JP4565347B2 - Vehicle lamp heater device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a heater device for a vehicular lamp that removes ice and snow adhering to a lens surface and fogging of a lens.

  Conventionally, in order to ensure the safety of vehicle traveling in winter or rainy weather, a heating element is provided in a lens disposed in a vehicle lamp such as a headlamp or a tail lamp, and the lens surface is energized by energizing the heating element. There has been proposed a heater device that removes ice and snow adhering to the lens and fogging of the lens (Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  In the vehicle lamp heater device of Patent Document 1, in order to prevent the snow from adhering to the lens, the control controller controls energization to the heating element provided on the inner surface of the lens unit according to the detection signal from the temperature sensor. Like to do.

  In addition, in the heater device for a vehicle lamp disclosed in Patent Document 2, when the temperature in the lamp chamber reaches a predetermined temperature by the temperature sensor, the temperature in the lamp chamber is decreased by the controller when the temperature sensor reaches the predetermined temperature. The power supply to the heating element is controlled.

JP-A-10-289602 JP 2004-314902 A

  As described above, the vehicle lamp heater devices of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 automatically energize the heating element based on the detection signal from the temperature sensor. An overheating accident due to is prevented.

  However, in a general vehicle, the control unit is centrally managed by the electronic control device. For this reason, when the heater device is controlled by the control controller as in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, it is difficult to add a control controller for controlling energization to the power generator later. It was.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a heater device for a vehicular lamp that can be easily retrofitted and can melt ice and snow adhering to the lamp.

  In order to solve the above problems, a heater device for a vehicle lamp according to the present invention includes a heating element that warms a lens portion of the vehicle lamp, and a temperature sensor that is provided outside the vehicle and detects a temperature, and The sensor warms the lens unit by energizing the heating element under a predetermined condition. According to the present invention, the lens unit can be warmed by energizing the heating element based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, and the ice and snow adhering to the lamp can be melted. Further, since it is possible to energize the heating element simply by looking at the conditions of the temperature sensor, it is not necessary to provide a conventional controller for controlling the microcomputer, so that it can be easily retrofitted.

  The heater device for a vehicular lamp according to the present invention includes a vehicle interior switch that is provided inside the vehicle to turn on and off the energization of the heating element by a predetermined operation, and a temperature that is provided outside the vehicle and detected by the temperature sensor. And a vehicle exterior switch for turning off the energization of the heating element. Accordingly, the heater can be turned on / off by a switch in the vehicle interior, and if the switch is forgotten to be turned off, the heater is automatically turned off by the switch outside the vehicle compartment based on the temperature of the temperature sensor. Thereby, the heating accident by forgetting to turn off can be prevented beforehand. Further, the heater device can be realized with an inexpensive switch without using a microcomputer-controlled controller as in the prior art. As a result, versatility is enhanced, and rear-end collisions caused by the difficulty in seeing the vehicular lamps in snowy areas can be reduced.

  Further, the vehicle exterior switch is housed in a box installed outside the vehicle. Since the temperature sensor and the switch outside the passenger compartment are housed in the box, the degree of freedom of attachment to the vehicle increases.

  The vehicle exterior switch includes a voltage generation circuit that generates a voltage lower than the power supply voltage from the power supply voltage, and a switch unit that turns on and off the energization of the heating element by the voltage generated by the voltage generation circuit. Features. As a result, the switch can be operated even in the case of a vehicle equipped with a large battery. The box is arranged in the vicinity of the vehicular lamp. According to the present invention, since the temperature in the vicinity of the vehicular lamp can be detected by the temperature sensor, the heating element can be accurately energized. The temperature sensor is a thermistor connected to a first terminal and a second terminal provided in the vehicle exterior switch.

  When the lens portion is a lens of a rear combination lamp and the vehicle lamp is provided with an inner panel inside the lens of the rear combination lamp, the heating element is attached to the front surface of the inner panel. It is characterized by. Thereby, the lens of the rear combination lamp itself can be warmed and the snow melted by the heater attached to the inner panel.

  When the lens unit is an outer lens of an outer cover and a rear combination lamp provided inside the outer cover, the heating element is attached to the inner side of the outer cover. As a result, the snow can be melted by the heater attached to the outer cover provided outside the rear combination lamp.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a heater device for a vehicular lamp that can be easily retrofitted and can melt ice and snow attached to the lamp.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a heater device for a vehicle lamp according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As an example of a heater device for a vehicle lamp according to the present invention, a heater device for a truck rear combination lamp will be described.

