JP2010188832A - Wiper arm and wiper - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wiper arm which prevents a sub-arm from being detached from a driven shaft. <P>SOLUTION: The wiper arm 21 includes a main arm 23, whose base end is connected rotatably with a pivot shaft, and the sub-arm 24, whose base end is connected rotatably to a joint pin arranged near the pivot shaft. A wiper blade is connected rotatably at the tip of the main arm 23 and the sub-arm 24, and the sub-arm 24 is rotated following the reciprocating rotation of the main arm 23. The sub-arm 24 has a ball retainer 42, which connects the sub-arm 24 to the joint pin rotatably by engaging a spherical connection part provided at the tip of a ball joint, at its base end. The main arm 23 has a detachment-preventing projection 31c, which is formed protrusively so as to overlap on the ball retainer 42 in the direction separating at the front side in the separating direction of the ball retainer 42 from the joint pin. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiper arm for wiping a wiping surface by reciprocatingly swinging a wiper blade connected to a tip, and a wiper provided with the wiper arm.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a wiper device mounted on a vehicle uses a wiper motor to drive a wiper having a wiper blade rotatably connected to a tip end of a wiper arm, and a wiper surface of a vehicle windshield or the like is driven by the wiper blade. Wipe away. For example, as described in Patent Document 1, the wiper arm includes a main arm whose base end is connected to a drive shaft that is reciprocally rotated by a driving force of a wiper motor so as to be integrally rotatable, and a drive. There is a pantograph-type wiper arm provided with a sub arm whose base end is movably connected to a driven shaft arranged in the vicinity of the shaft. In this wiper arm, the wiper blade is rotatably connected to the distal ends of the main arm and the sub arm via a connecting member. When the main arm is rotated about the drive shaft, the sub arm is rotated about the driven shaft by following the rotation of the main arm, and the wiper blade of the wiper blade is interlocked with the rotation of the wiper arm. The wiping posture with respect to the wiper arm is changed.

  In such a pantograph-type wiper arm, the wiper blade is connected to the tip of the main arm and the sub arm via a connecting member, and the sub arm is rotated by being driven by the main arm around the driven shaft. Therefore, it is desirable that the sub arm is moved up and down so as to follow the vertical movement of the main arm due to the undulation or curvature of the wiping surface, the inclination of the wiper blade (inclination relative to the normal line of the wiping surface), and the like. Conventionally, a method has been adopted in which the sub arm can be moved up and down and inclined at low cost by connecting the sub arm and the driven shaft with a ball joint. Specifically, a spherical spherical connecting portion is integrally provided at the distal end portion of the driven shaft, and a ball retainer having a spherical concave portion corresponding to the surface of the spherical connecting portion is outsert molded at the base end portion of the sub arm. Are integrally formed by resin molding. The driven shaft and the sub arm are connected to each other by assembling the ball retainer to the tip of the driven shaft so that the spherical connecting portion is engaged in the spherical recess, and the sub arm is moved up and down around the spherical connecting portion. Inclination is possible.

JP 2008-55979 A

  However, when the resin ball retainer is repeatedly rotated with respect to the driven shaft, the engagement state of the spherical connecting portion with the spherical concave portion may be loosened due to wear or deterioration. And when the engagement state with respect to the spherical recessed part of a spherical connection part loosens, there exists a possibility that a ball retainer may detach | leave from a spherical connection part when external force acts. Further, when an external force is applied to the wiper by hitting snow that has been wiped off and collected, the ball retainer may be detached from the spherical body connecting portion. Therefore, there is a possibility that the sub arm may be detached from the driven shaft, and if the sub arm is detached from the driven shaft, the position of the wiper blade with respect to the main arm becomes free, and it is difficult to wipe the desired wiping range with the wiper blade. End up.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wiper arm and a wiper that can prevent the sub arm from coming off from the driven shaft.

  In order to solve the above problem, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a base end portion is connected to a main arm whose base end portion is connected to a drive shaft so as to be integrally rotatable, and a driven shaft disposed in the vicinity of the drive shaft. A wiper blade for wiping a wiping surface to the main arm and a tip end portion of the sub arm, the sub arm being pivotally connected. Is a wiper arm that is rotated by being driven and changes the wiping posture of the wiper blade in conjunction with the rotation of the main arm, wherein the sub arm is at a base end portion thereof and at a tip end portion of the driven shaft. A ball retainer that rotatably couples the sub arm to the driven shaft by engaging a provided spherical spherical joint is provided, and the main arm is configured to be connected to the ball retainer. Serial have its gist in that it has a the removing direction of the front side at the fall-off preventing projections formed projecting overlaps the ball retainer in the disengaging direction from the driven shaft.

  According to this configuration, the ball retainer is about to be detached from the ball connecting portion of the driven shaft when the ball retainer is worn or deteriorated, or when the wiper arm hits a snow pocket or the like and an external force acts on the sub arm. In this case, that is, when the ball retainer is about to be detached from the driven shaft, the ball retainer abuts against a removal preventing protrusion provided on the main arm. When the ball retainer abuts against the removal preventing projection, the further movement of the ball retainer in the separation direction is restricted by the removal preventing projection, so that the sub arm can be prevented from coming off from the driven shaft. Moreover, the sub arm driven by the main arm is rotatably connected to the driven shaft by a ball joint formed by a spherical body connecting portion and a ball retainer. Therefore, the sub-arm can be moved up and down by following the vertical movement of the main arm due to the undulation or curved surface of the wiping surface, or the sub-arm can be tilted by following the inclination of the wiper blade with an inexpensive configuration called a ball joint.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the wiper arm according to the first aspect, the removal prevention protrusion is located at at least one of a lower reverse position where the reverse movement is switched from the backward movement and a retracted position where the wiper arm is stored. The gist of the invention is that when the wiper arm is positioned, it is formed on the front side of the detachment direction so as to overlap the ball retainer in the detachment direction.

