JP2014201232A - Vehicle clean device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle clean device capable of reducing air resistance during traveling, and capable of supplying clean liquid to a wiped surface efficiently.SOLUTION: Wipers 14A, 14B are configured so that tip end connection parts 23, 33 of respective wiper arms 21, 31 face to each other in a normal stand-by state. Between the tip end connection parts 23, 33, a height-low part L whose height with respect to a wiped surface G in a vertical direction is lower than heights H1, H2 of the respective wiper arms 21, 31 is provided. In addition, a washer nozzle 15 for supplying clean liquid is disposed on a position corresponding to the height-low part L in a cowl top panel 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle cleaning device for cleaning the surface of a windshield or the like.

  Conventionally, for example, in the vehicle cleaning apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, a washer nozzle is provided on a cowl top panel disposed at a front lower portion of a windshield, and the surface of the windshield (wiping surface) is provided from the washer nozzle. The surface is wiped off with a pair of wipers on the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side while supplying the cleaning liquid. Each wiper has a wiper arm that reciprocates around a rotation axis set at the base end, and a wiper blade that is connected to the tip of the wiper arm. The wiper surface of the wiper blade wipes the wiping surface. It is supposed to be.

JP 2007-39006 A

  By the way, in the above-described vehicle cleaning apparatus, in order to reduce the air resistance when the vehicle travels, a configuration in which the wiper and the cowl top panel in the normal standby state are substantially flush with each other is conceivable. That is, each wiper in the normal standby state is disposed close to the cowl top panel, and the height of the cowl top panel (the height in the vertical direction of the wiping surface) is configured to be substantially equal to the height of the wiper arm. The flowing air flow becomes smooth, and the air resistance during traveling can be reduced. However, when the washer nozzle is provided on the cowl top panel, the wiper arm is located near the washer nozzle immediately after the start of the injection of the cleaning liquid, so that the cleaning liquid injected from the washer nozzle may be blocked by the wiper. Then, the cleaning liquid that is wasted without being supplied to the windshield increases, and as a result, it becomes difficult to supply the cleaning liquid to a desired range of the windshield.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle cleaning device that can efficiently supply a cleaning liquid to a wiping surface while reducing air resistance during traveling. There is to do.

  A vehicle cleaning apparatus that solves the above-described problems includes a wiper arm that reciprocally rotates around a rotation axis that is set at a base end portion, and a wiper blade that is connected to a distal end portion of the wiper arm and wipes a wiping surface. A vehicle cleaning apparatus comprising a pair of wipers and a washer nozzle provided on a cowl top panel and supplying a cleaning liquid to the wiping surface, wherein each wiper has a tip end portion of each wiper arm in a normal standby state. The wiper arms are configured to face each other, and have a low height portion that is lower than the wiper arms in the vertical direction with respect to the wiping surface between the tip portions of the wiper arms, and the washer nozzle corresponds to the low height portion. It is provided in the position to do.

  According to this configuration, even in the configuration in which each wiper and the cowl top panel in the normal standby state are substantially flush, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the washer nozzle is not easily blocked by the wiper arm and the wiper blade in the normal standby state. Is possible. Accordingly, it is possible to efficiently supply the cleaning liquid to the wiping surface while reducing the air resistance during traveling.

  In the vehicular cleaning apparatus, it is preferable that the cowl top panel is provided with a protruding portion extending above the low-profile portion, and the washer nozzle is provided in the protruding portion.

According to this configuration, it is possible to more reliably suppress the cleaning liquid sprayed from the washer nozzle from being blocked by the wiper.
In the vehicular cleaning apparatus, it is preferable that the washer nozzle is provided on a wiping surface side end surface of the cowl top panel.

  According to this configuration, since the washer nozzle can be easily directed toward the wiping surface, the cleaning liquid can be efficiently supplied to the wiping surface.

  According to the vehicle cleaning device of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently supply the cleaning liquid to the wiping surface while reducing the air resistance during traveling.

