JP2013086730A - Wiper blade - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wiper blade capable of suppressing a height to be low without lowering a wiping performance.SOLUTION: The wiper blade 3 includes: long-length blade rubber 11 provided with a long-length part 12 to be held and a wiping part 15 extending in parallel with the part 12 to be held for wiping a wiping surface S, and comprising an elastomer material; and a case 32 provided along the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 11, for holding the part 12 to be held in the inside. Also, the wiping part 15 can be tilted with respect to the wiping surface S on the outside of the case 32. Then, on the outer surface of the case 32, a contact film 34 which is formed of the elastomer material and regulates the tilt of the wiping part 15 by being in contact with the wiping part 15 is provided on a part into which the tilted wiping part 15 is to be in contact.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiper blade including a blade rubber for wiping a wiping surface.

  Conventionally, a wiper blade for wiping a wiping surface such as a windshield of a vehicle does not use a lever assembly in which a plurality of levers are connected in a tournament shape, as described in Patent Document 1, for example. Some have a blade rubber attached to a case in which a leaf spring-like backing that imparts rigidity and elasticity is held inside, so that the height is kept low. The blade rubber held in the case includes a held portion disposed inside the case, a wiping portion having a substantially inverted triangular cross section disposed outside the case and wiping the wiping surface, and the held portion and the wiping portion. A thin-walled neck portion connecting the held portion inside the case and the outer wiping portion, and a shoulder pad portion formed on the held portion side of the neck portion. By this neck portion, the wiping portion can be tilted with respect to the held portion, that is, tiltable with respect to the wiping surface. And if a wiping part inclines with respect to a wiping surface, the said wiping part will contact a shoulder pad part. Since the wiping portion is further prevented from tilting by contacting the shoulder pad portion, the posture (tilt angle) with respect to the wiping surface can be stabilized and the wiping surface can be wiped well.

Special table 2008-546596 gazette

  Since the wiper blade described in Patent Document 1 has a lower height than a wiper blade using a lever assembly in which a plurality of levers are connected in a tournament shape, the appearance of the wiper blade is improved. However, since the wiper blade is arranged at a position that greatly affects the appearance of the vehicle outside the vehicle, such as the front of the vehicle, further improvement of the appearance is desired. In addition, it is desired to improve the appearance without reducing the wiping performance, rather than simply improving the appearance of the wiper blade.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, The objective is to provide the wiper blade which can suppress height low, without reducing wiping performance.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1 is a long length made of an elastomer material having a long held portion and a wiping portion that extends in parallel with the held portion and wipes the wiping surface. And a wiper that is provided along the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber and that holds the held portion inside, and the wiping portion can tilt with respect to the wiping surface outside the case. The outer surface of the case is provided with a contact film that is made of an elastomer material and regulates the tilting of the wiping unit by contacting the wiping unit on a portion where the tilted wiping unit contacts. The gist of this is.

  According to this configuration, when the wiping portion made of the elastomer material is inclined with respect to the wiping surface, the tilting is further restricted by contacting the contact film made of the elastomer material, and the posture with respect to the wiping surface is stabilized. Therefore, the wiping portion can wipe the wiping surface well. And since a contact film plays the role of the shoulder pad part with which the conventional blade rubber was equipped, it is not necessary to provide a shoulder pad part in a blade rubber. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the height of the wiper blade by the amount of omission of the shoulder pad portion by omitting the shoulder pad portion while suppressing the deterioration of the wiping performance.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the wiper blade according to the first aspect, the outer surface of the case is an elastomer material that generates a force for receiving the traveling wind during the traveling of the vehicle and pressing the wiper blade against the wiping surface side. The fin part which consists of is formed integrally, and the said contact film is formed integrally with the said fin part, and makes it the summary to coat | cover the outer surface of the said case with the said fin part entirely.

  According to this configuration, the texture when the case is viewed from the outside is unified with the elastomer material constituting the contact film and the fin portion. Therefore, the appearance of the wiper blade can be further improved.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the wiper blade which can suppress height low without reducing wiping performance can be provided.

