KR950000874B1 - Automatic device for actuation of components to clean a motor vehicle window - Google Patents

Abstract

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Description

Automatic actuating device of car windshield

1 is a cross-sectional view of a detection system for an automatic actuating device for an automobile glass cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

2 is a schematic front view of a glass with the detection system of FIG.

3 is a perspective view of a first degree detection system support.

4 is a cross-sectional view of a laminated glass with another embodiment of a detection system for an automatic actuating device of an automotive glass cleaning apparatus.

5 is a block diagram of an automatic actuating device of an automotive glass cleaning appliance coupled to an automotive light flasher.

6 is a block diagram of an automatic actuating device of an automotive glass cleaning appliance in combination with an automatic ice making device.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1 glass 3 support stand

6, 7, 14, 15: photosensitive device 10: wiper (cleaning mechanism)

16: plastic intermediate layer 23, 37: current-to-voltage converter

23, 26: analog-to-digital converter 24: microprocessor

25, 26: control circuit 28: electronic module

29 switch 30 fuse

31 detector 32 heating circuit

33: heating indicator 35: comparator

38: indicator light

[Technical Field]

The present invention relates to a vehicle glass cleaning apparatus. The device is a device for automatic cleaning of automobile glass, in particular the rear glass, when there is enough dust to limit the light reaching the photosensitive element through the glass.

[background]

The present invention can be used to wash windshields of any automotive glass and is particularly useful when used in rear windshields. When motorists feel a decrease in visibility through the windshield, they instinctively turn on a cleaning device, such as a windshield washer or a wiper.

However, the driver's attention and visibility are primarily directed forward to see the traffic conditions that occur, making them less sensitive to reduced visibility through the rear glass.

Therefore, it would be very advantageous if the rear windshield of the car could become very dirty and could rely on a device that automatically cleans the glass when visibility is reduced or blocked.

The present invention will achieve the above results using the following technique.

Two photosensitive elements are mounted on or within the laminated back glass surface to receive light passing through the glass. Photosensitive elements that receive light directly are much more sensitive to dirt on the glass than other photosensitive elements that are protected from direct exposure of light and receive only a portion of the light transmitted by the glass interior.

The second photosensitive element functions as a reference for measuring the difference in response to the two photosensitive elements. Thus, the electronic circuit responding to the difference activates the glass cleaning mechanism when the difference in response exceeds a given threshold, and the visibility is dirty so badly.

When the required cleaning action has been performed, the first photosensitive device or measuring device provides a response or indication that the operating potential of the electronic circuit is no longer maintained. At this point the cleaning mechanism is not running.

In order to achieve the required result properly, the first photosensitive element must be located within the wiping range of the wiper.

Overview of the Invention

The present invention relates to an automatic actuating device for a cleaning mechanism such as a wiper for automobile glass. The glass to be cleaned is equipped with two photosensitive elements positioned to be affected by light entering through the glass. The first photosensitive element is positioned to receive light directly, and the second photosensitive element does not receive light directly and receives only light transmitted along the interior of the glass. The apparatus includes an electronic circuit for receiving and comparing the responses of the two photosensitive elements and means for automatically controlling the cleaning mechanism when the two element response differences exceed a predetermined threshold.

The automatic operation of the cleaning device will be measured. Thus, for example, the threshold will be set only to clean the dirty back glass as a whole.

After the wiper has been running for some time, the wiper stops working when the cleaning range of the glass is cleared. However, the non-clean range remains dirty. At this time, the dashboard of the car displays a signal to complete the cleaning of the rear glass as soon as the driver can reach it.

Various kinds of photosensitive elements such as a photoconductive cell or a photodiode are used in the present invention. Laminated glass is useful, and when an extremely thin photodiode is used, the photodiode can be incorporated and embedded in the intermediate layer between two glass plates forming the laminated glass together with the intermediate layer, the contents of which are filed with the present invention. As described in the patent application entitled "Laminated glass with Photosensitive Element and Automatic Device for Turning on and off Light of Motor Vehicle".

It is also an object of the present invention to use an improved glass incorporating two photosensitive elements and the glass can be installed in an automobile so that the output end of the photosensitive element is easily connected to an electronic circuit causing a certain automatic operation. .

If there is a computer in the vehicle, the computer can be used to perform the automatic operation.

The invention will be better understood with reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings, which are given merely by way of example.

