JP7284071B2 - Combined structure of wiper blade and wiper arm - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a structure for connecting a wiper blade and a wiper arm in a wiper assembly used in a vehicle wiper device or the like.

A wiper assembly provided in a vehicle wiper device generally comprises a wiper blade having a wiping member for wiping a surface to be wiped such as a glass surface of an automobile, and a wiper arm holding the wiper blade. In such a wiper assembly, the wiper blade is sometimes coupled to the wiper arm by attaching a U-shaped curved hook provided on the wiper arm to a clip member provided on the wiper blade. .

JP 2016-41522

11 and 12 show an example of a joint structure between a wiper blade and a wiper arm in a conventional wiper assembly. As illustrated, the wiper arm 100 has a U-shaped curved hook portion 101 as a connection portion with the wiper blade 110 . On the other hand, a clip member 112 is rotatably attached to the wiper blade 110 below the mounting opening 111 . By attaching the hook portion 101 to the clip member 112 , the wiper arm 100 is rotatably coupled to the wiper blade 110 .

The wiper blade 110 has a holding member 113 that holds the hook portion 101 of the wiper arm 100 at a predetermined position. The holding member 113 is attached to the wiper blade 110 so as to be rotatable around a rotation shaft 113A. As shown in FIG. 11, when the wiper arm 100 and the wiper blade 110 are connected, the holding member 113 is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the wiper blade 110 and holds the hook portion 101 at the elastic contact portion 113B at the tip. are doing. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, when removing the wiper arm 100 from the wiper blade 110, the hook portion 101 is removed from the clip member 112 by rotating the holding member 113 to the standing position.

As described above, in the conventional coupling structure, the hook portion 101 is held by the holding member 113 that rotates with respect to the wiper blade 110. Therefore, when removing the wiper arm 100 from the wiper blade 110, the user manually It was necessary to raise the holding member 113 by . In this case, the user moves the holding member 113 by inserting a fingertip between the holding member 113 and the hook portion 101. However, the gap between the holding member 113 holding the hook portion 101 and the hook portion 101 is small, It was difficult to work. In addition, the holding member 113 once erected may fall down during the removal work, and the fallen holding member 113 may interfere with the wiper arm 100 and interfere with the removal work. . These problems have caused a reduction in the efficiency of the work of removing the wiper arm 100 from the wiper blade 110 .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such problems. In a structure for connecting a wiper blade and a wiper arm, the holding member holding the wiper arm can be easily removed, and the wiper arm can be removed from the wiper blade. To provide a joint structure of a wiper blade and a wiper arm that enables efficient work.

The present invention provides a structure for connecting a wiper blade and a wiper arm. and a slide member disposed on an upper surface of the wiper blade and slidably movable along the upper surface of the wiper blade, wherein the wiper arm is attached to the clip member. a portion, wherein the slide member is movable between a closed position disposed above the mounting opening and a retracted position moved from the closed position toward a position away from the mounting opening; The slide member engages with and holds the coupling portion in the closed position, and by rotating the wiper arm together with the clip member relative to the wiper blade body, , the wiper arm and the slide member are disengaged.

The coupling portion of the wiper arm is a hook portion formed by folding back the end portion of the wiper arm and having a curved tip end portion, and the slide member has a curved shape fitted to the tip end portion of the hook portion. mating surfaces.

The hook portion has a flat surface adjacent to the tip portion, the slide member has a projecting portion adjacent to the fitting surface and projecting toward the hook portion, and the wiper arm is connected to the wiper blade. When the slide member is rotated with respect to the main body until the engagement between the fitting surface and the tip portion is disengaged, the flat surface comes into contact with the projecting portion, thereby pushing the slide member toward the retracted position. may

Locking means for locking the slide member at the retracted position may be provided.

