Anti-fogging device

The anti-fogging device for automobile windows addresses the lack of repairability by incorporating a repair wiring system with interruption portions, enabling easy reconnection and restoration of the heating wire's functionality.

JP2025086104AActive Publication Date: 2025-06-06TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2023199923
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-11-27
Publication Date
2025-06-06
Estimated Expiration
2043-11-27

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Conventional anti-fogging devices for automobile windows lack repairability when the heating wire breaks, making it difficult and costly to restore functionality.

Method used

An anti-fogging device with an electric circuit that includes a heating wire and a repair wiring system, where the repair wiring has interruption portions that allow for easy bypass and reconnection to restore power to the heating wire.

Benefits of technology

This design enhances the repairability of the anti-fogging device, allowing for easy reconnection of the heating wire when it breaks, thus maintaining the device's functionality without the need for expensive replacements.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

To improve repairability of an anti-fogging device of window glass.SOLUTION: An anti-fogging device 30 includes an electric circuit 31 configured to heat window glass 10. The electric circuit 31 includes: a heating wire disposed on the window glass 10; and repair wiring disposed on the window glass 10. The heating wire 40 includes: a first heating part 41; a second heating part 42 extending from the first heating part 41; and a third heating part 43 extending from the second heating part 42. The repair wiring 50 includes: a first repair part 51 provided in a line on the window glass 10 which may detour the first heating part 41 and the second heating part 42 and having a cutoff portion 60; and a second repair part 52 provided on a line on the window glass 10 which may detour the second heating part 42 and the third heating part 43 and having a cutoff portion 60.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an anti-fogging device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional anti-fogging device for automobile windows, in which an anti-fogging electric heating wire consisting of a single wire is provided in the camera imaging area on the windshield when an on-board camera photographs the view outside the vehicle through the windshield. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2021 / 246326 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the above-mentioned conventional anti-fogging devices for automobile window glass do not take into consideration repairability in the event that the heating wire is broken.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to improve the repairability of an anti-fogging device for a window glass. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, an anti-fogging device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an electric circuit for heating a window glass. The electric circuit includes a heating wire arranged on the window glass and a repair wiring arranged on the window glass. The heating wire includes a first heating portion, a second heating portion extending from the first heating portion, and a third heating portion extending from the second heating portion. The repair wiring includes a first repair portion provided on a line on the window glass that can bypass the first heating portion and the second heating portion and has an interruption portion, and a second repair portion provided on a line on the window glass that can bypass the second heating portion and the third heating portion and has an interruption portion. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to these aspects of the present invention, when the heating wire is broken, it is possible to easily energize the heating wire by electrically connecting both ends of the interrupted portion of the pre-installed repair wiring, thereby improving the repairability of the window glass defrosting device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a windshield glass according to an embodiment of the present invention that is attached to the front of a vehicle. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram simply illustrating the positional relationship between a windshield glass and an in-vehicle camera. [Diagram 3] 2 is a schematic enlarged view of the vicinity of a camera imaging area of ​​a windshield glass according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic enlarged view of the vicinity of the camera imaging area of ​​the windshield glass according to one embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the heating wire is broken. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an electric circuit of an anti-fogging device according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 13 is a schematic enlarged view of the vicinity of a camera imaging area of ​​a windshield glass according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, like components are designated by like reference numerals.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a windshield glass 10 attached to the front of a vehicle. The windshield glass 10 is an example of window glass. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram simply showing the positional relationship between the windshield glass 10 and an in-vehicle camera 20.

[0011] 1, the windshield glass 10 includes a transparent transmitting area 11 and a shielding area 12 having a visible light transmittance lower than that of the transmitting area 11. In this embodiment, the shielding area 12 is formed in the upper center of the windshield glass 10.

[0012] 2, an on-board camera 20 disposed inside the vehicle captures an image of the outside of the vehicle from inside the vehicle through a windshield glass 10. A transparent camera imaging area 13 is formed within a shielding area 12 so that the on-board camera 20 can capture an image of the outside of the vehicle.

