correspond to a holding portion.

  The bezel 30 is made of, for example, resin (in this example, made of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin), and is a flange that contacts the outer opening edge of the through hole 51 of the bumper 50 when attached to the through hole 51 of the bumper 50. The portion 31 and the cylindrical body portion 32 that is inserted into the through hole 51 and protrudes to the inner space of the bumper 50 are integrally formed. The bezel 30 is a holding member that holds the cylindrical portion 13 of the sensor portion 10 in the body portion 32.

  A plurality of (four in this example) metal spring members 40 are mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the body portion 32 of the bezel 30. The spring member 40 has a substantially U-shape and the top projects from the outer surface of the body portion 32, and the inner opening edge of the through hole 51 of the bumper 50 when the bezel 30 is attached to the through hole 51 of the bumper 50. This is a fixing member that abuts the portion and fixes the bezel 30.

  When the ultrasonic sensor device 1 is mounted on the bumper 50, first, the bezel 30 to which the spring member 40 is attached is inserted into the through hole 51 from the outside of the bumper 50. When the body portion 32 is inserted into the through hole 51 and the flange portion 31 is pressed to enter, the spring member 40 is pushed by the inner peripheral end of the through hole 51 and deformed in the radial direction, and passes through the through hole 51. Immediately after that, the bezel 30 is fixed to the through-hole 51 by restoring in the radially outward direction by an elastic force.

  Next, the rear mounting portion 21 in which the protruding portion 22 is integrally formed on the rear surface side of the sensor portion 10 is locked and mounted with the locking claws 211. Further, the binding portion 23 is fixed to the wire 60 by winding the belt portion 231 of the binding portion 23 around the wire 60. Thereafter, the engaging protrusion 232 of the bind portion 23 is inserted into the through hole of the protruding portion 22 and engaged, and the terminal of the wire 60 is connected to the connector 14.

  Finally, from the inside of the bumper 50, the cylindrical portion 13 of the sensor unit 10 is pushed into the body portion 32 of the bezel 30 and inserted. A claw 132 at the tip of the extended portion 131 extending from the rectangular tube portion 12 of the sensor portion 10 to the upper portion of the cylindrical portion 13 is engaged with the concave portion of the bezel 30 body portion 32, and is shown in FIGS. As described above, the sensor unit 10 is held by the bezel 30 (see FIG. 2) and mounted on the bumper 50.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the ultrasonic sensor device 1 mounted on the bumper 50, the tip of the sensor unit 10 is exposed to the outside of the bumper 50 in the bezel 30, that is, from the through hole 51. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, in the wire clamp 20 attached to the rectangular tube portion 12 which is a portion inside the bumper 50 of the sensor portion 10, the protruding portion 22 and the binding portion 23 that hold the wire 60 extending in the horizontal direction. The holding part which consists of protrudes in the horizontal direction outside the projection range of the sensor part 10 in the axial direction of the bumper 50 through-hole 51 (also the axial direction of the cylindrical part 13 of the sensor part 10) (see FIG. 2).

  In other words, the wire holding part of the wire clamp 20 protrudes laterally with respect to the sensor part 10. The connector 14 to which the terminal of the wire 60 is connected projects laterally on the opposite side of the wire holding portion of the wire clamp 20 with respect to the sensor portion 10 and has the same height as the wire holding portion.

  According to the above-described configuration, the holding portion (the protruding portion 22 and the binding portion 23) of the wire clamp 20 for holding the wire 60 is relative to the sensor portion 10 when the sensor portion 10 is mounted on the bumper 50. Protrusively laterally. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom of setting the mounting position in the bumper 50 in the vertical direction. That is, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom for setting the mounting position in the bumper 50 extending in the lateral direction.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, in the case of an ultrasonic sensor device 901 in which the holding portions (the protruding portion 922 and the binding portion 923) for holding the wire 60 protrude upward with respect to the sensor portion 10, Since the holding portion interferes with the upper surface portion 52 of the bumper 50, the mounting position shown in FIG. 6 becomes the upper limit, and the degree of freedom in setting the mounting position in the bumper in the vertical direction is reduced.

  On the other hand, according to the ultrasonic sensor device 1 of the present embodiment, the mounting position can be set up to the vicinity of the upper surface portion 52 of the bumper 50 as shown in FIG. If the upper portion can be set as the mounting position in the bumper 50, it is possible to easily prevent erroneous detection of non-obstacles such as the ground, curbstones on the ground, and tire stops when detecting obstacles by ultrasonic waves. There is an advantage. It is also advantageous when the area of the mountable surface of the bumper is narrow in the vertical direction.