It is a top view which shows the washing | cleaning apparatus for vehicles mounted in the vehicle. It is the front view which looked at the 1st and 2nd wiper and the cowl top panel from the direction parallel to the wiping surface. It is a front view which shows the structure of the base end part vicinity of a wiper arm. It is a schematic cross section which shows the structure of the protrusion part vicinity.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle cleaning apparatus will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 10 includes a cowl top panel 13 between a windshield 11 and an engine hood 12, and the cowl top panel 13 has a first on the driver seat side in the vicinity of the windshield 11 side. A wiper 14A and a second wiper 14B on the passenger seat side are provided. Further, the cowl top panel 13 is provided with a washer nozzle 15 for supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface (wiping surface G) of the windshield 11, and the washer nozzle 15 and the wipers 14A and 14B are for the vehicle of this embodiment. A cleaning device D is configured.

  The first and second wipers 14A and 14B include wiper arms 21 and 31 and wiper blades 22 and 32, respectively. The wiper arms 21 and 31 are disposed substantially parallel to the vehicle width direction in a normal standby state, and their base end portions 21a and 31a are disposed near both ends of the windshield 11 in the vehicle width direction.

  The base end portions 21a and 31a of the wiper arms 21 and 31 are respectively connected to a pivot shaft (not shown) through a through hole 13a formed in the vicinity of the end portion of the cowl top panel 13 in the vehicle width direction. The pivot shaft is reciprocated at a predetermined angle by a driving force of a wiper motor (not shown) provided on the inner side of the cowl top panel 13, and the wiper arms 21 and 31 are reciprocally oscillated as the pivot shaft reciprocates. Do exercise. At this time, the wiper arm 21 and the wiper arm 31 are reciprocally rotated in opposite directions in synchronization with each other, and the wiping surface G is wiped oppositely by the wiper blades 22 and 32.

  Each of the wiper arms 21 and 31 is formed by pressing from a metal plate and has an inverted U-shaped cross section that opens to the wiping surface G side. Further, the wiper arms 21 and 31 are configured such that the distal end connecting portions 23 and 33 provided at the distal end portions are urged toward the wiping surface G by an urging mechanism (not shown).

  Wiper blades 22 and 32 are connected to the tip connecting portions 23 and 33 of the wiper arms 21 and 31, respectively. In addition, the front-end | tip part of each wiper arm 21 and 31 is comprised so that the vehicle width direction center of the windshield 11 may face in a normal standby state. In addition, the tip connecting portions 23 and 33 are not overlapped with each other when viewed from the width direction (short direction) of the wipers 14A and 14B (that is, a gap K is provided between the tip connecting portions 23 and 33). (See FIG. 2). The wiper blades 22 and 32 are arranged substantially parallel to the vehicle width direction in the normal standby state.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, each wiper blade 22, 32 has a long blade rubber 41 for wiping the wiping surface G, and a length disposed on the upper side (the anti-wiping surface side) of the blade rubber 41. A scale-like backing 42 is provided. The backing 42 distributes and applies a pressing force toward the wiping surface G to the blade rubber 41 and causes the blade rubber 41 to follow the curvature of the wiping surface G.

  Further, the wiper blades 22 and 32 include connecting levers 43 and 44 that respectively hold the middle portions in the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 41 and the backing 42. In each of the connecting levers 43, 44, a clip 45 connected to the tip connecting portion 23, 33 is rotatable about an axis along the width direction of the wiper blades 22, 32 (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2). It is assembled to.

  The wiper blade 22 of the first wiper 14 </ b> A includes a pair of cases 46 a and 46 b made of a flexible resin material on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the connecting lever 43. Of the pair of cases 46a and 46b, the base end side (wiper arm 21 side) is the case 46a, and the opposite side (tip end side) is the case 46b. Each case 46 a, 46 b holds a backing 42 and a blade rubber 41 that project from both longitudinal sides of the connecting lever 43.

  Similarly, the wiper blade 32 of the second wiper 14 </ b> B includes a pair of cases 47 a and 47 b made of a resin material having flexibility on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the connecting lever 44. Of the pair of cases 47a and 47b, the base end side (wiper arm 31 side) is the case 47a, and the opposite side (tip end side) is the case 47b. Each case 47 a and 47 b holds a backing 42 and a blade rubber 41 that protrude from both longitudinal sides of the connecting lever 44.