  According to this configuration, the slip-out preventing projection is formed in the ball retainer in the disengagement direction on the front side in the disengagement direction from the driven shaft of the ball retainer when the wiper arm is disposed in at least one of the lower reverse position and the retracted position. Overlapping and formed. Generally, when there is a snow pool on the wiping surface, that is, when the snow scraped by the wiper arm accumulates at the wiper's stop position or retracted position and the wiper continues to operate, the snow pool and the wiper arm will hit. Easy to receive external force. When the wiper arm is positioned at at least one of the lower reversal position where it is easy to receive external force from the snow pool (in the case of a wiper without retraction operation, the lower reversal position is also the stop position) and the retraction position, that is, the ball When the wiper arm is positioned at a position where the retainer is likely to be detached from the driven shaft, a protrusion for preventing the ball retainer is formed on the front side in the removing direction from the driven shaft of the ball retainer so as to overlap with the ball retainer. . Accordingly, when there is a high probability that the ball retainer is detached from the driven shaft, the sub arm can be prevented from coming off from the driven shaft, and the release of the connection between the sub arm and the driven shaft is suppressed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the wiper arm according to the first or second aspect, the removal preventing projection is always on the front side in the separation direction between the forward and backward reversal positions of the wiper arm. The gist of the present invention is that it is formed so as to overlap with the ball retainer in the detaching direction.

  According to this configuration, the driven shaft of the ball retainer is positioned between each reversing position between the reversing position where the forward movement is changed to the reverse movement and the reversing position where the reverse movement is changed to the forward movement, that is, at all positions in the reciprocating rotation range of the wiper. Since there is always a slip-off preventing projection that overlaps with the ball retainer in the detaching direction on the front side of the detaching direction from the head, the detachment of the sub arm from the driven shaft is always prevented.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the wiper arm according to any one of the first to third aspects, the ball retainer includes a spherical concave portion with which the spherical body connecting portion is engaged, The gist is that E−R> D is satisfied, where E is the depth, R is the radius of the spherical body connecting portion, and D is the width of the gap between the ball retainer and the escape prevention protrusion.

  According to this configuration, the wiper arm is formed so as to satisfy “E> R> D”, so that even when the ball retainer is about to be detached from the driven shaft, the center of the spherical connecting portion is the spherical concave portion. Since the ball retainer comes into contact with the removal preventing projection before going out, it is possible to more reliably prevent the sub arm from coming off the driven shaft.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the wiper arm according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the disengagement preventing protrusion stores a lower inversion position where the backward movement is changed to the forward movement and the wiper arm. The gist of the invention is that when the wiper arm is positioned at at least one of the retracted positions, the wiper arm overlaps the ball retainer so as to cover the center of the ball retainer when viewed from the disengagement direction.

  According to this configuration, the escape prevention protrusion is located at a position where the wiper arm is positioned at least one of the lower inversion position and the storage position where the external force is easily received from the snow pool, that is, the position where the ball retainer is likely to be detached from the driven shaft. When the wiper arm is positioned, it overlaps with the ball retainer so as to cover the center of the ball retainer when viewed from the direction in which the ball retainer is detached. Therefore, when the probability that the ball retainer is detached from the driven shaft is high, the sub arm can be further prevented from coming off from the driven shaft, and the release of the connection between the sub arm and the driven shaft is further suppressed.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the wiper arm according to any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention and the wiper arm are connected to the tip of the wiper arm so as to be rotatable and interlocked with the rotation of the wiper arm. The gist of the present invention is that the wiper is provided with a wiper blade that changes the wiping posture with respect to.

  According to this configuration, when the ball retainer abuts against the removal prevention protrusion, further movement of the ball retainer in the separation direction is restricted by the removal prevention protrusion, and therefore, it is possible to prevent the sub arm from coming off from the driven shaft. it can. In addition, since the sub arm is pivotally connected to the driven shaft by a ball joint by a ball connecting portion and a ball retainer, the sub arm can move up and down following the vertical movement of the main arm due to the undulation of the wiping surface or a curved surface. It is possible to incline following the inclination of the wiper blade. For these reasons, the wiper arm can be reciprocated favorably, and the wiping surface can be wiped well by the wiper blade.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wiper arm and a wiper that can prevent the sub arm from coming off the driven shaft.

Schematic of a wiper device. The front view of a wiper drive device. (A) is the elements on larger scale near the pivot axis in a wiper device, (b) is the elements on larger scale near the ball joint in a wiper device. The perspective view of a wiper arm. The partial expansion perspective view of a wiper arm. The disassembled perspective view of a sub arm. Sectional drawing of a ball retainer. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of a wiper arm. (A) is the elements on larger scale of the wiper arm located in a storing position, (b) is the elements on larger scale of the wiper arm located in the center of the wiping range, (c) is the elements on larger scale of the wiper arm located in the upper inversion position.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the wiper apparatus 1 is for wiping the wiping surface 2a which is the surface of the vehicle windshield 2 outside the passenger compartment. The wiper device 1 includes a wiper driving device 3, a wiper 4, and an ECU (Electronic Control Device) 5.

