JPH01309854A - Device for washing glass of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To release the frozen condition of an automobile glass simply and surely by heating a washing liquid to be injected onto the automobile glass and injecting a high-temperature washing liquid onto the automobile glass. CONSTITUTION:A washing liquid stored in a tank 3 is sucked by a pump 2 operated by an operating portion 4 and injected onto an automobile glass out of a plurality of nozzles 1. In such a structure, a means 6 for heating the washing liquid is provided, e.g., between the nozzles 1 and the pump 2. The heating means 6 may be formed by utilizing, e.g., the heat of the exhaust gas of an engine or, equally, the heat of an exhaust pipe or by utilizing a heating body heated by electrification. Thereby, the temperature of the washing liquid can be increased, to release the freezing condition of the automobile glass simply and surely.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an automobile glass cleaning device that sprays a cleaning liquid such as water onto, for example, a window glass or a headlight glass of an automobile.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, a glass cleaning device having a small configuration as shown in FIG. 6 is attached near the front window or headlight of an automobile to remove dirt, fog, etc. from the front window or headlight glass. That's what I do.

The glass cleaning apparatus shown in the same figure and in FIG.
A pump 2 that sucks and discharges the cleaning liquid in the tank 3, a nozzle 1.1 that sprays the cleaning liquid discharged from the pump 2 onto the front window 5, and an operation unit 4 that operates the operation start/stop of the pump 2, etc. It is equipped with the following.

By the way, in cold regions where the average temperature is below freezing, especially late at night and early in the morning, a phenomenon often occurs in which water vapor or water droplets in the air freeze over the entire surface of the window glass or headlight 1. Driving a car in this frozen state is extremely dangerous because the visibility necessary for driving cannot be obtained. in this case,
Before driving the vehicle, the user can scrape off the ice with a scraper or the like, or operate the above-mentioned glass cleaning device to spray cleaning liquid onto the windshield and headlight 1, and operate the wiper to remove the ice. There must be.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the task of scraping off ice cleanly with a scraper at low temperatures is extremely labor intensive for the user.

On the other hand, even if you operate the wiper while operating the glass cleaning device, the temperature of the cleaning fluid is almost the same as the outside air temperature, so this may make the icing condition much worse, and it may be difficult to drive. It is difficult to secure the necessary visibility. Another problem was that the cleaning fluid sprayed onto the front window and headlight glass when the car started to drive could refreeze, making it impossible to maintain the visibility necessary for driving, which could lead to an accident.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an automobile glass cleaning device that can easily remove the frozen state of window glass, heather glass, and light glass.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problem) The structure of the present invention for achieving the above object is such that the above-mentioned automobile glass cleaning apparatus is provided with a heating means for heating the cleaning liquid. In this case, the heating means may utilize heat from engine exhaust gas.

Specifically, the cleaning liquid is heated using the heat generated by the engine's exhaust pipe. Moreover, in addition to the one that utilizes the heat of the exhaust gas, a heating element that generates heat by energization may be used. Furthermore, a bypass flow path for guiding the cleaning liquid by bypassing the heating means and a selection means that can select the bypass flow path may be provided to heat the cleaning liquid as necessary.

(Function) The function of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration is that the high-temperature cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the window glass or headlight glass, so that the frozen state can be easily removed in a short time. In addition, especially when the heat of engine exhaust gas is used, there is no need for a special energy source to operate the heating means.Furthermore, when a selection means is installed, high-temperature water can be used depending on the weather. You can choose room temperature water.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an automobile glass cleaning apparatus as an example, and FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the surrounding area centering on the heating means. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those explained in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

The automobile glass cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has almost the same construction as that shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, but the difference is that it is equipped with heating means 6 for heating the cleaning liquid.

The details of this heating means 6 are shown in FIG. 2, and it is attached to a manifold part 9 near the engine 7 that guides exhaust gas discharged from the cylinders of the engine 7 to a muffler part (not shown) via an exhaust pipe. A cylindrical block 10 made of, for example, aluminum alloy, which has good heat transfer properties.
and a connecting pipe 1 that connects each cleaning liquid guide hole 10a formed at regular angular intervals in the side wall of this cylindrical block 10.
1.

In such a configuration, the cleaning liquid supplied from the pump 2 passes through each cleaning liquid introduction hole 10a through a pipe 12, and then is discharged through a pipe 13 to each of the nozzles 1, 1. Note that the cylindrical block 10 is not limited to the illustrated cylindrical shape, but may have other shapes. Roughly, the block 10
is not necessarily necessary; for example, a pipe for distributing the cleaning liquid may be directly wound around the manifold portion 9, or a pipe for distributing the cleaning liquid may be built into the exhaust pipe. That is, any heating means may be used as long as it can efficiently utilize the heat generated by the exhaust pipe or the heat of the exhaust gas to heat the cleaning liquid.

Next, the functions and effects of the automobile glass cleaning apparatus configured as described above will be explained.