  Hereinafter, a heater device for a truck rear combination lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an overall schematic view of a truck provided with a heater device for a rear combination lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the truck 100 is a large vehicle equipped with a DC 24V in-vehicle power source (battery) 101. The truck 100 is provided with rear combination lamps 110 formed of a stop lamp, a tail lamp, a blinker lamp, a vehicle width lamp, and the like on the left and right sides of the rear part. The track 100 also includes a heater device 130 that heats the lens of the rear combination lamp 110, melts ice and snow adhering to the front surface of the lens, or evaporates and removes adhering water droplets.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the rear combination lamp shown in FIG. In this vehicular lamp, a lens portion is a lens of a rear combination lamp, and an inner panel is provided inside the lens of the rear combination lamp. As shown in FIG. 2, the rear combination lamp 110 is provided with an incandescent bulb lamp 112, an opening formed in the front surface, a resin lamp body 114 that accommodates the incandescent bulb lamp 112, and a front opening of the lamp body 114. And an inner panel 116 made of transparent resin having a gently curved surface along the vehicle body shape, and a lens 118 disposed outside the inner panel 116.

  A lamp chamber R is formed by the lamp body 114, the inner panel 116 and the lens 118. In the lamp chamber R, there are an incandescent lamp lamp 112, a light source unit 120 composed of a wiring 119 connected to a control circuit board (not shown) constituting an electric circuit for emitting the incandescent lamp lamp 112, and an incandescent lamp. A reflector 122 for reflecting the light emitted from the bulb lamp 112 toward the rear of the track 100 is provided.

  Next, the heater device 130 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The heater device 130 includes a heating element 140, a vehicle interior switch 150, and a vehicle exterior switch 160. The vehicle exterior switch 160 is housed in the box 200, as will be described in detail later. The heating element 140 is for heating the lens part of the vehicular lamp, and is composed of a resistance element such as a nichrome wire arranged in a wavy pattern when viewed from the front surface of the inner panel 116, for example. The heating element 140 is attached to the front surface of the inner panel 116 in order to heat the lens 118. The heating element 140 is formed integrally with the inner panel 116 by performing resin molding in a state where the heating element 140 is disposed in a mold for molding the inner panel 116, for example. The heating element 140 may be disposed over substantially the entire inner panel 116, or may be disposed only in a necessary region, and the density of the heating element 140 may be changed as appropriate. Further, the heating element 140 may be covered with an insulator made of an epoxy resin. In addition, the heating element 140 may be made of a fluororesin or a transparent conductive film having a high light transmittance, such as an ITO film (Indium Tin Oxide).

  Both ends of the heating element 140 are exposed to part of the peripheral edge of the inner panel 116, and the exposed portions are configured as electrodes. A pair of electrodes (not shown) connected to lead wires extending from the interior switch 150 and the exterior switch 160 along the inner surface of the lamp body 114 are fixed to a part of the opening edge of the lamp body 114. It is supported. When the inner panel 116 is attached to the lamp body 114, the electrodes of the heating element 140 and the electrodes of the vehicle interior switch 150 and the vehicle exterior switch 160 come into contact with each other and are electrically connected.

  The vehicle interior switch 150 is provided, for example, on a dashboard in the interior of the vehicle, and turns on / off the power to the heating element 140 by the operation of the passenger. The vehicle exterior switch 160 is provided outside the vehicle and warms the lens portion of the lamp by energizing the heating element 140 with a temperature sensor under a predetermined condition. Here, a thermistor is used as the temperature sensor. The operating temperature of the temperature sensor is set to a predetermined temperature (X ° C.) at which ice and snow adhere to the lens 118. When the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than the set temperature, the power supply to the heating element 140 is turned off. Here, the thermistor has a specification of 5.2 ° C ± 0.3 ° C. Accordingly, the vehicle exterior switch 160 is turned on when the temperature is 4.9 ° C. or lower and energizes the heat generator, and is turned off when the temperature is 5.5 ° C. or higher and the power supply to the heat generator is turned off.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an external view of the box. As shown in FIG. 3, a cable 201 connected to the battery 101 and a cable 202 connected to the heating element 140 are connected to the box 200. The box body 200 is disposed outside the vehicle compartment and houses the vehicle exterior switch 160. This box is made of metal such as stainless steel. The cables 201 and 202 have a length of 5 m, for example. By setting the lengths of the cables 201 and 202 so that the box 200 is arranged in the vicinity of the vehicle lamp, the thermistor can detect the temperature in the vicinity of the lens 118 of the rear combination lamp 110, so that it can be accurately detected. The heating element 140 can be turned on / off.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a circuit configuration of the vehicle exterior switch 160. 4, reference numeral 101 is a battery, 140 is a heating element, 160 is a vehicle exterior switch, 170 is a thermistor provided outside the vehicle to detect temperature, and 200 is a box. The thermistor 170 is connected to the first terminal T1 and the second terminal T2 provided on the vehicle exterior switch 160, the battery 101 is connected to the terminals T3 and T4, and the heating element 140 is connected to the terminals T5 and T6.