[0013] The windshield glass 10 may fog up due to the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the vehicle, for example, when the outside air temperature is low in winter. If the camera imaging area 13 fogs up, the on-board camera 20 cannot capture images of the outside of the vehicle. For this reason, in this embodiment, an anti-fogging device 30 is provided that heats the camera imaging area 13 of the windshield glass 10. Hereinafter, the anti-fogging device 30 according to this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged view of the vicinity of the camera imaging area 13 of the windshield glass 10. As shown in FIG.

[0015] The anti-fogging device 30 includes an electric circuit 31 that heats the camera imaging area 13 of the windshield glass 10. As shown in Fig. 3, an electric heating wire 40 that constitutes part of the electric circuit 31 of the anti-fogging device 30 is provided in the camera imaging area 13 of the windshield glass 10 and the surrounding shielded area 12. The electric heating wire 40 is made of a conductor (e.g., silver, copper, stainless steel, etc.) that generates heat when electricity is applied, and in this embodiment, it is printed on the surface of the windshield glass 10.

[0016] The heating wire 40 includes a first heating section 41, a second heating section 42, and a third heating section 43 that heat the camera image area 13. At least a portion of each of the first heating section 41, the second heating section 42, and the third heating section 43 is disposed in the camera image area 13 so as to heat the camera image area 13.

[0017] The first heating section 41, the second heating section 42, and the third heating section 43 are connected in series, and the second heating section 42 extends from the end A2 of the first heating section 41 located in the shielded area 12 on the right side of the figure, and the third heating section 43 extends from the end B2 of the second heating section 42 located in the shielded area 12 on the left side of the figure. The end A2 of the first heating section 41 is also the base end B1 of the second heating section 42. Similarly, the end B2 of the second heating section 42 is also the base end C1 of the third heating section 43. The first heating section 41, the second heating section 42, and the third heating section 43 may be formed of a single heating wire 40, or may be formed by connecting multiple (e.g., three) heating wires 40 in series.

[0018] A first resistance portion 44 extends from a base end portion A1 of the first heat generating portion 41 located in the shielded area 12 on the left side of the figure. Similarly, a second resistance portion 45 extends from a terminal end portion C2 of the third heat generating portion 43 located in the shielded area 12 on the right side of the figure. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first resistance portion 44, the first heat generating portion 41, the second heat generating portion 42, the third heat generating portion 43 and the second resistance portion 45 are connected in series.

[0019] The first resistor 44 is connected to one terminal (in this embodiment, the positive terminal) of the power supply of the electric circuit 31 via, for example, the start switch 33 of the defroster 30 controlled by the electronic control unit 32. The second resistor 45 is connected to the other terminal (in this embodiment, the negative terminal) of the power supply of the electric circuit 31. By shorting the start switch 33, electricity is passed through the heating wire 40, and the camera imaging area 13 of the windshield glass 10 is heated.

[0020] In this embodiment, the first resistor 44 and the second resistor 45 are heating wires, and are printed on the surface of the windshield glass 10 in the shielded area 12. However, the first resistor 44 and the second resistor 45 are not limited to heating wires, and may be resistors such as wire harnesses or chip resistors. When the first resistor 44 is a heating wire, the first resistor 44 and the first heat generating portion 41 may be configured by a single heating wire, or the first resistor 44 and the first heat generating portion 41 may be configured by connecting a plurality of (for example, two) heating wires in series. Similarly, when the second resistor 45 is a heating wire, the second resistor 45 and the third heat generating portion 43 may be configured by a single heating wire, or they may be configured by connecting two heating wires in series.

[0021] Here, in the present embodiment, when the heating wire 40 (i.e., the first heating section 41, the second heating section 42 and the third heating section 43) arranged in the camera image area 13 are connected in series, if a part of it is broken due to some factor (for example, glass breakage or scraping due to contact with a metal object or the like) it will no longer be possible to pass electricity through the heating wire 40, and the camera image area 13 will no longer be able to be heated.