  A fin portion 48 is formed on the upper portion of each case 46a, 46b, 47a, 47b for converting the traveling wind into a pressing force toward the wiping surface. Specifically, the fin portion 48 has a cross-sectional shape (see FIG. 4) that is curved so as to increase toward the vehicle rear side (from the wiping surface G) in the normal standby state of the wipers 14A and 14B. Further, caps 49 for preventing the cases 46a, 46b, 47a, 47b from falling off are attached to the end portions in the longitudinal direction of the backing 42 at the outer end portions in the longitudinal direction of the cases 46a, 46b, 47a, 47b. Has been.

Next, the relationship between the wipers 14A and 14B having the above configuration and the cowl top panel 13 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the cowl top panel 13 includes an upper surface 51 that is substantially parallel to the wiping surface G, and a wiper facing surface 52 that is substantially perpendicular to the upper surface 51, and the upper surface 51 and the wiper facing surface. 52 is configured to be a step with respect to the wiping surface G. The upper surface 51 of the cowl top panel 13 has a curved shape along the curve of the wiping surface G in the vehicle width direction. Further, the wiper facing surface 52 is substantially perpendicular to the wiping surface G, and the through holes 13a are formed in the vicinity of both ends in the vehicle width direction.

  Each wiper 14A, 14B is provided substantially along the wiper facing surface 52 at a position on the vehicle rear side of the wiper facing surface 52 in the normal standby state. More specifically, the wiper arm 31 of the second wiper 14B is parallel to the wiper facing surface 52 from the base end portion 31a to the distal end connecting portion 33, and is close to the wiper facing surface 52 and is the wiping surface G. It is provided so as to oppose the direction parallel to (wiping direction).

  On the other hand, the wiper arm 21 of the first wiper 14 </ b> A has a bent portion 24 at a position slightly proximal to the distal end connecting portion 23. The bent portion 24 is bent so as to separate the tip connecting portion 23 from the wiper facing surface 52, and the tip connecting portion 23 is further away from the wiper facing surface 52 than the tip connecting portion 33 of the second wiper 14B. Placed in position. Accordingly, the first wiper 14A is configured not to interfere with the second wiper 14B. Further, the wiper arm 21 has a portion closer to the base end portion 21 a than the bent portion 24 is parallel to the wiper facing surface 52 and is opposed to the wiper facing surface 52 in the wiping direction.

  The wiper blades 22 and 32 are arranged in parallel to the wiper facing surface 52 in the normal standby state. The wiper blade 32 of the second wiper 14B is opposed to the wiper facing surface 52 in the wiping direction, and the wiper blade 22 of the first wiper 14A is opposite to the wiper facing surface 52 across the wiper blade 32 (rear side of the vehicle). Side). That is, the wiper blade 32 of the second wiper 14B is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the wiper facing surface 52, and the wiper blade 22 of the first wiper 14A is disposed at a position farther than the wiper blade 32 with respect to the wiper facing surface 52 ( (See FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the wiper arms 21 and 31 have cowls having heights H <b> 1 and H <b> 2 in the direction perpendicular to the wiping surface G (lengths from the wiping surface G to the upper surfaces 21 b and 31 b of the wiper arms 21 and 31). The top panel 13 is configured to be substantially equal to the height H3 (the length from the wiping surface G to the upper surface 51) in the same direction. That is, the upper surfaces 21 b and 31 b of the wiper arms 21 and 31 are configured to be substantially flush with the upper surface 51 of the cowl top panel 13. Each of the wiper arms 21 and 31 has a main portion having the heights H1 and H2, and the base end portions 21a and 31a are lower than the cowl top panel 13 (see FIG. 3). FIG. 3 shows an example of the base end portion 31a of the wiper arm 31 of the second wiper 14B.

  The wiper blades 22 and 32 of the wipers 14A and 14B are configured to have the same height in the direction perpendicular to the wiping surface G. More specifically, the heights H4 (lengths from the wiping surface G to the top of the fin portion 48) of the cases 46a, 46b, 47a, 47b are set to be equal to each other. The heights H4 of the cases 46a, 46b, 47a, 47b are set lower than the heights H1, H2 of the wiper arms 21, 31, and the height H3 of the cowl top panel 13. Further, the upper surfaces of the connecting levers 43 and 44 of the wiper blades 22 and 32 are curved so that the height decreases from the proximal end side, which is substantially flush with the distal end connecting portions 23 and 33, toward the distal end side. .

