Headlight Defogging Device

Abstract

The present invention provides a fog removal device for a vehicle lamp, which includes a control unit, a temperature and humidity probe, and an air passage arranged inside the lamp body. An exhaust pipe, a condenser, a pressure valve, a replaceable desiccant, and a ventilation hole are sequentially arranged on the air passage from outside to inside. The condenser is configured with a condensation end arranged inside the air passage and a heat dissipation end arranged outside the lamp body. The temperature and humidity probe is arranged outside the lamp body and is used to detect the temperature and humidity outside the lamp body; the exhaust pipe adopts a siphon structure; the control unit is respectively connected to the pressure valve and the temperature and humidity probe in a signal connection. The present invention integrates a semiconductor refrigeration sheet, which not only reduces the air humidity inside the lamp, but also extends the service life of the desiccant, essentially ensuring the moisture content of the gas entering the lamp, not only improving the fog removal effect, but also being more excellent in terms of use efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of vehicle lamps, and more particularly, to a vehicle lamp anti-fogging device. Background Art

[0002] At present, fogging of vehicle lamps in the automotive industry has always been a common problem. The problem of fogging accounts for a large proportion of after-sales parts problems. The commonly used methods at present are spraying anti-fog paint inside the lamp mask and adding desiccants to prevent the appearance of fog. However, both of these methods have obvious drawbacks.

[0003] The anti-fog paint is prone to sagging under high temperature and high humidity conditions. Because the principle of the anti-fog paint is not to prevent the appearance of fog, the principle of the anti-fog paint is to change the surface tension of water molecules, so that the fog forms a water film, and the appearance of fog cannot be detected by the naked eye. However, the fog actually exists. When the process of the anti-fog coating does not meet the requirements or the service time is too long, it will cause sagging. And the desiccant becomes ineffective after being saturated with water, and the failure speed will be accelerated in a high-humidity environment. Although there are replaceable desiccants on the market, in areas with abundant rain and hot and humid environments, the desiccant fails quickly and needs to be replaced frequently, which is very inconvenient. Therefore, a device that can both defog and extend the service life of the desiccant is needed. Even when the desiccant fails, it can reduce the risk of fogging of the lamp.

[0004] At present, there is also a type of condensation controller that adjusts the temperature and humidity of the measured environment to improve the fogging problem through the control of temperature and humidity and an automatic start device. However, in principle, the condensation controller is the same as temperature and humidity control. It uses a humidity sensor to measure and control temperature and humidity signals, and sets upper and lower limits for temperature and humidity respectively according to the site conditions, and automatically starts a fan or a heater to automatically adjust the actual temperature and humidity of the measured environment. However, this has an obvious drawback. Starting the fan or heater is effective in reducing the air humidity, but in fact, the moisture in the air has not decreased, only the relative humidity has decreased. There is still a risk of fogging during long-term parking. If the temperature suddenly drops, such as in summer when it rains, fogging will occur because the characteristic of air is that the higher the temperature, the more water molecules it can hold. However, when the environmental temperature drops, the water molecules in the air will condense out. And for long-term parking, temperature changes, etc., they are very common and inevitable in the actual use of automobiles and vehicle lamps. Therefore, how to effectively reduce the water content entering the lamp has become an urgent technical problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Aiming at the defects in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lamp anti-fogging device.

[0006] A fog-removing device for vehicle lamps according to the present invention includes a control unit, a temperature and humidity probe, and an air passage arranged inside the lamp body. An exhaust duct, a condenser, a pressure valve, a replaceable desiccant, and a vent hole are sequentially arranged on the air passage from outside to inside. Among them, the condenser is configured with a condensation end arranged inside the air passage and a heat dissipation end arranged outside the lamp body. The temperature and humidity probe is arranged outside the lamp body and is used to detect the temperature and humidity outside the lamp body;

[0007] The exhaust duct adopts a siphon structure;

[0008] The control unit is respectively connected to the pressure valve and the temperature and humidity probe in signal;

[0009] Preferably, the exhaust duct is of a U-shaped structure, and the bottom end of the U-shaped structure forms a condensate liquid seal.

[0010] Preferably, one end of the exhaust duct connected to the external atmosphere is configured with a filter plug.

[0011] Preferably, both the heat dissipation end and the condensation end adopt a fin structure.

[0012] Preferably, the condensation end is subjected to a hydrophobic surface treatment with a metal material.

[0013] Preferably, heat is transferred between the heat dissipation end and the condensation end through thermal grease.

[0014] Preferably, the control unit includes an ECU, and the ECU converts the analog signal collected by the temperature and humidity probe into a digital signal through the AD conversion module it has, and then controls the temperature of the condenser.

