JP2006036131A - Windshield wiper blade - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve followability to a glass surface of blade rubber for housing a plate spring member to improve wiping property of a windshield wiper blade. <P>SOLUTION: This windshield wiper blade 18 has a blade holder attached to a tip of a wiper arm and the blade rubber 21 held to the blade holder, and a housing part 41 extending in the longitudinal direction and a cut-out part 43 extending along the housing part 41 are formed in a head part 26 of the blade rubber 21. The plate spring member 42 is inserted in the housing part 41 from the cut-out part 43 and housed therein; a tip of the plate spring member 42 is inserted into and fixed to a recessed part 41a formed at an end of the housing part 41. Thereby, the blade rubber 21 can elastically be deformed along with the plate spring member 42, and pressing force of the wiper arm is dispersed in the longitudinal direction by the plate spring member 42. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiper blade that is attached to the tip of a wiper arm via an arm attachment portion and wipes a windshield of a vehicle.

  Passenger cars, buses, trucks, and other vehicles are equipped with wiper blades to wipe out the rain, snow, insects, and splashes from the front car to ensure the driver's visibility. . The wiper blade is attached to the tip of the wiper arm of the vehicle via the arm attachment portion. When the wiper arm is driven by the wiper motor, the wiper blade swings between the lower inversion position on the lower end of the window glass and the upper inversion position on the glass surface. Wipe the glass surface.

  As such a wiper blade, a rubber blade rubber that is in contact with the wind glass is provided with a leaf spring member that is elastically deformable in a direction perpendicular to the glass surface, and the presser force of the wiper arm is increased by the elastic deformation of the leaf spring member. It is known that it is dispersed in the direction and added to the blade rubber. In this case, the leaf spring member is mounted in a mounting groove formed in the blade rubber, or is fixed to the upper surface of the blade rubber by adhesion, and is configured to elastically deform integrally with the blade rubber. The blade rubber is brought into contact with the glass surface with a predetermined distributed pressure by being elastically deformed into a shape along the glass surface by force.

  By the way, in such a wiper blade, the side surface of the leaf spring member is exposed to the outside from the mounting groove, or the surface is exposed to the outside when fixed to the upper surface of the blade rubber by adhesion. If the snow attached to the glass surface is wiped off during snowfall etc., the snow will adhere to the metal leaf spring member, the snow will adhere from this part, and the wiper blade will freeze and the wiping performance will be reduced. . On the other hand, in so-called winter blades, a rubber cover is attached to the blade rubber, and the cover is covered with a leaf spring member to prevent snow from sticking. This requires a fixing member that increases the number of parts and the number of assembling steps, which increases the cost of the wiper blade.

Therefore, for example, in the wiper blade disclosed in Patent Document 1, a leaf spring member is embedded in a rubber blade rubber by insert molding, thereby preventing snow from adhering to the leaf spring member.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-39743

  However, if the leaf spring member is embedded in the blade rubber by insert molding, the inner surface of the blade rubber is fixed to the surface of the leaf spring member, and the relative movement in the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber with respect to the leaf spring member is restricted. When the spring member is elastically deformed, a compression force and a tensile force are applied to the blade rubber in the longitudinal direction, and the leaf spring member is difficult to elastically deform. Therefore, the followability of the blade rubber to the glass surface due to the elastic deformation of the leaf spring member is lowered, and thereby the wiping performance of the wiper blade is lowered.

  An object of the present invention is to improve the wiping performance of a wiper blade by improving the followability to the glass surface of a blade rubber accommodating a leaf spring member.

  The wiper blade of the present invention is a wiper blade that is attached to the tip of a wiper arm via an arm attachment portion and wipes the windshield of a vehicle, and includes a hollow accommodation portion and a cut portion that communicates from the accommodation portion to one side surface A blade rubber that is in contact with the window glass, and is inserted into the housing portion by being inserted from the cut portion, and the pressing force of the wiper arm applied through the arm mounting portion is applied in the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber. And a leaf spring member to be dispersed.

  The wiper blade of the present invention is characterized in that a concave portion into which a tip end portion of the leaf spring member is inserted is formed at an end portion in the longitudinal direction of the housing portion.

  The wiper blade of the present invention is characterized in that the blade rubber containing the leaf spring member is held by a blade holder having the arm attachment portion.

