JPS61200050A - Cleaner for illuminating apparatus of car - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To rescue the inutile consumption of cleaning liquid by carrying-out the cleaning-liquid injection onto the illuminating light output lens surface interlocked with the cleaning-liquid injection onto a front window only in the case when an illuminating apparatus is in lighting-up state. CONSTITUTION:A cleaner for a headlamp 3 is of the type in use of cleaning liquid and a wiper and is equipped with a cleaning-liquid injection nozzle 7 installed onto a bumper 5 oppositely to the headlamp 3 and the wiper 9 having the function for wiping off the lens surface of the headlamp 3. The cleaning- liquid injection operation to the illumination light output lens surface of an illumination apparatus interlocked with the cleaning-liquid injection operation to the front window is carried-out only in the case when the illumination apparatus is in lighting-up state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates particularly to a device for cleaning vehicle headlights using a cleaning fluid, and more particularly to a vehicle lamp cleaning device that reduces wasteful consumption of cleaning fluid.

[Technical Background of the Invention and Problems Therewith] In recent years, there has been a tendency for automobiles to be equipped with headlight cleaning devices, so-called headlamp cleaners, from the viewpoint of ensuring running safety when driving at night. A headlamp cleaner removes mud and other dirt that adheres to the lens surface of the headlight while driving, thereby avoiding a reduction in the ability of the headlight to illuminate the front of the vehicle due to dirt on the lens surface. . There are various types of bed lamp cleaners, including one that uses a wiper mechanism to remove dirt on the lens surface of the headlamp through a wiping action, and one that removes dirt by spraying cleaning liquid onto the lens surface. There are several methods, such as a combination of these two methods.

By the way, among the above-mentioned headlamp cleaners, especially those that use cleaning liquid for cleaning, it is necessary to secure the cleaning liquid somewhere in the car body, but this is not possible in cars with limited space. It is difficult to create a dedicated space for headlamp cleaner cleaning fluid (
Especially in recent years, with improvements in engine performance and increased equipment, there is less extra space), and the front window cleaning fluid is generally shared. For this reason, installing a new headlamp cleaner does not mean that the amount of cleaning fluid for public use can be increased (), so to avoid situations where cleaning fluid is not available when needed, waste cleaning fluid as much as possible. It is important to avoid running the headlamp cleaner only when the lens surface of the headlamp is truly dirty. (Incidentally, the capacity of the cleaning liquid tank currently installed in automobiles is approximately 2.
While the resistance is about 2Ω, in this method where the headlamp cleaner can be operated arbitrarily, it is necessary to secure cleaning liquid of about 6Ω. ) However, since the level of dirt on the headlight lens surface cannot be observed while driving, the reality is that the headlamp cleaner is activated at the discretion of the driver. For this reason, the applicant focused on the fact that the dirt on the lens surface of the headlamp is about the same as the dirt on the front window, and decided to spray the cleaning liquid onto the front window in conjunction with this. An earlier application was filed (Utility Model Application No. 57-133457) which claimed to reduce wasted consumption of cleaning fluid by also operating a headlamp cleaner. On the other hand, headlamp cleaners normally achieve their purpose by operating when the headlights are on, but in the above application, the headlamp cleaner is configured to operate regardless of day or night, so cleaning fluid is not required. It is estimated that the consumption of

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle lamp cleaning device that further ensures reduction in wasteful consumption of cleaning liquid.

[Summary of the Invention] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an apparatus for cleaning a lamp light output part of a lamp installed in a vehicle by supplying at least a cleaning liquid to the lamp light output part. lighting detection means for detecting lighting of the lamp, cleaning liquid injection control means for injecting cleaning liquid to the lamp light output section when cleaning liquid is injected to the front window of the vehicle while the lamp is turned on; The gist is to have the following.

[Embodiments of the invention] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using the drawings.

1 and 2 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a cleaning device (headlamp cleaner) for a headlamp 3 of an automobile 1, and are an external view and a circuit diagram, respectively. The headlamp cleaner according to this embodiment is
As shown in FIG. 1, this system uses a cleaning liquid and a wiper in combination, and as shown in FIG. It has the following.

Next, the circuit configuration will be explained using FIG. 2. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a headlamp washer motor that guides cleaning liquid from a cleaning liquid tank (not shown) installed in the engine room and injects it from the cleaning liquid injection nozzle 7 onto the lens surface of the headlamp 3, one end of which is connected in series. It is connected to an accessory terminal (ACC) through a normally open contact 12-3.

Further, the headlamp washer motor 11 has a normally open contact 12-3, a terminal on the 13-3 side connected to the headlamp cleaner switch 14, and this switch
It can be driven independently by the driver's operation. 15 is a wiper motor for operating the wiper 9, one end of which is connected in series with a normally open contact 13-2 and a coil 12-.
1 and the headlamp switch 17 to the battery (V
cc), and the other end is connected to ground via a normally open contact 19-2. Moreover, the wiper motor 15 is
Both ends of the headlamp cleaner switch 14 are connected to the headlamp cleaner switch 14, and the switch 14 can be independently driven by the driver's operation. The coil 12-1 constitutes a relay together with the normally open contact 12-3 and the normally open contact 12-2 connected to the output terminal of the comparator 27, and when energized, these normally open contacts 12- 2.12-3
is in a closed state.