[0022] Therefore, when the electric heating wire 40 breaks, it is necessary to replace the windshield glass 10 or repair the broken part. However, replacing the windshield glass 10 is expensive and the work itself is not easy. As a method for repairing the broken part, for example, a method of manually repainting the broken part with an ink material made of silver or the like is considered, but this method has a problem in that it is difficult to reproduce the size (heating wire width and heating wire thickness) of the electric heating wire 40 at the repaired part to the same size as before the break. The electric heating wire 40 arranged in the camera imaging area 13 is limited in size so as not to interfere with the shooting by the vehicle-mounted camera 20. Therefore, if the size of the electric heating wire 40 at the repaired part becomes larger than before the break and the heating wire width and heating wire thickness of the electric heating wire 40 at the repaired part become thicker and thicker, the electric heating wire 40 may be reflected in the image captured by the vehicle-mounted camera 20, and may interfere with the shooting by the vehicle-mounted camera 20. Furthermore, if the size of the heating wire 40 at the repaired portion becomes larger than before the breakage, there is a risk that the repaired portion will be noticeable from both the inside and outside of the vehicle.

[0023] Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a repair heating wire 50 having a cutoff portion 60 for repair is provided in advance within the shielded area 12.

[0024] The repair heating wire 50 includes a first repair part 51 provided on a line that can bypass the first heating part 41 and the second heating part 42, and a second repair part 52 provided on a line that can bypass the second heating part 42 and the third heating part 43.

[0025] The line capable of bypassing the first heat generating portion 41 and the second heat generating portion 42 is a line capable of connecting a portion of the electric circuit 31 upstream of the first heat generating portion 41 to the third heat generating portion 43. In this embodiment, a first repair portion 51 is provided on the line connecting the base end portion A1 of the first heat generating portion 41 and the base end portion C1 of the third heat generating portion 43, which is located within the shielded area 12 on the left side of the drawing.

[0026] The line capable of bypassing the second heat generating portion 42 and the third heat generating portion 43 is a line capable of connecting the first heat generating portion 41 and a portion of the electric circuit 31 downstream of the third heat generating portion 43. In this embodiment, a second repair portion 52 is provided on the line connecting the end portion A2 of the first heat generating portion 41 and the end portion C2 of the third heat generating portion 43, which is located within the shielded area 12 on the right side of the figure.

[0027] As in this embodiment, by providing in advance a repair heating wire 50 having a cut-off portion 60 for repair within the shielded area 12, even if the heating wire 40 (first heating portion 41 in the example shown in FIG. 4) arranged in the camera imaging area 13 breaks, as shown in FIG. 4, electricity can be passed through the heating wire 40 by electrically connecting both ends of the cut-off portion 60 of the repair heating wire 50 within the shielded area 12. Therefore, since the repair location is within the shielded area 12, the repair location does not adversely affect the imaging by the vehicle-mounted camera 20, and the repair location can be made inconspicuous from inside and outside the vehicle.

[0028] The method for electrically connecting both ends of the interruption portion 60 of the repair heating wire 50 is not particularly limited, and for example, the connection may be made by applying an ink material made of silver or the like to the interruption portion 60, or by a wire harness. Also, in order to improve repairability in the event of a break, a connector for electrically connecting the interruption portion 60 may be provided in advance on the interruption portion 60.

[0029] Here, in the example shown in Fig. 4, the interruption parts 60 of both the first repair part 51 and the second repair part 52 are electrically connected, but either one of the interruption parts 60 may be electrically connected. However, when the first resistance part 44, the first heat generating part 41, the second heat generating part 42, the third heat generating part 43, and the second resistance part 45 are connected in series as in the present embodiment, by setting these resistance values ​​to the same value, when the interruption parts 60 of both the first repair part 51 and the second repair part 52 are electrically connected as in the example shown in Fig. 4, as described below, the heat generation amounts of the first heat generating part 41, the second heat generating part 42, and the third heat generating part 43 before disconnection (state in Fig. 3) and the heat generation amounts of the second heat generating part 42 and the third heat generating part 43 after repair (state in Fig. 4) can be made the same value before disconnection and after repair without changing the applied voltage of the electric circuit 31.