According to the present invention, in the connecting structure of the wiper blade (for example, wiper blade 3) and the wiper arm (for example, wiper arm 2), the connecting portion (for example, hook portion 2D) of the wiper arm attached to the clip member (for example, clip member 8) ) is held by a slide member (e.g., slide member 10) that slides along the top surface (e.g., top surface 6A) of the wiper blade. The sliding member can slide slightly to disengage the sliding member from the connecting portion simply by rotating it. Therefore, it is possible to very easily release the held state of the coupling portion by the slide member, so that the work of removing the wiper arm from the wiper blade can be made efficient.

A connecting portion of the wiper arm is a hook portion (for example, hook portion 2D) formed by folding back the end portion of the wiper arm and provided with a curved tip portion (for example, tip portion 2E), and a fitting surface provided on the slide member. (For example, the fitting surface 12A) is held by fitting the tip of the hook to the position where the tip of the hook deviates from the fitting surface when the wiper arm is rotated. Since the wiper arm can be disengaged from the fitting surface, it is possible to obtain a configuration in which the holding state is released by turning the wiper arm with a simple configuration. Further, if the clip member is attached to the inside of the hook portion, the hook portion can be removed from the clip member by moving the tilted wiper arm in the longitudinal direction by rotation, so that the wiper arm can be attached to the wiper blade. The work of removing from the wiper arm can be performed by a series of operations of tilting the wiper arm and then moving it in the longitudinal direction.

If the flat surface of the hook portion (e.g., the flat upper surface 2F) and the projecting portion of the slide member (e.g., the rear projecting portion 12B) abut against each other to push the slide member toward the retracted position, the user can press the slide member. When the wiper arm is moved to the retracted position, only by rotating the wiper arm, the slide member can be pushed out to a position where the work can be easily performed, and the work can be facilitated because it provides appropriate assistance in the initial stage of the work. Further, the amount of movement by which the slide member is pushed out can be appropriately adjusted by the amount of protrusion of the protrusion.

If locking means (for example, the locking protrusion 11C of the slide member 10 and the locking recess 6F of the primary lever 6) for locking the slide member in the retracted position is provided, the wiper arm connection portion can be removed from the clip member. In addition, since the slide member does not return to the closed position and become an obstacle, the removal work can be performed stably and smoothly.

It is a perspective view showing the whole composition of the wiper assembly in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the joint structure of the wiper blade and the wiper arm in the embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the wiper arm and the wiper blade are arranged substantially parallel. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the joint structure of the wiper blade and the wiper arm in the embodiment of the present invention, and shows the state during the wiping operation. It is a perspective view showing the joint structure of a wiper blade and a wiper arm in an embodiment of the present invention, and is a figure showing a state at the time of wiping in a section in part. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a clip member according to the embodiment of the invention; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a slide member according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing how the wiper arm is removed from the wiper blade in the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which the wiper arm is rotated to release the engagement between the slide member and the hook. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing how the wiper arm is removed from the wiper blade in the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which the slide member is moved to the retracted position. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing how the wiper arm is removed from the wiper blade in the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which the slide member is moved to the retracted position. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing how the wiper arm is removed from the wiper blade in the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state where the hook portion is removed from the clip member. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection structure between a wiper blade and a wiper arm in a conventional wiper assembly, and shows a connection state between the wiper blade and the wiper arm. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a joint structure between a wiper blade and a wiper arm in a conventional wiper assembly, and shows how the wiper arm is removed from the wiper blade.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a wiper assembly 1. As shown in FIG. As shown, the wiper assembly 1 comprises a wiper arm 2 and a wiper blade 3 held by the wiper arm 2 .

The wiper arm 2 includes an arm head 2A, a retainer 2B rotatably connected to the arm head 2A, and an arm piece 2C attached to the retainer 2B. In the wiper device including the wiper assembly 1, the arm head 2A is linked to a drive mechanism (not shown). As a result, the wiper blade 3 held by the wiper arm 2 is driven by the drive mechanism via the wiper arm 2 .