  FIG. 2 shows the wiper drive device 3. A hollow frame 12 made of a hollow material (pipe) is fixed to the wiper motor 11 constituting the wiper driving device 3. One end side (left side in FIG. 2) in the longitudinal direction of the hollow frame 12 is bent into a crank shape, and the other end portion is crushed into a flat plate shape to fix the wiper drive device 3 to the vehicle body. 12a is formed. A pivot holder 13 is fixed to one end of the hollow frame 12 on the side bent in a crank shape in the longitudinal direction.

  The pivot holder 13 is a cast product made of an aluminum alloy, and is fixed to the hollow frame 12 by inserting and caulking the mounting shaft 13 a at one end in the longitudinal direction of the hollow frame 12. As shown in FIG. 3A, a cylindrical pivot support portion 13b extending so as to be orthogonal to the attachment shaft 13a is integrally provided at the distal end portion of the attachment shaft 13a. Further, a connecting portion 13c extending integrally with the pivot supporting portion 13b in the radial direction of the pivot supporting portion 13b is formed integrally with the connecting portion 13c at the central portion in the axial direction of the pivot supporting portion 13b. A cylindrical driven support portion 13d is integrally provided so as to be connected to the pivot support portion 13b. The driven support portion 13d extends in parallel with the pivot support portion 13b. A vehicle body fixing portion 13e that forms a pair with the vehicle body fixing portion 12a is integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the pivot support portion 13b at a position different from the connecting portion 13c.

  A resin water receiving member 14 is mounted on the pivot holder 13. The water receiving member 14 includes a cylindrical first extrapolated portion 14b extrapolated to a distal end portion of the pivot support portion 13b (upper end portion in FIG. 3A) and a distal end side of the driven support portion 13d. The second outer insertion portion 14d having a substantially cylindrical shape that is extrapolated to the first portion (the upper end portion in FIG. 3A), and radially outward from the lower ends of the first outer insertion portion 14b and the second outer insertion portion 14d. And a dish-shaped saucer part 14e connecting the first extrapolation part 14b and the second extrapolation part 14d.

  Further, a substantially cylindrical pivot shaft 15 (drive shaft) is inserted into the pivot support portion 13b, and a substantially cylindrical joint pin 16 (driven) is inserted into the driven support portion 13d on the side of the pivot support portion 13b. Axis) is inserted. The pivot shaft 15 is supported by the pivot support portion 13b with its tip end portion (the upper end portion in FIG. 3A) protruding from the pivot support portion 13b. The joint pin 16 includes a cylindrical pin body 16a, a spherical sphere coupling portion 16b integrally formed at the tip of the pin body 16a by cold forging, and the same cold as the sphere coupling portion 16b. It is comprised from the substantially annular positioning flange part 16c extended toward the radial direction outer side from the approximate center part of the axial direction of the pin main body 16a by the forging process. The diameter of the spherical body connecting portion 16b is larger than the diameter of the pin main body 16a, and the center of the spherical body connecting portion 16b is located on the central axis of the pin main body 16a (that is, the central axis L1 of the joint pin 16). In such a joint pin 16, the base end portion is inserted into the driven support portion 13d from the distal end side of the driven support portion 13d, and the positioning flange portion 16c is in contact with the distal end surface of the driven support portion 13d. It is supported by the driven support portion 13d. The contact between the positioning flange portion 16c and the distal end surface of the driven support portion 13d positions the joint pin 16 in the axial direction with respect to the driven support portion 13d, and suppresses the inclination of the joint pin 16 with respect to the driven support portion 13d. Is done. Further, the pivot shaft 15 and the joint pin 16 are inserted into the pivot support portion 13b and the driven support portion 13d, respectively, so that they are supported by the pivot holder 13 with the central axes L1 and L2 being parallel to each other. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the base end portion of the pivot lever 17 is fixed to the base end portion of the pivot shaft 15 so as to be integrally rotatable, and the tip end portion of the pivot lever 17 is attached to the rod-shaped link rod 18. The tip portions are connected to each other so as to be rotatable. Further, the base end portion of the link rod 18 is connected to a distal end portion of a crank arm 19 that is fixed to the output shaft 11a of the wiper motor 11 so as to be integrally rotatable. The wiper motor 11 reciprocally rotates the crank arm 19 around the output shaft 11 a, and the reciprocating rotation of the crank arm 19 causes the pivot lever 17 to reciprocate via the link rod 18. Is reciprocally rotated.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the wiper 4 includes a wiper arm 21 and a wiper blade 22 rotatably connected to the wiper arm 21. As shown in FIG. 4, the wiper arm 21 includes a substantially rod-shaped main arm 23 and a substantially rod-shaped sub-arm 24 arranged along the main arm 23.

