JP4407735B2 - Ultrasonic sensor device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic sensor device attached to a bumper of a vehicle.

  Conventionally, for example, an ultrasonic sensor device described in Patent Document 1 is known. In Patent Document 1, an ultrasonic sensor device includes an ultrasonic sensor, a holding member (bezel) that holds the ultrasonic sensor at a predetermined position with respect to a bumper in which a through hole is formed, and the holding member is fixed to the bumper. It is comprised with a fixing member (retainer).

  The bezel has a flange portion that contacts the opening edge of the through hole on the front surface side of the bumper, and a protruding portion that protrudes on the back surface side of the bumper, and the retainer extends in the same direction from the base portion. Two arm portions, and a spring portion projecting in the bumper direction from the base portion and the arm portion.

The ultrasonic sensor device mounting structure configured as described above is such that the bezel is temporarily fixed to the through hole of the bumper and the spring part of the retainer is in contact with the back surface of the bumper with the two arms. The retainer is moved so as to sandwich the pin, and the base portion of the retainer is brought into contact with the protruding portion of the bezel. In this state, the ultrasonic sensor is attached to the bezel. At this time, generally, the two arms of the retainer are inserted in parallel with the vehicle width direction of the bumper.
JP 2006-337028 A

  Here, if the width from the through hole to the bent part vertically above the through hole with respect to the vehicle width direction of the bumper is narrow due to the shape of the bumper or the mounting position of the ultrasonic sensor device, the retainer should be If an attempt is made to insert the retainer parallel to the direction, the retainer's arm portion may collide with the bent portion, and the retainer may not be inserted. Therefore, in such a case, it is conceivable to insert the retainer from the ground side.

  However, in the conventional ultrasonic sensor device mounting structure, when the retainer is inserted from the ground side, the retainer may drop due to the influence of vehicle vibration or the like, and as a result, the bezel may fall off.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic sensor device that can prevent a retainer from dropping even when the retainer is inserted from the ground side.

In order to achieve the above object, an ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 1 comprises:
A flange portion inserted from the front side of the bumper with respect to the bumper in which the through hole is formed, abutting against the opening edge of the through hole on the surface side of the bumper, and the back surface of the bumper through the through hole from the flange portion A cylindrical body part projecting to the side, and the body part has a bezel in which two slits extending in a direction perpendicular to the projecting direction of the body part are formed;
A base portion, two arm portions extending in the same direction from the base portion, and a leaf spring portion extending in the bumper direction from the arm portion, and from the ground side of the bumper, the two By inserting each of the two arm portions into the slit, the reaction force of the leaf spring portion is transmitted to the flange portion through the body portion, and the flange portion is drawn toward the bumper side, A retainer for fixing and holding the bezel;
A protrusion inserted into the body part sandwiched between the two arm parts of the retainer so as to penetrate between the two arm parts, and a holding for fixing on the outer peripheral surface of the body part An ultrasonic sensor having a mechanism,
The two arm portions have different widths between the two arm portions at a position where the protrusion portion penetrates between the two arm portions and a tip portion of the two arm portions. The width between the two arm portions at a position where the portion penetrates between the two arm portions is equal to or larger than the outer diameter of the projection portion, and the width between the tip portions of the two arm portions is The outer diameter of the protrusion is narrower.

  The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 1 employs such a configuration, and when a force directed toward the ground acts on the retainer, the tip of the retainer comes into contact with the protrusion, so that the retainer falls off. Can be prevented.

  As described in claim 2, a convex portion may be formed on the sliding surface of one of the two slits and the two arm portions, and a concave portion may be provided on the other. In this case, the two arms can be fixed at predetermined positions on the sliding surfaces of the two slits. Therefore, it is possible to fix the portion where the width between the two arm portions is equal to or larger than the outer diameter of the projection portion at a position where it overlaps the body portion, and the attachment work can be performed smoothly when the ultrasonic sensor is attached. it can.

  As described in claim 3, a plurality of leaf spring portions of the retainer are provided at different positions from the base portion, and the width of the leaf spring far from the base portion is larger than the width of the leaf spring closer to the base portion. You may form so that it may become. This is because the arm portion is extended from the base portion, so that the tip portion is easily deformed when the same spring force is applied to the arm portion. In other words, by increasing the width of the leaf spring that is far from the base, the spring force at the easily deformable tip can be increased, and the force applied from the leaf spring to the arm can be increased regardless of the distance from the base. It can be made almost uniform.