The perspective view of the wiper for vehicles. Sectional drawing of a wiper blade (AA sectional drawing in FIG. 1). Sectional drawing of the wiper blade of another form.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
A vehicle wiper 1 shown in FIG. 1 is for wiping raindrops and the like adhering to a wiping surface S that is an outer surface of a vehicle windshield. The vehicle wiper 1 includes a substantially rod-shaped wiper arm 2 and a wiper blade 3 connected to the tip of the wiper arm 2. The wiper arm 2 is fixed to a pivot shaft (not shown) whose base end is reciprocatingly rotated at a predetermined angle by a driving force of a wiper motor (not shown). Do dynamic exercise.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wiper blade 3 includes a long blade rubber 11, a backing 21 provided along the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 11, and the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 11. And a pair of holding bodies 31 provided along.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the blade rubber 11 is formed of an elastomer material having elasticity (including natural rubber, synthetic rubber, vulcanized rubber, and resin-based elastomer). In a cross section in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 11, the held portion 12 positioned above the blade rubber 11 has a long belt shape. A constricted portion 13 projecting downward (wiping surface S side) along the thickness direction of the held portion 12 is formed integrally with the held portion 12 at the center in the width direction of the held portion 12. Yes. The narrow portion 13 is formed to be narrower than the held portion 12 and extends from one end of the held portion 12 to the other end along the longitudinal direction of the held portion 12. A neck portion 14 projecting downward (wiping surface S side) is formed integrally with the constricted portion 13 at the center in the width direction of the constricted portion 13. The neck portion 14 is formed to be narrower than the constricted portion 13 and extends from one end of the constricted portion 13 to the other end along the longitudinal direction of the constricted portion 13. A wiping portion 15 having a substantially inverted triangular cross section for wiping the wiping surface S extending in parallel with the held portion 12 is formed integrally with the neck portion 14 at the lower end of the neck portion 14. The wiping portion 15 extends from one end of the neck portion 14 to the other end along the longitudinal direction of the neck portion 14. Further, the wiping portion 15 becomes narrower as it goes downward from the end portion on the neck portion 14 side, and has a width substantially equal to the neck portion 14 at the lower end portion. And the wiping part 15 is a braid | blade with respect to the wiping surface S (with respect to the to-be-held part 12), when the narrow neck part 14 provided between the narrow part 13 and the wiping part 15 elastically deforms. The rubber 11 can be tilted in the width direction. Further, in the upper end portion of the wiping portion 15, the portions protruding to both sides in the width direction from the neck portion 14 (both end portions in the width direction at the upper end portion of the wiping portion 15) are shoulders for restricting the tilt of the wiping portion 15. It is part 15a. Such a blade rubber 11 has a constant cross-sectional shape along the longitudinal direction.

  The backing 21 is formed from a metal plate and has a long belt shape. The backing 21 imparts rigidity and elasticity to the blade rubber 11 and has a leaf spring shape. The backing 21 is disposed above the held portion 12 and is in contact with the held portion 12 from the side opposite to the wiping portion 15. The width of the backing 21 is wider than the width of the held portion 12, and both end portions in the width direction of the backing 21 protrude on both sides in the width direction of the held portion 12.

  The pair of holding bodies 31 includes a case 32 that surrounds and holds the periphery of the held portion 12 and the backing 21 of the blade rubber 11, and a force that presses the wiper blade 3 toward the wiping surface S side by receiving a traveling wind during vehicle traveling. And a fin portion 33 for generating the.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the case 32 is made of a soft (flexible) resin material and has a substantially cylindrical shape extending along the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 11. In each holding body 31, the length of the case 32 is shorter than the half length of the backing 21. And inside the case 32, the backing storage part 32a which makes | forms the groove shape extended along the longitudinal direction of the holding body 31 is formed. The backing housing portion 32 a is formed from one end of the case 32 to the other end, and is open on both sides of the case 32 in the longitudinal direction. The backing housing portion 32 a has a width substantially equal to the width of the backing 21 and a thickness (depth) substantially equal to the thickness of the backing 21, and the cross-sectional shape is constant along the longitudinal direction of the case 32. Yes.

  Further, a rubber accommodating portion 32b is formed inside the case 32 at a position below the backing accommodating portion 32a (wiping surface S side). The rubber accommodating portion 32 b has a groove shape extending along the longitudinal direction of the case 32. The rubber housing portion 32 b is formed from one end of the case 32 to the other end, and is open on both sides of the case 32 in the longitudinal direction. The rubber accommodating portion 32b is narrower than the backing accommodating portion 32a, and has a width substantially equal to the width of the held portion 12 and a thickness (depth) substantially equal to the thickness of the held portion 12. The rubber housing portion 32 b has a constant cross-sectional shape along the longitudinal direction of the case 32. Moreover, the upper end of the rubber accommodating part 32b is opened inside the backing accommodating part 32a, and the internal space of the rubber accommodating part 32b is connected with the internal space of the backing accommodating part 32a.

