Rain sensor support structure

Abstract

To provide a support structure for a rain sensor which does not need to manage or examine adhesion quality.SOLUTION: A fitting bracket 4 is fastened with a roof header panel 32. The fitting bracket 4 is provided with an extension part 42 extended to a position opposite to a windshield 2. A rain sensor 1 is engaged with the extension part 42 so that it can move back and forth relative to the windshield 2, a coil spring 5 is mediated between the extension part 42 and the rain sensor 1, and a light-projecting / receiving plane 15 of the rain sensor 1 is pressurized toward an inner surface of the windshield 2 via a silicon sheet 22 by an energizing force from a coil spring 5. There is no need to use adhesive as means for supporting the rain sensor, so that there is no need to manage or examine the adhesion quality.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a support structure for a rain sensor.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, rain sensors have been known (Patent Document 1). A conventional rain sensor is attached to the inner surface of a vehicle windshield glass. The rain sensor includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element. The light emitting element irradiates light onto the windshield glass. The light receiving element receives the light reflected by the windshield glass. The rain sensor detects raindrops on the outer surface of the windshield glass based on the amount of light received by the light receiving element. When the rain sensor detects raindrops, it transmits a raindrop detection signal to the wiper device.

[0003] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a support structure of a conventional rain sensor a. In FIG. 3, the arrow FR indicates the vehicle body front direction, the arrow RR indicates the vehicle body rear direction, and the arrow UP indicates the upward direction.

[0004] As shown in FIG. 3, the conventional rain sensor a is attached to the inner surface of the windshield glass c by a mounting bracket b. The mounting bracket b includes a cylindrical portion d and an adhesive portion e. The cylindrical portion d surrounds the outer periphery of the rain sensor a and holds the rain sensor a. The adhesive portion e is adhered to the inner surface of the windshield glass c. A spring member g is locked to the mounting bracket b. This spring member g applies a biasing force in the peeling direction to the mounting bracket b. The rain sensor a receives the reaction force of the spring member g. Thereby, the light projecting / receiving surface f of the rain sensor a is pressed against the inner surface of the windshield glass c via the silicon sheet h. Thereby, it prevents air bubbles from entering between the light projecting / receiving surface f of the rain sensor a and the silicon sheet h, and between the silicon sheet h and the inner surface of the windshield glass c.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-125594 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in the conventional support structure for the rain sensor a, it was necessary to control and inspect the adhesive quality of the adhesive part e of the mounting bracket b to prevent the rain sensor a from falling off, which made the installation of the rain sensor a complicated.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a support structure for a rain sensor that does not require control or inspection of the adhesive quality. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The solution of the present invention for achieving the above object is based on a support structure for a rain sensor that is disposed in contact with or facing the interior surface of a vehicle windshield. This rain sensor support structure includes a mounting bracket fastened to a ceiling member disposed near the windshield, and an extension portion that extends from the position where the mounting bracket is fastened to the ceiling member to a position facing the windshield. A rain sensor is secured to the extension portion of the mounting bracket so that it can move toward and away from the windshield. A coil spring is interposed between the extension portion and the rain sensor, and the biasing force of the coil spring presses the light emitting and receiving surface of the rain sensor toward the interior surface of the windshield. and, on the extending portion of the mounting bracket, there are provided an inclined portion that inclines in a direction away from the windshield glass from the position fastened to the ceiling member toward the installation position of the rain sensor, and a sensor support portion that extends in a direction along the extending direction of the windshield glass from the tip of the inclined portion It is characterized by:

[0009] This feature eliminates the need to use adhesive as a means of supporting the rain sensor, thus eliminating the need to control and inspect adhesive quality. Also, by appropriately setting the inclination angle and length of the inclined portion, the distance between the windshield glass and the sensor support portion can be appropriately set. That is, an appropriate distance for disposing the rain sensor and the coil spring between the windshield glass and the sensor support portion can be set.

[0010] In addition, temporary support claws protrude from the surface of the rain sensor opposite the light-emitting and receiving surface, and the extended portion of the mounting bracket has locking holes into which the temporary support claws of the rain sensor are locked.

[0011] As a result, when installing the rain sensor, the temporary support claws of the rain sensor are locked into the locking holes provided in the extension of the mounting bracket. This allows the mounting bracket to be fastened to the ceiling member while preventing the rain sensor from falling off the mounting bracket. This improves the workability of installing the rain sensor. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] The present invention eliminates the need to use adhesive as a means of supporting the rain sensor, thereby eliminating the need to control and inspect adhesive quality. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

[0016] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a support structure for a rain sensor that is applied to a front windshield glass of an autonomous driving vehicle.

