JP2009067364A - Wiper blade coupling member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact coupling member achieving the reduction of the number of parts and easily performing coupling operation with a wiper arm, in a wiper blade coupling member for coupling a wiper blade with the wiper arm. <P>SOLUTION: This coupling member (17) for coupling a wiper blade body (23) with the wiper arm (1) having an arm U-shaped hook (3) at its end includes an opening (19) making the arm U-shaped hook (3) inserted therein, and a storage part (21) storing the arm U-shaped hook (3). The arm U-shaped hook (3) is fitted into and fixed to the storage part (21). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connecting member that connects a wiper blade and a wiper arm in a wiper device.

  The wiper device includes a wiper blade body having a wiper rubber for wiping the wiping surface, a wiper arm that supports the wiper blade body, and a wiper motor that is connected to the wiper arm via a wiper link. The wiper blade body has a vertebra and a blade rubber, and wipes rain or dust on a wiping surface such as a glass surface by reciprocating motion. The wiper blade main body and the wiper arm are connected by a connecting member, and the wiper arm presses the wiper blade against the glass surface to reciprocate.

  A U-hook wiper arm 1 is shown in FIG. The U hook wiper arm 1 has an arm U hook portion 3 whose details are shown in FIG. A U hook inner hole 7 is provided at the end of the folded portion of the arm U hook portion 3. A conventional U-hook wiper blade 5 connected to the U-hook wiper arm 1 is shown in FIGS. For the sake of convenience, the base end side of the wiper arm 1 is hereinafter referred to as the rear, the front end side is referred to as the front, the wiped surface side of the wiper blade 5 is referred to as the lower side, and the opposite side is referred to as the upper side. The conventional U hook wiper blade 5 includes a connecting member 11 near the center thereof, and the connecting member 11 has a U clip 9 that is a member for coupling to the U hook wiper arm 1.

  The coupling operation of the conventional U hook wiper blade 5 and the U hook wiper arm 1 is shown in FIGS. FIG. 5 is a top view of the connecting member 11 of the conventional U-hook wiper blade 5. As shown in FIG. 5A, there is a space portion for insertion of the arm U hook portion 3, such as a dotted line, in front of the U clip 9. As shown in FIG. 5B, the distal end portion of the U hook wiper arm 1 is inserted into this space portion, and the U hook wiper arm 1 is pulled and assembled rearward as shown in FIG. 5-3. 5-4 shows a state in which the conventional U-hook wiper blade 5 and the U-hook wiper arm 1 are coupled. The coupling operation requires a large space for detachment as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the conventional U-hook wiper blade 5 and the U-hook wiper arm 1 with a part cut away. As shown in FIG. 6A, when assembled, the coupling protrusion 13 provided on the lower surface of the U clip 9 is fitted into the U hook inner hole 7 provided at the U-shaped tip of the U hook wiper arm 1. Then, the U clip 9 and the U hook wiper arm 1 are fixed. As shown in FIG. 6B, the operation lever 15 for retracting the coupling protrusion 13 of the U clip 9 to release the coupling between the U clip 9 and the U hook wiper arm 1 is provided on the lower side of the U clip 9. It has been. When releasing the connection between the conventional U-hook wiper blade 5 and the U-hook wiper arm 1, first, the operation lever 15 is pushed down, and the connection protrusion 13 and the U-hook inner hole 7 are fixed. Then, after the U hook wiper arm 1 is moved forward and removed from the U clip 9, the U hook wiper arm 1 is slid upward and pulled out from the conventional U hook wiper blade 5.

As described above, the conventional connecting member 11 requires a gap for inserting the arm U hook portion 3 in front of the U clip 9 when the wiper blade 5 and the wiper arm 1 are coupled. Becomes larger. The large attachment / detachment space has a problem that the performance of the wiper is adversely affected in terms of strength, design and high speed.