[0015] Preferably, the control unit can control the opening and closing of the pressure valve according to the pressure difference on both sides of the pressure valve.

[0016] Preferably, a detachable desiccant cover plate is arranged on the air passage, and the replaceable desiccant can be replaced through the desiccant cover plate.

[0017] A vehicle according to the present invention includes the fog-removing device for vehicle lamps.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] 1. The present invention is based on a replaceable desiccant rear cover, optimizes the structure of the rear cover, and integrates a semiconductor refrigeration sheet. This refrigeration sheet can condense and defog the humid and hot air from the engine compartment, not only reducing the air humidity inside the lamp but also extending the service life of the desiccant. Even when the desiccant fails, it can greatly reduce the risk of fogging in automotive lamps. Compared with the condensation controllers in the prior art, using a low-temperature condensation sheet to dry the air first can effectively reduce the moisture entering the lamp, rather than just reducing the relative humidity, essentially ensuring the moisture content of the gas entering the lamp, not only improving the effect but also being more excellent in terms of usage efficiency.

[0020] 2. The condensation and defogging effect of the condensation sheet in the present invention on moisture is superior to that of the anti-fog coating in the prior art and the absorption by only the desiccant, and is also superior to the equipment that automatically starts a fan or heater to automatically adjust the actual temperature and humidity of the measured environment. It is more efficient and reliable in the way of defogging and absorbing moisture. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] By reading the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent:

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural block diagram of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the working principle of the condenser;

[0024] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the exhaust pipe in an embodiment.

[0025] As shown in the figure:

[0026] Exhaust pipe 1

[0027] Condensing end fin 2

[0028] Heat dissipation end fin 3

[0029] Heat dissipation end 4

[0030] Condensing end 5

[0031] Replaceable desiccant 6

[0032] Vent hole 7

[0033] Condenser 8

[0034] Condenser assembly 9

[0035] Lamp body 10

[0036] Temperature and humidity probe 11

[0037] Control unit 12

[0038] Desiccant cover plate 13

[0039] Pressure valve 14

[0040] Air passage 15

[0041] Filter screen plug 16 Detailed implementation manners

[0042] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments. The following embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the present invention in any form. It should be noted that those of ordinary skill in the art can make several changes and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention. These all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

[0043] The present invention provides a fog removal device for vehicle lamps, as Figure 1 shown, which includes a control unit 12, a temperature and humidity probe 11, and an air passage 15 arranged inside the lamp body 10. The air passage 15 is a passage for the air inside the vehicle lamp body 10 to communicate with the external atmosphere. An exhaust pipe 1, a condenser 8, a pressure valve 14, a replaceable desiccant 6, and a vent hole 7 are arranged on the air passage 15 in sequence from outside to inside. Among them, the condenser 8 is used to condense the water in the air entering the air passage 15 into small droplets. The condenser 8 preferably adopts a semiconductor refrigeration sheet. The condenser 8 is configured with a condensation end 5 arranged inside the air passage 15 and a heat dissipation end 4 arranged outside the lamp body 10. The condensation end 5 preferably adopts a fin structure, that is, a condensation end fin 2. The structure of the condensation end fin 2 is treated with a hydrophobic surface of a metal material, so that the condensed small droplets cannot adhere to the condensation end fin 2, but flow along the wall surface of the condensation end fin 2 into the exhaust pipe 1.

[0044] Specifically, the exhaust pipe 1 adopts a siphon structure flow channel. In a possible embodiment, the exhaust pipe 1 is a U-shaped structure, as Figure 3 shown. The bottom end of the U-shaped structure forms a condensate liquid seal, which can effectively isolate the external dust and fine particles. One end of the exhaust pipe 1 connected to the external atmosphere is configured with a filter screen plug 16, and the filter screen plug 16 can prevent foreign objects from entering the inside. Combined with the siphon design in the breathable elbow pipe, a part of water is always retained in the U-shaped structure, which is also a better design in preventing foreign objects and dust from entering the vehicle lamp. It should be noted that in addition to the U-shaped structure design, the exhaust pipe 1 can also adopt other structure flow channels similar to the U-shaped structure that can achieve the siphon effect, all of which can achieve the effects of the present invention.