[0030] In other words, if the voltage applied to the electric circuit 31 is V, the current flowing through the electric circuit 31 is I, the resistance values ​​of the first resistive portion 44, the first heating portion 41, the second heating portion 42, the third heating portion 43, and the second resistive portion 45 are R, and the heat values ​​of the first heating portion 41, the second heating portion 42, and the third heating portion 43 are W1, W2, and W3, respectively, then in the state of FIG. 3 before the disconnection, the electric circuit 31 becomes a circuit in which five resistors with a resistance value of R are connected in series, so I=V / 5R. Therefore, W1=W2=W3=I 2 R=V 2 On the other hand, in the state of FIG. 4 after repair, the electric circuit 31 is a circuit in which two resistors with a resistance value of R are connected in parallel, that is, a resistor with a combined resistance of R / 2 and two resistors with a resistance value of R are connected in series, so I=2V / 5R. Therefore, W2=W3=(I / 2) 2 ×R=V 2 In this case, the resistance value of the repair heating wire 50 needs to be sufficiently smaller than the resistance values ​​of the first resistive portion 44, the first heating portion 41, the second heating portion 42, the third heating portion 43, and the second resistive portion 45.

[0031] In the present embodiment, the first resistance portion 44, the first heat generating portion 41, the second heat generating portion 42, the third heat generating portion 43, and the second resistance portion 45 are connected in series in this order, but the connection method is not limited to this. For example, the first resistance portion 44, the second resistance portion 45, the first heat generating portion 41, the second heat generating portion 42, and the third heat generating portion 43 may be connected in series in this order, or the first heat generating portion 41, the second heat generating portion 42, the third heat generating portion 43, the first resistance portion 44, and the second resistance portion 45 may be connected in series in this order. In addition, the first resistance portion 44 and the second resistance portion 45 may be collectively formed as a resistor with a resistance value of 2R, or one or both of the first resistance portion 44 and the second resistance portion 45 may be divided into two or more resistors.

[0032] The defrosting device 30 according to the present embodiment described above includes an electric circuit 31 for heating the windshield glass 10 (window glass). The electric circuit 31 includes a heating wire 40 arranged on the windshield glass 10, and a repair heating wire 50 (repair wiring) arranged on the windshield glass 10. The heating wire 40 includes a first heating portion 41, a second heating portion 42 extending from the first heating portion 41, and a third heating portion 43 extending from the second heating portion 42. The repair heating wire 50 includes a first repair portion 51 provided on a line on the windshield glass 10 that can bypass the first heating portion 41 and the second heating portion 42 and has an interruption portion 60, and a second repair portion 52 provided on a line on the windshield glass 10 that can bypass the second heating portion 42 and the third heating portion 43 and has an interruption portion 60.

[0033] As a result, if the heating wire 40 is broken, electricity can be easily passed through the heating wire 40 by electrically connecting both ends of the previously provided cutoff portion 60. This improves the repairability of the anti-fogging device 30 of the windshield glass 10.

[0034] In addition, in this embodiment, the windshield glass 10 comprises a transparent area 11 in which an image of the outside of the windshield glass 10 is taken through the windshield glass 10 by an on-board camera 20 (camera), and a shielding area 12 having a lower visible light transmittance than the transparent area 11, and the heating wire 40 is arranged in the transparent area 11, and the repair heating wire 50 is arranged in the shielding area 12.

[0035] As a result, even if both ends of the disconnecting portion 60 are electrically connected, the disconnecting portion 60 that is to be repaired does not adversely affect the photographing by the vehicle-mounted camera 20, and the disconnecting portion 60 that is to be repaired can be made inconspicuous from inside and outside the vehicle.

[0036] The line on the windshield glass 10 that can bypass the first heat generating portion 41 and the second heat generating portion 42 is a line that can connect a portion of the electric circuit 31 that is upstream of the first heat generating portion 41 (e.g., the first resistance portion 44) to the third heat generating portion 43. The line on the windshield glass 10 that can bypass the second heat generating portion 42 and the third heat generating portion 43 is a line that can connect the first heat generating portion 41 to a portion of the electric circuit 31 that is downstream of the third heat generating portion 43 (e.g., the second resistance portion 45).