  Further, the coupling protrusion 13 for fixing the U clip 9 and the arm U hook portion 3 and the operation lever 15 for releasing the coupling between the U clip 9 and the U hook wiper arm 1 are usually below the wiper blade. It cannot be visually recognized. For this reason, when the wiper blade and the wiper arm are attached / detached, there is a problem that it is difficult for an unfamiliar user to operate, and the operation of depressing the operation lever 15 has to be carried out by hand. In the case of a woman with long nails, there is a problem that the nails are damaged during these operations.

Further, the operation for releasing the connection between the wiper blade 5 and the wiper arm 1 is complicated, and there is a problem that the operation is particularly difficult for a user who is not used to it.
Further, the U clip 9 and the U hook portion 3 that have been used for a long time may stick to each other with dust or the like, and when the U clip 9 is removed, an unexpected external force may be required or the operation may be lost. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a problem. In the wiper blade connecting member for connecting the wiper blade and the wiper arm, the number of parts is reduced and the wiper arm is reduced in size. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connecting member that can be easily coupled.

  The present invention relates to a connecting member for connecting a wiper blade body and a wiper arm having an arm U hook portion at the tip, an opening into which the arm U hook portion can be inserted, and a storage portion for storing the arm U hook portion. And a connecting member characterized in that the arm U hook portion is fixed to the storage portion in a fitted state.

The arm U hook portion may be housed in the housing portion in parallel with the wiper blade body.
The storage portion includes a distal end locking portion and a proximal end locking portion for restricting movement of the arm U hook portion in the longitudinal direction and the proximal end direction of the wiper blade, and an arm U hook portion to the side of the wiper blade. It has two side locking parts that limit movement, and an upper locking part and a lower locking part that limit the movement of the arm U hook part in the vertical direction of the wiper blade. The lower locking portion adjacent to the portion may contact the arm U hook portion from below and transmit the pressure from the wiper arm to the wiper blade.

The lower locking portion may have a portion that acts as a sliding surface of the arm U hook portion when rotating to store the arm U hook portion in the storage portion.
At least one of the distal end and proximal end locking members, the side locking members, and the upper and lower locking members may be a wall surface constituting the storage unit.

You may make it the magnitude | size of an opening part be equivalent to the front-end | tip of an arm U hook part.
The upper locking portion may be elastically deformable.
The size of the opening may be smaller than the tip of the arm U hook part, and the upper locking member may be elastically deformed so that the opening is equal to or larger than the tip of the arm U hook part. .

The upper locking member may press the arm U hook portion downward.
The connecting member may be made of resin.
The size of the connecting member may be slightly larger than the arm U hook portion.

The connecting member may be formed integrally with the wiper blade.
The connecting member may be formed to be removable from the wiper blade.