  The main arm 23 includes a main arm head 31 provided on the proximal end side of the main arm 23, a main arm retainer 32 connected to a distal end portion of the main arm head 31, and a base arm retainer 32. It is composed of a metal main arm piece 33 having a rod shape with an end held. As shown in FIG. 5, the main arm head 31 has a substantially L-shaped curved shape, and has a substantially annular connecting and fixing portion 31 a at the end opposite to the main arm retainer 32. A cylindrical skirt portion 31b that extends from the outer peripheral edge of the connection fixing portion 31a toward the lower side in the axial direction of the pivot shaft 15 (downward in FIG. 5) is integrally formed with the connection fixing portion 31a. The main arm head 31 and the main arm retainer 32 are configured so that the distal end portion of the main arm head 31 and the proximal end portion of the main arm retainer 32 overlapping the distal end portion of the main arm head 31 are connected to the central axis L2 of the pivot shaft 15. They are connected by a cylindrical connecting pin 34 that penetrates in the direction of the twisted positional relationship. Thus, the main arm retainer 32 connected by the connecting pin 34 is rotatable with respect to the main arm head 31 around the connecting pin 34. As shown in FIG. 3A, the main arm 23 is coupled to the pivot shaft 15 so that the main arm 23 can rotate integrally with the pivot shaft 15 by fixing the coupling fixing portion 31 a to the tip end portion of the pivot shaft 15. In the state where the main arm 23 is fixed to the distal end portion of the pivot shaft 15, the distal end portion of the pivot support portion 13b and the distal end portion of the first extrapolation portion 14b of the water receiving member 14 are disposed in the skirt portion 31b. Has been. Therefore, the labyrinth structure is formed by the skirt portion 31b, and it is possible to suppress water from entering the pivot support portion 13b from the distal end portion of the first extrapolation portion 14b.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the sub arm 24 is formed to be slightly shorter in length in the longitudinal direction than the main arm 23, and has a rod-shaped metal sub arm piece 41 and a base end portion of the sub arm piece 41. And a ball retainer 42 provided integrally therewith. As shown in FIG. 6, the base end portion of the sub arm piece 41 is provided with a flat plate-like retainer support portion 41 a. The retainer support portion 41a is formed with a retainer mounting hole 41b that penetrates in a circular shape in the thickness direction of the retainer support portion 41a, and the outer periphery of the retainer mounting hole 41b is equiangularly spaced in the circumferential direction. In four places, positioning concave portions 41c having an arc shape along the circumferential direction are recessed from both sides in the thickness direction of the retainer support portion 41a. Further, a positioning hole 41d penetrating in a circular shape is formed in the retainer support portion 41a on the side of the retainer mounting hole 41b.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the resin-made ball retainer 42 is integrally formed at the base end portion of the sub arm piece 41 by outsert molding and has a bottomed cylindrical shape. The spherical body accommodating portion 42a on the upper end side of the ball retainer 42 has a substantially disc shape, and a spherical concave portion 42b that opens downward is formed in the center in the radial direction. The spherical concave portion 42b has a spherical inner peripheral surface corresponding to the surface of the spherical body connecting portion 16b, and the curvature of the inner peripheral surface is set to a value substantially equal to the curvature of the surface of the spherical body connecting portion 16b. In addition, a separation recess 42c that opens into the spherical recess 42b is provided at the bottom of the spherical recess 42b, and a lower portion (on the opposite side to the bottom of the spherical recess 42b) of the opening of the spherical recess 42b. An annular guide convex portion 42d that protrudes toward the surface is formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the spherical body accommodating portion 42a is formed with a plurality of slits 42e extending from the front end of the guide convex portion 42d toward the bottom side of the spherical concave portion 42b. The plurality of slits 42e extend in parallel to each other, and are formed in a range closer to the opening of the spherical recess 42b than the center O1 of the spherical recess 42b (that is, the arc center of the inner peripheral surface of the spherical recess 42b).

  In addition, a cylindrical skirt portion 42f extending downward from the outer peripheral edge of the lower end surface is integrally formed on the lower end surface of the spherical concave portion 42b on the opening side of the spherical body accommodating portion 42a. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a pair of extending portions 42g that are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction in FIG. 6 extend from the outer peripheral surface of the spherical body accommodating portion 42a, and between the distal end portions of these extending portions 42g. A cylindrical positioning engaging portion 42h that extends in the vertical direction and connects the two extending portions 42g is integrally formed.

  As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the ball retainer 42 is fixed to the sub arm piece 41 by embedding a retainer mounting hole 41b in the retainer support portion 41a in the outer peripheral portion of the spherical body accommodating portion 42a at the time of outsert molding. It is fixed. Further, at the time of outsert molding of the ball retainer 42, the resin material constituting the ball retainer 42 is filled in the positioning recess 41c, so that the ball retainer 42 is restrained from moving in the circumferential direction with respect to the sub arm piece 41. Further, at the time of outsert molding of the ball retainer 42, the pair of extending portions 42g of the ball retainer 42 are disposed on both sides in the thickness direction of the retainer support portion 41a, and the positioning engaging portion 42h is placed in the positioning hole 41d. By arranging, the circumferential positioning of the ball retainer 42 with respect to the sub arm piece 41 is performed, and the circumferential rotation of the ball retainer 42 with respect to the sub arm piece 41 is prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the sub arm 24 is engaged with the joint pin 16 by inserting and engaging the spherical connecting portion 16b of the joint pin 16 in the spherical concave portion 42b of the ball retainer 42. And are pivotally connected. In addition, since a plurality of slits 42e (see FIG. 7) are formed in the spherical body accommodating portion 42a of the ball retainer 42, when the spherical connecting portion 16b is inserted into the spherical concave portion 42b, the spherical surface in the spherical body accommodating portion 42a. The portion near the opening of the recess 42b is easily elastically deformed and the spherical connecting portion 16b is accommodated in the spherical recess 42b. In a state where the spherical body connecting portion 16b is housed in the spherical concave portion 42b, the spherical inner peripheral surface of the spherical concave portion 42b abuts on the surface of the spherical body connecting portion 16b, and the water receiver is placed in the skirt portion 42f. The distal end portion of the second extrapolation portion 14d of the member 14 is disposed. Therefore, the labyrinth structure is configured by the skirt portion 42f, and it is possible to prevent water from entering the driven support portion 13d from the distal end portion of the second extrapolated portion 14d.

