Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60S—SERVICING, CLEANING, REPAIRING, SUPPORTING, LIFTING, OR MANOEUVRING OF VEHICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60S1/00—Cleaning of vehicles
  • B60S1/02—Cleaning windscreens, windows or optical devices
  • B60S1/04—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers
  • B60S1/32—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers characterised by constructional features of wiper blade arms or blades
  • B60S1/34—Wiper arms; Mountings therefor
  • B60S1/3402—Wiper arms; Mountings therefor with means for obtaining particular wiping patterns
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60S—SERVICING, CLEANING, REPAIRING, SUPPORTING, LIFTING, OR MANOEUVRING OF VEHICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60S1/00—Cleaning of vehicles
  • B60S1/02—Cleaning windscreens, windows or optical devices
  • B60S1/04—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers
  • B60S1/32—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers characterised by constructional features of wiper blade arms or blades
  • B60S1/34—Wiper arms; Mountings therefor
  • B60S1/3486—Means to allow blade to follow curvature of the screen (i.e. rotation along longitudinal axis of the arm)
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16H—GEARING
  • F16H37/00—Combinations of mechanical gearings, not provided for in groups F16H1/00 - F16H35/00
  • F16H37/12—Gearings comprising primarily toothed or friction gearing, links or levers, and cams, or members of at least two of these types
  • F16H37/16—Gearings comprising primarily toothed or friction gearing, links or levers, and cams, or members of at least two of these types with a driving or driven member which both rotates or oscillates on its axis and reciprocates
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T74/00—Machine element or mechanism
  • Y10T74/18—Mechanical movements
  • Y10T74/18888—Reciprocating to or from oscillating
  • Y10T74/1892—Lever and slide

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a mechanism which is intended, on the one hand, to drive a secondary shaft rotating alternately around a primary shaft, and secondly, to control the axial pivoting on itself of said shaft secondary.
• the invention finds an interesting application, but not exclusive, in the field of wiper systems for windshields of motor vehicles.
• the wiper devices of the state of the art which have this feature, generally comprise a brush holder arm which is mounted to pivot axially, and which is controlled on the move by means of operating control means. the primary scanning motion of the system.
• Such control means may in particular be in the form of a wiper which is integral with the wiper arm and which is able to cooperate by sliding with a fixed cam whose profile extends in three dimensions. from space.
• control means implementing a planar cam much less voluminous, in association with a mechanism converting the linear motion conventionally generated by said cam into a rotary motion transmittable to the swing arm arm.
• control means also present too much space, even if it is manifested here above all in the direction of the length.
• the motion conversion mechanism must indeed be implanted along the axis of the brush arm.
• the technical problem to be solved by the object of the present invention is to provide a rotation control mechanism that would avoid the problems of the state of the art being notably significantly less expensive to manufacture. , while offering a small footprint.
• the rotation control mechanism comprises:
• a primary shaft capable of being driven in alternating axial rotation
• control member secured to the secondary shaft and able to slide-cooperate with the cam profile during the displacement of the drive support with respect to the fixed cam, and in that the sliding of the control member along the cam profile is suitable for Lemmander the axial pivoting of the secondary shaft.
• profile very generally refers to the active surface of the cam, whether it is for example its outer periphery or an inner contour delimiting a through groove.
• the invention as defined thus has the advantage of having a relatively simple structure compared to the rotation control mechanisms of the state of the art.
• the cam of the invention is not conventionally used to transform a rotational movement into a linear movement, knowing that this linear movement must then be compulsorily converted into a rotary motion to be transmitted to the swing arm arm.
• the cam of the invention is indeed used to generate a pivoting of the control member, which will then directly cause the axial rotation of the brush holder arm.
• the combination of a planar cam and a directly adjacent control member further allows to limit the dimensions of the rotational control mechanism.
• the latter can thus offer an optimal compactness to promote its integration, for example in a windshield wiper device for a motor vehicle.
• the present invention also relates to the features that will emerge during the following description, which should be considered in isolation or in all their possible technical combinations.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view from above and in transparency, which partly illustrates a wiper device incorporating a rotation control mechanism according to a first embodiment of FIG. realization of the invention.
• Figure 2 is a top view which shows the wiper device of Figure 1 in a position called fixed stop.
• Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, but with the wiper in a so-called opposite fixed stop position.
• Figure 4 is a perspective view from above showing the relative disposition of the main components of the rotational control mechanism.
• Figure 5 shows the rotation control mechanism in section along a plane passing through both the axis of the secondary shaft and the axis of the control member.
• Figure 6 is a perspective view from above which illustrates a variation of the first embodiment of the invention.
• Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6, but in perspective from below.
• Figure 8 is a bottom and side perspective view showing a rotational control mechanism according to a second embodiment of the invention.
• Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8, but more certainly in perspective from below.
• Figures 1 to 5 illustrate a wiper device which is intended to equip a panoramic windshield of a motor vehicle, and which incorporates a rotational control mechanism 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention.