  According to the present invention, since the leaf spring member is inserted into the accommodation portion provided in the blade rubber from the cut portion and accommodated, when the leaf spring member is elastically deformed by the pressing force from the wiper arm, the leaf spring member and A relative slip occurs between the blade rubber and the elastic deformation is facilitated. Therefore, the followability of the blade rubber to the glass surface due to the elastic deformation of the leaf spring member can be improved, and the wiping performance of the wiper blade can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the leaf spring member is accommodated in the accommodating portion formed on the blade rubber, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of snow to the leaf spring member and to improve the wiping performance of the wiper blade during snowfall. it can. Further, since the leaf spring member is not exposed to the outside, the aesthetic appearance of the wiper blade is improved.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the leaf spring member is attached to the blade rubber by inserting the blade spring into the accommodating portion formed in the blade rubber, the attachment of the leaf spring member to the blade rubber becomes easy. It is possible to reduce the cost by reducing the number of assembly steps of the wiper blade.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the tip of the leaf spring member is inserted and fixed in the recess formed in the longitudinal end portion of the housing portion, it is possible to prevent the leaf spring member from falling off the blade rubber. Can do. Therefore, a member such as an end cap for fixing the leaf spring member to the blade rubber is unnecessary, and the cost of the wiper blade can be reduced.

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

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an outline of a wiper device having a wiper blade according to an embodiment of the present invention. A vehicle 11 shown in FIG. 1 has a front wind glass 12 (hereinafter referred to as a wind glass 12). A wiper device 13 is provided to secure the driver's field of view by wiping off the attached rain and the splashes of the front car. The wiper device 13 includes two wiper arms 14 on the driver's seat side and the passenger seat side, and each wiper arm 14 is fixed to the wiper shaft 15 at the base end portion. Each wiper shaft 15 is swingably supported by the vehicle 11 and connected to a wiper motor 17 via a link mechanism 16. When the wiper motor 17 is operated, the wiper shaft 15 swings within a predetermined range.

  A wiper blade 18 is attached to each end of the wiper arm 14, and these wiper blades 18 are in elastic contact with the wind glass 12 with a pressing force applied from the wiper arm 14. When the wiper motor 17 is actuated to swing the wiper arm 14 together with the wiper shaft 15, each wiper blade 18 swings the wiping range 12 a on the glass surface and wipes the wind glass 12.

  2 and 3 are perspective views showing details of the wiper blade shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing details of the blade holder shown in FIG. 2, and FIGS. It is a perspective view which shows the detail of the holding | maintenance part shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the wiper blade 18 has a blade rubber 21 and a blade holder 24, and the blade rubber 21 is held by the blade holder 24.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the blade rubber 21 is made of a natural rubber or a synthetic rubber as a material, and is formed in a bar shape having a uniform cross section in the longitudinal direction and having a head section 26 having a rectangular section, a lip section 27, and a neck section 28. The lip portion 27 comes into contact with the window glass 12. The lip portion 27 is connected to the head portion 26 via a head portion 26 or a neck portion 28 formed with a narrow width in the wiping direction with respect to the lip portion 27, whereby the lip portion 27 is wiped with respect to the head portion 26. It can be tilted freely. Further, a slide groove 26a is formed between the head portion 26 and the neck portion 28. The slide groove 26a opens on both side surfaces in the wiping direction and extends in the longitudinal direction.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the blade holder 24 is formed of a resin material into a U-shaped cross section having a top wall portion 24 a and a pair of side wall portions 24 b, and the length dimension thereof is approximately the same as that of the blade rubber 21. It is set to about half. An arm attachment portion 31 is provided at a substantially intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the top wall portion 24a, and the blade holder 24 is connected to the tip of the wiper arm 14 at the arm attachment portion 31. That is, the wiper blade 18 is attached to the tip of the wiper arm 14 via the arm attachment portion 31 of the blade holder 24.

  Each side wall 24b of the blade holder 24 is provided with a projecting piece 32 located on one end side in the longitudinal direction (the end on the wiper shaft 15 side when the wiper blade 18 is attached to the wiper arm 14). A holding portion 33 is formed at one end of the blade holder 24 by the protruding piece 32. These protrusions 32 are formed in a cylindrical shape that protrudes from the side wall portion 24b in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 21 and parallel to the wiping direction, and as shown in FIG. The slide groove 26 a formed in the head portion 26 is engaged. The slide groove 26a of the blade rubber 21 is provided with a pair of stopper portions 34a and 34b sandwiching each protrusion, and the protrusion 32 causes the slide groove 26a relative to the blade rubber 21 by these stopper portions 34a and 34b. Movement in the direction along is restricted. Accordingly, the blade rubber 21 is held by the blade holder 24 in a state where the holding portion 33 is positioned in the longitudinal direction. Further, since each protrusion 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape, the blade rubber 21 is rotatable with respect to the holding portion 33 of the blade holder 24 about the axial direction of the protrusion 32.

