JPH01122745A - Motor driven door mirror for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the utility by enabling every mirror use position which is different from each other, depending upon individual drivers, to be stored in a simple electromechanical memory means every time when a visor incorporating a mirror is stored and the mirror is adjusted. CONSTITUTION:A visor 18 incorporated in a mirror 18 in a door mirror assem bly is rotated between a return position and a storage position about a support shaft 15 by means of a gear train 17 in association with the operation of the motor 2. The visor 1 is automatically stopped at the return position and the storage position by switches SW which control the rotation of the visor 1 in the return direction and in the storage direction. In this arrangement, the return direction switch is composed of a movable contact substrate 5 having arcuated contact members 5a, 5b and being rotatable integrally with the visor 1 through the intermediary of a clutch means 6, and a stationary contact substrate 4 secured to the support shaft 15. Further, the movable contact substrate 5 may be engaged with the support shaft 15 upon energization of the electromagnetic clutch 7.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric door mirror for an automobile, and more specifically, the invention relates to an electric door mirror for an automobile.
This invention relates to an electric door mirror for an automobile that can be implemented with a single drive unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Recently, electric door mirrors have been adopted in many automobiles. In general, electric door mirrors use multiple built-in drive units (generally three drive units) to store the visor, adjust the horizontal and vertical positions of the mirror glass, and adjust the vertical position of the mirror glass. . However, when the visor is returned to the position where the mirror is used to visually confirm the rear view, the return position differs depending on the driver of the vehicle. Therefore, there is a problem in that the optimum return position of the visor must be adjusted each time by driving the drive unit. Various methods have been proposed to solve this problem and are in actual use. For example, there is a method in which the return position of the visor is stored in advance, and the drive unit is controlled by a feedback signal from a potentiometer built into the drive unit to detect a predetermined position. However, this type of electric door mirror has a problem in that it has a complicated mechanism and requires an expensive control device.

On the other hand, recently, the number of drive units for the above-mentioned door mirrors has been increased to two, and the first drive unit is used to retract and return the visor and adjust the horizontal position of the mirror glass, and the remaining second drive unit is used to adjust the vertical position of the mirror glass. A relatively inexpensive door mirror has been proposed. In such a door mirror, the return position adjustment of the visor is as follows:
In principle, this is necessary if the driver changes.

Technical Problems of the Present Invention Accordingly, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a visor for an electric door mirror configured so that the same drive unit can retract and restore the visor and adjust the horizontal position of the mirror glass. To provide an electric door mirror which can always automatically stop at a return position set as an optimum use position, and whose means can be realized with a simple structure and a relatively inexpensive configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is applied to an electric door mirror configured such that a first drive unit built into the visor controls the rotation of the visor, and a second drive unit controls the rotation of the mirror glass inside the visor. It was done with the intention of

(Configuration) In order to achieve the above technical problem, the present invention was configured as follows.

That is, in the electric door mirror of the present invention, a visor with mirror glass inside is rotatably mounted on a visor support shaft formed on a stay provided on the outer surface of the vehicle body, and the visor is mounted at a predetermined position within the visor. The first drive unit includes an electric motor and a gear train for transmitting rotation of the electric motor. A fixed gear is non-rotatably mounted around the visor support shaft, one rotating gear of the gear train is meshed with the fixed gear, and
Each of the drive circuits of the electric motor is configured to perform rotation control in the return direction and the storage direction, respectively, so that the visor is rotated between at least a return position, which is a use position, and a storage position with respect to the vehicle due to the drive of the electric motor. A switch was incorporated, and the visor was configured to automatically stop at the return position and the retracted position using each of the above switches.