  According to the present invention, a large detachable space as in the conventional connecting member is not required, and the connecting member is sized to cover the arm U hook portion, that is, slightly larger than the arm U hook portion. Therefore, the connecting member located at the center of the wiper blade can be minimized, and the adverse effect on the performance of the wiper in terms of strength, design, and high speed can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present invention, both the attachment and detachment are performed by a simple and easy-to-understand operation of inserting and removing the wiper arm into the opening of the connecting member, and there is no need for special fixing and releasing operations. For this reason, even an unfamiliar user can perform an attachment / detachment operation by himself / herself.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the wiper arm is housed in a fitting state in the housing portion of the connecting member, an effect of reducing the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be achieved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a cross-section of a part of the connecting member 17 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a cross section of a part of the connecting member 17 according to the embodiment of the present invention in which the arm U hook portion 3 is housed in the housing portion 21 in parallel with the wiper blade body 23. The connecting member 17 is fixed to the blade 23 at approximately the center of the wiper blade 23. The connecting member 17 may be fixed to the wiper blade 23 after being formed, or may be formed integrally with the wiper blade 23. Moreover, you may attach to the wiper blade 23 so that removal is possible. The connecting member 17 includes an opening 19 into which the arm U hook portion 3 can be inserted, and a storage portion 21 for storing the arm U hook portion 3. The opening 19 is provided obliquely upward on the longitudinal base end side of the wiper blade 23. The storage portion 21 is slightly larger than the arm U hook portion 3 and stores the arm U hook portion 3 inserted from the opening 19. The storage portion 21 has a distal end locking part 25, a proximal end locking part 27, two side locking parts 29 and 31, an upper locking part 33 and a lower locking part 35. The distal end locking portion 25 restricts the arm U hook portion 3 so that the arm U hook portion 3 does not easily penetrate and move in the longitudinal direction distal direction of the wiper blade 23 when the arm U hook portion 3 of the wiper arm 1 is stored. . The proximal end locking portion 27 restricts the arm U hook portion 3 so as not to easily penetrate or move in the longitudinal direction proximal direction of the wiper blade 23. The two side locking portions 29 and 31 restrict the arm U hook portion 3 from easily penetrating and moving to the side of the wiper blade 23. The upper locking portion 33 and the lower locking portion 35 restrict the arm U hook portion 3 from being easily penetrated and moved in the vertical direction of the wiper blade 23. The arm U hook portion 3 is fixed to the storage portion 21 in a fitted state by engaging with these portions. Here, the distal end locking portion 25, the proximal end locking portion 27, the two side locking portions 29 and 31, and the lower locking portion 35 are wall surfaces that form the storage portion 21. In FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, one side locking portion 31 side is a cross section so that the space in the storage portion 21 can be seen. The upper locking portion 33 includes an elastically deformable portion 33 that can be elastically deformed. The opening 19 is adjacent to the upper locking portion 33, and when the upper locking portion is not deformed, the size is the same as the tip of the arm U hook portion 3, and the arm U hook portion 3 can be inserted. it can. When the upper locking portion 33 is formed of the elastic deformation portion 33, the size of the opening 19 is smaller than the tip of the arm U hook portion 3, and the elastic deformation portion 33 is elastically deformed, whereby the arm U hook portion 3. It is equal to or larger than the tip of By making the opening 19 smaller than the tip of the arm U hook portion 3, the connection between the arm U hook portion 3 and the connecting member 17 can be made stronger.

  The front end locking portion 25 that forms the front wall surface of the connecting member 17 has an arcuate shape that matches the front end of the arm U hook portion 3, and the arm U hook portion 3 is stored in the storage portion 21. Engage with it. The proximal end locking portion 27 is adjacent to the opening 19 and forms a wall surface behind the connecting member 17. When the arm U hook portion 3 is stored in the storage portion 21, the arm U hook portion 3 is engaged with the bent tip of the arm U hook portion 3. The lower locking portion 35 forms a lower wall surface of the connecting member 17, and comes into contact with the bent portion of the end of the arm U hook portion 3 from below when the arm U hook portion 3 is stored in the storage portion 21. Thereby, the pressure transmitted from the wiper arm 1 is transmitted to the wiper blade 23, and the wiper rubber of the wiper blade 23 is pressed against the wiping surface. Further, the lower locking portion 35 has a sliding surface at a portion adjacent to the tip locking portion 25. The arm U hook portion 3 of the wiper arm 1 slides on this surface when being rotated for attachment to the connecting member 17. The sliding surface ensures smooth rotation of the wiper arm 1. The elastic deformation portion 33 is formed so as to cover a part of the upper surface of the storage portion 21 and is adjacent to the opening 19. The elastic deformation part 33 is made of an elastically deformable member. When attaching the arm U hook part 3 of the wiper arm 1 to the connecting member 17, when the elastic deformation portion 33 is pushed upward by the arm U hook part 3, the size of the opening 19 increases and the arm U hook part 3 passes through. It becomes easy to do. When the arm U hook part 3 is stored in the storage part 21, the elastic deformation part 33 presses the arm U hook part 3 downward by its restoring force. Thus, the pressure transmitted from the wiper arm 1 is helped to be transmitted to the wiper blade 23, and the arm U hook portion 3 is firmly fixed in the storage portion 21.