[0045] As Figure 1As shown, the heat dissipation end 4 preferably adopts a fin structure, named the heat dissipation end fin 3. The heat dissipation end 4 and the condensation end 5 transfer heat through thermal grease. The temperature and humidity probe 11 is arranged outside the lamp body 10 and is used to detect the temperature and humidity outside the lamp body 10. The control unit 12 is respectively connected to the pressure valve 14 and the temperature and humidity probe 11 in signal. The control unit 12 includes an ECU. The ECU converts the analog signal collected by the temperature and humidity probe 11 into a digital signal through the AD conversion module it has, and then controls the temperature of the condenser 8. As Figure 2 shown, when the temperature and humidity outside the lamp body 10 is greater than or equal to the temperature and humidity threshold, the ECU controls the condenser 8 to start working, cools the air in the air passage 15 through the condensation end 5, so that the moisture in the air becomes small droplets and flows into the exhaust pipe 1. When the air temperature and humidity outside the lamp body 10 is lower than the temperature and humidity threshold, the ECU controls the condenser 8 to stop working.

[0046] It should be noted that the ECU, that is, the Electronic Control Unit, is called the electronic control unit in Chinese, also known as the vehicle computer, in-vehicle computer, etc. It is the same as an ordinary computer and is composed of a microcontroller MCU, a memory ROM, a RAM, an input / output interface I / O, an analog-to-digital converter A / D, and large-scale integrated circuits such as shaping and driving.

[0047] In practical applications, the pressure sensor arranged inside the lamp body 10 obtains the pressure inside the lamp body 10 in real time and transmits the detected pressure information to the control unit 12 in real time. The control unit 12 compares the pressure information with the external atmospheric pressure and then controls the opening and closing of the pressure valve 14, that is, the control unit 12 can control the opening and closing of the pressure valve 14 according to the pressure difference between the two sides of the pressure valve 14. When the external pressure is greater than or less than the pressure inside the lamp body 10, the control unit 12 controls the pressure valve 14 to open. When the external pressure is equal to the pressure inside the lamp body 10, the control unit 12 controls the pressure valve 14 to close to prevent the external gas from communicating with the gas inside the lamp body 10.

[0048] As Figure 1 shown, a detachable desiccant cover 13 is provided on the air passage 15. The replaceable desiccant 6 can be replaced through the desiccant cover 13. For example, the desiccant cover 13 adopts a snap connection method on the wall of the air passage 15, or for another example, the desiccant cover 13 adopts a screw connection method on the wall of the air passage 15, and so on.

[0049] The present invention also provides an automobile, including a fog removal device for vehicle lamps, so that the vehicle lamps in the present invention have a better fog removal effect.

[0050] The working principle of the present invention is as follows:

[0051] The air in the engine compartment enters through the exhaust duct 1 and is condensed through the hydrophobic surface of the metal material of the condensation end fins 2. The function of the hydrophobic surface treatment of the metal material is that when condensation occurs on the fin surface, the hydrophobic property will quickly drain the condensed water into the exhaust duct 1 and will not adhere to the surface of the condensation end fins 2. As Figure 3 shown, the exhaust duct 1 adopts a siphon structure. When the condensed water reaches a certain amount, it will be automatically discharged due to the siphon effect. At the same time, a part of the water will be retained in the exhaust duct 1, which has the function of isolating external dust and fine particles. The exhaust duct 1 is equipped with a filter plug 16, and the filter plug 16 can prevent foreign objects from entering the interior. Combined with the part of the water retained due to the siphon design in the exhaust duct 1, it has a good effect in preventing foreign objects and dust from the outside from entering the headlight. After the air passes through the condensation end fins 2, most of the water in the air has been condensed. The dry air passes through the pressure valve 14 and then through the replaceable desiccant 6. The dry air can make the desiccant have a longer service life. Finally, it enters the interior of the lamp body 10 through the ventilation hole 7, ensuring that the air entering the lamp is dry and achieving the effect of preventing fog from generating. At the same time, the direction of air flow is also reversible. When the pressure inside the lamp body 10 is greater than the external environment, the air will reach the exhaust duct 1 from the ventilation hole 7 and be discharged outside the lamp. In this process, the pressure valve 14 plays two roles. One role is to balance the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the lamp. When the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the lamp is balanced, there will be no air exchange between the inside and outside of the lamp, and the high-humidity air outside cannot enter the interior of the lamp body 10. Especially when parking for a long time, ordinary vent caps and vent membranes will always exchange air with the outside air when parking, and the service life of the desiccant will be greatly reduced. However, the pressure valve 14 can be closed so that when parking for a long time, it can avoid exchanging air with the outside, and cooperate with the condensation end fins 2 to greatly extend the service life of the desiccant. Another role of the pressure valve 14 is to prevent the desiccant from absorbing the water in the exhaust duct 1 when parking for a long time.