• the rotational control mechanism 1 is first provided with a primary shaft 10 which is intended to be driven in alternating axial rotation.
• the primary shaft 10 is also coupled to motor means which are in this case classically constituted by an electric gear motor.
• the rotational control mechanism 1 is then provided with a drive support 20 which is integral with the primary shaft 10.
• the drive carrier 20 is concretely in the form of a housing 21 which is composed of a body 22 and a cover 23.
• the body 22 is in fact fitted on a tronoonic portion 11 of the primary shaft 10, where it is held by through a locking nut 12 which is screwed to the end 13 of said primary shaft 10.
• the rotating control mechanism 1 also carries a secondary shaft 30 which is mounted to rotate axially with respect to the drive support 20.
• this secondary shaft 30 is positioned so that substantially perpendicular to the primary axis 10. Its mobility in rotation is further guided by two rings 32, 33 which are integrated in the body 22 of the housing 21.
• the secondary shaft 30 is directly integral with a head rotary 31 which is responsible for supporting the wiper arm of the wiper device, mounted articulated.
• the rotational control mechanism 1 further comprises a fixed cam 40 having a specific profile 41 which is a function of the effective curvature of the windshield surface to be treated. Limmobilisation of the cam 40, relative to the rest of the control mechanism 1, is effected by means of a fixing lug 47 which is intended to be rigidly secured to the motor vehicle. Note that this attachment can operate directly by coming to anchor on the body, or indirectly by coming attached to the motor means for example.
• the rotational control mechanism 1 finally has a control member 50 which is integral with the secondary shaft 30, and which is able to cooperate by sliding with the profile 41 of the fixed cam 40, during the relative displacement between the drive support 20 and said fixed cam 40.
• the control member 50 is positioned substantially perpendicular to the axis of the secondary shaft 30. This means that in the end it extends substantially coplanar with the axis of the primary shaft 10, regardless of the pivot angle of the secondary shaft 30.
• the assembly is also arranged so that the sliding of the control member 50, along the profile 41 of the fixed cam 40, is able to control the axial pivoting of the secondary shaft 30.
• control member 50 can take any form and / or structure that can enable it to fulfill its simple function of control arm.
• control member 50 preferably comprises a lever 60, one end 61 is secured to the secondary shaft 30, a free mounted contact member 70 in axial rotation on the lever 60, as well as elastic return means 80 able to maintain the contact element 70 bearing against the profile 41 of the fixed cam 40.
• the contact element 70 is further mounted slidably movable along the lever 60.
• This feature is primarily intended to ensure contact between the contact element 70 and the cam profile 41, regardless of the angular value of the pivoting of the secondary shaft 30.
• this mobility may be essential for the proper functioning of the mechanism, or to be purely incidental with a simple objective of optimization. In the case of the embodiment object of Figures 1 to 5, its presence is mandatory.
• the contact element 70 which is intended to cooperate by sliding with the cam profile 41 is constituted by a substantially spherical ball 71. Furthermore, the profile corresponding cam 41 is in the form of a through groove 42 which is formed in the thickness of the fixed cam 40.
• the cross section of the through groove 42 is substantially complementary to that of the corresponding portion of the ball 71.
• the inner edge of the fixed cam 41, which defines the groove through 42 has walls that are substantially concave.
• the elastic return means 80 are able to drive the ball 71 moving along the lever 60 to a position of contact with the profile 41 of the fixed cam 40 .
• the elastic return means 80 are concretely constituted by a compression spring 81, one end of which bears against a stop 62 formed at the distal portion of the lever 60, and whose other end exerts a pushing force on the sliding ball 71, via an anti-friction washer 82 ( Figure 5).
• the distance between the attachment point of the lever 60 on the secondary shaft 30 on the one hand, and the contact point of the control member 50 on the cam profile 41 on the other hand, is indeed not constant. It evolves progressively with the rotation of the drive support 20, since the cam profile 41 does not extend concentrically with respect to the axis of the primary shaft 10. [0040] However, the sliding mobility of the ball 71 makes it possible to vary the length of the lever arm of the control member 50. It is thus possible to automatically adapt this length according to the actual existing gap. between the point of attachment on the secondary shaft 30 and the contact point on the cam profile 41.
• the role of the compression spring 81 is absolutely complementary, since it consists in ensuring, just as automatically, an effective contact between the ball 71 and the cam profile 41 when the length of the lever arm of the control member 50 is changing.
• the cam 40 has in fact a composite structure. It consists in fact of a support piece 43 which incorporates an insert 44 supporting the profile 41. This configuration makes it possible to optimize the choice of materials according to the effective role of each part of the cam 40.
• Figures 2 and 3 are used to better visualize the kinematics of the rotary control mechanism 1 as previously described.
• the rotary head 31 has tilted axially about 25 ° when the wiper arrives in the opposite fixed stop position, that is to say that the drive support 20 has rotated a little more than 90 °.