  On the other hand, protrusions 35 each having a rectangular cross section are provided on the other end in the longitudinal direction of the side wall 24b, and the holding part 36 is provided on the other end of the blade holder 24 by these protrusions 35. Is formed. As shown in FIG. 5B, these projecting pieces 35 are perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 21 and protrude from the side wall 24b in the wiping direction, and are axially directed to the slide groove 26a of the blade rubber 21. Is movably engaged. Thereby, the blade rubber 21 is held by the holding portion 36 so as to be movable in the axial direction with respect to the blade holder 24.

  As described above, in the wiper blade 18, the blade rubber 21 is held by the blade holder 24 at the two points of the holding portions 33 and 36 provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder 24. It is added to the blade rubber at two points of the holding portions 33 and 36 via the holder 24.

  6 is a perspective view showing details of the blade rubber shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIGS. 8A to 8C are cross-sectional views showing a procedure when the leaf spring member is inserted into the accommodating portion shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, two accommodating portions 41 are formed in the head portion 26 of the blade rubber 21 so as to extend in the longitudinal direction, and a leaf spring member 42 is accommodated in each of the accommodating portions 41. As shown in FIG. 7, each accommodating portion 41 is formed in a hollow shape with a rectangular cross section that has a width dimension in the wiping direction wider than a height dimension in the direction perpendicular to the glass surface, in accordance with the cross sectional shape of the leaf spring member 42. They are arranged side by side in the wiping direction.

  On both side surfaces of the head portion 26 facing the wiping direction, cut portions 43 extending along the respective accommodating portions 41 are formed, and the respective accommodating portions 41 communicate with the outside through these cut portions 43. These cut portions 43 are formed so as to be narrower than the height dimension of the accommodating portion 41, that is, the thickness dimension of the leaf spring member 42, and to be opened at an intermediate portion in the height direction of the accommodating portion 41. It is formed in a slit shape on the side surface of the head portion 26 that partitions the accommodating portion 41.

  In this case, these accommodating parts 41 insert the core for forming the mold into the mold, and after the rubber material is injected into the mold to form the blade rubber 21, the core is forcibly removed in the wiping direction. Formed. The cut portion 43 is formed by a member that holds the core in the mold, and thus is formed with a predetermined gap so as to allow the accommodating portion 41 to communicate with the outside.

  In the case shown in the drawing, the cut portion 43 is formed in a slit shape having a gap. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a gap is formed by cutting the side surface of the head portion 26 on which the accommodating portion 41 is formed with a blade. You may form so that it may not exist. Further, in the illustrated case, the notch portions 43 are formed on both side surfaces of the blade rubber 21 so as to communicate with one side surface from the accommodating portion 41, but not limited to this, the leaf spring member 42 is placed in the accommodating portion 41. As long as it can be inserted, for example, cut portions may be formed on the surface of the blade rubber 21 facing the top wall portion 24a or on both end surfaces in the longitudinal direction.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the width dimension in the wiping direction is formed narrower in the longitudinal direction with respect to the accommodating portion 41 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of each accommodating portion 41 and in the longitudinal direction with respect to the accommodating portion 41. A recessed portion 41a formed in a recessed bag shape is provided.

  On the other hand, the leaf spring member 42 is formed into a flat plate shape made of a steel plate or the like, and is elastically deformable in a direction perpendicular to the window glass 12, and is formed in a shape that curves with a predetermined curvature in the elastically deformable direction. Has been. Moreover, the insertion part 42a with a narrow width | variety in a wiping direction is formed in the both front-end | tip parts of the longitudinal direction of each leaf | plate spring member 42, respectively.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, these leaf spring members 42 are inserted into the accommodating portion 41 from the cut-out portion 43, and as shown in FIG. 8C, the insertion portion 42a is inserted into the recess 41a. In this state, it is accommodated in the accommodating portion 41. At this time, since the cross section of the accommodating portion 41 is formed in accordance with the cross section of the leaf spring member 42, the leaf spring member 42 is accommodated with its outer peripheral surface in contact with the inner surface of the accommodating portion 41. Further, since the cut portion 43 is formed to be narrower than the thickness of the leaf spring member 42, the side surface of the leaf spring member 42 contacts the inner surface of the accommodation portion 41 at the side portion of the head portion 26 and is held in the accommodation portion 41. The Further, the insertion portion 42a is inserted into the recess 41a and movement in the wiping direction is restricted, whereby the leaf spring member 42 is fixed to the blade rubber 21 and is prevented from being detached from the accommodating portion 41.