On the other hand, 21 is a front window washer motor which guides the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid tank and injects it onto the front window 20 through a nozzle (not shown), and one end of which is connected to the battery (Vcc) through the washer switch 22.
The other end is connected to ground via the coil 13-1 and the current detector 23, which are connected in series.

The coil 13-1 constitutes a relay together with the normally open contacts 13-2 and 13-3, and when energized, the normally open contacts 13
-2.13-3 is in a closed state.

The current detector 23 detects the current flowing through the front window washer motor 21 and converts it into a voltage. There is.

The comparator 27 has an inverting input terminal (-) connected to the coil 1.
2-1 and the normally open contact 13-2 via a resistor 29, and the normally open contact 12 whose output terminal is connected in series.
-2 and the ground via the coil 19-1. That is, the comparator 27 controls the operation of the window washer motor 21 when the headlamp switch 17 is on, and the output voltage of the integrating circuit 25 which is applied to the inverting input terminal (-) when the headlamp switch 17 is on. It is detected when the voltage exceeds the specified voltage, and a high level (
H) It outputs a signal. The coil 19-144 and the normally open contact 19-2 constitute a relay, and the normally open contact 19-2 is opened when a high level (H) signal is supplied from the comparator 27.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

While driving at night or in a tunnel, if the headlamp switch 17 is on and the headlamp 3 is on, the inverting input terminal (-
) is applied the power supply voltage to the headlamp 3. Further, in this state, the normally open contacts 12-2 and 12-3 are both closed due to the energization of the coil 12-1.

In this state, when the driver operates the washer switch 22 to remove dirt from the front window 2o, the battery (Vcc) → washer switch 22 → front window washer motor 21 → coil 13-1 → current detector 23 → earth Current flows in the path. As a result, the front window washer motor 21 is driven to inject the cleaning liquid onto the front window 20, and the normally open contacts 13-2, 13-1 are energized to the coil 13-1.
3 are both closed, especially ACC→normally open contact 1
A current flows through the path 2-3 → constant contact 13 - 3 → headlamp washer motor 11 → ground, the headlamp washer motor 11 is driven, and the cleaning liquid is also sprayed onto the lens surface of the headlamp 3.

On the other hand, when current flows through such a path, current detector 2
3 detects this and outputs it to the integrating circuit 25. As a result, the output voltage of the integrating circuit 25 gradually increases with a predetermined time constant, and exceeds the voltage applied to the inverting input terminal (-) of the comparator 27 after a predetermined time has elapsed since the washer switch 22 was operated. become. In this state, the comparator 27 outputs a high level (T1) signal through the normally open contact 12-2, which is in the closed state, to turn the coil 19-1 energized and open the normally open contact 19-2. make the state Normally open contact 19
-2 is closed, battery (VCC) → headlamp switch 17 → coil 12-1 → regular contact 13-2
The wiper motor 15 is driven by the current flowing through the path: → wiper motor 15 → normally open contact 19-2 → ground. As a result, the wiper 9 is activated to wipe the lens surface of the headlamp 3 onto which the cleaning liquid is being sprayed, thereby removing dirt attached to the lens surface.

In addition, the headlamp switch 17 is in the A-shaped rl! When the headlamp 3 is not lit, the coil 12
-1 is not energized, so the normally open contact 12-2.12
-3 is also in the open state, and the headlamp washer motor 11 is not driven when the washer switch 22 is operated, and the wiper motor is not driven when the output of the comparator 27 controls the energization of the coil 19-1. It turns out.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the light output lens surface of the lamp in conjunction with the spraying operation of the cleaning liquid onto the front window of the vehicle! Since the IFJ operation is performed only when the lamp is lit,
It is possible to limit the cleaning of the lamp to only when it is truly necessary without allowing the illumination function of the lamp to deteriorate, and it is possible to more reliably reduce wasteful consumption of cleaning liquid compared to the conventional method.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a circuit diagram of the embodiment. 3... Headlamp 7... Cleaning liquid spray nozzle 9
... Wiper 11 ... Headlamp washer motor 15 ... Wiper motor 17 ... Headlamp switch 21 ... Front window washer motor 22 ...
・Washer switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] A device for cleaning a lamp light output part of a lamp installed in a vehicle by injecting at least a cleaning liquid to the lamp light output part, comprising: a lighting detection means for detecting lighting of the lamp; and a lighting detection means for detecting lighting of the lamp; 1. A vehicle lamp cleaning device comprising: a cleaning liquid injection control means for injecting cleaning liquid to the lamp light output section when a window washer of the vehicle operates while the vehicle is in use.