JP2006315624A - Deposition substance removal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a deposition substance removal device capable of removing a deposition substance frozen on a surface part of on-vehicle equipment. <P>SOLUTION: A control circuit 6 heat-generated a heating element provided on a wiper B to drive the wiper when a drive switch and a heat-generation switch of an operation switch 1 are turned ON. Thereby, even when the frozen deposition substance such as ice and frost exists, for example, on a lens front surface part A of an on-vehicle camera, the deposition substance is dissolved to certainly remove it. Further, there is also advantage that it can be utilized not depending on usage environment of the vehicle (for example, cold district or the like). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a deposit removing device that removes deposits.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an apparatus for removing water droplets and mud adhering to a front surface portion of an in-vehicle camera is known. For example, the device of Patent Document 1 includes a compressed air generation unit that injects compressed air, and when a user of the vehicle drives the unit, the compressed air is injected to the front portion of the in-vehicle camera and adheres to the front portion. Water drops and mud are removed.
JP 2001-171491 A

  However, the conventional apparatus is intended to remove water droplets and mud adhering at room temperature, and does not consider the removal of frozen deposits such as ice and frost. Such deposits were wiped off by the user himself.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and even if water, frost, or the like freezes on the surface portion of the in-vehicle device, the deposit removal device is capable of removing those deposits. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the deposit removing apparatus according to claim 1, heating means for heating and dissolving the deposit that has frozen on the surface portion of the in-vehicle device, and deposits dissolved by heating by the heating means And wiping means for wiping.

  Thus, in the deposit removing apparatus of the present invention, the deposit that has frozen on the surface portion of the in-vehicle device is heated and dissolved by the heating means, and the dissolved deposit is wiped by the wiping means. Thereby, even when there is a frozen deposit such as ice or frost on the surface portion of the in-vehicle device, the deposit can be reliably removed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the heating means includes a heat generating device that generates heat when energized, and it is preferable to use the heat generated by the device to heat and dissolve the deposits frozen on the surface of the in-vehicle device. . By using a heat-generating device that generates heat when energized, it is possible to reliably dissolve the icing deposit on the surface portion regardless of the shape of the surface portion of the in-vehicle device.

  Preferably, the heating means is incorporated in the wiping means. Thereby, the deposit | attachment which freezed on the surface part of vehicle equipment can be removed more reliably.

  Preferably, the wiping means is provided as a wiper on the surface portion of the in-vehicle device. By providing as a wiper on the surface portion of the in-vehicle device, the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified, which is preferable from the viewpoint of design and cost.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle device is a vehicle-mounted photographing device, and the deposit removing device is used for removing the deposits frozen on the lens front surface portion which is the surface portion of the in-vehicle photographing device. desirable. In-vehicle imaging equipment may have icing deposits such as ice and frost attached to the front surface of the lens depending on the environment of use of the vehicle in which the equipment is mounted (for example, in cold regions). By using this deposit removal device to remove deposits frozen on the front surface of the lens, which is the surface of an in-vehicle photographic device, the deposited deposits frozen on the front of the lens, regardless of the environment of use of the vehicle Can be reliably removed.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an attached matter removing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This deposit removal device removes deposits frozen on the front surface (surface portion) of the lens of the in-vehicle camera 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle camera 1 is, for example, a CCD camera, and shoots a situation around the vehicle to generate and transmit a video signal. A wiper B including a heating element (not shown) that generates heat when energized, such as a nichrome wire, is provided on the lens front surface portion A of the in-vehicle camera 1. By providing the wiper B on the lens front surface portion A of the in-vehicle camera 1, icing deposits on the lens front surface portion A of the camera can be removed with a simple configuration. Note that a CMOS camera or the like may be used for shooting the situation around the vehicle.

  The display 2 is a small liquid crystal display, and receives the video signal transmitted from the in-vehicle camera 1 and displays the situation around the vehicle as a video. For the above-described video display, a small CRT may be used.

  The operation switch 3 is a mechanical switch and includes a drive switch and a heat generation switch (not shown). The drive switch is a switch for instructing on / off of the drive of the wiper B, and the heat generation switch is a switch for instructing on / off of energization of the heat generating element provided in the wiper B. The various instructions described above may be configured by a touch switch including a display panel that displays operation keys and a touch panel that detects that the operation keys displayed on the display panel are pressed.

