JP2004168194A - Wiper blade and wiper device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wiper blade of high degree of freedom in designing the outer hull shape, having superior design with a sense of unity as a whole. <P>SOLUTION: This wiper blade 3 comprises: a blade rubber 9 for wiping the window glass; a lever assembly 11 holding the blade rubber 9 and supported and connected to the wiper arm 2; and a cover 17 made out of a foamed rubber material or a foamed resin material, and covering the lever assembly 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wiper blade and a wiper device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, due to the maturation of markets and consumer preferences, a vehicle is required to have not only its functionality but also high designability down to the details of each part such as a wiper.
[0003]
Generally, a wiper blade of a wiper device employs a so-called tournament system in which a wiping rubber is supported and connected to a tip of a wiper arm by a plurality of levers which are rotatably connected to each other and are hierarchically combined.
[0004]
The wiper blade adopting such a tournament method turns the wiping rubber on the curved window glass surface by turning each of these levers in accordance with the surface of the window glass of the vehicle, the curvature of which changes every moment depending on the wiping position. Let them follow. For this reason, while there is a feature that wiping unevenness is small, a dimension in a height direction of the wiper blade becomes large, and a movable portion such as a lever and a gap therebetween are exposed on the external appearance, so that there is a problem of lack of design. .
[0005]
Conventionally, as a solution to the above problem, a wiper blade (and a wiper arm) is covered with a blade cover and a retainer cover made of resin (for example, Patent Document 1).
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-6-270772
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when a cover made of resin is attached, each lever rotates and follows the glass surface depending on the wiping position so as to maintain the state of contact of the blade rubber with the surface of the windshield. The cover cannot follow the movement of each lever. Therefore, a large gap may be generated between the resin cover and the surface of the window glass, or the resin cover may interfere with the surface of the window glass. If the cover is divided and fixed for each lever of the lever assembly in order to avoid such a gap or interference, there is a problem that the design of the appearance is greatly impaired.
[0008]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a wiper blade and a wiper device which have a high degree of freedom in designing an outer shape, and have an excellent design with a sense of unity as a whole. Is to do.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, an invention according to claim 1 is a wiper blade mounted on a wiper arm fixed to a pivot shaft of a vehicle, the wiper blade being configured to be rotatable with respect to a blade rubber that wipes a window glass. A lever assembly which is composed of a plurality of levers connected in a hierarchical manner and holds the blade rubber and is supported and connected to the wiper arm; and an elastic cover member made of foamed rubber material or foamed resin material and covering the lever assembly. And that it is provided with.
[0010]
The gist of the invention described in claim 2 is that the elastic cover member is formed integrally with the lever assembly and adheres to the lever assembly.
[0011]
The gist of the invention according to claim 3 is that the elastic cover member has a fin portion having an inclined surface for generating an auxiliary pressing force in the direction of the window glass in response to a traveling wind of the vehicle. .
[0012]
Further, in the invention according to claim 4, the wiper arm and the lever assembly are rotatably connected via a connecting member, and the elastic cover member covers the lever assembly except at least near the connecting member. The point is to do.
[0013]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wiper apparatus including a wiper arm and the wiper blade according to any one of the first to fourth aspects.
[0014]
(Action)
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the exposure of each lever constituting the lever assembly is avoided, and the degree of freedom in designing the outer shape is improved. As a result, a design with a sense of unity can be realized as a whole, and the design is improved.
[0015]
Further, since the elastic cover member is made of a foamed rubber material or a foamed resin material, it is easily deformed, and each lever constituting the lever assembly can rotate, so that the followability of the blade rubber to the surface of the window glass is not hindered. As a result, high wiping performance is ensured.
[0016]
Furthermore, since ice, snow, and the like attached to the surface of the elastic cover member can be easily removed, it is also suitable as a winter blade used in cold regions.
In addition, even when the wiper blade comes into contact with the metal part of the vehicle body due to overrun of the wiper arm or the like, the elastic cover member serves as a cushioning material, thereby avoiding generation of contact noise and mutual damage.
[0017]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since each lever constituting the lever assembly is covered with the elastic cover member and is not exposed, it is not directly exposed to ultraviolet rays, mud, acid rain, salt water, etc. In order to protect from the influence of the above, the painting on the lever, which has been conventionally performed, can be eliminated.
[0018]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the wiper blade is pressed against the window glass by applying the component of the drag of the traveling wind as the auxiliary pressing force by the inclined surface. As a result, the lifting of the wiper blade during running of the vehicle is prevented, and high-speed stability is ensured.
[0019]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is easy to attach and detach the wiper blade to and from the wiper arm.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a wiper device having a high degree of freedom in designing the outer shape and having an excellent design with a sense of unity as a whole when mounted on a vehicle is realized.
