Denso Corporation

Keisuke Ueda

Taketo Harada

Takeo Tsuzuki

Yasuhiro Kawashima

Mitsuyasu Matsuura

A vehicle-mounted assembly is designed to have a vehicle-mounted device attached to a plate-like vehicle body member with a through hole. The vehicle-mounted device includes a cylindrical member fit in a through-hole and a fastener which secures the cylindrical member to the vehicle body member. The cylindrical member includes a cylindrical main body extending along a center axis line, protrusions protruding from the main body in a direction crossing the center axis line. The fastener is held between the protrusions and the vehicle body member. The through-hole is equipped with a vehicle body joint which engages a device joint made of recessed and raised portions of the cylindrical member. The vehicle body joint is arranged at a given location on an inner circumference of the through-hole around a center of the through-hole.

Vehicle-mounted assembly

A sensor attachment is used in securing an ultrasonic sensor to a plate-like vehicle body member. The ultrasonic sensor is equipped with a cylindrical ultrasonic microphone extending in an axial direction perpendicular to a center axis line. The sensor attachment includes a cylinder which is fit in a through-hole in the vehicle body member and surrounds the ultrasonic microphone in a vehicle-mounted state where the ultrasonic sensor is mounted in the vehicle body member. The cylinder includes a through-hole facing portion which faces an inner surface of the through- hole in proximity thereto in a radial direction perpendicular to the center axis line in the vehicle- mounted state. The through-hole facing portion is designed to have a contact surface-decreasing structure which minimizes an area of contact with the inner surface of the through-hole.

Ultrasonic sensor and sensor attachment

A vibration absorber includes a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion, being provided to be supported between an ultrasonic microphone and a sensor mounting device. The small diameter portion is formed such that an outer diameter thereof is smaller than that of the large diameter portion, and is provided adjacent to the large diameter portion in a circumferential direction. A pair of large diameter portions are disposed to face each other across a center axis line. A pair of small diameter portions are disposed to face each other across the center axis line. The vibration absorber is configured such that a direction where the pair of large diameter portions positioned across the center axis line are arranged and a direction where the pair of small diameter portions positioned across the center axis line are arranged, cross each other at a right angle.

Ultrasonic sensor and vibration absorber

A protective cover protects a connector coupling portion which is an electrical connection between an on-vehicle sensor to be mounted on a vehicle body component and a wiring. This protective cover includes a protection portion and a fixing portion. The protection portion covers the connector coupling portion at which a sensor-side connector which is provided on the on-vehicle sensor side and which extends in an extending direction is coupled to a wiring-side connector which is provided on the wiring side and which is to be coupled to the sensor-side connector while moving relatively with respect to the sensor-side connector in a coupling direction opposite to the extending direction. The fixing portion is integrally provided with the protection portion so as to be fixed on the on-vehicle sensor side.

Protective cover and on-vehicle device

A retainer member is equipped with a microphone facing portion, a drain path, and a stamped wall portion. The microphone facing portion is formed in a cylindrical shape matching an ultrasonic microphone is disposed outside the ultrasonic microphone in a radial direction extending radially from a longitudinal center line. The microphone facing portion extends from a body retaining portion toward a base side in an axial direction. The drain path extends through the microphone facing portion in the radial direction and is capable of discharging water from an inner space in the microphone facing portion. The stamped wall portion is formed in the microphone facing portion and faces the drain path through the longitudinal center line.

Retainer member

An ultrasonic sensor includes a sensor body, a cushion member, a retainer unit, and a drainage path. The sensor body includes an ultrasonic microphone and a microphone support unit which allows a protruding part of the ultrasonic microphone located at a distal end in an axial direction to protrude and supports the protruding part. The cushion member covers the protruding part. The retainer unit allows exposure of a portion of the cushion member that is located at the distal end in the axial direction, and a portion of the cushion member that is located at a proximal end in the axial direction is sandwiched between the retainer unit and an outer peripheral surface of the protruding part. The drainage path penetrates the retainer unit in a radial direction to allow water to be discharged out of the retainer unit from a gap between the retainer unit and the cushion member.

Ultrasonic sensor and retainer

An ultrasonic sensor is provided with a sensor body, a cushion member, a retainer part and a waterproof seal. The sensor body has an ultrasonic microphone and a microphone support part. The cushion member covers a protrusion part of the ultrasonic microphone. The retainer part sandwiches a sandwiched part on a proximal end side between the retainer part and an outer peripheral surface of the ultrasonic microphone, while exposing an exposed part on a tip end side in the axial direction of the cushion member. The waterproof seal blocks a gap between a vehicle body component and the exposed part of the cushion member in an on-board state.

Ultrasonic sensor

An ultrasonic wave sensor includes: a bezel configured by a tubular member having a hollow portion, and including a tubular portion and a flange, the flange having a larger radial dimension than the tubular portion, one surface of the flange on a side opposite to the tubular portion being a front surface, one surface of the flange on the tubular portion side being a back surface; a sensor body including an ultrasonic vibrator and integrated with the bezel while part of the sensor body is inserted into the hollow portion; and a vibration prevention member arranged on the back surface and configured by an elastic body to prevent vibration transmission. The vibration prevention member is an O-ring having an annular shape surrounding the bezel so as to surround a center axis of the bezel, and the back surface has a ring-shaped groove into which part of the O-ring is inserted.

Ultrasonic wave sensor

An ultrasonic sensor is secured to an attachment object and passes through the attachment object. The ultrasonic sensor includes an oscillator which has a transceiving surface which transmits or receives an ultrasonic wave, a cylindrical elastic member which surrounds an outer surface of the oscillator extending from the transceiving surface in a thickness-wise direction of the transceiving surface and has an inner surface contacting the outer surface of the oscillator, a body which has a housing with a bottom and in which the to oscillator and the elastic member are disposed except a protruding portion on a side of said transceiving surface, and an annular body which surrounds the protruding portion of the elastic member and is disposed in the body in contact with a front of the attachment object. A gap is provided between an outer surface of the protruding portion of the elastic member and an inner surface of the annular body which faces the outer surface of the protruding portion, thereby minimizing the ingress of water into the body.

A sonic wave apparatus is provided with an apparatus body and a cushioning member. The apparatus body is configured with a columnar front-end section having a level difference. The apparatus body includes a sonic wave unit disposed on the front-end section and a support member supporting the sonic wave unit. The apparatus body is inserted into and attachment hole that is formed on a part of the vehicle. The cushioning member includes a tubular portion covering the front-end section, a plate shaped flange that is extended from one end of the support section of the tubular portion, along an end surface of side being a front-end side of the support section, and a protrusion portion that is arranged on the flange and protrudes in an extending direction from the flange of the tubular portion. The cushioning member is formed as one body from elastomer.

Growing community of inventors

Kariya, Japan

Keisuke Ueda