1 shows a first embodiment of a detection system for an automatic actuating device of an automotive glass cleaning appliance. 2 is an illustration of the glass 1 provided with the detection system of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, a through hole 2 is formed in the glass so that the tubular projection 3a of the support 3 is inserted. The support 3 is located against the inner surface of the glass. The tubular protrusion 3a is covered with a skirt 4a extending from the button 4. The button 4 is positioned flat with respect to the outer surface of the glass.

The support 3 comprises two holes 5 formed therein. Photosensitive elements 6 and 7 are fixed to the bottom of the hole. The sensing surface of the device is towards the bottom of the hole. The photosensitive element 6 is provided so as to receive only ambient light which is shielded from any direct light transmitted through the glass and transmitted only in the direction indicated by the arrow F along the inside of the glass. In order to achieve the above object, the photosensitive element 6 is located in a hole 5 covered with the button 4, and the button 4 provides a shielding function for shielding direct light. This photosensitive element 6 is a reference photosensitive element.

On the other hand, the photosensitive element 7 is located in another hole 5 on an axis parallel to the axis of the button 4. This photosensitive element 7 receives light that has passed directly through glass. This photosensitive element 7 is a measuring photosensitive element. The reference and measuring photosensitive elements 6, 7 are illuminated by an orifice 8 which is drilled in the bottom of the hole 5 via the support 3. The cross section of the orifice is used to test the response magnitude of each photosensitive device.

In other words, the cross section of the orifice 8 is such that the response sizes of the two photosensitive elements are approximately equal when the entire surface of the glass is clean. For example, the cross section of the orifice 8 is 0.8 mm with respect to the through hole 2 having a diameter of 9 mm.

As shown in FIG. 2, the measuring photosensitive element 7 is located in the region 9 located in the present embodiment within the operating range of the wiper 10, which is a cleaning mechanism. In this position the measuring photosensitive element 7 generates a response according to the cleanliness of the glass 1, ie thrust signal, before and after the cleaning operation.

Positioning of the reference photosensitive element 6 does not affect the desired result. However, as shown, the selection of a reference photosensitive device location can provide some advantages.

Means for securing the support of the detection system to the glass will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3.

The support 3 is installed inside the glass. The tubular protrusion 3a protruding from the surface of the support 3 has a diameter adapted to fit within the skirt 4a of the button 4. The outer diameter of the skirt 4a substantially matches the diameter of the through hole 2 for receiving the skirt.

In order for the light transmitted along the inside of the glass to affect the reference photosensitive element 6, two slots 12 facing each other in the radial direction are formed axially in the tubular protrusion 3a of the support 3. have. In mounting, the slot 12 is aligned in line with the two slots 13 which face each other in the radial direction, formed in the skirt 4a of the button 4.

Since the photosensitive elements are only affected by the light passing through the glass, the support 3 must not penetrate around it and must fit snugly on the surface of the glass. To achieve this purpose, a flexible elastomeric seal (not shown) may be placed on the support surface to be attached to the glass. When the seal is pressed against the glass, the seal is fitted along the surface of the glass, eliminating the gap between the support and the glass. For accurate measurements, the measuring photosensitive device should be placed as close to the glass as possible.

A second embodiment of the detection system of the present invention is shown in FIG. The photosensitive elements 14 and 15 of the second system are incorporated and embedded in the plastic intermediate layer 16, which is positioned between two glass plates 17 to form laminated glass V. The glass is described in the name of the invention filed with the present patent application in the "automatic flashing device for laminated glass and automobile light having a photosensitive element".

The diode is positioned in the portion of glass V mounted in seal J such that the reference photodiode is shielded from direct sunlight coming through laminated glass V. Preferably, the diode is installed in a seal J located on top of the side pillars 1/2 of the glass support. The measuring photodiode 14 receives light directly through the glass. The photosensitive elements 14 and 15 are connected to the outside by the conductor 19 and the terminal 20. The conductor 19 and their terminals 20 are bent along one of the edges 21 of the laminated glass and the glass plate 17 so that the terminals 20 can be easily connected to any suitable electronic device.

In the second embodiment, the optical diodes can be installed in the same manner as the first embodiment regarding the operating range of the cleaning apparatus, so that the same result can be obtained for the operation of the apparatus.