  As described above, the sub arm 24 connected to the joint pin 16 by the ball joint including the ball retainer 42 and the spherical body connecting portion 16b can rotate around the joint pin 16. The sub arm 24 is rotatable with respect to the joint pin 16 about the spherical body connecting portion 16b while sliding the spherical inner peripheral surface of the spherical concave portion 42b on the surface of the spherical body connecting portion 16b. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, the front ends of the main arm 23 and the sub-arm 24 are rotatably connected to a connecting member 51. The connecting member 51 includes a belt-like arm connecting portion 51a and the arm connecting portion. And a blade connecting portion 51b integrally formed at one end of the longitudinal direction of 51a. The leading end portion of the main arm 23 and the leading end portion of the sub arm 24 are connected to the arm connecting portion 51a so as to be separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the connecting portion 51a. The main arm 23 is rotatable with respect to the arm connecting portion 51a about an axis orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the arm connecting portion 51a and the longitudinal direction of the main arm 23 (around the axis L3 in FIG. 4). The sub arm 24 is rotatable with respect to the arm connecting portion 51a about an axis orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the arm connecting portion 51a and the longitudinal direction of the sub arm 24 (around the axis L4 in FIG. 4).

  The blade connecting portion 51b extends in a direction away from the main arm 23 and the sub arm 24 along a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the arm connecting portion 51a, and a tip portion is bent in a U shape. As shown in FIG. 1, the wiper blade 22 is connected to the blade connecting portion 51b. That is, the wiper blade 22 is rotatably connected to the distal ends of the main arm 23 and the sub arm 24 with respect to the wiper arm 21 via the connecting member 51 so as to change the wiping posture. The wiper blade 22 has a substantially rod shape, and is connected to the blade connecting portion 51b at the center in the longitudinal direction.

  The ECU 5 is electrically connected to a wiper switch 61 provided in the vehicle compartment and operated by a driver of the vehicle, and is supplied with electric power from a battery 62 of the vehicle. The ECU 5 performs various controls for operating the wiper 4 in accordance with a signal input from the wiper switch 61.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the wiper 4 is disposed at the storage position T1 when the wiper motor 11 (see FIG. 1) is in a stopped state. This storage position T1 is a position stored further on the lower end side of the windshield 2 than the lower inversion position T2 of the wiper blade 22.

  When the wiper switch 61 is operated so as to operate the wiper 4, the ECU 5 (see FIG. 1) drives the wiper motor 11 to operate the wiper 4. When the wiper motor 11 is driven (forward / reverse rotation), the wiper blade 22 is reciprocally rotated between the lower inversion position T2 and the upper inversion position T3. The lower inversion position T2 is a position where the wiper 4 is switched from backward movement to forward movement, and is a position where the wiper blade 22 is arranged along the lower end of the windshield 2 at a position slightly above the storage position T1. is there. Further, the upper reversal position T3 is a position where the wiper 4 is switched from the forward movement to the backward movement. In this embodiment, the operation in the direction in which the wiper 4 advances from the storage position T1 immediately after the wiper motor 11 starts to be driven is a forward movement, and after the wiper motor 11 starts to be driven, the wiper 4 is first reversed at the upper reversal position T3. The movement in the direction of the movement is defined as backward movement. Then, when the wiper 4 is reciprocated between the lower inversion position T2 and the upper inversion position T3, a predetermined wiping range (within the range through which the wiper blade 22 passes) on the wiping surface 2a is wiped by the wiper blade 22. Is done.

  At this time, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 8, the sub-arm 24 is rotated by being driven around the joint pin 16 as the main arm 23 rotates around the pivot shaft 15. Since the wiper blade 22 is pivotally connected to the distal ends of the main arm 23 and the sub arm 24 via a connecting member 51, the wiping posture with respect to the wiper arm 21 changes in conjunction with the rotation of the main arm 23. Is done.

  Further, when the wiper blade 22 is moved up and down in a direction perpendicular to the wiping surface 2a due to the undulation, curvature or the like of the wiping surface 2a, the main arm 23 is rotated about the connecting pin 34 at the base end thereof. The tip part moves up and down to follow the up and down movement of the wiper blade 22. At the same time, the sub arm 24 connected to the main arm 23 via the connecting member 51 follows the vertical movement of the main arm 23 by rotating in the vertical direction around the spherical body connecting portion 16b. Further, the sub-arm 24 rotates with respect to the inclination of the wiping surface 2a with respect to the normal of the wiping surface 2a with respect to the inclination of the wiper blade 22 (falling in the direction of arrow α in FIG. 8). Follow.