  Next, the coupling operation of the arm U hook portion 3 to the storage portion 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9-1 to 9-3. As shown in FIG. 9A, the tip of the arm U hook portion 3 is inserted into the opening 19, and the elastic deformation portion 33 is expanded and inserted until the tip comes into contact with the lower locking portion. The wiper arm 1 is inserted into the connecting member 17 with a rotation angle limit or a relative angle larger than that. Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the wiper arm 1 is rotated in a direction in which the relative angle between the wiper arm 1 and the connecting member 17 is reduced. At this time, the tip of the arm U hook portion 3 slides on the sliding surface of the lower locking portion 35 and smoothly rotates. As shown in FIG. 9-3, when the relative angle becomes 0, the arm U hook portion is composed of the distal end locking portion 25, the proximal end locking portion 27, the two side locking portions 29 and 31, and the lower locking portion. The wiper arm 1 and the wiper blade 23 are coupled to each other by engaging with each of the elastic deformation portion 35 and the elastic deformation portion 33. The arm U hook portion 3 is restrained from moving forward, backward, side, downward and upward, and the wiper arm 1 and the wiper blade 23 do not fall off. FIG. 10 is a side view of the operation of inserting the tip of the arm U hook portion 3 into the opening 19. As shown in this figure, the wiper arm 1 is inserted into the connecting member 17 with a rotation angle limit or a relative angle larger than that.

  On the other hand, when removing the arm U hook portion 3 from the storage portion 21, the wiper arm 1 is rotated so that the relative angle between the wiper arm 1 and the connecting member 17 is increased, and the wiper is reversed. The blade 23 is pulled out toward the tip of the wiper arm. At that time, the arm U hook portion 3 pushes up the elastic deformation portion 33 and enlarges the opening portion 19 to facilitate passage. The attachment / detachment work is performed with the wiper arm 1 in a lockback state.

The connecting member 17 may be formed of resin, or may be formed of other materials.
In the above embodiment, the distal end locking portion 25, the proximal end locking portion 27, the two side locking portions 29 and 31, and the lower locking portion 35 are wall surfaces that form the storage portion 21. As long as these engage with the arm U hook portion 3 and fix the arm U hook portion 3 to the storage portion 21 in a fitted state, they may have any shape. The upper surface locking portion 33 is also the elastic deformation portion 33 in the above embodiment, but may be a wall surface that forms the storage portion 21 and restricts the arm U hook portion 3 from moving upward. Any shape can be used as long as it does. Further, the two side locking portions 29 may be plate members extending upward from the lower locking portion 35. Further, the lower locking portion 35 is composed only of a sliding surface adjacent to the distal end locking portion 25, and there may be no portion adjacent to the proximal end locking portion 27.

  As described above, the connecting member 17 according to the embodiment of the present invention stores both the arm U hook portion 3 of the wiper arm 1 in the storage portion 21 and fixes them without dropping off. It is slightly larger than the arm U hook portion 3. Therefore, there is no need for a large mounting / demounting space like the conventional connecting member 11, which is minimized, and it is possible to reduce the adverse effects on the performance of the wiper in terms of strength, design, and high speed. Can do.

  In addition, the connecting member 17 according to the embodiment of the present invention is operated by a simple and easy-to-understand operation of inserting and removing the wiper arm 1 into and from the opening 19 of the connecting member. There is no need. For this reason, even an unfamiliar user can perform an attachment / detachment operation by himself / herself.

  Furthermore, since the connecting member 17 according to the embodiment of the present invention is housed in a state where the arm U hook portion 3 of the wiper arm 1 is fitted in the housing portion 21, the effect of reducing the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be achieved. .

  This embodiment can be applied not only to a wiper blade of an automobile, but also to other uses where it is necessary to wipe the surface to be wiped.