The wiper blade 3 includes a blade rubber 4 that is a wiping member for wiping a surface to be wiped (for example, a glass surface of an automobile), and a support portion 5 that holds the blade rubber 4 . The support portion 5 includes a primary lever 6 arranged in the center in the longitudinal direction, and secondary levers 7 on both sides rotatably connected to both sides of the primary lever 6 . An upper surface 6A of the primary lever 6 has a longitudinal central portion formed with a mounting opening 6B opening upward. A slide member 10 that can slide in the longitudinal direction of the wiper blade 3 is provided on the upper surface 6A of the primary lever 6 .

2 to 4 show in detail the connecting structure of the wiper arm 2 and the wiper blade 3. FIG. As shown in the figure, a joint space 6D is formed between the left and right side walls 6C of the primary lever 6 below the mounting opening 6B of the primary lever 6. As shown in FIG. In the joint space 6D, a shaft portion 6E is arranged between side walls 6C, 6C on both sides of the primary lever 6, and a clip member 8 is rotatably attached to the shaft portion 6E. ing.

On the other hand, the tip side of the arm piece 2C is folded back to the opposite side in the longitudinal direction to form a hook portion 2D curved in a U shape. Further, the hook portion 2D (wiper arm 2) has a distal end portion 2E curved in an arc shape. By attaching the wiper arm 2 to the clip member 8 at the hook portion 2D, the wiper arm 2 is rotatably coupled to the wiper blade 3 (primary lever 6).

5, the clip member 8 includes side wall portions 8A, 8A on both sides and a fitting portion 8B disposed between the side wall portions 8A, 8A. The fitting portion 8B is a portion to which the hook portion 2D of the wiper arm 2 is fitted, and has an outer shape that is just fitted to the U-shaped inner shape of the hook portion 2D. A space portion 8C is formed between the side wall portions 8A and 8A in front of the fitting portion 8B. It can be fitted into the fitting portion 8B.

The clip member 8 has an axial hole 8D passing therethrough in the lateral direction. The shaft hole 8D extends through the left and right side wall portions 8A, 8A and the fitting portion 8B. An introduction portion 8E is formed below the shaft hole 8D so that the shaft portion 6E of the primary lever 6 can be fitted into the shaft hole 8D through the introduction portion 8E. By fitting the shaft portion 6E into the shaft hole 8D, the clip member 8 is rotatably attached to the wiper blade main body (the entire structure of the wiper blade 2 other than the clip member 8).

The slide member 10 is a holding member that holds the hook portion 2D at an appropriate position so as not to fall off the clip member 8, and is attached to the front end portion 8F side of the clip member 8 (the tip portion of the hook portion 2D attached to the clip member 8). 2E side). The slide member 10 is slidable in the longitudinal direction with respect to the primary lever 6 by engaging rails (not shown) formed on both side edges of the mounting opening 6B, for example. As a result, the slide member 10 can be placed in a closed position (the position illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4) in which the majority of the slide member 10 is disposed over the mounting opening 6B and partially closes the mounting opening 6B, and in the mounting opening 6B. It can be selectively placed in a retracted position (see FIGS. 8 and 9) away from the mounting opening 6B by moving forward (left side in FIGS. 2 and 3) from 6B.

6, the slide member 10 includes a lid portion 11 arranged along the upper surface 6A of the primary lever 6 and a holder portion 12 extending downward from a rear portion 11A of the lid portion 11. As shown in FIG. . The lid portion 11 is a rectangular plate-like portion having approximately the same width as the mounting opening portion 6B, and slides along the upper surface 6A of the primary lever 6 when the slide member 10 moves.

The rear end of the holder portion 12 is formed with a fitting surface 12A that is curved in an arc shape so as to just fit with the front end portion 2E of the hook portion 2D. When the sliding member 10 is in the closed position as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the tip 2E is fitted (engaged) with the fitting surface 12A, so that the hook 2D of the wiper arm 2 is held by the clip member 8. , and is held at a predetermined position in the joint space 6D by the slide member 10. As shown in FIG. On the upper side of the fitting surface 12A of the holder part 12, a rear protrusion 12B is formed adjacent to the fitting surface 12A and protrudes rearward along with the curve of the fitting surface 12A.