Moreover, the return direction switch is disposed around the visor support shaft and above the fixed gear, has an arc-shaped contact member, and is held on the visor via a clutch means so as to rotate together with the visor. It is comprised of a movable contact board and a fixed contact board that includes a fixed contact member that cooperates with the contact member and is fixed to the outer periphery of the visor support shaft. Further, the movable contact board is engaged with a friction plate of an electromagnetic clutch that is non-rotatably fitted on the outer periphery of the visor support shaft, and when the electromagnetic clutch is energized, the movable contact board supports the visor via the friction plate. It was fixed to the shaft.

In the above configuration, each switch for the return direction and the retraction direction is a so-called slide type switch, and the corresponding switch is turned off when the visor is in the retracted position and the return position. The on/off timing of each switch can be easily adjusted by appropriately configuring the arc length of the arc-shaped contact member of the movable contact board.

(Function) According to the above configuration, the visor is supported by the visor support shaft and can rotate around the visor support shaft. Furthermore, this rotation is carried out by a first drive unit mounted on the visor. The rotation of the visor executed by the drive unit is controlled by a switch in the storage direction and a switch in the return direction so that the visor is automatically stopped at the storage position and the return position.

In other words, the switch in the storage direction controls the motor drive in the storage position direction of the visor by being connected to an external circuit, and the switch in the return direction controls the motor drive in the storage position direction of the visor.
Similarly, the motor drive in the direction of the return position of the visor is controlled.

Furthermore, the movable contact board of the switch in the return direction is in engagement with the friction plate of the electromagnetic clutch, and rotates integrally with the friction plate when the electromagnetic clutch is in a de-energized state as the visor rotates. Can be done.

However, when the electromagnetic clutch is energized, the friction plate is attracted to the electromagnetic clutch body and fixed to the visor support shaft, so that the movable contact board is also locked to the visor support shaft. However, since the movable contact board is held by the visor via the clutch means, rotation of the visor is not hindered even if the movable contact board is locked to the visor support shaft.

By the way, it is possible to selectively control the case where the movable contact board rotates together with the visor and the case where it is locked to the visor support shaft without interfering with the rotation of the visor.
It becomes possible to stop the rotation of the visor at any position in the direction of the visor's return position. In other words, since the rotation of the visor in the direction of the return position is always controlled by the movable contact board and the fixed contact board, the return position on the electric circuit once set, that is, the position where the switch turns off, is always constant. It is. However, if only the visor can be moved to either direction from the return position on the electric circuit, the moved position becomes the new return position on the electric circuit, that is, the motor drive stop position.

On the other hand, the fact that the movable contact board can be separated from the rotation of the visor by the electromagnetic clutch means that only the visor can be moved while maintaining the return position on the electric circuit, that is, the mutual positional relationship of both contact members. It can be rotated electrically. In other words, the switch in the retraction direction is on in the return position (the movable contact member and the fixed contact member are set so that the switch in the retraction direction is always on in the return position in order to retract the visor). ), it is possible to drive the same drive unit with different control circuits via the switch. Therefore, for example, by incorporating an operation switch for adjusting the lateral position of the visor into the drive control circuit for the storage direction, the visor can be rotated from the return position in either the storage or anti-retraction direction. . Moreover, even during this operation, the return position on the electric circuit remains maintained. This is because the movable contact board is locked to the visor support shaft.

That is, by changing the mutual positional relationship of the visor and the movable contact board along the rotational direction, the rotation of the visor can be electrically stopped at any position within the maximum rotational range.

(Effect) As is clear from the above explanation, if it becomes possible to rotate the visor using a circuit equipped with a separate switch while maintaining the operating state (off state) of the corresponding switch in the return position, the return This means that the position where the visor stops can be freely changed to any position within the rotatable range of the visor.

In other words, since the horizontal position adjustment of the mirror glass is performed by a circuit different from the electric circuit that controls the return position, that is, the drive control circuit for the storage direction, the position where the above position adjustment is completed will be the position of the visor from then on. This is the return position.

The return position is then stored until the next position adjustment is performed. That is, it not only allows the driver of the vehicle to optimally adjust the position of the door mirror, but also mechanically stores the optimal adjusted position to enable the subsequent return position of the visor to be determined.