• the pivoting of the rotary head 31 will not vary linearly, but it will follow a specific law dictated by the cam profile 41.
• the rotation of the head 31 will only begin around 75 ° rotation of the drive carrier 20, then continue with acceleration and deceleration phases adapted to the curvature of the associated windshield.
• Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a variant of the first embodiment of Figures 1 to 5, which is distinguished mainly by the particular nature of its resilient biasing means 80. It is indeed a spring sheet 83 which is used here to maintain the contact element 70 bearing against the profile 41 of the fixed cam 40.
• this plate spring 83 is secured along the groove 42, on the face of the cam 40 which is not oriented in opposition to the secondary shaft 30. It thus extends substantially symmetrically with respect to the insert 44, and its section is substantially complementary to that of the portion of the ball 71, which n is not introduced into the cam profile 41.
• Figures 8 and 9 correspond to a second embodiment of the invention, which is distinguished by the fact that the contact element 70 is constituted by a roller 72 substantially cylindrical, while the cam profile 41 is itself conventionally constituted by the outer periphery 45 of the fixed cam 40. It is understood here that the generatrices of the cylindrical roller 72 may be a priori any, that is to say, concave, convex or just straight.
• the roller 72 has a side wall 73 whose curvature is substantially complementary to that of the outer periphery 45 of the fixed cam 40. We are here precisely in the case where the generatrices of the cylindrical roller 72 are not not strictly straight.
• the elastic return means 80 are able to drive the secondary shaft 30 in axial pivoting to a position corresponding to a contact between the roller 72 and the profile 41 of the fixed cam 40.
• the elastic return means 80 are in fact constituted by a cylindrical spring with angular action 84.
• the latter is implanted so that its body extends around the proximal end 34 of the secondary shaft 30, that one of its ends 85 abuts against the drive support 20, and that its other end 86 exerts a thrust force on the lever 60 of the control member 50.
• the second embodiment has the advantage of not requiring the presence of any system able to compensate for variations in distance between the secondary shaft 30 and the effective contact point of the control member 50 on the cam profile 41.
• the roller 72 is in fact shaped and dimensioned so as to have a very large contact surface intended to cooperate by sliding with the cam profile 41.
• the concavity and the height of its side wall 73 are indeed chosen so as to always ensure an ⁇ ntact between the roller 72 of the mandrel member 50 and the fixed cam 40.
• the drive support 20 is in the form of a housing 21 in which the fixed cam 40 and the control member 50 take place.
• the assembly is arranged so that the primary shaft 10 and the secondary shaft 30 penetrates inside the housing 21.
• the fixed cam 40 is destined to remain stationary relative to the rest of the control mechanism 1, this sub- also means that the assembly is arranged so that the housing 21 can rotate despite the presence of the fixed cam 40 therein.
• This feature allows to consolidate most of the components of the control mechanism 1 within a relatively tight assembly to the outer elements and other soils. It is thus possible to significantly improve the reliability and the lifetime of the rotary control mechanism 1.
• the housing 21 is composed of a hollow body 22 whose opening is closed by a cover 23. These two elements are associated detachably.
• the lid 23 is provided with four elastically deformable tabs 24 which are distributed at each of its sides, and which are able to come to fit after deformation on bosses 25 formed adequately to the outer surface of the body 22.
• the housing 21 is also provided with sealing means 90 which are able to perfect its impermeability at the areas where are located the movable shafts 10, 30 Note in particular the presence of a first O-ring 91 which is positioned between the body 46 of the cam 40 and the cover 23, as well as a second O-ring 92 which is positioned for its part between the secondary shaft 30 and the body 22 of the housing 21.
• control mechanism 1 is further provided with indexing means 100 which are able to demobilize the drive support 20 in a reversible manner with respect to the fixed cam 40 (FIGS. 1 to 4). .
• indexing means 100 which are able to demobilize the drive support 20 in a reversible manner with respect to the fixed cam 40 (FIGS. 1 to 4).
• the indexing means 100 comprise a pin 101 whose body is housed through a holding housing 102 formed in the cover 23, and whose end distal is able to sins in a locking hole 103 formed through the leg fixing 47.
• the invention also relates to any wiper device comprising motor means capable of generating an alternating rotational movement, and a swing arm at the end of which is mounted a wiper blade, and further comprising a rotational control mechanism 1 as previously described, the drive means being coupled to the primary shaft 10 while the brush arm is integral with the secondary shaft 30.
• the invention also relates to any motor vehicle having at least one wiper device as previously described.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Transmission Devices (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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• 2006
  • 2006-02-13 FR FR0601261A patent/FR2897408B1/fr active Active
• 2007
  • 2007-02-07 JP JP2008554741A patent/JP2009526696A/ja active Pending
  • 2007-02-07 US US12/162,488 patent/US20090025173A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2007-02-07 WO PCT/EP2007/051176 patent/WO2007093545A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2007-02-07 EP EP07704431A patent/EP1984651A1/fr not_active Withdrawn

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