JPH01109149A - Snow melting device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To melt snow without causing the malfunction of an engine by piping the hydraulic oil pipe of a vehicle-loaded device having a hydraulic device via the vicinity of the bottom end portion of the front glass of a vehicle. CONSTITUTION:In the case of utilizing the oil pressure of a power steering, a hydraulic oil pipe 1 is provided along the vehicle width direction on the outer face of a garnish molding 3 on the bottom end portion of a front glass 2. A pressure oil fed from an engine-driven hydraulic pump 4 is circulated in this hydraulic oil pipe 1 after operating a power steering 5, to heat the garnish molding 3 made of metal. Thereby, the snow which is scraped down to this portion by means of wipers can be molten by the heat of the hydraulic oil pipe 1 and the garnish molding 3 while, on the other hand, cooling a hydraulic oil itself.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) This invention is a method for melting snow that has been scraped off by wipers at the lower end of a windshield of a vehicle, and is particularly suitable for vehicles designed for cold regions. This invention relates to a snow melting device for a vehicle.

(Prior art) Mainly in cold regions, when it snows, snow scraped by the wipers accumulates at the bottom of the windshield, and the wipers eventually become inoperable, causing the driver to get out of the vehicle and remove the accumulated snow. There was a need.

In order to eliminate such inconveniences, for example,
Japanese Patent No. 192,448 discloses an engine cooling water passageway which is piped through the lower part of the windshield so that snow is melted by the heat of the engine cooling water.

Traditionally, heating wires have been installed outside the snow, or hot air from a heater unit has been guided to melt the snow.

When using the above-mentioned conventional snow melting means, when cooling water is used, the temperature of the cooling water is difficult to rise in the early stages of startup, which hinders warm-up, and during normal operation, the temperature of the cooling water drops below the appropriate temperature, causing the engine to malfunction. This caused a drop in temperature, resulting in engine malfunction, and there were other problems, such as heating wires and hot air being insufficiently effective at melting snow.

(Object of the Invention) It is an object of the present invention to provide a snow melting device for a vehicle that solves the above-mentioned conventional problems and melts snow using effective means without any harmful effects.

(Structure of the Invention) To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a method for melting snow in a vehicle, which is connected to the lower end of the windshield of the vehicle via a hydraulic pipe of a vehicle loading device having a hydraulic device such as a power steering device. It is a device.

In addition to the above-mentioned power steering system, vehicle loading equipment with hydraulic equipment includes torque converters, manual transmissions, engines, etc. for automatic vehicles, but the hydraulic oil in these equipment reaches considerably high temperatures. When the oil temperature rises, the viscosity of the oil decreases and the lubricity decreases, which may impair the sealing performance and cause oil leaks, so it is necessary to prevent the temperature from rising, especially when the oil temperature rises. For example, in the case of a hydraulic system for a torque converter, a separate oil cooler would be provided for cooling.

Passing the heated hydraulic oil through the piping through the lower edge of the windshield in this way is different from passing conventional engine cooling water, in that the heat of the hydraulic oil, which is particularly sensitive to temperature rises, is absorbed by melting snow. This is truly ideal as it achieves the cooling effect of killing two birds with one stone.
Even when there is no snow, the lower end of the windshield is well ventilated and comes into contact with rainwater, so an air or water cooling effect can be obtained.

(Embodiments) The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention.
This first embodiment utilizes the hydraulic pressure of the power steering device. In the figure, (1) is a hydraulic pipe, which extends in the vehicle width direction and is installed on the outer surface of the garnish molding (3) at the lower end of the windshield (2). Pressure oil is supplied to this hydraulic pipe (1) from a hydraulic pump (4) powered by an engine (not shown), and after operating the power steering device (5), the hydraulic pipe While circulating through (1), the metal garnish molding (3) is also heated, and the snow scraped off by the wiper (not shown) is transferred to the hydraulic pipe (1) and the garnish molding (3). The snow absorbs this heat, melting the snow, and cooling the hydraulic oil.

Further, the hydraulic oil that operates this power steering device (5) is supplied by a hydraulic pump (4) at an angle of 80° to 100°.
When the temperature rises to 'C and the handle is turned off, the temperature rises to 200℃.
°C. Conventionally, hydraulic pipes were installed at the front end of the vehicle for air cooling. Rather than installing the pipes at the front end, it is better to install the pipes near the lower end of the windshield (2). The distance is also close, which is advantageous.