It is a side view of a U hook type wiper arm. It is a perspective view of the tip part of a U hook type wiper arm. It is a top view of the conventional wiper blade for U hooks. It is a side view of the wiper blade for conventional U hooks. It is a perspective view of the coupling | bonding operation of the U hook type wiper arm to the wiper blade for conventional U hooks. It is a perspective view of the coupling | bonding operation of the U hook type wiper arm to the wiper blade for conventional U hooks. It is a perspective view of the coupling | bonding operation of the U hook type wiper arm to the wiper blade for conventional U hooks. It is a perspective view of the coupling | bonding operation of the U hook type wiper arm to the wiper blade for conventional U hooks. It is the bottom view which notched a part of joint operation of the U hook type wiper arm to the wiper blade for conventional U hooks. It is the bottom view which notched a part of joint operation of the U hook type wiper arm to the wiper blade for conventional U hooks. It is the perspective view which made a part of connection member of an embodiment concerning the present invention a section. It is the perspective view which made a cross section a part of connecting member of an embodiment concerning the present invention in which an arm U hook part is stored in a storage part. It is a perspective view of the coupling operation of the U hook type wiper arm to the wiper blade for U hooks of the embodiment according to the present invention. It is a perspective view of the coupling operation of the U hook type wiper arm to the wiper blade for U hooks of the embodiment according to the present invention. It is a perspective view of the coupling operation of the U hook type wiper arm to the wiper blade for U hooks of the embodiment according to the present invention. It is a side view of a wiper blade for U hooks and a U hook type wiper arm of an embodiment concerning the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 U hook wiper arm 3 Arm U hook part 5 Conventional U hook wiper blade
7 U hook inner hole 9 U clip 11 connecting member 13 coupling protrusion
15 Operation lever 17 Connecting member 19 Opening portion 21 Storage portion
23 Wiper blade 25 Tip locking part 27 Base end locking part 29 Side locking part 31 Side locking part 33 Upper locking part (elastic deformation part)
35 Lower locking part

Claims (13)

A connecting member for connecting a wiper blade body and a wiper arm having an arm U hook portion at a tip,
An opening into which the arm U hook portion can be inserted;
A storage portion for storing the arm U hook portion;
The connecting member, wherein the arm U hook portion is fixed to the storage portion in a fitted state. The connecting member according to claim 1,
The connecting member according to claim 1, wherein the arm U hook portion is housed in the housing portion in parallel with the wiper blade body. In the connecting member according to claim 1 or 2,
The storage section is
A distal end locking part and a proximal end locking part for restricting movement of the arm U hook part in the distal direction and the proximal direction of the wiper blade longitudinal direction;
Two side locking portions for restricting movement of the arm U hook portion to the side of the wiper blade;
An upper locking portion and a lower locking portion for restricting movement of the arm U hook portion in the vertical direction of the wiper blade;
The upper locking portion is adjacent to the opening,
The lower locking portion is in contact with the arm U hook portion from below, and transmits the pressure from the wiper arm to the wiper blade. The connecting member according to claim 3,
The lower locking portion has a portion that acts as a sliding surface of the arm U hook portion when rotating to store the arm U hook portion in the storage portion. In the connecting member according to claim 3 and 4,
A connection characterized in that at least one of the distal end and proximal end locking members, the two side locking members, and the upper and lower locking members is a wall surface constituting the storage portion. Element. In the connection member according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The size of the opening is equal to the tip of the arm U hook portion. In the connecting member according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The connecting member according to claim 1, wherein the upper locking portion is elastically deformable. The connecting member according to claim 7,
The size of the opening is smaller than the tip of the arm U hook portion,
The connecting member, wherein the upper locking member is elastically deformed so that the opening becomes equal to or larger than the tip of the arm U hook portion. In the connecting member according to claim 7 or 8,
The connecting member, wherein the upper locking member presses the arm U hook portion downward. In the connection member according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The connecting member is formed of a resin. In the connecting member according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The connecting member is characterized in that a size of the connecting member is slightly larger than that of the arm U hook portion. In the connecting member according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
The connecting member is formed integrally with the wiper blade. In the connecting member according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
The connecting member is formed so as to be removable from the wiper blade.

Images