Therefore, with the electric door mirror of the present invention, once the driver sets the lateral position of the visor to the optimum use position, the visor can be set even if the visor is retracted and then moved to the use position again. This electric door mirror is equipped with a so-called position memory means that automatically stops the visor at the specified left and right positions. Moreover, the storage means is
Since it has a relatively simple electrical and mechanical configuration, it is advantageous in terms of cost compared to conventional electrical storage means. Furthermore, the door mirror of the present invention can be easily installed in a vehicle equipped with an existing electric door mirror by using an existing electric circuit.

EMBODIMENT An electric door mirror according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 50.

As shown in FIG. 1.2, the electric door mirror of this embodiment has an electric motor 2 and transmits the rotation of the electric motor 2 to a predetermined position inside the visor indicated by 1 in the figure. A first drive unit A comprising a gear train 17 is disposed, and the visor 1 is shaped into a stay (not shown) provided on the outer surface of the car body so that it can rotate about 01 as a rotation center. It is attached to a visor support shaft 15 provided therein. Furthermore, a fixed gear 16 is non-rotatably mounted around the visor support shaft l, and the rearmost gear 17a of the gear train 17 is engaged with the fixed gear 16, and further, the visor 1 is driven by the electric motor 2. In order to rotate at least between a return position, which is a use position for an automobile, and a storage position, each switch SW for controlling rotation in the return direction and storage direction, respectively, is incorporated into the drive circuit of the electric motor 2, and each of the switches The visor is configured to automatically stop at the return position and the retracted position using a switch. Further, a mirror glass 18 was disposed within the visor 1 via a holder 19 and held by the visor 1 so as to be rotatable about Of. Incidentally, the rotation of the mirror glass 18 is performed by the second drive unit B.

By the way, the drive mechanism of this type of foldable electric drive door mirror is a generally well-known mechanism, and the electric door mirror of this embodiment is also constructed using this drive mechanism. Therefore, a detailed explanation of the known mechanism will be omitted here, and the characteristic parts of the mechanism according to the present invention will be explained in detail below.

As is well known, in order to tilt the visor 1 towards the body of the car,
The rearmost gear 17a meshed with the fixed gear 16 that is engaged with the visor support shaft 15 may be driven by the drive motor 2 that drives the gear train 17 having the gear 17a. That is, since the drive unit A consisting of the drive motor 2 and the gear train 17 is fixed to the visor 1, the visor rotates around the visor support shaft 15 when the drive motor 2 is driven.

In this embodiment, conductor brushes 4 a and 4 b held by the visor support shaft 15 are further provided at the upper end of the visor support shaft 15 . The brush 4a.

The brush holders 4b are fixed to the visor support shaft 15 and are arranged and held vertically in the axial direction within the brush holder 4 that holds them. The first brush 4a on the upper side forms a pair with the first movable contact board 3 which is mounted on the gear base 8 and cooperates with the brush 4a, and the second brush 4b on the lower side is also connected to the gear base 8 via the clutch means 6. the second held
It forms a pair with the movable contact board 5. The 1.2 movable contact board 3.5 is connected to each of the brushes 4 as shown in FIGS. 4A and 5A.
Each pair of arcuate contact members 3a, 3b; 5a, 5b is provided on the surface facing the contact members 3a, 4b. And each pair of contact members 3a, 3b; 5
a, 5b above corresponding brushes 4a, 4b
b will begin to slide relative to each other.

Therefore, each pair of contact members 3a, 3b; 5
A, 5b and the corresponding brushes 4a, 4b function as a switch by cooperating with each other. These contact members 3a.

3b: 5a, 5b, as shown in the figure, the pair of contact members 3a, 3b of the first movable contact board 3 cooperate with the first brush 4a to turn off at the retracted position, and otherwise The pair of contact members 5a and 5b of the second movable contact board 5 are connected to the second brush 4b.
It is formed so that it is turned off at the return position and along the direction of extension thereof, and turned on in cooperation with the storage position and a predetermined position along the direction of extension thereof. In addition, each contact member 3a,
3b; 5a and 5b are connected to an external electric circuit through lead wires (not shown).