Alternatively, the photodiode 15 may be installed outside of the glass mounted in the seal J. In this case, the photodiode is protected from direct light by an opaque cover 18 (indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 4) located on the glass outer surface opposite the photodiode sensing surface.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the reference photosensitive element is located in the outer region 11 of the wiper operating range and the photosensitive in the wiper operating range indicates to the driver that the outer region 11 of the cleaning range should be cleaned by hand as soon as possible. It is possible to indicate by inverting the output of the device. The instructions are given for example by indicator lights located on the instrument cluster and the control is described below.

As described above, the automatic actuating device of the glass cleaning mechanism includes an automatic control means which is placed side by side with the electronic circuit which receives and compares the outputs of the two photosensitive elements and the manual control circuit of the cleaning apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 5, the electronic circuit of the present invention includes a current-voltage converter 22, and an input of the current-voltage converter 22 is connected to the detectors 6 and 7, and an output thereof is analog. It is connected to the / digital converter 23. The output of the analog / digital converter 23 is connected to the input of the microprocessor 24 in this embodiment, and the output of the microprocessor 24 of the circuit 25 and the washing mechanism 10 for controlling the light of the vehicle. It is connected to a circuit 26 for controlling the operation. In the embodiment of the present invention, the electronic circuit enables the operation of the light device by the circuit 25 by the action of the output signal of the measuring photosensitive element 7 and the method is called "photosensitive". Laminated glass having a device and an automatic flashing device for an automobile light ".

6 shows a diagram of a circuit in which the automatic actuating device of the cleaning appliance is coupled to an automatic control device for heating a motor vehicle glass, as described in French Patent No. 2,218,710. The unit shown in FIG. 6 includes an electronic module 28 powered by a battery 27 and connected to the battery by terminals b, d and e. The connection of the terminal d is made via the switch 29. The connection of the terminal e is made via the fuse 30. The input a of the electronic module 28 is connected to the terminal of the condensation detector 31. The detector 31 is arranged on the glass 1. The other terminal of the detector 31 is connected to the heating network 32 on the glass 1 and to the cathode of the electricity 27.

As a variant, a standard temperature detector may be used instead of the detector 31. Such a detector may consist of, for example, a simple thermostatic contact controller controlled by a bimetallic strip that closes when the temperature drops below zero and will be installed in parallel with the main control device. The heating network 32 is connected to the terminal g of the electronic module. The terminal f of the electronic module is connected to the heating indicator 33. The terminal c of the electronic module is connected to the input of the AND gate 34. The other input of the AND gate 34 is connected to the output of the comparator 35 and the output of the AND gate 34 is connected to the input of the control circuit 26. The comparator 35 has the output of the analog-to-digital converter 36 as its input. The input of the converter 36 is the output of the current-voltage converter 37, which has an output of the photosensitive elements 6 and 7 mounted on the glass 1 as its input.

The output of the comparator 35 and the output of the AND gate 34 are connected to corresponding inputs of the control circuit 26 including the indicator lamp 38. The indicator light 38 is for example installed on the dashboard of a motor vehicle.

The control circuit 26 is connected in parallel with the manual control switch 39 of the washing mechanism and is supplied with power from the battery 27.

The function of the above-described apparatus is as follows.

When the entire surface of the glass 1 is clean, the cleaning mechanism 10 does not operate and the magnitude difference between the reference element 6 and the measurement element 7 output signal, corresponding to the above state, is, for example, at most 3 Millivolts.

When the entire surface of the glass is dirty, the magnitude difference between the reference element 6 and the measurement element 7 output signal exceeds a predetermined limit, for example, 13 millivolts. In this case, the comparator 35 operates the cleaning mechanism 10 in accordance with the following state through the AND gate 34 and the control circuit 26. Operation of the cleaning mechanism may be disturbed when snow or frost is covered by the glass 1. Operation in this state interferes with the operation of the wiper, so the cleaning mechanism can only be operated when the output C of the electronic module 28 is applied to the other input of the end gate 34 indicating that the glass surface condition permits cleaning. have. If the frost covers the glass, the cleaning mechanism will be activated after the frost is removed by an automatically controlled heating network 32. When the cleaning is performed, the difference in the output signal between the elements 6 and 7 decreases below the required limit so that the cleaning mechanism stops working.

However, the outer region 11 of the wiper 10 operating range still remains dirty. As described above and shown in FIG. 2, the reference element is located in the region 11 of glass. After the range 9 is cleaned by the wiper, the difference in magnitude of the inverted output signal between the reference element 6 and the measuring element 7 is obtained, for example -10 mV. A response signal difference with a sign opposite to the preceding response signal difference appears at the other output of the comparator 35 controlling the lighting of the indicator light 38 which instructs the driver to manually complete the cleaning of the rear glass.