[0037] In this embodiment, the resistance values ​​of the electric circuit 31 in the upstream side of the first heat generating portion 41 (for example, the first resistance portion 44), the first heat generating portion 41, the second heat generating portion 42, the third heat generating portion 43, and the downstream side of the third heat generating portion 43 (for example, the second resistance portion 45) are the same or approximately the same. The resistance values ​​of the repair portions 51, 52 when the interruption portions 60 of the first repair portion 51 and the second repair portion 52 are electrically connected are smaller than the resistance values ​​of the upstream side of the first heat generating portion 41 (for example, the first resistance portion 44), the first heat generating portion 41, the second heat generating portion 42, the third heat generating portion 43, and the downstream side of the third heat generating portion 43 (for example, the second resistance portion 45).

[0038] As a result, if any of the first heating portion 41, the second heating portion 42, and the third heating portion 43 is broken, by electrically connecting the interruption portions 60 of both the first repair portion 51 and the second repair portion 52, the heat generation amount of each of the first heating portion 41, the second heating portion 42, and the third heating portion 43 before the breakage and the heat generation amount of each of the two unbroken heating portions among the first heating portion 41, the second heating portion 42, and the third heating portion 43 after the interruption portions 60 of both the first repair portion 51 and the second repair portion 52 are electrically connected (after repair) can be made the same value before and after the breakage, without changing the applied voltage of the electrical circuit 31.

[0039] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above-mentioned embodiments merely show some of the application examples of the present invention, and it is not intended that the technical scope of the present invention be limited to the specific configurations of the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0040] For example, the electric circuit 31 of the anti-fogging device 30 may be configured to include a first resistor 44 and a second resistor 45 in an electronic control unit 32 as shown in Fig. 5. Also, the heating wire 40 that heats the camera imaging area 13 may be configured to include four heat generating parts 61 to 64 or more heat generating parts connected in series as shown in Fig. 6.

[0041] Also, the shielded area 12 may be shielded by painting the glass itself with ceramic or the like, or by covering the surface of the window glass with a cover. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 10 Windshield glass (window glass) 30 Anti-fogging device 31 Electrical Circuits 40 Heating wire 50 Repair heating wire (repair wiring)

Claims

1. A defrosting device comprising an electric circuit for heating a window glass, The electrical circuit includes: A heating wire disposed on the window glass; A repair wiring disposed on the window glass; Equipped with The heating wire is A first heating portion; a second heat generating portion extending from the first heat generating portion; a third heat generating portion extending from the second heat generating portion; Equipped with The repair wiring is a first repair part provided on a line on the window glass capable of bypassing the first heat generating part and the second heat generating part, the first repair part having an interrupted part; a second repair part provided on a line on the window glass that can bypass the second heat generating part and the third heat generating part and has an interrupted part; Equipped with Anti-fog device.

2. the line on the window glass capable of bypassing the first heat generating portion and the second heat generating portion is a line capable of connecting a portion of the electric circuit upstream of the first heat generating portion and the third heat generating portion, The line on the window glass capable of bypassing the second heat generating portion and the third heat generating portion is a line capable of connecting the first heat generating portion and a portion of the electric circuit downstream of the third heat generating portion.

2. The anti-fogging device of claim 1.

3. the resistance values ​​of a portion of the electric circuit upstream of the first heat generating portion, the first heat generating portion, the second heat generating portion, the third heat generating portion, and a portion of the electric circuit downstream of the third heat generating portion are equal or approximately equal to each other; 3. The anti-fogging device according to claim 2.

4. a resistance value of the first repair part when the interrupting portion of the first repair part is electrically connected, and a resistance value of the second repair part when the interrupting portion of the second repair part is electrically connected are smaller than resistance values ​​of a portion upstream of the first heat generating part, the first heat generating part, the second heat generating part, the third heat generating part, and a portion downstream of the third heat generating part; 4. The anti-fogging device according to claim 3.

5. The window glass includes a transparent area through which an image of the outside of the window glass is captured by a camera through the window glass, and a shielding area having a visible light transmittance lower than that of the transparent area, The heating wire is disposed in the transparent area, The repair wiring is disposed in the shielded area. An anti-fogging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Citation Information

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