  Further, the case 32 is formed with an insertion groove 32c in a portion that is below (the wiping surface S side) of the rubber housing portion 32b. The insertion groove 32c is formed at a position adjacent to the central portion in the width direction of the rubber accommodating portion 32b, and extends from one end of the holding body 31 to the other end along the longitudinal direction of the holding body 31 (over the entire length of the holding body 31). ) It extends. Further, the insertion groove 32 c opens to the inside of the rubber housing portion 32 b and the outside of the case 32. Further, the width of the insertion groove 32c is formed to be substantially equal to the width of the constricted portion 13, and the thickness (depth) of the insertion groove 32c is substantially equal to the thickness (length in the vertical direction) of the constricted portion 13. Are equally formed.

  The case 32 of the pair of holding bodies 31 holds the backing 21 inside the case 32 by inserting the backing 21 along the longitudinal direction into the backing housing portion 32a from one longitudinal end thereof. Each case 32 of the pair of holding bodies 31 is attached to one backing 21. Both ends in the longitudinal direction of the backing 21 held inside the case 32 protrude from the end in the longitudinal direction of the case 32 to the outside of the case 32. Further, the case 32 of the pair of holding bodies 31 is configured such that the held portion 12 is inserted into the rubber accommodating portion 32b along the longitudinal direction while the constricted portion 13 is inserted into the insertion groove 32c along the longitudinal direction. The held portion 12 is held inside the case 32. The blade rubber 11 is held by the case 32 when the held portion 12 is inserted into the rubber accommodating portion 32b. The held portion 12 disposed in the rubber accommodating portion 32 b is positioned on the wiping surface S side with respect to the backing 21, and the backing 21 is abutted (placed) on the upper surface of the held portion 12. Yes. Further, the neck portion 14 and the wiping portion 15 are disposed outside the case 32 and below the case 32 (wiping surface S side).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the outer surface of the case 32 has an elastic material (natural rubber, synthetic rubber, vulcanized rubber, resin-based material) on a portion where the shoulder portion 15a of the tilted wiping portion 15 contacts. A contact film 34 made of an elastomer of the above type. In the present embodiment, the contact film 34 is formed in a range including a portion where the shoulder portion 15a of the wiping portion 15 tilted with respect to the wiping surface S contacts on the lower surface of the case 32 (the surface on the wiping surface S side). Yes. The contact film 34 is provided on both sides of the insertion groove 32c in the width direction on the lower surface of the case 32, and extends from one end of the case 32 to the other end along the insertion groove 32c (over the entire length of the case 32). E) It has an elongated strip shape. Further, the contact film 34 has a thin film shape with a small thickness in the vertical direction (a direction substantially orthogonal to the wiping surface S). The contact film 34 is integrally formed on the lower surface of the case 32 and partially covers the outer surface of the case 32.

  The fin portion 33 is made of an elastomer material (including natural rubber, synthetic rubber, vulcanized rubber, and resin-based elastomer), and is integrally formed on the upper surface of the case 32 by two-color molding. In the present embodiment, the fin portion 33 is formed of the same material as the contact film 34. The fin portion 33 has a curved surface whose height from the wiping surface S increases toward the vehicle rear side in a state where the wiper blade 3 is disposed at the stop position.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, caps 41 are attached to both ends of the backing 21 in the longitudinal direction. The cap 41 restricts the relative movement in the longitudinal direction between the backing 21 and the holding body 31 (case 32), and the backing 21 comes out of the longitudinal end portion of the case 32. In other words, the holding body 31 is removed from the backing 21. It is prevented from coming out from the end of the. Further, the cap 41 restricts the blade rubber 11 from moving in the longitudinal direction with respect to the backing 21 and the holding body 31 (case 32), and prevents the blade rubber 11 from coming out of the longitudinal end of the case 32.

  Further, the wiper blade 3 includes a connecting device 51 for connecting the wiper blade 3 to the wiper arm 2. The connecting device 51 is fixed to the central portion of the backing 21 in the longitudinal direction, and the tip of the wiper arm 2 is connected to the connecting device 51. The connecting device 51 rotatably connects the wiper blade 3 to the wiper arm 2. The coupling device 51 is formed with a coupling device-side rubber housing portion (not shown) extending along the longitudinal direction so as to communicate both the rubber housing portions 32b of both the holding bodies 31.