It is possible to combine the three automatic lighting, automatic heating and automatic cleaning mechanisms, for example, with a computer mounted in the vehicle.

Claims (13)

Two photosensitive elements 6, 7; 14, 15, an electronic circuit for receiving and comparing the responses of the two photosensitive elements, and for controlling the cleaning mechanism when the response difference between the photosensitive elements exceeds a predetermined threshold. In the automatic actuating device of an automobile glass cleaning apparatus comprising means, the photosensitive elements are arranged to be influenced by the light passing through the glass 1, wherein the first photosensitive element 7; Automobile glass, characterized in that it directly receives the light passing through the glass 1 and the second photosensitive elements 6 and 15 are shielded from the direct action of the light so that it is only affected by the light transmitted through the glass interior. Automatic operation of the cleaning device. 2. The photosensitive device according to claim 1, wherein the photosensitive elements (7; 14) for receiving the direct light are located within the operating range of the cleaning mechanism (10) and act as measurement elements, and the photosensitive elements for receiving only the light transmitted through the interior of the glass. Elements (6; 15) are located outside of the operating range and act as a reference element. 3. The photodiode according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the photosensitive element is a photodiode (14, 15) having a thickness enough to be inserted into the plastic intermediate layer (16) of the laminated glass (V) and the photodiode (15) is the glass. An automatic actuating device for an automobile glass cleaning apparatus, characterized in that it is shielded from direct light by being installed in a glass portion wrapped with a seal (J). The photodiode according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the photosensitive element is a photodiode (14, 15) having a thickness such that it can be embedded in the plastic intermediate layer (16) of laminated glass (V), and the reference photodiode (15) A device for automatic operation of an automobile glass cleaning apparatus, characterized in that it is shielded from direct light by an opaque cover (18), which is disposed on the outside of the vehicle glass and faces the photodiode (15) to form a shield against direct light. The support 3 according to claim 1 or 2, which holds two photosensitive elements 6, 7 which are located inside the vehicle and have a sensing surface facing toward the glass, and the reference photosensitive element 6; And a button (4) disposed on the vehicle exterior glass facing and forming a shield against direct sunlight. The glass (1) is formed with a through hole (2) for inserting the support member (3) and the support member of the button (4), and the support member has a reference photosensitive device ( And 6) a slot (12) for transmitting light to the vehicle. 7. The support member of claim 6, wherein the support member of the support 3 and the button 4 consists of a tubular protrusion 3a and a skirt 4a, which can be fitted together. 4a), the automatic operation device of the vehicle glass cleaning mechanism, characterized in that the slots (12, 13) facing in the radial direction are formed. 6. The support (3) according to claim 5, wherein the support (3) has two holes (5) into which the photosensitive elements (6, 7) are inserted, the bottom of which corresponds to the amount of light that can affect the element. An automatic actuating device for an automobile glass cleaning apparatus, characterized in that an orifice (8) having a cross section is formed. 2. The comparison according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit is connected to a current-voltage converter (22, 37), an analog / digital converter (23, 36), and a circuit (26) for controlling the operation of the cleaning device (10). Automatic actuating device for an automotive glass cleaning appliance, characterized in that it comprises means (24, 35). 10. A device according to claim 9, wherein said comparing means is a comparator (35) incorporated in a microprocessor (24). The vehicle glass cleaning device according to claim 9, wherein the measurement photosensitive elements (7, 15) form an element for operating the light control circuit, which is coupled to the vehicle light control circuit (25). Automatic operation device of the apparatus. 11. The comparison means (24, 35) according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the comparison means (24, 35) has one input part at the surface state or the external temperature of the glass (1) to prevent operation of the cleaning mechanism (10) when the glass is covered with frost or snow. Automatic operation of the vehicle glass cleaning appliance, characterized in that connected to the cleaning mechanism control circuit 26 through an end gate (34) connected to the means for sensing. 10. The device according to claim 9, further comprising a member (38) instructing the user to know the degree of contamination of the glass area (11) located outside the operating range of the cleaning device (10), the member comprising the comparison means (24, 35). Automatic operation device of a vehicle glass cleaning apparatus, characterized in that controlled by).

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