JP2000071944A - Wiper blade - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wiper blade capable of being properly and easily detachably fitted to holding hardware under the application of simple mounting structure, regarding a wiper blade of the same cross section or analogous shape in a lengthwise direction. SOLUTION: This wiper blade has a blade rubber 21 having a cross section constant or analogous in a lengthwise direction, a packing 23 and holding lever 22 having a holding tooth 27 for fitting the blade rubber 21 and the packing 23. In addition, the packing 23 has a blade rubber guiding and holding part 28 for inserting and holding the blade rubber 21, a folded-back part 29 having one end folded in a lengthwise direction for inserting one end of the wiper blade, and engagement parts 32a, 32b and 32c formed on the folded-back part 29 for engaging the folded-back part 29 with the holding tooth 27 in an elastically flexed state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wiper blade, and more particularly, to a wiper blade provided with a blade rubber which can be cut to an appropriate length according to a vehicle type and can be replaced.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a wiper blade includes a blade rubber for wiping a window glass of a vehicle, and a blade holding member, and a wiper having a backing attached to a holding claw provided at a tip of the blade holding member. The blade is installed.

Recently, it has been required to employ a blade rubber having a constant cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal direction. Such a blade rubber is versatile in that it can be cut to an arbitrary length and used depending on the type of vehicle, specifications, and the like. In addition, since such a blade rubber can be manufactured by extrusion, the manufacturing cost is greatly reduced.

[0004] However, if the cross-sectional shape is constant in the longitudinal direction, a structure for preventing the blade rubber from coming out of the holding claw in the longitudinal direction cannot be provided on the blade rubber itself. Therefore, conventionally, various structures for fixing the blade rubber having such a constant cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal direction to the holding claws have been proposed.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 11 (A) and 11 (B), the blade rubber 3 with the backing 4 mounted thereon is swaged with the holding claws 2 of the blade holding fitting 1 to prevent the blade rubber 3 from coming off. It is known.

In Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 63-196765, as shown in FIG. 12, a backing 4 is mounted in grooves 3a and 3b extending in a longitudinal direction provided in a blade rubber 3.
There is described a wiper blade in which caps 5 are attached to both ends of the backing 4 to prevent the blade rubber 3 from coming off.

[0007]

However, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (A) and (B), when the holding claw 2 is caulked to the blade rubber 3, a strain 6 occurs in the blade rubber 3 in that portion. When the strain 6 is present, the entire longitudinal direction of the tip of the blade rubber 3 cannot be uniformly brought into contact with the window glass, so that residual wiping is likely to occur. Also, in this case, when replacing the blade rubber 3 or the like, it is necessary to remove the holding claws 2 using a tool, and the work of attaching and detaching the blade rubber 3 is complicated. Further, when a tool is used, the painted surface of the holding claw 2 may be damaged, causing rust, or the holding claw 2 may be deformed.

On the other hand, in the case of the mounting structure shown in FIG.
The number of parts increases by the amount that the cap 5 is required, and the cost and the number of assembling work steps increase.

Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 63-194060 discloses that a backing 4 is mounted in longitudinal grooves 3a and 3b provided on both sides of a blade rubber 3 as shown in FIG. A wiper blade in which a blade rubber 3 is attached to the blade holding fitting 1 by connecting a fitting portion 3c provided at one end to a holding claw of the blade holding fitting 1 with a clip 7 is described.

Also in this case, the number of parts is increased by the amount required for the clip 7, and the cost and the number of assembling operations are increased. In addition, since one end of the blade rubber 3 has a special shape as described above, the manufacturing cost increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problem in the conventional wiper blade, and is simple in mounting a wiper blade having the same or similar sectional shape in the longitudinal direction without increasing the number of parts. In the structure,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a wiper blade that can be reliably and easily attached to and detached from a blade holder.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a blade rubber having a constant or similar cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal direction, a backing to which the blade rubber is attached, a blade rubber and a backing. A wiper blade comprising a blade holding fitting having a holding claw for holding the blade rubber, wherein the backing extends from one end of the blade rubber guide holding portion to insert and hold the blade rubber. A wiper blade, comprising: a folded portion formed by folding back into a folded portion; and a locking portion formed in the folded portion and elastically bending the folded portion to lock the holding claw. It is.