  With such a structure, the leaf spring member 42 is attached to the blade rubber 21, and the blade rubber 21 is elastically deformed integrally with the leaf spring member 42 in a direction perpendicular to the window glass 12, that is, a direction in which the degree of curvature is changed. It has become.

  In the illustrated case, the leaf spring member 42 is formed of a steel plate. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the pressing force of the wiper arm 14 can be dispersed in the longitudinal direction by elastic deformation. I just need it. Further, the leaf spring member 42 may not have a step like the insertion portion 42a.

  9 (a) to 9 (d) are explanatory views showing changes in shape when the wiper blade shown in FIG. 2 is in contact with the window glass. FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (b) are respectively leaf spring members. It is sectional drawing which shows the mode of a blade rubber at the time of elastically deforming.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the wiper blade 18 having such a structure has a blade rubber 21 that is more than the maximum curvature in the wiping range of the wind glass 12 when the blade rubber 21 is not in contact with the wind glass 12. When the wiper blade 18 is set on the wind glass 12 from this state, the both ends in the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 21 come into contact with the glass surface. When the pressing force of the wiper arm 14 is applied to the blade rubber 21 through the blade holder 24 in a state where both ends of the blade rubber 21 are in contact with the glass surface, as shown in FIG. It is deformed into an M shape so that the central part of the glass comes into contact with the glass surface. At this time, the blade rubber 21 is restricted in movement in the axial direction with respect to the blade holder 24 in the holding portion 33 and is allowed to rotate in the glass surface direction with the protruding piece 32 as the rotation axis. Since the portion 36 is allowed to move in the axial direction, it can be deformed along the glass surface as the pressing force from the wiper arm 14 increases. The wiper blade 18 is gradually deformed so as to be in a state along the glass surface as shown in FIG. 9C, and when the wiper blade 18 is completely set on the glass surface as shown in FIG. 14, the wiping posture is such that the entire longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 21 is in contact with the glass surface. As described above, the pressing force of the wiper arm 14 applied to the leaf spring member 42 via the arm attachment portion 31 is dispersed in the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 21 by the elastic deformation of the leaf spring member 42, thereby causing the blade rubber 21 to move in the longitudinal direction. The window glass 12 is contacted with a uniform distribution pressure.

  At this time, the leaf spring member 42 is inserted into the accommodating portion 41 of the blade rubber 21 by being inserted from the notch portion 43, and the surface thereof is not fixed to the inner surface of the accommodating portion 41 of the blade rubber 21, so that FIG. As shown to (a), it can slip in a longitudinal direction with respect to the inner surface of the accommodating part 41. FIG. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10B, even if the leaf spring member 42 is elastically deformed in the direction perpendicular to the window glass 12 and the degree of curvature thereof changes, the inner surface of the blade rubber 21 is in contact with the leaf spring member 42. Therefore, the leaf spring member 42 can be easily elastically deformed without being restricted by the blade rubber 21.

  As described above, in the wiper blade 18, the leaf spring member 42 is inserted into the accommodating portion 41 provided in the blade rubber 21 from the notch portion 43 and accommodated, so that the leaf spring member is pressed by the pressing force from the wiper arm 14. When the spring 42 is elastically deformed, a slip is relatively generated between the leaf spring member 42 and the blade rubber 21 so that the elastic deformation can be easily performed. Therefore, the followability of the blade rubber 21 to the glass surface due to the elastic deformation of the leaf spring member 42 can be improved, and the wiping performance of the wiper blade 18 can be improved.

  Further, in the wiper blade 18, the leaf spring member 42 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 41 formed in the blade rubber 21, so that the attachment of snow to the leaf spring member 42 is suppressed and the wiper blade 18 is wiped off when snow falls. Can increase the sex. Furthermore, the appearance of the wiper blade 18 can be improved by not exposing the leaf spring member 42 to the outside.

  Further, in the wiper blade 18, the leaf spring member 42 is attached to the blade rubber 21 by being inserted into the accommodating portion 41 formed in the blade rubber 21 from the cut portion 43. 42 can be easily mounted, and the cost of the wiper blade 18 can be reduced.