[0052] The defogging process can be referred to Figure 2: When the vehicle is running, the temperature and humidity probe 11 starts to detect the temperature and humidity outside the exhaust pipe 1, converts the collected analog signal into a digital signal through the AD conversion module of the ECU. The ECU controls the condenser 8 to keep the temperature of the condensation end 5 and the condensation end fins 2 extending from the condensation end 5 below the dew point temperature to achieve the condensation effect. The condenser 8 is preferably a thermoelectric cooler. In principle, a thermoelectric cooler is a heat pump, with one end cooling and the other end heating. The heat dissipation end 4 needs to dissipate heat in time, otherwise the refrigeration effect of the condensation end 5 will be affected. Therefore, both the heat dissipation end 4 and the heat dissipation end fins 3 extending therefrom are designed outside the lamp body 10, similar to the external radiator of the lamp ECU. In terms of the assembly method, the ECU and the condenser 8 are connected through the internal wire harness assembly in the lamp body 10. The temperature and humidity probe 11 is connected to the condenser 8. The heat dissipation end 4, the heat dissipation end fins 3 are in contact with the condensation end 5 and the condensation end fins 2 through thermal conductive grease, and are integrally fixed on the rear cover of the vehicle lamp to form a condenser assembly 9 with other components, which can be directly installed on the lamp body 10, and the installation is convenient. After the desiccant in the desiccant cover 13 fails, the rear cover can be opened for replacement.

[0053] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation to the present application.

[0054] The specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above specific embodiments, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which does not affect the essence of the present invention. Without conflict, the embodiments of the present application and the features in the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

Claims

1. A headlight defogging device, characterized in that, It includes a control unit (12), a temperature and humidity probe (11), and an air passage (15) arranged inside the lamp body (10). An exhaust duct (1), a condenser (8), a pressure valve (14), a replaceable desiccant (6), and a vent hole (7) are arranged in sequence from outside to inside on the air passage (15). Among them, the condenser (8) is configured with a condensation end (5) arranged inside the air passage (15) and a heat dissipation end (4) arranged outside the lamp body (10). The temperature and humidity probe (11) is arranged outside the lamp body (10) and is used to detect the temperature and humidity outside the lamp body (10). The exhaust duct (1) adopts a siphon structure. The control unit (12) is respectively connected to the pressure valve (14) and the temperature and humidity probe (11) in signal. The exhaust duct (1) is of a U-shaped structure, and the bottom end of the U-shaped structure forms a condensate liquid seal. When the temperature and humidity outside the lamp body (10) are greater than or equal to the temperature and humidity threshold, the control unit (12) controls the condenser (8) to start working, cools the air in the air passage (15) through the condensation end (5) so that the moisture in the air becomes small droplets and flows into the exhaust duct (1). When the temperature and humidity of the air outside the lamp body (10) are lower than the temperature and humidity threshold, the control unit (12) controls the condenser (8) to stop working. The pressure inside the lamp body (10) is obtained in real time through a pressure sensor arranged inside the lamp body (10), and the detected pressure information is transmitted to the control unit (12) in real time. The control unit (12) compares the pressure information with the external atmospheric pressure and then controls the opening and closing of the pressure valve (14), that is, the control unit (12) can control the opening and closing of the pressure valve (14) according to the pressure difference on both sides of the pressure valve (14). When the external pressure is greater than or less than the pressure inside the lamp body (10), the control unit (12) controls the pressure valve (14) to open. When the external pressure is equal to the pressure inside the lamp body (10), the control unit (12) controls the pressure valve (14) to close. The air passage (15) is of a zigzag structure, and the pressure valve (14) is arranged at the top of the zigzag. External air enters the lamp body (10) after passing through the condensation end fins (2), the pressure valve (14), the replaceable desiccant (6), and the vent hole (7). When the pressure inside the lamp body (10) is greater than the external environment, the air will be discharged to the outside of the lamp body (10) through the vent hole (7), the replaceable desiccant (6), the pressure valve (14), the condensation end fins (2), and the condensate liquid seal.

2. The headlight defogging device according to claim 1, wherein One end of the exhaust duct (1) connected to the external atmosphere is configured with a filter plug (16).

3. The headlight defogging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, Both the heat dissipation end (4) and the condensation end (5) adopt fin structures.

4. The headlight defogging device according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that, The condensation end (5) adopts a hydrophobic surface treatment of metal materials.

5. The headlight defogging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heat dissipation end (4) and the condensation end (5) transfer heat through thermal conductive silicone grease.

6. The headlight defogging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit (12) includes an ECU. The ECU converts the analog signal collected by the temperature and humidity probe (11) into a digital signal through the AD conversion module it has and then controls the temperature of the condenser (8).

7. The headlight defogging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, A detachable desiccant cover plate (13) is provided on the air passage (15), and the replaceable desiccant (6) can be replaced through the desiccant cover plate (13).

8. A vehicle, characterized in that, It includes the headlight defogging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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