[0017] -Rain sensor support structure- Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the support structure of the rain sensor 1. In Fig. 1, an arrow FR indicates the front direction of the vehicle body, an arrow RR indicates the rear direction of the vehicle body, and an arrow UP indicates the upward direction.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the upper end portion of the front windshield glass (hereinafter simply referred to as the front glass) 2 is locked to the ceiling member 3.

[0019] Specifically, the ceiling member 3 includes a roof panel 31 and a roof header panel 32. A flange portion 31a is provided at the front end portion of the roof panel 31. The roof header panel 32 is disposed below the roof panel 31. A flange portion 32a is also provided at the front end portion of the roof header panel 32. These flange portions 31a and 32a are overlapped and joined together. Thus, a closed cross-sectional structure is formed by the roof panel 31 and the roof header panel 32.

[0020] The front glass 2 is inclined downward at a predetermined angle as it goes forward in the vehicle body direction. The upper end portion of the front glass 2 is engaged with each of the flange portions 31a and 32a by clips 21. Although not shown, a sealing material is interposed between the upper end portion of the front glass 2 and each of the flange portions 31a and 32a. This prevents rainwater from entering between the upper end portion of the front glass 2 and each of the flange portions 31a and 32a.

[0021] An attachment bracket 4 is fastened to the roof header panel 32. The attachment bracket 4 is formed by press-working a flat metal plate material. The attachment bracket 4 is made of a plate material having a quadrangular shape in plan view. The attachment bracket 4 has a fastening plate portion 41 and an extending portion 42.

[0022] The fastening plate portion 41 is in a flat plate shape and is overlapped on the lower surface of the roof header panel 32 and fastened to the roof header panel 32 by bolts B, B. Specifically, weld nuts N, N are joined to the upper surface of the roof header panel 32. The fastening plate portion 41 is overlapped on the lower surface of the roof header panel 32, and the bolt B is inserted from below into the bolt insertion holes formed across the fastening plate portion 41 and the roof header panel 32. The bolt B is screwed into the weld nut N. The fastening locations by the bolt B are a total of four locations, two locations in the vehicle body front-rear direction and two locations in the vehicle width direction. The fastening locations are not limited to this.

[0023] The extending portion 42 has an inclined portion 42a and a sensor support portion 42b.

[0024] The inclined portion 42a is continuous with the front end of the fastening plate portion 41. The inclined portion 42a is inclined in a direction away from the windshield 2 as it goes forward in the vehicle body. That is, the inclination angle of this inclined portion 42a is larger than the inclination angle of the fastening plate portion 41. The inclination angle of this inclined portion 42a and the length dimension in the direction along the vehicle body front-rear direction of the inclined portion 42a are designed in advance as dimensions that define the distance dimension (dimension T in FIG. 1) between the sensor support portion 42b and the windshield 2 within a predetermined range.

[0025] The sensor support portion 42b is continuous with the front end of the inclined portion 42a. The sensor support portion 42b is inclined downward with a predetermined angle as it goes forward in the vehicle body along the extending direction of the windshield 2. A locking hole 42c is provided near the front end in the sensor support portion 42b. This locking hole 42c is a hole for locking the rain sensor 1. More specifically, this locking hole 42c is a hole for locking the temporary support claws 14, 14 provided on the rain sensor 1, which will be described later.

[0026] The rain sensor 1 is formed by housing a light emitting element and a light receiving element (not shown) inside a sensor casing 11. The sensor casing 11 includes a casing main body 12 and a casing base plate 13.

[0027] The casing main body 12 is formed of a substantially cylindrical housing. The casing base plate 13 is formed in a disk shape continuous with the lower end of the casing main body 12.

[0028] A pair of temporary support claws 14, 14 project from the lower surface of the casing base plate 13. In the one shown in FIG. 1, the temporary support claws 14, 14 project on both sides of the center line O of the casing base plate 13. The number of the temporary support claws 14 is not limited to this. For example, three or more temporary support claws 14 may be arranged around the center line O of the casing base plate 13.

[0029] Each temporary support claw 14 includes an extending portion 14a. The extending portion 14a extends downward continuously with the lower surface of the casing base plate 13.