[0020]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0021]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wiper device 1 includes a wiper arm 2 and a wiper blade 3 attached to a tip of the wiper arm 2.
The wiper arm 2 includes an arm head 5 fixed to a pivot shaft 4 and an arm portion 6 rotatably connected to a tip of the arm head 5, and the wiper blade 3 is attached to a tip of the arm portion 6. ing. The wiper blade 3 includes a blade rubber 9 for wiping the window glass 8 and a lever assembly 11 that holds the blade rubber 9 and is supported and connected to the wiper arm 2.
[0022]
The lever assembly 11 includes a primary lever 12 and two secondary levers 13 and 14. The central portion of the primary lever 12 is detachably connected to the tip of the wiper arm 2 via a connecting member 12a, and the central portion of each of the secondary levers 13 and 14 is connected to both ends. At both ends of each of the secondary levers 13 and 14, holding portions 13a and 14a each having a U-shaped cross section are provided, and the blade rubber 9 is held by the holding portions 13a and 14a. That is, in the present embodiment, the wiper blade 3 employs a so-called tournament system.
[0023]
The wiper arm 2 is urged toward the window glass 8 by the elastic force of a tension spring 15 disposed between the arm head 5 and the arm 6, and the wiper blade 3 is moved toward the arm 6 of the wiper arm 2. It is pressed and pressed against the window glass 8.
[0024]
The wiper blade 3 moves on the surface of the window glass 8 by rotating the wiper arm 2 in conjunction with the rotation of the pivot shaft 4. At this time, the primary lever 12 and each of the secondary levers 13 and 14 rotate so as to follow the curved surface of the window glass 8, and the blade rubber 9 bends corresponding to the surface of the window glass 8. The blade rubber 9 closely attached to the surface of the window glass 8 wipes the surface of the window glass 8.
[0025]
The wiper blade 3 includes a cover 17 as an elastic cover member that covers the lever assembly 11. The cover 17 is integrally formed with the lever assembly 11 so as to adhere to the lever assembly 11 without any gap. In this embodiment, the cover 17 is formed integrally with the lever assembly 11 using a mold.
[0026]
The cover 17 is made of a soft and elastically deformable foamed rubber, and the primary lever 12 and each of the secondary levers 13 and 14 can be rotated by elastically deforming the cover 17. Note that the cover 17 may be formed of a foamed resin.
[0027]
The cover 17 does not cover the vicinity of the connection member 12a, which is the connection point between the wiper arm 2 and the primary lever 12, that is, the vicinity of the central portion of the primary lever 12, so that the attachment and detachment of the wiper blade 3 to and from the wiper arm 2 are not hindered. It has become.
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 3, a fin portion 18 is formed on the upper surface of the cover 17 so as to extend from above the blade rubber 9 toward the wiper arm 2 (upper side in the figure). The fin portion 18 has an inclined surface 19 on the vehicle front side (the right side in FIG. 3, see FIG. 2) when the wiper blade 3 is wiped. The inclined surface 19 is formed so that the angle between the inclined surface 19 and the surface of the window glass is acute, and uses the component F1 of the drag F0 of the traveling wind acting on the wiper blade 3 as an auxiliary pressing force. That is, the wiper blade 3 is pressed against the window glass 8 by the component F1 of the drag F0 of the traveling wind to prevent the wiper blade 3 from rising when the vehicle travels.
[0029]
Next, the characteristic effects of the present embodiment will be described below.
(1) The wiper blade 3 includes a cover 17 that covers the lever assembly 11, and the cover 17 is formed of a soft and elastically deformable foam rubber (or foam resin).
[0030]
Since the entire lever assembly 11 is covered by the cover 17, the cover 17 itself can be formed freely, and the degree of freedom in designing the outer shape of the wiper blade 3 is improved. As a result, it is possible to avoid exposing each lever (the primary lever 12 and the secondary levers 13 and 14) and to realize a design with a sense of unity as a whole, so that high designability can be secured.
[0031]
Further, since the cover 17 is made of a flexible and elastically deformable foamed rubber material or foamed resin material, the cover 17 is easily deformed, and each lever constituting the lever assembly 11 can be rotated. Does not hinder the ability to follow. Therefore, high wiping performance can be ensured.
[0032]
Further, since the material of the cover 17 is flexible, even when the wiper blade 3 comes into contact with a metal portion of the vehicle body (the rear end of the bonnet or the like), the cover 17 serves as a cushioning material, so that no contact noise is generated. Also, mutual damage can be prevented. More specifically, for example, even when the wiper blade 3 comes into contact with the A-pillar 20 at the end of the windshield 8 due to the overrun of the wiper arm 2 due to the resistance of the traveling wind, the contact noise can be prevented. And mutual damage can be avoided (see FIG. 2).