In the wiper blade according to the present invention, one end of the blade rubber is inserted into the folded portion of the backing, and the locking portion provided in the folded portion engages with the holding claw, so that the wiper blade is prevented from falling off in the longitudinal direction. With a simple structure that does not use a cap or a clip, a blade rubber having the same or similar cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal direction can be attached to the holding claw. Further, since the locking portion engages with the holding claw using the elastic bending of the folded portion, the blade rubber is securely held by the holding claw. Further, the wiper blade and the backing can be removed from the holding claw only by removing the locking portion formed on the folded portion from the holding claw, and the wiper blade and the backing can be easily attached and detached.

More specifically, the locking portions are projections located on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the holding claw when the holding claw is locked.

More specifically, the blade rubber has a pair of grooves extending in the longitudinal direction, and the blade rubber guide holding portion is provided with a wide blade rubber insertion provided at a position different from the folded portion. A long hole having a portion and a narrow portion inserted into a groove of the rubber blade formed continuously with the wide portion.

If the blade rubber is inserted from the wide portion to the narrow portion of the long hole formed at a position different from the folded portion, the folded portion does not hinder the insertion, and the blade rubber is mounted in the groove. Work can be performed easily.

[0017]

Next, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wiper blade according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a blade rubber 21 for wiping glass of a vehicle, and a wiper arm (not shown) that is driven by a motor and reciprocates. ) And a plurality of holding levers 22 for holding the blade rubber 21, and a backing 23 for attaching the blade rubber 21 to the holding lever 22.

The holding lever 22 has a blade lever 25 to which a clip 24 for connecting to a wiper arm is attached at the center in the longitudinal direction. A lever yoke 26 is rotatably connected to both ends of the blade lever 25. Have been. At both ends of the lever yoke 26, as shown in FIG. 3, there are provided holding claws 27 each having a tubular shape with both ends opened and having a rectangular cross-sectional shape with an open lower side. The blade rubber 21 and the backing 23 are held by the holding claws 27.

As shown in FIG. 4, the blade rubber 21
Has a base 21a, and a wiping portion 21c connected to the base 21a via a thin portion 21b. Base 21
a is provided with a pair of grooves 21d and 21e extending in the longitudinal direction. The cross-sectional shape of the blade rubber 21 is constant in the longitudinal direction, and the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. The grooves 21d and 21e are
The blade rubber 21 is open at both ends in the longitudinal direction.

The backing 23 is manufactured by stamping and bending a metal plate. As shown in FIG. 5, the backing 23 has an elongated band shape as a whole, and is provided with an elongated hole 28 which is a blade rubber guide holding portion of the present invention. The elongated hole 28 is provided with a folded portion 29 described later.
A part of the longitudinal direction at a position away from the blade rubber 21
And a narrow portion 28b having a width smaller than that of the wide portion 28a.

The backing 23 has a folded portion 29 at one end in the longitudinal direction, which is folded in a U-shape when viewed from the side. That is, the folded portion 29 is connected to the first portion 2 at a right angle to the main body of the backing 23.
9a and a second portion 29b connected to the tip of the first portion 29a and extending parallel to the main body of the backing 23. The second portion 29b is provided with three elastic arms 31a, 31b, and 31c by providing two cuts 30 from the distal end toward the proximal end. Each elastic arm 31
Protrusions 32a, 32b, 32c are provided by folding the tips of a, 31b, 31c in the direction opposite to the main body of the backing 23. Of the three elastic arms 31a, 31b, 31c,
The two elastic arms 31a and 31c have the same length, and the remaining one arm
The length of one elastic arm 31c is changed to the other two elastic arms 31a, 3
It is set shorter than 1c. Long elastic arms 31a, 31
c projections 32a and 32c and short elastic arm 31b projection 32
b is the width t2 of the holding claw 27 (FIG. 3).
) Is set to be the same as or slightly larger than that of the first embodiment.