By the way, the clutch means 6 has a second movable contact board 5.
A plurality of leaf springs 6 are disposed around the edge of the gear base 8, and are each held by an arm protruding downward from the gear base 8, each having a roughly U-shaped cross section. The second movable contact board 5 is held between the leaf springs 6. Therefore, if a certain external force is applied to the substrate 5, slippage will occur between the substrate 5 and the leaf spring 6, and no relative movement will occur between the substrate 5 and the corresponding blank 4b.

Furthermore, below the second movable contact board 5, an electromagnetic clutch 7 is arranged which is non-rotatably fitted onto the visor support shaft 15. The electromagnetic clutch 7 includes a friction plate 7b arranged on the second movable contact board 5 side and an electromagnetic clutch main body 7a.
It will be equipped with. And, on the peripheral edge of the friction plate 7b,
Two locking claws 7C are provided that hold a portion of the board 5 in between. On the other hand, the second movable contact board 5 is provided with an arcuate protrusion 5C that fits between the locking claws 7c. Therefore, when the electromagnetic clutch 7 is energized, the friction plate 7b is attracted to the electromagnetic clutch body 7a, and the locking pawl 7 is attracted to the electromagnetic clutch body 7a.
At c, the second movable contact board 5 is engaged with the electromagnetic clutch 7, in other words, it is engaged with the visor support shaft 15. In addition, in the de-energized state, the friction plate 7b is connected to the electromagnetic clutch body 7.
Since it is not restricted to a, it can rotate together with the substrate 5.

By the way, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 13 indicates a boss-shaped bracket integral with the visor 1 which is rotatably inserted into the visor support shaft 15. A friction portion 14 is interposed between the lower end of the bracket 13 and the lower end of the visor support shaft 15 to hold the visor 1 in a predetermined position against wind pressure acting on the visor 1. has been done. Reference numeral 11 denotes a coil spring, and the biasing force of the coil spring 11 holds the fixed gear 16 unrotatably on the visor support shaft 15 via the clutch member IO disposed above the fixed gear 16.
4 to generate a frictional force along the circumferential direction. Further, the clutch member 10 is fitted onto the visor support shaft 15 by fitting into a plurality of axially extending grooves 15a formed around the visor support shaft 15 so as to be movable in the axial direction. Reference numeral 9 indicates a retaining ring, and the retaining ring 9 is used to stop the clutch member l.
O is not removed. 12 indicates a spacer.

According to the above configuration, the rearmost gear 17a of the gear train 17 of the first drive unit A fixed to the visor 1 meshes with the fixed gear 16 fixed to the visor support shaft 15, and
Visor 1 is attached to visor support shaft 1 via bracket 13
5, when the drive motor 2 is driven, the visor l rotates around the visor support axis I5.

In other words, it becomes possible to store the visor 1 on the side of the vehicle body or move it to a position of use.

By the way, the rotation control between the storage position and the return position, which is the use position, is performed by each of the brushes 4a, 4b and each movable contact board 3.5, specifically, the contact member 3a of each board,
3b; 5a and 5b work together. That is, this control method will be explained using FIG. 3, FIGS. 4A to 40, and FIGS. 5A to 50.

4A to 40 show the first movable contact board 3, and 5A to 5
0 shows the second movable contact board 5, FIGS. 4A and 5 respectively.
Figure A shows the state of the visor 1 in its return position, Figure 4B
Figure 5B ° is also in the stored position, Figure 4C
Similarly, FIG. 5C shows the state in the emergency evacuation position. In the figure, 4a and 4b indicate the first brush and the second brush, and 7c indicates the locking claw of the friction plate 7b.