  When the wiper switch 61 is operated so as to stop the wiper 4, the ECU 5 stops the wiper motor 11 after the wiper motor 11 is disposed at the storage position T1 (see FIG. 1).

Here, the characteristic shape etc. in the wiper apparatus 1 of this embodiment are explained in full detail.
As shown in FIGS. 3A and 5, the main arm head 31 at the base end portion of the main arm 23 is integrally provided with a removal preventing projection 31 c for preventing the ball retainer 42 from coming off from the joint pin 16. Is provided. The disconnection preventing projection 31 c is formed at the base end portion of the main arm head 31 so as to protrude radially outward from the annular coupling fixing portion 31 a. That is, the removal preventing protrusion 31 c protrudes in the radial direction of the pivot shaft 15 at the base end portion of the main arm head 31. Further, the drop prevention protrusion 31c is formed so that the ball retainer 42 can move in the detaching direction in front of the detaching direction of the ball retainer 42 from the joint pin 16 in a state where the main arm 23 and the sub arm 24 are connected to the pivot shaft 15 and the joint pin 16, respectively. A protrusion is formed so as to be separated from and overlap with the retainer 42.

  More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 (a) to 9 (b), the escape prevention protrusion 31c has a full reciprocating rotation range between the upper inversion position T3 and the lower inversion position T2. No matter where the wiper arm 21 is located between the lower reverse position T2 and the retracted position T1, the ball retainer 42 overlaps with the ball retainer 42 in the disengagement direction on the front side of the disengagement direction from the joint pin 16. It is formed continuously along the circumferential direction of the connection fixing portion 31a. Incidentally, FIG. 9A shows the vicinity of the base end portion of the wiper arm 21 in the wiper 4 located at the retracted position T1, and FIG. 9B is an abbreviation of the lower inversion position T2 and the upper inversion position T3. The vicinity of the base end portion of the wiper arm 21 in the wiper 4 located at the center position is illustrated. Further, FIG. 9C illustrates the vicinity of the base end portion of the wiper arm 21 in the wiper 4 located at the upper inversion position T3. Further, in FIGS. 9A to 9B, the detachment direction is a direction from the back side to the front side of the page. As shown in FIG. 9A, in the state where the wiper 4 is located at the retracted position T1, the removal preventing projection 31c completely covers the radial center of the ball retainer 42 when viewed from the front side in the separation direction. It overlaps with the ball retainer 42. As shown in FIGS. 9A to 9B, even when the wiper 4 is moved forward from the storage position T1 toward the upper reversal position T3, the removal prevention protrusion 31c does not move from the front side in the separation direction. The ball retainer 42 is overlapped so as to cover at least the radial center of the ball retainer 42 as viewed.

  3B, when the main arm 23 and the sub arm 24 are connected to the pivot shaft 15 and the joint pin 16, respectively, the depth of the spherical concave portion 42b is E, and the radius of the spherical body connecting portion 16b. Where R is R and the distance between the protrusion 31c and the ball retainer 42 (the distance in the direction in which the ball retainer 42 is detached from the joint pin 16) is D, each dimension is set to satisfy “E> R> D”. Is set.

  In the wiper device 1 including the wiper arm 21 having such a removal prevention protrusion 31c, the entire reciprocating rotation range between the upper reversal position T3 and the lower reversal position T2, the lower reversal position T2, the storage position T1, and the like. Wherever the wiper arm 21 is located, there is a removal prevention protrusion 31c on the front side of the ball retainer 42 in the disengagement direction from the joint pin 16 so as to overlap the ball retainer 42 in the disengagement direction. Accordingly, when the ball retainer 42 moves upward so as to be detached from the spherical body connecting portion 16b, the ball retainer 42 abuts against the removal preventing projection 31c. Therefore, since the further upward movement of the ball retainer 42 (that is, the direction of detachment from the spherical body connecting portion 16b) is prevented by the removal preventing projection 31c, the sub arm 24 is prevented from coming off from the joint pin 16.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following operational effects are obtained.
(1) When the ball retainer 42 is worn or deteriorated, or when the wiper arm 21 hits the snow accumulated by being wiped off by the wiper 4 and the external force acts on the sub arm 24, the spherical connecting portion of the joint pin 16 When the ball retainer 42 is about to be detached from 16b, that is, when the ball retainer is about to be detached from the driven shaft, the ball retainer 42 abuts against a removal preventing projection 31c provided on the main arm 23. When the ball retainer 42 abuts against the removal preventing projection 31c, the further movement in the separating direction is restricted by the removal preventing projection 31c, so that the sub arm 24 can be prevented from coming off from the joint pin 16. Further, the sub arm 24 driven by the main arm 23 is rotatably connected to the joint pin 16 by a ball joint formed by the spherical body connecting portion 16b and the ball retainer 42. Accordingly, with a low-cost configuration called a ball joint, the sub arm 24 is moved up and down by following the vertical movement of the main arm 23 due to the undulation or curved surface of the wiping surface 2a, or the sub arm 24 is inclined by following the inclination of the wiper blade 22. You can make it.

  (2) In the entire range of the reciprocating rotation range between the upper inversion position T3 and the lower inversion position T2 and between the lower inversion position T2 and the storage position T1, that is, in the entire rotation range of the wiper 4, the ball retainer 42 Since there is always a slip prevention protrusion 31c on the front side in the detaching direction from the joint pin 16 so as to overlap the ball retainer 42 in the detaching direction, the sub arm 24 is always prevented from coming off from the joint pin 16.