[0033]
(2) The cover 17 is integrally formed so as to adhere to each lever of the lever assembly 11 without any gap.
Therefore, since each lever (the primary lever 12 and the secondary levers 13 and 14) constituting the lever assembly 11 is covered with the cover 17 and is not exposed, it is not directly exposed to ultraviolet rays, mud, acid rain, salt water, and the like. The painting on each lever, which has been conventionally performed in order to protect from the influence of the above, can be eliminated.
[0034]
(3) A fin portion 18 having an inclined surface 19 is formed on the upper surface of the cover 17 on the front side of the vehicle when the wiper blade 3 is wiped, and the inclined surface 19 forms an acute angle with the surface of the window glass. Formed.
[0035]
Accordingly, the wiper blade 3 is pressed against the window glass 8 by using the component force F1 of the drag F0 of the traveling wind acting on the wiper blade 3 as an auxiliary pressing force, and it is possible to prevent the wiper blade 3 from rising when the vehicle travels. And high speed stability can be secured.
[0036]
(4) The cover 17 does not cover the vicinity of the connection member 12a, which is the connection point between the wiper arm 2 and the primary lever 12, that is, the vicinity of the center of the primary lever 12. Thus, the attachment and detachment of the wiper blade 3 to and from the wiper arm 2 can be easily performed.
[0037]
The above embodiment may be modified as follows.
In the embodiment, the fin portion 18 is provided on the upper surface of the cover 17. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an inclined surface 29 may be formed on the front side of the vehicle when the wiper blade 3 of the cover 27 is wiped as shown in FIG.
[0038]
With such a configuration, the height dimension of the entire wiper blade 3 is reduced, so that the arrangement posture of the wiper arm 2 can be reduced.
In the present embodiment, the cover 17 is provided on the wiper blade 3, but the wiper arm 2 may be similarly covered with a cover as the second elastic cover member.
[0039]
With such a configuration, a high-integrated design including the wiper arm 2 can be realized, and the design is further improved. Further, the painting on the wiper arm 2 can be eliminated.
[0040]
If the wiper arm 2 is also covered with a cover, a fin may be formed on the wiper arm side.
In the present embodiment, the material of the cover 17 is made of foamed rubber or foamed resin, but other materials may be used.
[0041]
In the present embodiment, the cover 17 is formed integrally with the lever assembly 11 using a mold. However, the cover 17 may be formed separately and attached to the wiper blade 3 or the wiper arm 2.
[0042]
The cover 17 may be colored or colored. With such a configuration, higher designability can be realized.
In the present embodiment, the tournament system using the lever assembly 11 is adopted for the wiper blade 3, but another system may be used.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, according to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, there is provided a wiper blade and a wiper device that have a high degree of freedom in designing the outer shape and have an overall good design. can do.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A is a partial cross-sectional top view of a wiper device.
(B) Partial side sectional view of a wiper device.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the vicinity of a window glass of the vehicle.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of the wiper blade.
FIG. 4 is an AA cross-sectional view of another example of a wiper blade.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wiper apparatus, 2 ... Wiper arm, 3 ... Wiper blade, 4 ... Pivot shaft, 8 ... Window glass, 9 ... Blade rubber, 11 ... Lever assembly, 12 ... Primary lever, 12a ... Connection member, 13, 14 ... Secondary lever , 17, 27 ... cover, 18 ... fin part, 19, 29 ... inclined surface.

Claims (5)

A wiper blade mounted on a wiper arm fixed to a pivot shaft of a vehicle,
Blade rubber to wipe the wind glass,
A lever assembly that is composed of a plurality of levers that are rotatably connected to each other and that are hierarchically combined, holds the blade rubber, and is supported and connected to the wiper arm;
An elastic cover member made of a foamed rubber material or a foamed resin material and covering the lever assembly. The wiper blade according to claim 1,
A wiper blade, wherein the elastic cover member is formed integrally with the lever assembly, and is attached to the lever assembly. In the wiper blade according to claim 1 or 2,
The wiper blade, wherein the elastic cover member includes a fin portion having an inclined surface for generating an auxiliary pressing force in a direction of the window glass in response to a traveling wind of the vehicle. The wiper blade according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The wiper arm and the lever assembly are rotatably connected via a connecting member,
The wiper blade according to claim 2, wherein the elastic cover member covers the lever assembly except at least near the connection member. A wiper device comprising: a wiper arm; and the wiper blade according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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