  In the vehicle wiper 1 configured as described above, the urging force of the wiper arm 2 is urged toward the wiping surface S by an urging mechanism (not shown) so that the urging force is transmitted via the coupling device 51 and the backing 21. It is transmitted to the blade rubber 11, and the wiping portion 15 of the blade rubber 11 is pressed and brought into contact with the wiping surface S over the entire length in the longitudinal direction. Further, when the vehicle is traveling, the wind pressure due to the traveling wind is converted into a pressing force toward the wiping surface S by the fin portion 33, and the wiping portion 15 is pressed against the wiping surface S. Accordingly, when the wiper arm 2 is reciprocally rotated about the pivot shaft, a good wiping operation is performed by the wiper blade 3.

Next, the operation of the wiper blade 3 of this embodiment will be described.
When the blade rubber 11 is pressed toward the wiping surface S by the urging force of the urging mechanism, the wiping portion 15 tilts with respect to the wiping surface S while elastically deforming the neck portion 14 (two-dot chain line in FIG. 2). reference). The tilted wiping portion 15 has its shoulder portion 15a in contact with the contact film 34, whereby further tilting is restricted and the posture with respect to the wiping surface S is stabilized. At this time, since the wiping portion 15 is formed of an elastomer material and the contact film 34 is also formed of an elastomer material, the contact position of the shoulder portion 15a with respect to the contact film 34 is easily stabilized. And the wiping part 15 can wipe the wiping surface S in the state where the attitude | position with respect to the wiping surface S was stabilized because the shoulder part 15a contacts the contact film 34. FIG. 2 is inclined to the left side (one side in the width direction of the blade rubber 11) in FIG. 2, but the wiping unit 15 is right side (the blade rubber 11 of FIG. 2). Similarly, when tilted to the other side in the width direction, the tilt is regulated by the contact film 34.

  As described above, the contact film 34 plays a role of stabilizing the posture of the wiping portion 15 in which the shoulder portion 15 a is in contact with the contact film 34. That is, it plays a role similar to the role of the shoulder pad provided in the blade rubber of the conventional wiper blade. Therefore, the blade rubber 11 can wipe off the wiping surface S satisfactorily even if the blade rubber 11 is not provided with a shoulder pad portion.

  Further, in the reciprocating wiping of the wiper blade 3 accompanying the reciprocating rotation of the wiper arm 2, the tilting posture of the blade rubber 11 is also reversed at the reversal position. At this time, the shoulder portion 15a formed from the elastic elastomer material collides with the contact film 34 formed from the elastic elastomer material.

As described above, the present embodiment has the following effects.
(1) When the wiping portion 15 made of an elastomer material is inclined with respect to the wiping surface S, the wiping portion 15 is further tilted by contacting the contact film 34 made of an elastomer material, and the posture with respect to the wiping surface S is stabilized. . Therefore, the wiping unit 15 can wipe the wiping surface S satisfactorily. And since the contact film | membrane 34 fulfill | performs the role of the shoulder pad part with which the conventional blade rubber was equipped, the blade rubber 11 does not need to be provided with a shoulder pad part. Therefore, the height of the wiper blade 3 can be suppressed by omitting the shoulder pad portion by omitting the shoulder pad portion while suppressing the deterioration of the wiping performance. Further, by suppressing the height of the wiper blade 3, the appearance of the wiper blade 3 can be improved, and as a result, the appearance of the vehicle including the wiper blade 3 can be improved. Furthermore, the material of the blade rubber 11, which is a consumable item, can be reduced by omitting the shoulder pad.

  (2) The contact film 34 is integrally formed on the lower surface (outer surface) of the case 32. Therefore, the thickness of the contact film 34 can be easily reduced, and the contact film 34 can be easily provided on the lower surface of the case 32.

  (3) The blade rubber provided with the conventional shoulder pad portion needs to have a certain thickness in the shoulder pad portion in order to be able to be molded. On the other hand, since the contact film 34 is integrally formed on the outer surface of the case 32, the contact film 34 can be formed thinner than a shoulder pad provided in a conventional blade rubber. Accordingly, by forming the contact rubber 34 on the outer surface of the case 32 and providing the wiper blade 3 with the blade rubber 11 that does not have the shoulder pad portion, it is higher than the conventional wiper blade having the blade rubber with the shoulder pad portion. This can be suppressed.

  (4) When the tilting posture of the blade rubber 11 is reversed at the reversal position of the wiper blade 3 to be wiped back and forth, the shoulder portion 15a collides with the contact film 34, so that a collision sound (reverse sound of the blade rubber 11) is generated. However, since not only the blade rubber 11 but also the contact film 34 is made of an elastomer material that is an elastic material, the impact noise can be reduced.