  In addition, in the ultrasonic sensor device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, a vibrator for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves may be disposed inside the protrusion as described in claim 4. In this case, the vibrator can be arranged at a position closer to the bumper surface, and ultrasonic waves can be transmitted efficiently.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1A to FIG. 1C are views showing an attachment state of the ultrasonic sensor device according to the present embodiment, FIG. 1A is a front view seen from the surface side of the bumper, and FIG. 1B is an ultrasonic sensor device. (C) is the perspective view seen from the front right side of the surface side of a bumper. FIG. 2 shows a bezel that constitutes the ultrasonic sensor device, and is a view as seen from the protruding front end side of the body portion of the bezel. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a retainer for fixing the bezel to the bumper. FIG. 4 is a side view of the ultrasonic sensor constituting the ultrasonic sensor device.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, the ultrasonic sensor device 300 includes a bezel 10 inserted into a through hole 101 formed in the bumper 100, a retainer 20 that fixes the bezel 10 to the bumper 100, And an ultrasonic sensor 30. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1B, the ultrasonic sensor 30 is attached to the bumper 100 from below with a predetermined angle.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C and 2, the bezel 10 is connected to the flange portion 11 that contacts the opening edge of the through hole 101 on the surface side of the bumper 100, and is connected to the flange portion 11. A cylindrical body portion 12 that protrudes to the back side of the bumper 100 through the through-hole 101 is formed. In the present embodiment, the bezel 10 is made of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) reinforced with glass fiber, and the bumper 100 is made of synthetic resin.

  The body portion 12 corresponds to the hole shape of the through hole 101 and is provided in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the hole diameter so as to be easily inserted, and the protruding portion of the ultrasonic sensor 30 is formed inside the cylindrical shape. 31 (described later) is accommodated. The body portion 12 includes an extended portion 14a extending from the projecting tip of the body portion 12 by a predetermined length in the ground direction, and a bent portion bent at a right angle from the extended portion 14a in the opposite direction to the bumper 100. It has the L-shaped tail part 14 which consists of 14b. The bent portion 14b is provided with a locking portion 14c having a substantially triangular cross section on the ground side surface of the bent portion 14b. The locking portion 14c is provided so that the substantially triangular apex is located on the distal end side of the bent portion 14b and the substantially triangular base is located on the extending portion 14a side.

  Further, the body portion 12 has two slits 13 for inserting two arm portions 22 (described later) of the retainer 20. The slits 13 are perpendicular to the protruding direction of the body portion 12 and are provided on both sides of the body portion 12. Further, the two slits 13 have such a width that two arm portions 22 of a retainer 20 described later can be inserted. In the present embodiment, in the two slits 13, projections for fixing the two arm portions 22 of the retainer 20 are respectively provided on the sliding surfaces on which the two arm portions 22 of the retainer 20 slide. A portion (not shown) is provided.

  In the present embodiment, a hole (not shown) corresponding to a claw 33 b (described later) of the ultrasonic sensor 30 is provided on the upper side of the outer peripheral surface of the body 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 1B and 3, the retainer 20 includes a base portion 21, two arm portions 22 extending from the base portion 21 in the same direction, and extending from the arm portion 22 toward the bumper 100. It is comprised by the leaf | plate spring part 23 made. Here, the arm portion 22 is configured such that the width between the arm portions 22 is different between the position where the protruding portion 31 of the ultrasonic sensor 30 penetrates between the arm portions 22 and the distal end portion of the arm portion 22. Specifically, the width a between the two arm portions 22 at the position where the projection portion 31 of the ultrasonic sensor penetrates between the two arm portions 22 is the outer diameter X of the projection portion 31 of the ultrasonic sensor. As described above (X ≦ a), the width b between the distal ends of the two arm portions 22 is configured to be narrower (X> b) than the outer diameter X of the protrusion 31 of the ultrasonic sensor. . In this embodiment, the retainer 20 is made of a polyoxymethylene resin (POM) that is more flexible than, for example, PBT.

  In the present embodiment, the leaf spring portions 23 are symmetrically located at positions where the distance from the base portion 21 is different, two for each of the two arm portions 22. It is provided as follows. The leaf spring 23 is configured to be elastically deformable, and is configured such that the width of the leaf spring 23a that is far from the base 21 is larger than the width of the leaf spring 23b that is close to the base 21. .

  By increasing the width of the leaf spring 23a that is far from the base portion 21, the spring force at the tip portion that is easily deformed when the same spring force is applied can be increased. As a result, each leaf spring portion 23a is increased. , B to the arm 22 can be made substantially uniform regardless of the distance from the base 21.

  In the present embodiment, the arm portion 22 extends vertically from the base portion 21 to a predetermined length. The two arm portions 22 are provided with concave portions (not shown) corresponding to the convex portions provided in the two slits 13 respectively. The two slits 13 may be provided with concave portions, and the two arm portions 22 may be provided with convex portions.