  The voltage generation circuit 161 is a circuit that is provided in the vehicle exterior switch 160 and generates a voltage of 12V lower than the power supply voltage from the power supply voltage of 24V supplied from the battery 101. This voltage generation circuit 161 includes a diode D2, an NPN transistor Tr1, a resistor R1 connected between the collector of the transistor Tr1 and the diode D2, a resistor R2 connected between the collector and the base of the transistor Tr1, and between the base and ground of the transistor Tr1. A capacitor C1, a Zener diode ZD1, a resistor C3 connected in series with a capacitor C2 connected between the node n1 and the ground, and a reactance L1, and a transistor Tr1 by supplying a voltage to the base of the transistor Tr1. Is turned on, a voltage of 12V is generated from the voltage of 24V supplied from the battery 101 and supplied to the node n1.

  The vehicle exterior switch 160 further includes operational amplifiers OP1 and OP2, resistors R4 to R17, an NPN transistor Tr2, an enhancement type MOSFET Tr3, a diode D1, capacitors C3 to C5, and a reactance L2. The enhancement-type MOSFET Tr3 is a switch unit that turns on and off the energization of the heating element 140 by the voltage generated by the voltage generation circuit 161. Node n1 is connected to node n2 via resistors R6 and R7, and node n2 is connected to node n3 via resistor R8. A capacitor C3 connected in parallel to the resistors R4 and R5 connected in series is connected between the node n1 and the node n4. A terminal T2 to which one end of the thermistor 170 is connected is connected to the node n3, and a terminal T1 to which the other end of the thermistor 170 is connected is connected to the node n4. The non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 and the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 are connected to the node n2 through the resistor R9.

  The inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 is connected to the node n4 through the resistor R10. The output terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 is connected to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 and the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 through the resistors R12 and R11. The base of the transistor Tr2 is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 via the resistor R13. The drain of the MOSFET Tr3 is connected to the battery 101, and the source is connected to the output terminal T5 to which the heating element 140 is connected. The battery 101 is connected to the collector of the transistor Tr2 via the resistors R16 and R15. When the transistor Tr2 is turned on, the power supply voltage of 24V is divided by the resistors R15 and R16 and supplied to the gate of the MOSFET Tr3.

  Next, the operation of the heater device 130 will be briefly described. When the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature (4.9 ° C.), the base of the transistor Tr2 is controlled by the voltage at the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2, and the transistor Tr2 is turned on. Then, a voltage is supplied to the gate of the MOSFET Tr3, the MOSFET Tr3 is turned on, the battery 101 and the heating element 140 are connected, and the heating element 140 is energized. On the other hand, when the outside air temperature rises to a predetermined temperature (5.5 ° C.) or higher, the resistance value of the thermistor 170 decreases, and the transistors Tr2 and MOSFETTr3 are both turned off by the voltage at the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2. The space between the heating elements 140 is cut, and the power supply to the heating elements 140 is turned off. Thus, the lens unit can be warmed by energizing the heating element 140 under a predetermined condition by the temperature sensor, and the ice and snow adhering to the lamp can be melted. Further, since it is possible to energize the heating element simply by looking at the conditions of the temperature sensor, it is not necessary to provide a conventional controller for controlling the microcomputer, so that it can be easily retrofitted.