In addition, you may change embodiment of this invention as follows.
The shape of the contact film 34 and the formation range of the contact film 34 on the outer surface of the case 32 are not limited to those in the above embodiment. For example, the contact film 35 shown in FIG. 3 is formed of the same elastomer material as that of the fin portion 33. The contact film 35 is formed integrally with the fin portion 33 and covers the entire outer surface of the case 32 together with the fin portion 33. The contact film 35 is integrally formed on the outer surface of the case 32 together with the fin portion 33, and has a thin film shape as compared with the fin portion 33. Even if it does in this way, the effect similar to (1)-(3) of the said embodiment can be acquired. Furthermore, the texture when the case 32 (holding body 31) is viewed from the outside is unified with one type of elastomer material that constitutes the contact film 35 and the fin portion 33. Therefore, the appearance of the wiper blade 3 can be further improved. Moreover, since the fin part 33 and the contact film 35 can be formed simultaneously, the holding body 31 can be formed easily.

In the above embodiment, the contact film 34 is formed from the same elastomer material as the fin portion 33, but may be formed from an elastomer material different from the fin portion 33.
In the above embodiment, the contact film 34 is integrally formed on the lower surface of the case 32. However, the contact film 34 may be formed separately from the case 32 and attached to the lower surface of the case 32 with an adhesive or the like.

  The height of the fin portion 33 may be increased by the amount that the height of the wiper blade 3 is suppressed by eliminating the shoulder pad portion. In this way, without increasing the height of the wiper blade 3, it is possible to increase the force for pressing the wiper blade 3 generated when the traveling wind hits the fin portion 33 when the vehicle travels against the wiping surface S side. Can do. Therefore, the wiping performance when the wiper blade 3 reciprocates at high speed can be improved.

  In the above embodiment, the backing housing portion 32a and the rubber housing portion 32b are connected. However, a partition wall that separates the backing housing portion 32 a and the rubber housing portion 32 b may be formed so that the partition wall is interposed between the backing 21 and the held portion 12. Further, the backing 21 may be disposed outside the case 32. For example, the backing 21 may be disposed between the case 32 and the fin portion 33 so as to contact the upper surface of the case 32.

-The holding body 31 does not necessarily need to be provided with the fin part 33, and may be comprised only from the case 32. FIG.
In the above embodiment, the wiper blade 3 includes a pair of holding bodies 31. However, the wiper blade 3 may be configured to include only one holding body 31 having a length substantially equal to the backing 21 (blade rubber 11).

  In the above embodiment, the coupling device 51 is fixed to the backing 21 exposed between the pair of holding bodies 31, but may be fixed to the case 32. Further, the coupling device 51 may be provided at the tip of the wiper arm 2 instead of the wiper blade 3.

In the above embodiment, the backing 21 is a single backing, but it may be two backings. Furthermore, although the backing 21 is in the form of a plate (band), it may be in the form of a rod.
In the above embodiment, the vehicle wiper 1 has been described as wiping the wiping surface S of the windshield, but may be used as a rear wiper for wiping the rear glass.

The technical idea that can be grasped from the above embodiment and each of the above modifications will be described below.
(A) The wiper blade according to claim 1, wherein the contact film is integrally formed so as to cover an outer surface of the case. According to this configuration, the contact film can be easily formed thin, and the contact film can be easily provided on the outer surface of the case.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Blade rubber, 12 ... Holding part, 15 ... Wiping part, 32 ... Case, 33 ... Fin part, 34, 35 ... Contact film, S ... Wiping surface.

Claims (2)

A long blade rubber made of an elastomer material having a long-shaped held portion and a wiping portion extending in parallel with the held portion for wiping the wiping surface;
A wiper blade provided along a longitudinal direction of the blade rubber and holding the held portion inside, wherein the wiping portion is tiltable with respect to the wiping surface outside the case,
The outer surface of the case is provided with a contact film that is made of an elastomer material and regulates the tilt of the wiping portion by contacting the wiping portion at a portion where the tilted wiping portion contacts. Wiper blade to do. The wiper blade according to claim 1,
The outer surface of the case is integrally formed with a fin portion made of an elastomer material that receives a traveling wind during vehicle traveling and generates a force that presses the wiper blade against the wiping surface.
The wiper blade according to claim 1, wherein the contact film is formed integrally with the fin portion and covers the entire outer surface of the case together with the fin portion.

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