  In the present embodiment, the base portion 21 is provided with a bent portion 24 bent from the base portion 21 to the back surface side of the bumper 100. Thereby, rigidity can be improved so that the base 21 may not deform | transform excessively. Further, the bent portion 24 has an arc-shaped cutout portion 25 at substantially the center thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the ultrasonic sensor 30 includes a holding mechanism for fixing the protrusion 31 and the outer peripheral surface of the body portion 12 of the bezel 10. The ultrasonic sensor 30 includes an ultrasonic transducer (not shown) that transmits at least an ultrasonic wave and receives an ultrasonic wave reflected by an obstacle. The ultrasonic transducer includes a protruding portion. 31 is disposed inside. In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic sensor 30 is made of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) as a constituent material.

  The holding mechanism includes a pin portion 33 a positioned above the protruding portion 31 of the ultrasonic sensor 30 and a holding portion 34 positioned below the protruding portion 31. A substantially triangular claw portion 33b for fixing the ultrasonic sensor 30 to the bezel 10 is provided at the tip of the pin portion 33a. Further, a root portion 33c having a spring attached so as to be an opening / closing operation point is provided at the end of the pin portion 33a. For this reason, the pin portion 33a is configured to be rotatable about a substantially central portion thereof by pressing the base portion 33c. The holding portion 34 is provided with a cavity (not shown) sufficient for inserting the bent portion 14b and the locking portion 14c of the tail portion 14 of the bezel 10 at a predetermined position.

  The ultrasonic sensor 30 is attached to the bumper 100 at a predetermined angle from below, even if the bumper 100 is provided with a slight inclination toward the ground. This is because the front end surface of the protruding portion 31 is substantially perpendicular to the ground.

  Since the tail portion 14 is provided on the body portion 12 of the bezel 10, the bezel 10 inserted into the through hole 101 of the bumper 100 is in a stable state without easily falling off to the surface side of the bumper 100. 100 through-holes 101 are held. Furthermore, since the bent part 14b of the tail part 14 is inserted into the holding part 34 of the ultrasonic sensor 30, the ultrasonic sensor 30 can be held firmly.

  In the present embodiment, it is easy to remove the ultrasonic sensor 30 from the bezel 10 by having the arc-shaped cutout portion 25 at substantially the center of the bent portion 24 of the retainer 20. That is, when removing the ultrasonic sensor 30, the base portion 33 c of the pin portion 33 a of the ultrasonic sensor 30 is pushed to the ground side to open the claw portion 33 b side, and the locking portion 14 c of the tail portion 14 of the bezel 10. It is necessary to release the locked state with the holding portion 34. Therefore, a force is applied to the base portion 33c of the pin portion 33a so as to sandwich the ultrasonic sensor 30 from above and below, and the bending portion 14b of the bezel 10 is removed from the holding portion 34 by moving the ultrasonic sensor 30 downward. . When performing such a removal operation, the operator creates a space for putting a finger by the cutout portion 25, and the operation becomes easy.

  Next, a method of attaching the ultrasonic sensor device 300 to the bumper 100 will be described based on FIG. 5A is a view showing the bumper 100 in which the through hole 101 is formed, and FIG. 5B is a view showing a state in which the bezel 10 is inserted into the through hole 101 formed in the bumper 100. c) is a view showing a state in which the retainer 20 is attached to the bezel 10 inserted into the through hole 101 formed in the bumper 100, and (d) is inserted into the through hole 101 formed in the bumper 100; It is a figure which shows the state which attached the ultrasonic sensor 30 with respect to the bezel 10 fixed with the retainer 20. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the above-described bezel 10 is first attached to the bumper 100 in which the through hole 101 is formed. Specifically, the body 12 is inserted into the through hole 101 from the front surface side of the bumper 100 with the projecting tip of the body portion 12 as the head.

  Then, in a state where the flange portion 11 is pushed in until the flange portion 11 comes into contact with the periphery of the through hole on the surface side of the bumper 100, the body portion 12 passes through the through hole 101 and is disposed on the back side of the bumper 100.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the retainer 20 described above is attached to the bezel 10 inserted into the through hole 101. Specifically, the two arm portions 22 of the retainer 20 are inserted from the ground side of the bumper 100 so as to be inserted into the two slits 13 of the bezel 10. A convex portion (not shown) provided on the sliding surface of the slit 13 in a state where a portion between the two arm portions 22 is equal to or larger than the outer diameter of the protruding portion 31 overlaps the body portion 12. ) And recesses (not shown) provided in the two arm portions 22 are fitted, and the two arm portions 22 are held in a predetermined position.