A locking protrusion 11C is provided on the lower surface 11B of the lid portion 11 so as to be positioned slightly forward of the holder portion 12 . On the other hand, an upper surface 6A of the primary lever 6 is formed with a locking recess 6F into which the locking protrusion 11C is fitted. The locking recess 6F is formed adjacent to the front edge 6G of the mounting opening 6B and has a lead-in portion 6H that opens to the front edge 6G.

With such a configuration, when the slide member 10 is moved to the retracted position, the locking projection 11C is introduced into the locking recess 6F through the introduction portion 6H. As a result, the slide member 10 that has moved to the retracted position is temporarily retained at the retracted position by locking the locking protrusion 11C to the locking recess 6F. That is, the locking protrusion 11C and the locking recess 6F constitute locking means for locking the slide member 10 at the retracted position.

Next, the operation of removing the wiper arm 2 from the wiper blade 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 7 to 10. FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, when the wiper arm 2 and the wiper blade 3 are coupled, the wiper arm 2 is arranged substantially parallel to the wiper blade 3, and the slide member 10 is arranged at the closed position. As a result, the fitting surface 12A of the slide member 10 is engaged (fitted) with the distal end portion 2E of the hook portion 2D of the wiper arm 2 to hold the hook portion 2D. Also, the cover portion 11 of the slide member 10 covers the portion of the mounting opening 6B where the wiper arm 2 does not exist (the front side of the tip portion 2E).

As shown in FIG. 3, during wiping (when wiping the surface to be wiped by the wiper blade 3), the wiper arm 2 is slightly upward ( in the upright position). Even in this state, the contact portion of the hook portion 2D with the fitting surface 12A of the slide member 10 remains within the arc shape of the tip portion 2E (hook portion 2D), so the fitting surface 12A is engaged with the hook portion 2D. mating continues, and the slide member 10 continues to be positioned in the closed position.

Therefore, during wiping, the hook portion 2D of the wiper arm 2 continues to be held at a predetermined position (correctly attached to the clip member 8) within the coupling space 6D by the slide member 10. FIG. Therefore, the wiper blade 3 does not come off from the wiper arm 2, and stable wiping work can be performed. In addition, since the portion of the mounting opening 6B where the wiper arm 2 does not exist is entirely covered with the cover portion 11 of the slide member 10 in the closed position, the wiper assembly 1 is kept aesthetically pleasing.

When removing the wiper arm 2 from the wiper blade 3, as shown in FIG. 7, the wiper arm 2 is rotated further upward beyond the wiping rotation position shown in FIG. , the direction of this rotation is indicated by an arrow). As a result, the hook portion 2D of the wiper arm 2 greatly changes the angle with respect to the fitting surface 12A of the slide member 10, so that the engagement (fitting) between the fitting surface 12A and the hook portion 2D (tip portion 2E) is prevented. get off.

Further, since the flat upper surface 2F of the hook portion 2D of the wiper arm 2 (the flat portion adjacent to the rear of the arc shape of the distal end portion 2E) abuts on the rear projection portion 12B of the slide member 10, the slide member 10 is Pushed slightly forward (retracted position side) from the closed position. The amount by which the slide member 10 is pushed out toward the retracted position can be appropriately adjusted by adjusting the amount of protrusion of the rear protrusion 12B.

In this manner, by simply rotating the wiper arm 2 in the upright direction, the hook portion 2D of the wiper arm 2 and the holder portion 12 of the slide member 10 are disengaged, and the slide member 10 moves slightly forward from the closed position. is moved to Therefore, the user can easily slide the slide member 10 in this state manually toward the retracted position.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, when the slide member 10 is moved to the retracted position, a clearance for removing the hook portion 2D of the wiper arm 2 from the clip member 8 is formed in the mounting opening 6B. It is formed in front of 8. Further, since the locking protrusion 11C of the slide member 10 is fitted and locked into the locking recess 6F of the primary lever 6, the slide member 10 is temporarily fixed at the retracted position.