By the way, when the visor 1 is in the retracted position (see FIG. 3), the movable contact boards 3 and 5 for the brushes 4a and 4b are in the state shown in FIGS. 4B and 5B. In other words, the pair of contact members 3g and 3b of the first movable contact board 3 are not electrically connected via the first brush 4a, and the pair of contact members 5a and 5 of the second movable contact board 5 are not electrically connected to each other via the first brush 4a. b is in a state of conduction via the second brush 4b. If the first drive unit A is driven in this state, that is, if the electric circuit passing through the second movable contact board 5 is used as a visor rotation control circuit in the return position direction, the visor 1 will rotate in the return position direction. Then, at the standard return position (see Figure 3), the 1.2 movable contact board 3.5 returns to the 4.
A.

The state shown in FIG. 5A is reached, and the drive unit A stops.

This is because the 1.2 movable contact board 3.5 is connected to the visor 1.
This is because the visor rotation control circuit in the return position direction is turned off at the return position as shown in FIG. 5A.

Furthermore, in order to return the visor 1 in the opposite direction from this state, that is, in the direction of the storage position, if the electric circuit passing through the first movable contact board 3 is used as a visor rotation control circuit in the direction of the storage position, the first When the movable contact board 3 is in the state shown in FIG. 4B, the control circuit is turned off and the drive unit A is stopped. In other words, the visor l returns to its original storage position.

By the way, a method of storing the return position (this return position is set to a different position depending on the driver of the vehicle), which is an object of the present invention, will be explained. In this example, this was achieved by the following means.

That is, it was decided to use the same drive unit A described above to adjust the optimal use position for each driver from the reference return position in FIG. 3, more specifically, the horizontal adjustment position of the mirror glass 18. However, the external switch that commands this adjustment is different from the external switch that commands storage and return.

That is, an external switch (not shown) for adjusting the left and right positions is provided. Generally, the visor movement speed in the left-right position adjustment operation is slower than in the retraction/return operation. Otherwise, the adjustment work will be difficult. Incidentally, in this embodiment, the retracting speed of the visor I is set to approximately 30°/sec, and the visor moving speed during horizontal position adjustment is set to 3°/sec. This difference in speed can be achieved by controlling the voltage applied to the drive motor. The above external switch for left and right position adjustment is also
It is also used as a switch to excite the electromagnetic clutch 7 fixed to the visor support shaft 15.

By doing so, while the horizontal position of the mirror glass I8 is adjusted by slight rotation of the visor 1, the second movable contact board 5 is locked to the visor support shaft 15 via the friction plate 7b. That is, when the electromagnetic clutch 7 is energized, as shown in FIG. The second brush 4b is engaged with the visor support shaft 15 and becomes integral with the visor support shaft 15 in the same way as the second brush 4b. Then the second brush 4
The positional relationship between b and the substrate 5 is maintained at the standard return position without being affected by minute rotations of the visor l. Then, when the horizontal position adjustment of the mirror glass 18 is completed, the switch is turned off. That is, the electromagnetic clutch 7 is demagnetized and the friction plate 7b becomes the electromagnetic clutch body 7a.
be freed from the restraints of In other words, the second movable contact base plate 5 is rotatable together with the visor 1 together with the friction plate 7b.

Moreover, the second movable contact base 5 is in a state where the relationship between the base plate 5 and the second brush 4b is in the reference return position, that is, in the fifth position.
The pair of contact members 5j5b shown in Figure A return to a non-conducting state. Therefore, after the above-mentioned left and right position adjustment, if the visor l is retracted and the visor l is returned to the return position, that position becomes the optimal use position of the mirror glass 18 for the driver that was previously adjusted. . In other words, the adjusted position is mechanically memorized. This memorized position is held until the next horizontal position of the mirror glass 18 is adjusted.