  Next, a case where the energization of the heating element 140 is turned on by the vehicle interior switch 150 in a state where ice and snow are attached to the lens 118 will be described. When the passenger compartment switch 150 is turned on by an occupant's operation, the heating element 140 provided on the surface of the inner panel 116 of the rear combination lamp 110 is energized, and the lens 118 provided outside the inner panel 116 is heated. . On the other hand, when the outside air temperature becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the resistance value of the thermistor 170 decreases, the transistor Tr2 is turned off and the MOSFET Tr3 is turned off at the output terminal voltage of the operational amplifier OP2, and the battery 101 and the heating element 140 are disconnected. The energization to the heating element 140 is turned off. Thereby, an overheating accident due to forgetting to turn off the vehicle interior switch 150 can be prevented.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the rear combination lamp shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows an example in which an outer cover is attached to the outer lens of the rear combination lamp. In the rear combination lamp 110 according to the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the structure in which the lens 118 is provided on the front surface of the lamp body 114 via the inner panel 116 and the heating element 140 is provided on the inner panel 116 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 5, the lens 118A includes an outer lens 118B and an outer cover 118C, and the heating element 140A is attached to the inner back surface of the outer cover 118C.

  According to the embodiment, since the lens unit can be warmed by energizing the heating element based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, it is possible to melt ice and snow attached to the lamp. As a result, the light emitted from the incandescent bulb lamp 112 is not blocked by ice and snow, so that the visibility of the rear combination lamp 110 is improved. As a result, the driver of the succeeding vehicle can instantaneously determine the brake operation and the direction indicating operation of the preceding vehicle, so that the rear-end collision accident can be reduced.

  Further, since the heating element is energized only by looking at the conditions of the temperature sensor, it is not necessary to provide a conventional controller for controlling the microcomputer, so that it can be easily retrofitted. Further, since the heater device 130 includes the vehicle interior switch 150 that can energize the heat generating element by operating the occupant, the occupant operates the vehicle interior switch 150 even in the daytime when the temperature is high during the winter. Can be reliably energized. In addition, since the heating element 140 is turned off by the vehicle interior switch 150 and the vehicle exterior switch 160, the heater device 130 can be forgotten to be turned off even if the vehicle interior switch 150 is erroneously operated during a snowfall time. Can be prevented.

  In the above embodiment, the rear combination lamp is described as the vehicle lamp. However, the rear combination lamp can be applied to other vehicle lamps such as a front combination lamp, a head lamp, a side lamp, a fog lamp, a tail lamp, a stop lamp, and a blinker lamp. . Further, in the present embodiment, the truck 100 using the DC24V battery 101 has been described. However, a similar large vehicle bus, DC12V in-vehicle power source small or medium-sized general vehicle, or the like may be used. In the present embodiment, an incandescent lamp is used as the light source 112, but an LED lamp or the like may be used.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the heater device for a vehicular lamp according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the gist of the present invention described in the claims. Various modifications and changes can be made within the range.

1 is an overall schematic view of a truck provided with a heater device for a rear combination lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view of a rear combination lamp. It is a figure which shows the external view of a box. It is a figure which shows the circuit structure of a temperature sensor switch. It is an expanded sectional view of the other form of the rear combination lamp shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Truck 110 Rear combination lamp 112 Incandescent lamp lamp 114 Lamp body 116 Inner panel 118 Lens 119 Electrical cord 120 Light source unit 122 Reflector 130 Heater device 140 Heating element 150 Car interior switch 160 Car interior switch 160

Claims (3)

A heating element for warming the lens portion of the lamp of the vehicle,
A vehicle interior switch that is provided in the interior of the vehicle and that turns on and off the energization of the heating element by the operation of an occupant ;
A temperature sensor provided outside the vehicle for detecting temperature;
A vehicle exterior switch that is provided outside the vehicle and turns off power to the heating element at a temperature equal to or higher than a predetermined set temperature of the temperature sensor;
The temperature sensor and the vehicle exterior switch are housed in a box,
The heater for a vehicle lamp , wherein the heating element, the vehicle interior switch, and the vehicle exterior switch are connected in series between power sources . The vehicle outside switch includes a voltage generating circuit which generates a voltage lower than the voltage from the voltage of the power supply, and switch means for turning on and off the power supply to the heating element by a low the voltage generated by the voltage generating circuit The heater device for a vehicular lamp according to claim 1 . Ri outer lens der the rear combination lamp in which the lens unit is provided inside the outer cover and said outer cover, said heating element according to claim 1 or claim, characterized in that attached to the inside of said outer cover Item 3. A heater for a vehicle lamp according to any one of Items 2 to 3.

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