JPH0511743Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a snow melting device for a rearview mirror of an automobile having a heater circuit that guides engine cooling water to a heater.

[Prior Art] As is well known, in cold regions, ice and snow adhere to rear view mirrors, deteriorating rear visibility. Therefore, in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 57-117254, the present applicant has proposed a water droplet removing device in which a wiper is provided on the rear view mirror and the wiper is driven by an operating lever in the driver's cab via a flexible wire. According to this known technique,
If the wiper is constantly driven during snowfall, it can be expected to be effective in preventing snow from accreting to some extent, but constantly driving the wiper is time-consuming and troublesome, and the structure is complicated.

To solve these problems, it is known that electric heaters are installed in the front panel at the lower edge of the front window glass or in the rear view mirror, but this consumes a lot of electricity to obtain the necessary amount of heat, and the battery becomes weak especially in winter. It does not heat up easily and does not heat up quickly.

Furthermore, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 60-99145 discloses a technology in which a heat pipe is used to connect a heat generating element such as an engine or a radiator to a side mirror to prevent condensation and freezing using heat from the heat generating element such as the radiator. There is. However, in this known technique, the heat pipe does not have the ability to follow the movement of the mirror, and the heat from the heat pipe heats the entire mirror body, resulting in poor thermal efficiency.

[Problem to be solved] Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to achieve high thermal efficiency and
To provide a snow melting device for a back mirror of an automobile that can follow the movement of the mirror.

[Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, in a snow melting device for a rearview mirror of an automobile having a heater circuit that guides engine cooling water to a heater, a bypass path is provided on the upstream side of the heater in the heater circuit; A heat receiving part of a heat pipe is provided, a heat insulating material is provided around the outer periphery of the heat pipe, and a heat radiating part of the heat pipe is formed in a meandering U-shape on the back surface of the rear mirror, and the heat radiating part and the heat receiving part side part are are connected by a flexible pipe made of stainless steel that forms part of a heat pipe, a solenoid valve for flowing cooling water is provided in the bypass path, and a temperature switch is provided for operating the solenoid valve when the atmospheric temperature is below a predetermined value. be.

[Explanation of effects] Therefore, in cold weather, the heater circuit is naturally used, but when the atmospheric temperature reaches a predetermined value (for example, 5°C), the temperature switch is turned on and the solenoid valve is activated. Flow engine cooling water through the bypass path. Then, the heat receiving part of the heat pipe receives heat and transfers the heat to the heat radiating part. As a result, the back mirror can be heated from the back to melt ice and snow. Also, since there is a flexible pipe when changing the angle of the rearview mirror, it is easy to follow.

Since the heat dissipation part of the heat pipe is arranged in a meandering U-shape on the back of the mirror, it is possible to heat the entire mirror with a small amount of heat, thus melting snow and ice that has adhered to it in a relatively short time. and save energy.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an automobile in which the present invention is implemented, in which a rotating shaft 27 having a wiper 26 for wiping a front window glass 28 is provided on the front panel 25 of the cab 24 of the automobile, and mirrors on both sides. A back mirror 29 is attached via a stay 30. In the figure, 13 is a heat pipe.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 to 5, the heat dissipation section 13d of the heat pipe 13 is formed in a meandering U-shape on the back surface of the rearview mirror 29, and the heat dissipation section 13d is made of stainless steel that forms part of the heat pipe 13. The heat receiving part 1 is connected to the heat receiving part side portion 13b of the heat pipe 13 which is clamped 16 to the mirror stay 30 through a flexible pipe 13c made of material.
3a is inserted and attached to the upstream connecting pipe 8 where the entire heater circuit is shown as 6a. Further upstream section 6a
bypass pipe 17 between pipe 7 and pipe 10
A solenoid valve 18 that normally connects the pipe 7 to the bypass pipe 17 is provided at the branching point between the bypass pipe 17 and the pipe 7, and the solenoid valve 18 is connected to the bypass pipe 17 when the atmospheric temperature is below a predetermined value (for example, 5°C). It is connected in series to a power source 21 via a temperature switch 19 that closes when the temperature switch 19 closes and a main switch 20. In this example,
When it is cold, the electromagnetic valve 18 is switched to connect the pipe 7 to the connecting pipe 8 side, and the heat pipe 13 automatically removes ice and snow from the rearview mirror 29 to ensure rear visibility. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the flexible pipe 13c can follow changes in the angle of the rearview mirror 29.

[Effects of the invention] As described above, the present invention provides the following excellent effects.

(i) Since a U-shaped meandering heat pipe heat dissipation section is provided on the back of the mirror, the entire back mirror can be heated in a short time.

(ii) Therefore, snow melting efficiency is high.

(iii) When the back mirror is rotated, the flexible pipe is connected, so it has good followability.

(iv) Since a temperature switch is provided, thermal energy is not wasted.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 7 show embodiments of the present invention,
Figure 1 is a front view, Figure 2 is a rear view of the back mirror, Figure 3 is a side sectional view of Figure 2, Figure 4 is a side sectional view of the area around the flexible pipe, and Figure 5 is the angle of the mirror on the flexible pipe. 6 is a side sectional view of the heat receiving section, and FIG. 7 is an electric circuit diagram. 6a... Upstream part of heater circuit, 8... Connection pipe, 13... Heat pipe, 13a... Heat receiving part of heat pipe, 13c... Flexible pipe,
13d... Heat dissipation part of heat pipe, 25... Front panel, 29... Back mirror.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In the snow melting device for the rear view mirror of an automobile, which has a heater circuit that guides engine coolant to the heater,
A bypass path is provided on the upstream side of the heater in the heater circuit, a heat receiving part of a heat pipe is provided in the bypass path, and a heat insulating material is provided around the outer periphery of the heat pipe,
The heat dissipation part of the heat pipe is formed in a meandering U-shape on the back surface of the rear mirror, and the heat dissipation part and the heat receiving part side part are connected by a stainless steel flexible pipe that forms part of the heat pipe, and the bypass 1. A snow melting device for a rearview mirror of an automobile, characterized in that a solenoid valve for flowing cooling water into a road is provided, and a temperature switch is provided for operating the solenoid valve when the atmospheric temperature is below a predetermined value.