  Further, in the wiper blade 18, the insertion portion 42 a formed at the distal end portion of the leaf spring member 42 is inserted into the recess 41 a formed at the longitudinal end portion of the accommodating portion 41. The blade rubber 21 can be fixed. Therefore, a member such as an end cap for fixing the leaf spring member 42 to the blade rubber 21 is unnecessary, and the cost of the wiper blade 18 can be reduced.

  FIGS. 11 and 12 are cross-sectional views showing modified examples of the wiper blade shown in FIG. 2, respectively. Hereinafter, modified examples of the wiper blade of the present invention will be described based on these drawings. In FIGS. 11 and 12, members corresponding to those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the wiper blade 51 shown in FIG. 11, one accommodating portion 52 is formed in the head portion 26 of the blade rubber 21, and the cut portion 53 extending along the accommodating portion 52 is the upper surface of the head portion 26, that is, the lip portion 27. It is formed on the surface facing the opposite side. In this case, since the cut portion 53 is formed at a position away from the glass surface, the adhesion of snow to the leaf spring member 42 can be further suppressed.

  On the other hand, in the wiper blade 61 shown in FIG. 12, a pair of accommodating portions 62 are formed in the head portion 26 of the blade rubber 21 as in the wiper blade 18 shown in FIG. Further, the head portion 26 is formed in a shape that is cut out so that a corner portion where both the side surfaces on the lip portion 27 side and the wiping direction side intersect with each other reaches the accommodating portion 62. A portion 63 is formed. Accordingly, each leaf spring member 42 is isolated from the outside by the side surface of the head portion 26, thereby further suppressing the attachment of snow.

  It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the blade rubber 21 is held by the blade holder 24 having the arm attachment portion 31. However, the blade rubber 21 is not limited to this, and the arm is directly attached to the leaf spring member 42 without using the blade holder 24. It is good also as a structure which fixed the attachment part 31. FIG.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the wiper blade 18 in the tandem wiper device 13. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the wiper blade used in other types of wiper devices such as a counter wiping type is also used. You may apply to.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the protrusions 32 and 35 are respectively cylindrical shape and rectangular shape, what kind of shape may be sufficient as long as the blade rubber 21 can be latched.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the wiper apparatus provided with the wiper blade which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the detail of the wiper blade shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the detail of the wiper blade shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the detail of the blade holder shown in FIG. (A), (b) is a perspective view which shows the detail of the holding | maintenance part shown in FIG. 2, respectively. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing details of a blade rubber shown in FIG. 2. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line in FIG. (A)-(c) is sectional drawing which shows the procedure at the time of inserting a leaf | plate spring member in the accommodating part shown in FIG. 6, respectively. (A)-(d) is explanatory drawing which shows the change of the shape when the wiper blade shown in FIG. 2 contacts window glass, respectively. (A)-(b) is sectional drawing which shows the mode of a blade rubber when a leaf | plate spring member each elastically deforms. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the wiper blade shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the wiper blade shown in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Vehicle 12 Front window glass 12a Wiping range 13 Wiper device 14 Wiper arm 15 Wiper shaft 16 Link mechanism 17 Wiper motor 18 Wiper blade 21 Blade rubber 24 Blade holder 24a Top wall part 24b Side wall part 26 Head part 26a Slide groove 27 Lip part 28 Neck part 31 Arm mounting portion 32 Projection piece 33 Holding portion 34a, 34b Stopper portion 35 Projection piece 36 Holding portion 41 Housing portion 41a Recess 42 Leaf spring member 42a Insertion portion 43 Cutting portion 51 Wiper blade 52 Housing portion 53 Cutting portion 61 Wiper blade 62 Housing Part 63 Notch

Claims (4)

A wiper blade that is attached to the tip of the wiper arm via an arm attachment portion and wipes the windshield of the vehicle,
A hollow rubber portion and a cut portion communicating with one side surface from the housing portion are formed, and a blade rubber contacting the window glass;
A wiper comprising: a leaf spring member that is inserted from the cut portion, is accommodated in the accommodating portion, and disperses the pressing force of the wiper arm applied through the arm mounting portion in the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber. blade.   The wiper blade according to claim 1, wherein the cut portion is a cut portion extending along the housing portion.   3. The wiper blade according to claim 1, wherein a concave portion into which a distal end portion of the leaf spring member is inserted is formed at an end portion in a longitudinal direction of the housing portion. 4. The wiper blade according to claim 1, wherein the blade rubber containing the leaf spring member is held by a blade holder having the arm attachment portion. 5.

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