[0030] A locking projection 14b protruding outward is provided at the lower end of the extending portion 14a. Each of the temporary support claws 14, 14 is elastically deformable in the direction toward the center line O. When each of the temporary support claws 14, 14 is not elastically deformed, the dimension between the outer ends of the locking projections 14b, 14b of each of the temporary support claws 14, 14 is larger than the inner diameter dimension of the locking hole 42c. Therefore, in a state where each of the temporary support claws 14, 14 is inserted into the locking hole 42c, the locking projections 14b, 14b of each of the temporary support claws 14, 14 are locked to the inner peripheral edge of the locking hole 42c.

[0031] The height dimension of the sensor casing 11 (dimension t in FIG. 1) is shorter than the distance dimension T between the sensor support portion 42b and the front glass 2 by a predetermined dimension. Therefore, in a state where the temporary support claws 14, 14 are inserted into the locking holes 42c, the rain sensor 1 can move forward and backward with respect to the front glass 2.

[0032] Around the outer circumferences of the extending portions 14a, 14a of the temporary support claws 14, 14, a coil spring 5 is disposed in a compressed state. The inner diameter of the coil spring 5 is larger than the inner diameter of the locking hole 42c. The upper end of the coil spring 5 abuts against the lower surface of the casing base plate 13. Also, the lower end of the coil spring 5 abuts against the upper surface of the sensor support portion 42b. Thereby, the light projecting / receiving surface 15 of the rain sensor 1 is pressed toward the inner surface (the surface on the vehicle interior side) of the front glass 2 by the biasing force from the coil spring 5.

[0033] Specifically, a silicon sheet 22 is interposed between the light projecting / receiving surface 15 of the rain sensor 1 and the inner surface of the front glass 2. For this reason, the light projecting / receiving surface 15 of the rain sensor 1 is pressed toward the inner surface of the front glass 2 via the silicon sheet 22 by the biasing force from the coil spring 5. Thereby, it is possible to prevent air bubbles from entering between the light projecting / receiving surface 15 of the rain sensor 1 and the silicon sheet 22, and between the silicon sheet 22 and the inner surface of the front glass 2.

[0034] Also, the biasing force from the coil spring 5 acts as a downward reaction force on the mounting bracket 4. The reaction force acting on the mounting bracket 4 is received by the roof header panel 32 to which the fastening plate portion 41 of the mounting bracket 4 is fastened. Since this roof header panel 32 forms a closed cross-sectional structure with the roof panel 31, it is a member with high rigidity. For this reason, the mounting bracket 4 can be stably supported.

[0035] Also, the coil spring 5 is adopted to have a relatively long spring stroke in consideration of variations in the distance dimension T between the sensor support portion 42b and the front glass 2, so as to absorb such variations.

[0036] -Control system of rain sensor- Here, the control system of the rain sensor 1 will be briefly described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the outline of the control system of the rain sensor 1. As shown in this FIG. 2, the rain sensor 1 includes a light emitting element 61, a light receiving element 62, and a processing unit 63. These light emitting element 61, light receiving element 62, and processing unit 63 are housed inside the sensor casing 11.

[0037] The light emitting element 61 irradiates light onto the front glass 2. The light emitting element 61 is composed of a light emitting diode.

[0038] The light receiving element 62 receives the light reflected by the front glass 2. The light receiving element 62 is composed of a photodiode.

[0039] The processing unit 63 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. (not shown), and is a control circuit that performs signal processing according to a program stored in the ROM, etc. The processing unit 63 performs processing for driving the light emitting element 61 and processing the detection result of the light receiving element 62, and operates the wiper device 7 of the vehicle based on the processing result. Specifically, when raindrops are detected on the outer surface of the front glass 2, the wiper device 7 is operated.

[0040] The wiper device 7 includes an ECU (Electrical Control Unit), a wiper motor control circuit, and a wiper motor drive unit, and is operable by power supply from the vehicle battery. When the wiper motor drive unit drives the wiper motor, the wiper blade reciprocates.

[0041] - Installation work of the rain sensor - Next, the work for obtaining the support structure of the aforementioned rain sensor 1 will be described. As the installation work of this rain sensor 1, after the work of assembling the rain sensor 1 to the mounting bracket 4, the work of fastening the mounting bracket 4 to the roof header panel 32 is performed.

[0042] First, attach the coil spring 5 to the outside of the temporary support claws 14, 14 of the rain sensor 1. At this time, the extending portions 14a, 14a of the respective temporary support claws 14, 14 are elastically deformed toward the center line O to attach the coil spring 5.