  (3) Generally, when there is a snow accumulation on the wiping surface 2a, that is, when the snow scraped by the wiper arm 21 accumulates at the stop position or the storage position T1 of the wiper 4 and the wiper 4 continues to operate. The snow pocket and the wiper arm 21 hit each other and are easily subjected to external force. Even if the wiper arm 21 is located at any of the lower reversal position T2 that easily receives external force from the snowdrift (in the case of a wiper without a retraction operation, the lower reversal position is also a stop position) and the storage position T1. That is, even if the wiper arm 21 is positioned at a position where the ball retainer 42 is likely to be detached from the joint pin 16, the ball retainer 42 overlaps with the ball retainer 42 in the disengagement direction on the front side of the ball retainer 42 from the joint pin 16. A drop prevention protrusion 31c is formed. Therefore, when the probability that the ball retainer 42 is detached from the joint pin 16 is high, the sub arm 24 can be prevented from coming off from the joint pin 16, and the release of the connection between the sub arm 24 and the joint pin 16 is suppressed.

  (4) Assuming that the depth of the spherical recess 42b is E, the radius of the spherical body connecting portion 16b is R, and the distance between the escape preventing projection 31c and the ball retainer 42 is D, "E-R> D" is satisfied. A wiper arm 21 is formed. Therefore, even when the ball retainer 42 is about to be detached from the joint pin 16, the ball retainer 42 comes into contact with the removal preventing projection 31c before the center of the spherical connecting portion 16b comes out of the spherical recess 42b. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sub arm 24 from coming off from the joint pin 16 more reliably.

  (5) The slip-off preventing projection 31c is at least when the wiper 4 is positioned at the retracted position T1 where the external force is easily received due to snow accumulation, that is, when the wiper 4 is positioned at a high probability that the ball retainer 42 is detached from the joint pin 16. Further, the ball retainer 42 overlaps with the ball retainer 42 so as to cover the center of the ball retainer 42 in the radial direction when viewed from the direction in which the ball retainer 42 is detached. Therefore, when the probability that the ball retainer 42 is detached from the joint pin 16 is high, the sub arm 24 can be further prevented from coming off from the joint pin 16, and the release of the connection between the sub arm 24 and the joint pin 16 is further suppressed. Is done.

  (6) In a state where the spherical body connecting portion 16b is engaged with the spherical concave portion 42b, the ball retainer 42 and the removal preventing projection 31c are separated from each other in the direction in which the ball retainer 42 is detached from the joint pin 16. Accordingly, it is possible to favorably rotate the sub arm 24 around the joint pin 16 while preventing the ball retainer 42 from being detached from the joint pin 16.

  (7) Since the removal prevention protrusion 31c is formed integrally with the main arm head 31, the number of parts is not increased. Moreover, since the drop prevention protrusion 31c has a simple configuration that protrudes radially outward from the connection fixing portion 31a, it can be formed inexpensively and easily.

In addition, you may change embodiment of this invention as follows.
In the above embodiment, the ball retainer 42 and the removal preventing projection 31c are separated from each other in the direction in which the ball retainer 42 is detached from the joint pin 16 in a state where the spherical body connecting portion 16b is engaged with the spherical recess 42b. However, as long as the sub arm 24 can be rotated around the joint pin 16, the removal preventing projection 31 c may be in contact with the ball retainer 42.

  In the above embodiment, the escape prevention protrusion 31c covers the center of the ball retainer 42 in the radial direction when viewed from the separation direction of the ball retainer 42 when the wiper 4 is positioned at the retracted position T1 that is susceptible to external force due to snow accumulation. Thus, the ball retainer 42 overlaps. However, when the wiper 4 is positioned at at least one of the storage position T1 and the lower reversal position T2, the removal prevention protrusion 31c covers the center of the ball retainer 42 in the radial direction when viewed from the separation direction of the ball retainer 42. In addition, when it overlaps with the ball retainer 42, the same effect as (5) of the above embodiment can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, assuming that the depth of the spherical concave portion 42b is E, the radius of the spherical body connecting portion 16b is R, and the distance between the escape preventing projection 31c and the ball retainer 42 is D, “E−R> D” is satisfied. A wiper arm 21 is formed so as to fill. However, the wiper arm 21 may be formed to satisfy “E−R = D”. In addition, since the axial height dimension of the joint pin 16 can be easily set by the positioning flange portion 16c of the joint pin 16, the setting of the dimensional relation can be easily set with high accuracy.

  In the above embodiment, the spherical recess 42b is a recess having a spherical inner peripheral surface. However, the spherical concave portion 42b can connect the sub arm 24 to the joint pin 16 by engaging the spherical body connecting portion 16b therein, and can rotate the sub arm 24 with respect to the joint pin 16 about the spherical body connecting portion 16b. If possible, the shape is not limited to the above embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, the removal prevention protrusion 31c is provided in the entire range of the reciprocating rotation range between the upper inversion position T3 and the lower inversion position T2, and between the lower inversion position T2 and the storage position T1, that is, all of the wiper 4. In the rotation range, the ball retainer 42 is continuously formed along the circumferential direction of the connection fixing portion 31a so as to overlap the ball retainer 42 in the disengagement direction on the front side in the disengagement direction from the joint pin 16. However, the formation range of the removal prevention protrusion 31c is not limited to this, and when the wiper 4 is disposed at least at one position in the rotation range of the wiper 4, the ball retainer 42 is moved forward in the removal direction of the ball retainer 42. What is necessary is just to form so that the retainer 42 may overlap. If it does in this way, the effect similar to (1) of the said embodiment can be acquired.