  The motor 4 is a small servo motor, and drives the wiper B by rotating in accordance with a drive signal.

  The power supply circuit 5 is connected to an in-vehicle power supply (not shown), and is a circuit that energizes a heating element provided in the wiper B.

  The control circuit 6 is composed of a known computer and controls the operation of the wiper B. Specifically, when the drive switch of the operation switch 1 is turned on, the control circuit 6 outputs a drive signal that reverses the direction of the current at a constant cycle to the motor 4 and drives the wiper B to the left and right at a constant cycle. . Further, when the heat generation switch of the operation switch 1 is turned on, the power supply circuit 5 is turned on to energize the heating element provided in the wiper B, and the wiper B generates heat.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart relating to a process in which the deposit removing apparatus according to the present embodiment controls the operation of the wiper B. The process of this flowchart is performed every predetermined time.

  In step 201, the control circuit 6 checks whether or not the drive switch of the operation switch 1 is turned on. If the drive switch is turned on, the process proceeds to step 202, a drive signal whose direction of current is reversed at a constant period is output to the motor 4 to start the wiper B, and the process proceeds to step 203. If the drive switch is off, the process proceeds to step 203.

  In step 203, it is confirmed whether or not the heat generation switch of the operation switch 1 is turned on. If the heat generation switch is turned on, the process proceeds to step 204, where the power supply circuit 5 is turned on to energize the heat generating body provided in the wiper B to cause the wiper B to generate heat, and the process is terminated. If the heat generation switch is off, the process is terminated. Thus, by driving the wiper B by generating heat, the frozen deposits can be reliably dissolved regardless of the shape of the lens front surface portion A of the in-vehicle camera 1. When the drive switch of the operation switch 1 is turned off, the control circuit 6 stops outputting the drive signal to the motor 4. Further, when the heat generation switch of the operation switch 1 is turned off, the control circuit 6 turns off the power supply circuit 5 and stops energization to the heat generator provided in the wiper B.

  As described above, in the deposit removing apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the drive switch and the heat generation switch of the operation switch 1 are turned on, the control circuit 6 generates heat from the heating element provided in the wiper B and drives the wiper. Let As a result, even if there is a frozen deposit such as ice or frost on the lens front surface portion A of the in-vehicle camera, the deposit can be dissolved and removed reliably. There is also an advantage that it can be used regardless of the environment in which the vehicle is used (for example, in a cold region).

  In the embodiment described above, the icing deposits on the lens front surface portion A of the in-vehicle camera 1 are removed. However, the present invention is not limited to a vehicle-mounted camera, and may be used to remove, for example, deposits frozen on a vehicle windshield.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the adhering matter frozen on the lens front surface portion A of the in-vehicle camera 1 is dissolved and wiped by the wiper B provided with a heating element. However, the present invention is not limited to the wiper. For example, hot air is sprayed to dissolve the icing deposit on the lens front surface portion A of the in-vehicle camera 1, and the dissolved adhesion portion may be wiped with compressed air. .

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the deposit | attachment removal apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart regarding the process which the deposit | attachment removal apparatus of this embodiment controls the operation | movement of a wiper.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle-mounted camera 2 ... Display 3 ... Operation switch 4 ... Motor 5 ... Power supply circuit 6 ... Control circuit A ... Front part of vehicle-mounted camera B ... Wiper

Claims (5)

A heating means for heating and dissolving the deposits frozen on the surface of the in-vehicle device;
A deposit removing apparatus comprising: a wiping unit that wipes off deposits dissolved by heating by the heating unit. The heating means includes a heat generating device that generates heat when energized, and uses the heat generated by the device to heat and dissolve the icing deposits on the surface portion of the in-vehicle device. Deposit removal device. The deposit removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit is incorporated in the wiping unit. The said wiping means is provided as a wiper in the surface part of the said vehicle equipment, The deposit | attachment removal apparatus in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The in-vehicle device is an in-vehicle photographing device,
The attachment according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the deposit removal device is used for removing deposits frozen on a lens front surface portion which is a surface portion of the in-vehicle photographing device. Kimono removal device.

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