[0043] In this state, insert the respective temporary support claws 14, 14 into the locking holes 42c of the mounting bracket 4. As a result, the locking projections 14b, 14b of the respective temporary support claws 14, 14 are locked to the inner peripheral edge of the locking holes 42c, and it is possible to prevent the rain sensor 1 from falling off the mounting bracket 4.

[0044] Thereafter, perform the operation of fastening the mounting bracket 4 to the roof header panel 32. In this operation, with the light projecting / receiving surface 15 of the rain sensor 1 facing the inner surface of the windshield 2, the fastening plate portion 41 of the mounting bracket 4 is overlapped with the lower surface of the roof header panel 32. Then, a bolt B is inserted from below through the bolt insertion holes formed across the fastening plate portion 41 and the roof header panel 32, and the bolt B is screwed into the weld nut N.

[0045] As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, a coil spring 5 is interposed between the sensor support portion 42b of the mounting bracket 4 and the rain sensor 1, and the rain sensor 1 is supported in a state where the light projecting / receiving surface 15 of the rain sensor 1 is pressed toward the inner surface of the windshield 2 by the biasing force from the coil spring 5.

[0046] - Effects of the Embodiment - As described above, in this embodiment, the mounting bracket 4 fastened to the roof header panel 32 is provided with the extending portion 42 extending to a position facing the windshield 2. Then, a coil spring 5 is interposed between the extending portion 42 and the rain sensor 1, and the light projecting / receiving surface 15 of the rain sensor 1 is pressed toward the inner surface of the windshield 2 by the biasing force from the coil spring 5. For this reason, it is not necessary to adhere the rain sensor 1 to the inner surface of the windshield 2. As a result, there is no need to manage or inspect the adhesion quality.

[0047] In particular, in the case of an autonomous vehicle, there is a demand to enable the wiper device 7 to operate automatically. In the present embodiment, since the support state of the rain sensor 1 can be stably obtained, the reliability of the automatic operation of the wiper device 7 can be enhanced. Further, as described above, since there is no need to manage or inspect the adhesion quality, it is also possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the autonomous vehicle.

[0048] -Other Embodiments- Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and all modifications and applications included within the scope of the claims and the scope equivalent thereto are possible.

[0049] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied as the support structure of the rain sensor 1 applied to the front glass 2 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to apply it as the support structure of the rain sensor applied to the rear glass.

[0050] Further, in the above-described embodiment, the silicon sheet 22 is interposed between the light transmitting and receiving surface 15 of the rain sensor 1 and the inner surface of the front glass 2. The present invention is not limited to this, and the light transmitting and receiving surface 15 of the rain sensor 1 may be directly in contact with the inner surface of the front glass 2.

[0051] Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to an autonomous vehicle has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to apply it to a non-autonomous vehicle.

Industrial Applicability

[0052] The present invention is applicable to the support structure of a rain sensor.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0053] 1 Rain sensor 14 Temporary support claw 15 Light transmitting and receiving surface 2 Front glass (windshield glass) 3 Ceiling member 4 Mounting Brackets 42 Extension 42a Slope 42b Sensor support part 42c Locking hole 5 coil springs

Claims

1. A support structure for a rain sensor disposed in contact with or facing the inner surface of a vehicle windshield glass, comprising: A mounting bracket is fastened to a ceiling member disposed in the vicinity of the windshield glass, and the mounting bracket is provided with an extending portion extending from a position fastened to the ceiling member to a position facing the windshield glass. The rain sensor is locked to the extending portion of the mounting bracket so as to be movable forward and backward with respect to the windshield glass, and a coil spring is interposed between the extending portion and the rain sensor, and the light emitting and receiving surface of the rain sensor is pressed toward the inner surface of the windshield glass by the biasing force from the coil spring. The extending portion of the mounting bracket is provided with an inclined portion that inclines in a direction away from the windshield glass as it extends from the position fastened to the ceiling member toward the position where the rain sensor is disposed, and a sensor support portion that extends in a direction along the extending direction of the windshield glass from the tip of the inclined portion. A support structure for a rain sensor, characterized in that:

2. In the support structure for a rain sensor according to claim 1, Temporary support claws project from the surface of the rain sensor opposite to the light emitting and receiving surface. The extending portion of the mounting bracket is provided with locking holes into which the temporary support claws of the rain sensor are locked. A support structure for a rain sensor, characterized in that:

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