In addition, in an emergency situation, for example, if the visor 1 is forcibly moved in the anti-retraction direction due to an external factor, the 1.2 movable contact board 3.5 will also rotate in the same direction and the 4C
, the state shown in Figure 5C is reached. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the visor l is at the maximum return position, in other words, at the emergency retreat position, and cannot be rotated by a mechanical stopper. Even in this state, the contact members 3 a and 3 b of the board 3 are formed so that the control circuit in the storage direction of the visor 1, that is, the side opening of the first movable piece board 3 is electrically connected (see FIG. 4C). Because
It becomes possible to electrically rotate the visor I to the storage position. Once the visor 1 returns to the storage position, it is possible to return the visor 1 to the return position for subsequent use through normal operations, and the return position at this time is also a preset optimal return position.

As is clear from the above description, the electric door mirror of this embodiment is a door mirror that can memorize the mirror usage position, which differs depending on each driver, each time through electrical and mechanical means. be. Moreover, the storage means for the door mirror is relatively simple in structure, and can be replaced by using the existing electric door mirror and its control circuit almost as is. In other words,
Control circuits are compatible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1.2 shows an electric door mirror according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 1 is a partially omitted sectional view of the main part, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part, and Fig. 3 is a mirror glass. 4A to 4C show the first movable contact board, and FIG. 4A shows the state in the return position.
FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the state in the storage position, FIG. 4C is a diagram showing the state in the emergency evacuation position, FIGS. 5A to 50 are diagrams showing the second movable contact board, and FIG. 5A is a diagram showing the state in the return position. , FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the state in the storage position, and FIG. 5C is a diagram showing the state in the emergency evacuation position. A: first drive unit, B: second drive unit, 0, . 01...Rotation center, l...Visor, 2.
... Drive motor, 3... First movable contact board, 3a,
3 b... Contact member, 4... Fixed contact board (brush holder), 4a... First brush, 4b... Fixed contact member (second brush), Death... Second movable contact board, 5
a, 5b... Contact member, 5c... Arc-shaped protrusion, 6.
...clutch means (plate spring), 7...electromagnetic clutch,
7a... Electromagnetic clutch body, 7b... Friction plate, 7c
...Latching claw, tail...Gear base, 9...Retaining ring, 1
0...Clutch member, 11...Coil spring, 12.
... Spacer, 13... Bracket, 14... Friction part, 15... Visor support shaft, 16... Fixed gear, 17... Gear train, 17a... Last gear, 18...
...Mirror glass, 19...Holder, 20...Case, SW...Switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The visor (1) having a mirror glass (18) therein is made into an electric door mirror that is rotatably driven by a drive unit (A) installed in the visor (1), and the above-mentioned drive The unit (A) includes an electric motor (2) and the electric motor (2).
), the drive unit (A) is disposed at a predetermined position within the visor, and the visor is formed on a stay provided on the outer surface of the vehicle body. The visor (1) is rotatably mounted on the support shaft (15), while a fixed gear (16) is non-rotatably mounted around the visor support shaft (1). One rotating gear (17) of row (17)
a), and further, a drive circuit for the electric motor (2) so that the visor (1) is rotated at least between a return position, which is a use position, and a storage position with respect to the automobile by driving the electric motor (2). In an electric door mirror, each switch (SW) is incorporated to execute rotation control in the returning direction and retracting direction, respectively, and the visor is automatically stopped at the returning position and the retracting position by each of the switches (SW), The return direction switch is connected to the visor support shaft (15).
The visor (1) is arranged around the fixed gear (16) and above the fixed gear (16), and is provided with arc-shaped contact members (5a, 5b), and is rotated together with the visor (1) via a clutch means (6). ) and a fixed contact member (4b) that cooperates with the contact members (5a, 5b), and the visor support shaft (15).
The movable contact board (5) is further connected to an electromagnetic clutch (7) which is non-rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the visor support shaft (15). ), and the movable contact board (5) is engaged with the visor support shaft (15) via the friction plate (7b) by the excited electromagnetic clutch (7). Features: Electric door mirrors for automobiles.