  Further, since the holding portion for holding the wire 60 and the connector 14 of the sensor portion 10 have the same height, the wire 60 may be pulled in the extending direction when the sensor is mounted or due to vibration of the vehicle after mounting. Even if there exists, it can prevent that the force which tries to rotate the sensor part 10 centering on the axis | shaft of the bumper through-hole 51 is urged | biased. That is, the influence of the load applied to the sensor unit 10 by the wire 60 can be suppressed. In other words, the load balance to the sensor unit 10 by the wire 60 is good.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, in a group of ultrasonic sensor devices (ultrasonic sensor units) in which a plurality of ultrasonic sensor devices 1 are mounted on a bumper at a distance from each other and a common wire 60 is held by each wire clamp 20. Even if the wire 60 is pulled in the extending direction (for example, the arrow direction shown in FIG. 4) when the configuration including the plurality of sensor units 10 and the wire connector 20 is sequentially mounted on the bumper, It is possible to prevent a force to rotate about the axis of the through hole 51 (that is, the axis of the sensor cylindrical portion 13) from being applied to the other sensor unit 10 that has been mounted. In addition, the same effect can be obtained during vehicle vibration after mounting.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, holding parts (projecting part 922 and binding part 923) for holding the wire 60 protrude upward with respect to the sensor part 10, and the height of the wire holding part and the connector 14 is increased. 7 are different from each other, as shown in FIG. 7, the wire 60 is extended in the extending direction (for example, in the direction of the solid arrow in the figure) when the configuration including the plurality of sensor units 10 and the wire connector 920 is sequentially mounted on the bumper. If it is pulled, the other sensor unit 10 that has already been mounted is rotated in the direction (indicated by the broken arrow in the drawing) in which the sensor unit 10 is rotated about the axis of the through hole 51 (that is, the axis of the sensor cylindrical unit 13). Power is energized. However, according to this embodiment, such rotation of the ultrasonic sensor device 1 can be suppressed.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, the wire clamp 20 is divided and formed into a member in which the back mounting portion 21 and the protruding portion 22 are integrally formed and the binding portion 23. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It may be in the form or integral. Moreover, a part or all of the wire clamp may be integrally formed with the case of the sensor unit.

  Moreover, in the said one Embodiment, in order to mount the sensor part 10 in the through-hole 51 of the bumper 50, the bezel 30 provided with the spring member 40 was used, However, The form of a holding member and a fixing member is limited to this. It is not a thing. For example, a bezel 30 that is a holding member inserted into the through hole 51 of the bumper 50 is made of a resin (for example, a plastic that is more flexible than a polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin that is a bezel constituent material) from the inside of the bumper 50. It may be fixed by a retainer which is a fixing member of oxymethylene (POM) resin.

  In the above embodiment, the wire 60 has not been described in detail. For example, a wire harness (wire group) in which wires connected to the connectors 14 of the plurality of ultrasonic sensor devices 1 are bundled may be used. And the wire which makes the bus line which connects to each connector 14 of the some ultrasonic sensor apparatus 1 in common may be sufficient.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of an ultrasonic sensor device 1 according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. 2 is a side view showing an ultrasonic sensor device 1 mounted on a bumper 50. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ultrasonic sensor device 1 attached to the bumper 50 as viewed from the inside of the bumper 50. 2 is a diagram showing a group of ultrasonic sensor devices connected to a common wire 60. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of the ultrasonic sensor apparatus 901 which is a comparative example. It is a side view which shows the ultrasonic sensor apparatus 901 with which the bumper 50 which is a comparative example was mounted | worn. It is a figure which shows the ultrasonic sensor apparatus 901 group connected to the common wire 60 which is a comparative example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic sensor apparatus 10 Sensor part 14 Connector 20 Wire clamp 21 Back surface mounting part (locking part)
22 Protruding part (part of the holding part)
23 Binding part (Binding member, part of holding part)
50 Bumper 51 Through hole 60 Wire

Claims (2)

A sensor unit mounted in the bumper so as to be exposed to the outside from a through hole formed in a bumper of the vehicle, and performing at least one of transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves;
And a wire clamp having a holding portion for holding a wire electrically connected to a connector provided in the sensor portion, and a locking portion for locking to a portion of the sensor portion that is in the bumper. ,
The holding part is an ultrasonic sensor device that protrudes outside the projection range of the sensor part in the axial direction of the through hole from the locking part,
The holding portion in a direction in which a horizontal direction in a state in which the sensor unit is mounted on the bumper, protrudes from the locking portion,
The connector is disposed so as to protrude laterally on the opposite side of the holding unit with respect to the sensor unit in a state where the sensor unit is mounted on the bumper, and to have the same height as the holding unit. And
A plurality of configurations comprising the sensor unit and the wire clamp are provided, and the plurality of sensor units are mounted separately from each other in the bumper,
The plurality of wire clamps hold the common wire,
The wire is a wire harness in which wires connected to the connectors are bundled, or a wire connected to the connectors in common is a bus line,
The holding portion protrudes laterally without protruding upward with respect to the sensor portion in a state where the sensor portion is mounted on the bumper, and further protrudes toward the back side of the sensor portion, thereby Even if the wire is pulled in the extending direction by holding the inside of the bumper so as to extend horizontally along the bumper on the back side of the sensor unit, the sensor unit An ultrasonic sensor device that prevents a force to rotate about the axis of the through hole from being biased .   The holding portion includes a protruding portion that protrudes outside the projection range of the sensor portion from the locking portion, and a binding member that is engaged with the protruding portion and binds the wire. The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion is integrally formed.

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