  The wipers 14A and 14B arranged as described above are arranged so that the wiper arms 21 and 31 do not overlap each other when viewed from the width direction of the wipers 14A and 14B (the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 2). That is, when viewed from the width direction of the wipers 14A, 14B, the gaps K are configured to be spaced between the tip connecting portions 23, 33 of the wiper arms 21, 31. The wipers 14A, 14B Between 33, it has the structure which has the low part L which is shorter than the height H1, H2 of the wiper arms 21 and 31, and the height H3 of the cowl top panel 13.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1, a protruding portion 53 extending from the wiper facing surface 52 toward the wipers 14 </ b> A and 14 </ b> B is formed at the center portion in the vehicle width direction of the cowl top panel 13. The protruding portion 53 extends above the distal end portion of the connecting lever 44 of the second wiper 14B and the case 47b on the distal end side (position on the non-wiping surface side). The extended leading end surface 53 a (vehicle rear side end surface) of the protruding portion 53 has a shape that follows the bent shape of the bent portion 24 of the wiper arm 21, and a part of the extended leading end surface 53 a with respect to the wiper arm 21. It is opposed to the wiping direction through a slight gap. That is, the protruding portion 53 is provided so as to fill a gap between the tip connecting portion 23 of the wiper arm 21 and the wiper facing surface 52.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the height of the protruding portion 53 (the length from the wiping surface G to the upper surface) is set equal to the height H3 of the cowl top panel 13. That is, the height of the protruding portion 53 is set substantially equal to the heights H1 and H2 of the wiper arms 21 and 31. Thereby, the upper surface of the protruding portion 53 is configured to be substantially flush with the upper surfaces 21 b and 31 b of the wiper arms 21 and 31.

  Two washer nozzles 15 are provided on the extended front end surface 53a of the protruding portion 53 side by side in the vehicle width direction. Each washer nozzle 15 is provided in a region corresponding to the space K between the tip connecting portions 23 and 33 of the wiper arms 21 and 31, that is, the back portion L. Each washer nozzle 15 injects the cleaning liquid W fed from a not-shown washer tank toward the wiping surface G.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, the wipers 14A and 14B are arranged with a sense of unity with the cowl top panel 13 in a normal standby state. That is, the wipers 14A and 14B are disposed close to the wiper facing surface 52 of the cowl top panel 13, and the upper surfaces 21b and 31b of the wiper arms 21 and 31 are substantially flush with the upper surface 51 of the cowl top panel 13. It is configured as follows. Thereby, the airflow which flows along the vehicle body upper surface becomes smooth, and the air resistance at the time of vehicle travel is reduced.

  The washer nozzle 15 is provided at a position corresponding to the low back portion L between the tip connecting portions 23 and 33 of the wiper arms 21 and 31, and the cleaning liquid W sprayed from the washer nozzle 15 is in the low back portion L. It is supplied to the wiping surface G through the top. That is, the cleaning liquid W sprayed from the washer nozzle 15 is suppressed from being blocked by the wiper arms 21 and 31. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the cleaning liquid W that is wasted without being supplied to the wiping surface G, and the cleaning liquid W can be efficiently supplied to the wiping surface G.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the protruding portion 53 of the cowl top panel 13 extends above the wiper blade 32 of the second wiper 14 </ b> B (above the low back portion L), and a washer nozzle is provided on the protruding portion 53. 15 is provided. As a result, even if the wiper blades 22 and 32 in the normal standby state are arranged side by side in the wiping direction for the counter wiping, the washer nozzle 15 is located above the wiper blade 32 of the second wiper 14B. Therefore, the washer nozzle 15 is closer to the wiping surface G. Therefore, in order to reach the wiping surface G with the cleaning liquid W sprayed from the washer nozzle 15, it is only necessary to pass the upper part of the wiper blade 22 of the first wiper 14A. Can be supplied. As a result, more efficient supply of the cleaning liquid W to the wiping surface G is realized.