The end of the backing 23 opposite to the turn-back portion 29 is bent at a substantially right angle to form the blade rubber 2.
1 is formed with a stop portion 50 for locking.

The backing 23 is mounted on the blade rubber 21 by inserting longitudinal edges of the long hole 28 into the grooves 21d and 21e. As shown in FIG. 4, the backing 23 and the base 21a of the blade rubber 21 are provided.
Are holding claws 2 provided at both ends of each lever yoke 26.
7 is inserted. Also, the elastic arms 31a, 31c of the folded portion 29 of the backing 23 are inserted into the holding claws 27 at the left end in FIG. 1, and the projections 32a, 32c at the tips of the elastic arms 31a, 31c are connected to the holding claws 27 at the left end. In FIG. 1, the protrusion 32b at the tip of the elastic arm 31b is located on the left side of the holding claw 27 on the left end in FIG.

Next, an operation of attaching the blade rubber 21 and the backing 23 to the holding claws 27 of the blade holding fitting 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. First,
As shown by an arrow A in FIGS. 6A and 8A, the backing 2 is attached to the holding claw 27 from the end on the side of the stopper 50.
Insert 3. Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, the elastic arms 31a and 31c of the folded portion 29 are pinched by a finger, bent toward the main body of the backing 23, and inserted into the holding claw 27 at the left end in the figure. Then, as shown in FIG. 6C and FIG. 8B, the projections 32a and 32c are
7, the projection 32b is located on the right side in the drawing of FIG.
After inserting the finger until it is located on the left side in the figure, release the finger. In this state, the elastic arms 31a and 31c inserted into the holding claw 27 at the left end try to elastically return to the original position, so that the elastic arms 31a and 31c and the main body of the backing 23 are pressed inside the holding claw 27. And the projections 32a to 32c are located on both left and right sides in the drawing of the holding claw 27, so that the backing 23
Is fixed. Next, as shown in FIG. 7A, one end of the blade rubber 21 is inserted from the wide portion 28a shown in FIG. 5 into the long hole 28, and as shown in FIG. The longitudinal edge of the long hole 28 is inserted into 21e. At this time, the wide portion 28a is
Is located away from the blade rubber 21
The blade rubber 21 can be easily inserted without interference between the blade rubber 21 and the folded portion 29. Even after one end of the blade rubber 21 reaches the stop 50 of the elongated hole 28, the blade rubber 21 is further pushed in. Then, as shown by a dotted line in FIG.
1 is elastically compressed in the longitudinal direction, and the entire longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 21 is inserted into the elongated hole 28. After that, when the longitudinal compression of the blade rubber 21 is released, FIG.
As shown by arrow B, the blade rubber 21 extends in the longitudinal direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the other end of the blade rubber 21 enters the gap between the second portion 29b of the folded portion 29 and the main body of the backing 23 facing the second portion 29b. Therefore, the elastic claws 31a, 31c are restricted from bending downward in the figure by the base 21a of the blade rubber 21, and the blade rubber 21 and the backing 2 are prevented from bending.
3 is securely fixed to the holding claw 27.

As described above, in the wiper blade of this embodiment, the elastic arms 31a to 31c of the folded portion 29 provided at one end of the backing 23 engage the holding claws 27 to hold the blade rubber and the backing to the holding lever 22. The attachment to the claw 27 eliminates the need for a conventionally required component such as a cap or a clip for retaining in the longitudinal direction, thus simplifying the attachment structure.

In the wiper blade of this embodiment, the base 21a of the blade rubber 21 is inserted in a compressed state between the folded portions 29 as described above, and this portion is subjected to a force for restoring the original shape. Elastic nails 31a,
31c is pressed against the holding claw 27 and the elastic claw 3
Since the projections 32a to 32c at the tips of 1a to 31c are engaged with both sides of the holding claw 27, the blade rubber 21 is securely fixed to the holding claw 27 of the holding lever 22 without shifting the position in the longitudinal direction.