  At this time, the leaf spring portion 23 extending from the arm portion 22 is in a state where the tip thereof is in contact with the back surface of the bumper 100. As a result, the bezel 10 is in a state in which the flange portion 11 is firmly fixed to the periphery of the through hole on the surface of the bumper 100 by the reaction force of the leaf spring portion 23 of the retainer 20.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5D, the above-described ultrasonic sensor 30 is attached in a state where the bezel 10 is fixed by the retainer 20. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the protruding tip of the protruding portion 31 of the ultrasonic sensor 30 is inserted into the cylindrical body portion 12 of the bezel 10 at the top, and provided in the holding portion 34 of the ultrasonic sensor 30. The bent portion 14b of the bezel 10 is inserted into the cavity (not shown). Further, the claw portion 33 b of the ultrasonic sensor 30 is engaged with a hole (not shown) provided on the outer peripheral surface of the body portion 12 of the bezel 10, and at the same time, the locking portion 14 c of the bezel 10 is engaged with the holding portion 34. By being locked to the back side, the ultrasonic sensor 30 is held at a predetermined position.

  Thus, according to the ultrasonic sensor device 300 in the present embodiment, even when the retainer 20 is attached from the ground side, when the force toward the ground acts on the retainer 20, the two arms of the retainer 20 Since the tip of 22 contacts the protrusion 31 of the ultrasonic sensor 30, the retainer 20 can be prevented from falling off, and the bezel 10 can be firmly fixed to the bumper 100.

It is a figure which shows the attachment state of the ultrasonic sensor apparatus in this embodiment, (a) is the front view seen from the surface side of a bumper, (b) is a fragmentary sectional view which shows schematic structure of an ultrasonic sensor apparatus, (c) ) Is a perspective view seen from the front right side of the front side of the bumper. It is a figure which shows the bezel which comprises an ultrasonic sensor apparatus, and was seen from the protrusion front end side of the trunk | drum part of a bezel. It is a top view of the retainer for fixing a bezel to a bumper. It is a side view of the ultrasonic sensor which comprises an ultrasonic sensor apparatus. 2A and 2B are diagrams for explaining a method of attaching the ultrasonic sensor device 300 to the bumper 100. FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating the bumper 100 in which a through hole 101 is formed, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which inserted the bezel 10 in the hole 101, (c) is a figure which shows the state which attached the retainer 20 with respect to the bezel 10 inserted in the through-hole 101 formed in the bumper 100, ( d) is a view showing a state in which the ultrasonic sensor 30 is attached to the bezel 10 inserted into the through hole 101 formed in the bumper 100 and fixed by the retainer 20.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Bezel 11 ... Flange part 12 ... Body part 13 ... Two slits 14 ... Tail part 14a ... Extension part 14b ... Bending part 14c ... Locking part 20 ... Retainer 21 ... Base 22 ... Two arm parts 23 ... Leaf spring 23a ... Leaf spring 23b far from the base 23 ... Leaf spring close to the base 24 ... Bent part 25 ... Notch part 30 ... Ultrasonic sensor 31 ... Projection part 33a ... Pin part 33b ... Claw part 33c ... Base part 34 ... Holding part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Bumper 101 ... Through-hole 300 ... Ultrasonic sensor apparatus

Claims (4)

A flange portion inserted from the front side of the bumper with respect to the bumper in which the through hole is formed, abutting against the opening edge of the through hole on the surface side of the bumper, and the back surface of the bumper through the through hole from the flange portion A cylindrical body part projecting to the side, and the body part has a bezel formed with two slits extending in a direction perpendicular to the projecting direction of the body part;
A base portion, two arm portions extending in the same direction from the base portion, and a leaf spring portion extending in the bumper direction from the arm portion, and from the ground side of the bumper, the two By inserting each of the two arm portions into the slit, the reaction force of the leaf spring portion is transmitted to the flange portion through the body portion, and the flange portion is drawn toward the bumper side, A retainer for fixing and holding the bezel;
A protrusion inserted into the body part sandwiched between the two arm parts of the retainer so as to penetrate between the two arm parts, and a holding for fixing on the outer peripheral surface of the body part An ultrasonic sensor device comprising: an ultrasonic sensor having a mechanism;
The two arm portions have different widths between the two arm portions at a position where the protrusion portion penetrates between the two arm portions and a tip portion of the two arm portions. The width between the two arm portions at a position where the portion penetrates between the two arm portions is equal to or larger than the outer diameter of the projection portion, and the width between the tip portions of the two arm portions is The outer diameter of the protrusion is narrower. As a result, when a force toward the ground acts on the retainer, the tip of the retainer comes into contact with the protrusion, and the retainer falls off. An ultrasonic sensor device characterized by preventing the ultrasonic sensor device.   By forming a convex part on the sliding surface of one of the two slits and the two arm parts and providing a concave part on the other, the two slits fix the two arm parts. The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 1.   The retainer is provided with a plurality of the leaf spring portions at different distances from the base portion, and the width of the leaf springs far from the base portion is larger than the width of the leaf springs near the distance from the base portion. The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic sensor device is formed.   The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 1, wherein a vibrator for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves is disposed inside the protrusion.

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