Next, characteristic effects of the present embodiment will be described.
(1) Wiper 14A, 14B is comprised so that the front-end | tip connection parts 23 and 33 of each wiper arm 21 and 31 may mutually face in the normal standby state, and it is perpendicular | vertical with respect to the wiping surface G between each front-end | tip connection part 23 and 33 The height L of the direction is lower than the heights H1 and H2 of the wiper arms 21 and 31. The washer nozzle 15 for supplying the cleaning liquid W is provided at a position corresponding to the low back portion L of the cowl top panel 13. According to this configuration, even when the upper surfaces 21b and 31b of the wiper arms 21 and 31 and the upper surface 51 of the cowl top panel 13 are substantially flush, the cleaning liquid W sprayed from the washer nozzle 15 is in a normal standby state. The wiper arms 21 and 31 and the wiper blades 22 and 32 can be made difficult to block. Accordingly, the cleaning liquid W can be efficiently supplied to the wiping surface G while reducing the air resistance during traveling.

  (2) The cowl top panel 13 is provided with a protruding portion 53 that extends above the low back portion L (the wiper blade 32 of the second wiper 14B), and the washer nozzle 15 is provided in the protruding portion 53. For this reason, it can suppress more reliably that the washing | cleaning liquid W injected from the washer nozzle 15 is interrupted | blocked by wiper 14A, 14B.

  (3) Since the washer nozzle 15 is provided on the extended front end surface 53a of the protruding portion 53 (the end surface on the wiping surface G side of the cowl top panel 13), the washer nozzle 15 is easily oriented toward the wiping surface G. As a result, the cleaning liquid W can be efficiently supplied from the wiping surface G. In addition, the appearance of the vehicle is improved with no protrusion feeling compared to the case where the washer nozzle 15 is provided on the upper surface of the protruding portion 53 (the upper surface 51 of the cowl top panel 13).

  (4) The protruding portion 53 is located in a gap between the wiper facing surface 52 of the cowl top panel 13 and the tip connecting portion 23 of the wiper arm 21 (first wiper 14A). As a result, the upper surface 51 of the cowl top panel 13 and the upper surface 21b of the tip connecting portion 23 are substantially flush with each other, which can contribute to further reduction in air resistance during traveling.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
In the above embodiment, the protruding portion 53 is formed with a length from the low back portion L to the bent portion 24 of the wiper arm 21 in the vehicle width direction, but other than this, for example, a vehicle corresponding to the low back portion L You may form with the length of the width direction.

Further, the protruding portion 53 may be omitted from the cowl top panel 13 of the above embodiment, and the washer nozzle 15 may be provided at a position corresponding to the low back portion L on the wiper facing surface 52.
The protruding portion 53 may be extended to above the wiper blade 22 in the low back portion L. According to this configuration, the washer nozzle 15 can be brought closer to the wiping surface G, and as a result, the cleaning liquid W can be efficiently supplied to the wiping surface G.

  In the above embodiment, the wiper arm 21 has the first wiper 14 </ b> A having the bent portion 24 as the wiper on the driver's seat side, and the second wiper 14 </ b> B in which the wiper arm 31 is linearly formed is the wiper on the passenger seat side. The wiper has a preferable configuration in which the wiper performs a wide wiping operation as soon as possible.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Cowl top panel, 14A, 14B ... Wiper, 15 ... Washer nozzle, 21, 31 ... Wiper arm, 21a, 31a ... Base end part, 22, 32 ... Wiper blade, 23, 33 ... Tip connection part, 53 ... Projection part 53a ... extended front end surface (wiping surface side end surface), D ... vehicle cleaning device, G ... wiping surface, L ... back portion, W ... cleaning liquid.

Claims (3)

A pair of wipers each having a wiper arm that reciprocally rotates around a rotation axis set at the base end, and a wiper blade that is connected to the distal end of the wiper arm and wipes the wiping surface;
A vehicular cleaning apparatus provided with a washer nozzle provided on a cowl top panel and supplying a cleaning liquid to the wiping surface,
Each of the wipers is configured such that the tip ends of the wiper arms face each other in a normal standby state, and the height in the direction perpendicular to the wiping surface is lower than that of each wiper arm between the tip portions of the wiper arms. Part
The vehicle washer according to claim 1, wherein the washer nozzle is provided at a position corresponding to the low back portion. The vehicle cleaning device according to claim 1,
The vehicular cleaning apparatus, wherein the cowl top panel is provided with a protruding portion extending above the low-profile portion, and the washer nozzle is provided in the protruding portion. The vehicle washing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The vehicle washer according to claim 1, wherein the washer nozzle is provided on a wiping surface side end surface of the cowl top panel.