When the slide member 10 is retracted while the wiper arm 2 is tilted in this manner, the hook portion of the wiper arm 2 is moved downward as shown in FIG. The wiper arm 2 can be removed from the wiper blade 3 by removing 2D from the fitting portion 8B of the clip member 8 . Thus, the operation of rotating the wiper arm 2 with respect to the wiper blade main body is one of the operations for releasing the engagement between the slide member 10 and the hook portion 2D and removing the hook portion 2D from the clip member 8. It is also a department. Therefore, the operation of removing the wiper arm 2 from the wiper blade 3 can be performed by a series of operations of tilting and moving the wiper arm 2 downward.

Moreover, since the slide member 10 is temporarily fixed at the retracted position during this removing operation, it does not move to a position where it interferes with the wiper arm 2 . Therefore, the slide member 10 does not interfere with the removal work of the wiper arm 2, and the removal work can be performed stably and smoothly.

As described above, according to the connecting structure of the wiper blade 3 and the wiper arm 2 of the present embodiment, the holding state of the hook portion 2D (joint portion) of the wiper arm 2 by the slide member 10 (holding member) is released (the distal end portion). 2E and fitting surface 12A) can be performed by simply rotating the wiper arm 2 in the upright direction beyond the rotation angle for wiping. Further, the slide member 10 after being disengaged from the hook portion 2D can be easily slid to the retracted position by fingertip operation. Furthermore, since the slide member 10 is temporarily fixed at the retracted position by being locked to the locking protrusion 11C and the locking recess 6F, when the wiper arm 2 is removed from the wiper blade 3, the wiper arm 2 and the slide member are temporarily fixed. 10 will not interfere. Therefore, the work of removing the wiper arm 2 from the wiper blade 3 can be performed very easily and efficiently.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 wiper assembly 2 wiper arm 2A arm head 2B retainer 2C arm piece 2D hook 2E tip of hook 2F flat upper surface of hook 2G rearward end of hook 3 wiper blade 4 blade rubber 5 support 6 primary lever 6A Upper surface of primary lever 6B Mounting opening 6C Side wall of primary lever 6D Coupling space 6E Shaft 6F Locking recess 6G Front edge of mounting opening 6H Introduction part 7 Secondary lever 8 Clip member 8A Side wall part 8B Fitting part 8C Space part 8D Shaft hole 8E Introduction part 10 Slide member 11 Lid part 11A Rear part 11B of lid part Lower surface 11C of lid part Locking projection part 12 Holder part 12A Fitting surface 12B Rear projection part

Claims (4)

In the joint structure of the wiper blade and wiper arm,
The wiper blade includes a clip member that is rotatable with respect to the wiper blade body, a mounting opening that is formed in the upper surface of the wiper blade and opens upward to the clip member, and is arranged on the upper surface of the wiper blade. a slide member that is slidably movable along the upper surface of the wiper blade,
the wiper arm includes a coupling portion attached to the clip member;
The slide member is movable between a closed position arranged above the mounting opening and a retracted position moved from the closed position toward a position away from the mounting opening,
the slide member is adapted to engage and retain the coupling portion in the closed position;
A connecting structure for a wiper blade and a wiper arm, wherein the wiper arm is disengaged from the slide member by rotating the wiper arm together with the clip member with respect to the wiper blade body. the connecting portion of the wiper arm is a hook portion formed by folding back the end portion of the wiper arm and having a curved distal end portion;
2. A connecting structure for a wiper blade and a wiper arm according to claim 1, wherein said slide member has a curved fitting surface that fits onto the tip of said hook. the hook portion comprises a flat surface adjacent to the tip;
The slide member has a protruding portion provided adjacent to the fitting surface and protruding toward the hook portion,
When the wiper arm is rotated with respect to the wiper blade body until the engagement between the fitting surface and the tip portion is disengaged, the flat surface comes into contact with the projecting portion, thereby moving the slide member toward the retracted position. 3. The wiper blade and wiper arm coupling structure according to claim 2, wherein the wiper blade and wiper arm are extruded. 4. A connecting structure for a wiper blade and a wiper arm according to claim 1, further comprising locking means for locking said slide member at said retracted position.

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