  For example, the removal preventing protrusion 31c overlaps the ball retainer 42 in the disengagement direction on the front side in the disengagement direction of the ball retainer 42 only when the wiper 4 is positioned at at least one of the lower inversion position T2 and the storage position T1. It may be formed. In this way, the slip-out preventing projection 31c is removed when the wiper 4 is located at least one of the lower inversion position T2 and the storage position T1 that are susceptible to external force from the snow puddle, that is, the ball retainer 42 is detached from the joint pin 16. When the wiper 4 is positioned at a highly probable position, the ball retainer 42 overlaps the ball retainer 42 in the disengagement direction on the front side in the disengagement direction from the joint pin 16. Therefore, when the probability that the ball retainer 42 is detached from the joint pin 16 is high, the sub arm 24 can be prevented from coming off from the joint pin 16, and the release of the connection between the sub arm 24 and the joint pin 16 is suppressed. Further, the drop prevention protrusion 31c can be downsized as compared with the above embodiment.

  In a wiper device that does not have a storage operation, that is, a wiper device in which the storage position T1 is not set, the lower reverse position T2 is set as the stop position instead of the storage position T1. Therefore, when the wiper 4 is positioned at the lower inversion position T2, the removal preventing projection 31c overlaps the ball retainer 42 in the disengagement direction on the front side in the disengagement direction of the ball retainer 42 from the joint pin 16. Thus, the sub arm 24 can be prevented from coming off from the joint pin 16.

  In the above embodiment, the wiper motor 11 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions, the crank arm 19 is reciprocally rotated, and the wiper 4 is reciprocally rotated. However, the wiper motor 11 is continuously rotated in one direction, the crank arm 19 is also rotated in one direction, and the pivot shaft 15 is reciprocally rotated via the link rod 18 and the pivot lever 17, that is, the wiper 4 is reciprocally rotated. You may apply to the wiper apparatus made into. However, when the storing operation is set in the wiper device, it is necessary to add another known structure.

  In the above embodiment, only one escape prevention protrusion 31 c is formed on the main arm head 31. However, the main arm head 31 may be provided with a plurality of removal prevention protrusions 31c.

  In the above embodiment, the wiper device 1 is used for wiping the wiping surface 2a of the windshield 2 of the vehicle. However, the wiper device 1 may be used for wiping the wiping surface outside the passenger compartment on the rear glass provided at the rear of the vehicle.

  2a ... wiping surface, 15 ... pivot shaft as drive shaft, 16 ... joint pin as driven shaft, 16b ... sphere connecting portion, 21 ... wiper arm, 22 ... wiper blade, 23 ... main arm, 24 ... sub arm, 31c ... disengagement Prevention protrusion, 42... Ball retainer, 42 b. Spherical recess, T 1. Storage position, T 2.

Claims (6)

A main arm whose base end is connected to the drive shaft so as to be integrally rotatable;
A sub arm whose base end is rotatably connected to a driven shaft disposed in the vicinity of the drive shaft;
A wiper blade for wiping the wiping surface is pivotally connected to the leading ends of the main arm and the sub arm, and the sub arm is driven and rotated as the main arm reciprocates. A wiper arm that changes the wiping posture of the wiper blade in conjunction with the rotation of the main arm,
The sub arm has a ball retainer that pivotally connects the sub arm to the driven shaft by engaging a spherical ball connecting portion provided at a distal end portion of the driven shaft at a base end portion thereof. And
The wiper arm according to claim 1, wherein the main arm has a slip-out preventing protrusion that is formed on the front side of the ball retainer in the direction of detachment from the driven shaft so as to overlap the ball retainer in the detachment direction. The wiper arm according to claim 1,
When the wiper arm is positioned at least one of a lower reverse position where the backward movement is changed to the forward movement and a retracted position where the wiper arm is stored, the protrusion is provided in the separation direction on the front side of the separation direction. A wiper arm formed to overlap with the ball retainer. The wiper arm according to claim 1 or 2,
The wiper arm is characterized in that the removal preventing projection is formed so as to overlap with the ball retainer in the detachment direction on the front side of the detachment direction between the forward and backward reversal positions of the wiper arm. The wiper arm according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The ball retainer includes a spherical concave portion with which the spherical body connecting portion is engaged,
E−R> D is satisfied, where E is the depth of the spherical recess, R is the radius of the spherical connecting portion, and D is the width of the gap between the ball retainer and the slip-off preventing protrusion. Wiper arm. The wiper arm according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
When the wiper arm is located at at least one of a lower reverse position where the reverse movement is switched from the backward movement and a retracted position where the wiper arm is stored, the center of the ball retainer is viewed from the removal direction. A wiper arm that overlaps with the ball retainer so as to cover. The wiper arm according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A wiper comprising: a wiper blade rotatably connected to a distal end portion of the wiper arm and changing a wiping posture with respect to the wiper arm in conjunction with the rotation of the wiper arm.

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