When replacing the blade rubber 21,
In the procedure opposite to the above-described case, first, the blade rubber 21 is compressed as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 7B, one end is extracted from the wide portion 28a, and the blade rubber 21 is extracted from the backing 28. Then, the elastic arms 31a,
The backing 28 may be pulled out from the holding claw 27 of the holding lever by bending the backing 31c against the elastic force. Thus, the wiper blade 21 and the backing 23 can be easily attached and detached without using a tool. Further, since the blade rubber 21 can be attached and detached without using a tool, it is possible to prevent the tool from damaging the coating on the surface of the holding claw 27 to generate rust and to prevent the holding claw 27 from being deformed.

The wiper blade of the present embodiment is
Holding lever 22 without caulking blade rubber 21
, The blade rubber 21 can be attached so that no distortion occurs. Therefore, the glass surface of the vehicle can be reliably wiped without leaving any wiping.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified.

For example, as shown in FIG.
9, a notch 30 is formed in the second portion 29b, and a projection 32 formed at the tip of two elastic arms 31d and 31e.
The interval t1 between d and 32e may be set to be equal to or slightly larger than the width t2 of the holding claw 27.

Further, as shown in FIG.
9 is rivet-dried into the second portion 29b to form the projection 40.
a, 40b may be provided, and the interval t2 between the projections 40a, 40b may be set to be the same as or slightly larger than the width t2 of the holding claw 27.

Further, in the above embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the blade rubber is constant in the longitudinal direction. However, the present invention can be applied to a case where the cross-sectional shape of the blade rubber is similar to the longitudinal direction.

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, in the wiper blade of the present invention, one end of the blade rubber is inserted into the folded portion of the backing, and the locking portion provided in the folded portion is formed with the holding claw. With a simple structure that does not use a cap or a clip for retaining in the longitudinal direction because of engagement, a blade rubber having the same or similar cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal direction can be attached to the holding claw. Further, since the locking portion engages with the holding claw by utilizing the elastic bending of the folded portion, the blade rubber can be reliably held by the holding claw. Furthermore, the wiper blade and the backing can be removed from the holding claws simply by removing the locking portions formed on the folded portions from the holding claws,
The attachment and detachment of the wiper blade is easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a wiper blade according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of the wiper blade.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing a holding claw.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional partial perspective view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a backing.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are partial schematic views for explaining a backing attaching operation process.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are partial schematic views for explaining a blade rubber attaching operation process.

8A is a partial view in the direction of arrow VIII in FIG. 6A, and FIG. 8B is a partial view in the direction of arrow VIII ′ in FIG. 6C.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another example of the backing.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another example of the backing.

FIG. 11A is a partial front view showing an example of a conventional wiper blade, and FIG. 11B is a partial arrow view as seen from an arrow XI in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing another example of a conventional wiper blade.

FIG. 13 is a partial perspective view showing another example of the conventional wiper blade.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 Blade Rubber 22 Blade Holder 23 Backing 25 Blade Lever 26 Lever Yoke 27 Holding Claw 28 Long Hole 28a Wider Part 28b Narrower Part 29 Folded Part 31a, 31b, 31c, 31d, 31e Elastic Arm 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d, 32e, 40a, 4
0b protrusion

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A wiper blade comprising: a blade rubber having a constant or similar cross-sectional shape in a longitudinal direction; a backing to which the blade rubber is attached; and a blade holding fitting having a blade rubber and holding claws for holding the backing. In the above, the backing includes: a blade rubber guide holding portion that inserts and holds the blade rubber; a folded portion that is extended from one end of the blade rubber guide holding portion and that is folded back in the longitudinal direction; And a locking portion for elastically bending the folded portion to lock the holding claw. 2. The wiper blade according to claim 1, wherein the locking portion is a protrusion located on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the holding claw when the locking claw is locked to the holding claw. 3. The blade rubber includes a pair of grooves extending in a longitudinal direction, the blade rubber guide holding portion includes a blade rubber insertion wide portion provided at a position different from the folded portion; The wiper blade according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a long hole having a wide portion and a narrow portion inserted into a groove of the rubber blade formed continuously.