In the figure, (6) shows the cowl panel, and (7) shows the bonnet.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. This second embodiment utilizes the hydraulic pressure of the torque converter of an automatic vehicle, and is shown by a phantom line. A hydraulic pump (not shown) is built into the automatic transmission (8), which operates a torque converter (not shown).The torque converter causes the oil temperature to become extremely high, so the front end of the vehicle The hydraulic pipe (1) was installed in the vehicle width direction near the lower end of the windshield (2) as in the first embodiment. The operation and effect are the same as in the first embodiment.

(Third Embodiment) Figures 4 to 7 show a third embodiment, and are examples of the piping configuration of hydraulic pipes near the lower end of the windshield, including power steering, torque converter, engine, transmission, etc. The piping of the hydraulic system is split into two parts inside the cowl (lO), and one of them is connected to the windshield (2).
The upper hydraulic pipe (la) is installed on the back side of the garnish molding (3) near the lower end of the cowl (
Connect the lower hydraulic pipe (1b) to the rainwater reservoir (11) at the lower part of
) are arranged long in the vehicle width direction, and the seventh
As shown in the figure, one or both of the single-note parts (ICs) connected to both ends of the fork are passed through the drain hole (12) that drains rainwater from the end of the rainwater reservoir part (11).

(13) is a vent, and a blower unit (14) for air conditioning.
), the blower unit (14) is configured to open when indoor air is introduced and close when outside air is introduced. It may be provided at the position shown by the imaginary line at the side end.

Note that there may be cases where there is only one of the upper hydraulic pipe (1a) and the lower hydraulic pipe (lb). In the figure (15)
The dash-up opening (16) is the hydraulic pipe stopper, (17
) is the air conditioning control unit located on the instrument panel.

According to the above configuration, when it snows, the upper hydraulic pipe (la) heats the garnish molding (3) and mainly works to melt snow.
The lower hydraulic pipe (1b) works secondarily to melt snow by loosening the cowl (10), and except during snowfall, the upper hydraulic pipe (la) is mainly air-cooled, and the lower hydraulic pipe (1b) is cooled by rain. It is water-cooled by rainwater, and since the single pipe part (1c) is passed through the drain hole (12), it is cooled by drainage, which enhances the cooling effect and is advantageous in terms of piping space.

Also, when the air conditioning blower unit (14) is operated to introduce indoor air (fresh closed) by operating the air conditioning operation section (17), the ventilation inside the cowl (10) is stopped and the upper hydraulic pipe (la) By closing the vent (13) when the lower hydraulic pipe (1b) is no longer cooled, outside air enters the cowl (10) from the dash-up opening (15) and flows by opening the vent (13). By doing so, the upper hydraulic pipe (la) and the lower hydraulic pipe (1b) are air-cooled.

When the piping is installed inside the cowl (10) in this way, it has the advantage of being visually appealing because it is not visible from the outside.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the snow melting device for a vehicle according to the present invention as described above, the pipe of the hydraulic system for the vehicle loading device passes through the vicinity of the lower end of the windshield, thereby melting the snow scraped off by the wiper. This has the dual effect of eliminating the impediment to the wiper function due to snow and cooling the hydraulic oil by melting the snow, and when it is not snowing, the hydraulic oil can be cooled by air cooling and water cooling by rainwater. Furthermore, the device can be obtained at low cost by simply changing some of the hydraulic piping, and is particularly suitable for vehicles designed for cold regions.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings are diagrams illustrating an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a partial plan view of a vehicle equipped with a snow melting device that utilizes hydraulic piping for power steering, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 1. , Fig. 3 is another embodiment, and is a partial perspective view of a vehicle equipped with a snow melting device that utilizes the hydraulic piping of the torque converter in an automatic vehicle, and Fig. 4 is still another embodiment, in which the hydraulic pressure of the snow melting device is FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the vent shown by the arrow A in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view cut along the line ■-■ in FIG. 4, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of vertical piping of the hydraulic pipe shown in FIG. 4; 1... Hydraulic pipe 1 a,... Upper hydraulic pipe lb.
・Lower hydraulic pipe 2・・Windshield 3・・Garnish molding 4・・Hydraulic pump 5・・・Power steering device 8・・・Automatic transmission engine 9・・・Oil cooler 10・・・Cowl 1st figure Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] A snow melting device for a vehicle, characterized in that it is piped near the lower end of a windshield of the vehicle via a hydraulic pipe of a vehicle loading device having a hydraulic device.