Motorists should take precautions if their windows are frozen.
After starting the engine, the operation unit 4 located inside the vehicle
to operate the automobile glass cleaning equipment. Through this operation, the pump 2 sucks the cleaning liquid from the tank 3,
It is sent to heating means 6.

On the other hand, the cylindrical block 10 absorbs the heat of the manifold section 9 due to the heat of the exhaust gas of the engine, and its temperature increases. Therefore, the cleaning liquid sent out from the pump 2 is heated by the heating means 6.
While flowing through the cylindrical block 10, it absorbs heat from the cylindrical block 10 and its temperature rises.

The heated cleaning liquid is then sprayed onto the window through the nozzle 1.1.

Since the injected cleaning liquid is heated to a high temperature as described above, it quickly releases the ice on the window and provides a view that allows driving in a short period of time. In this case, it is more effective to operate the wiper at the same time.

Further, even if the above-mentioned icy condition occurs while the vehicle is traveling, it is possible to easily obtain a clear field of view for driving by simply performing the same operation.

By the way, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and a configuration as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 is also within the scope of the invention. 3 and 4 as well, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those explained in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

For example, the heating means is not limited to one that utilizes the heat generated by the exhaust pipe, but may also be one that generates heat by energization as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the invention. The heating means 15 shown in the figure includes a heating element 17 wound around a cleaning liquid distribution pipe 16, and supplies electric power to this heating element 17. For example, it is equipped with a power supply source 14 such as an on-vehicle storage battery.

When such (R configuration) is used, high temperature water and normal temperature water can be easily selected by selecting energization or power outage to the heating element 17 in addition to the above-mentioned effects.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a modification of the automobile glass cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

The difference between the automobile glass cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 4 and the same apparatus shown in FIG. The point is that a switching valve 1B is provided as a selection means.

The illustrated switching valve 18 is capable of selectively switching between a cleaning fluid flow path 16 provided with a heating means 6 extending from the pump 2 to the nozzles 1 and a cleaning fluid bypass flow path 16' that bypasses the heating means 6. There is. This selection changeover is performed by operating the operating section 4'.

The operating section 4' shown in this embodiment is, for example, as shown in FIG.
Two buttons 4a and 4b are provided as shown in FIG.

Then, by pressing the button 4a marked "warm", the switching valve 18 is operated, closing the bypass flow path 16' and opening the flow path 16 so that the cleaning liquid flows through the flow path 16. On the other hand, when the button 4b marked "Cool" is pressed, the switching valve 18 is activated to open the bypass flow path 16' and close the flow path 16 so that the cleaning liquid flows through the bypass flow path 16'. Make it.

In such a configuration, room temperature water can be selected when there is no need to heat the cleaning liquid (for example, when the outside temperature is high or when there is no fear of freezing).

Incidentally, since the heating state/non-heating state of the heating means 6 in this case is determined according to the driving/non-driving state of the engine, the selection means only needs to be to change the flow path of the cleaning liquid using the switching valve 18.

By the way, although the case where the present invention is applied to a window glass has been described in detail above, the window glass is not limited to a front window, but also includes a rear window. Further, when applied to headlight glass, the same effect can be obtained with the same configuration.

Incidentally, in each of the above embodiments, the case of freezing has been explained, but it is also effective in cases of snow or the like. Furthermore, even when the outside temperature is high, the cleaning effect can be enhanced by using high-temperature water. Furthermore, the heating means may be a combination of one that utilizes the heat of the exhaust gas of the engine and one that is equipped with a heating element that generates heat when energized.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention described in detail above, the following effects are achieved.

According to the invention described in claims 1 to 4, the frozen state of the window glass and the headlight glass can be easily released.

According to the invention set forth in claim 5, in addition to the above-mentioned effects, a high temperature or room temperature cleaning liquid can be provided as required.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automobile glass cleaning device as an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a detailed perspective view of the heating means and its vicinity, and Fig. 3 is a heating means that generates heat by electricity. FIG. 4(a) is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automotive glass cleaning device using a heating element that uses a heating element. FIG. b) is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the operation unit when the configuration shown in Fig. 5(a) is used; FIG.
The figure is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional automobile glass cleaning device. 6.15... Heating means, 7... Engine, 18...
- Selection means (switching valve). Patent applicant Takata Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) An automobile glass cleaning device that sprays a cleaning liquid onto a window glass or a headlight glass to clean the glass, characterized in that the automobile glass cleaning device is equipped with a heating means for heating the cleaning liquid. (2) The automobile glass cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating means utilizes heat of engine exhaust gas. (3) The automobile glass cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating means utilizes heat generated from an exhaust pipe of the engine. (4) The automobile glass cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating means includes a heating element that generates heat when energized. (5) The automotive glass cleaning device includes a bypass channel for guiding the cleaning liquid by bypassing the heating means, and a selection device capable of selecting the bypass channel. An automobile glass cleaning device according to any one of the above.