JPH0346014Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to line-of-sight guide signs installed on road shoulders, median strips, etc.

(Prior art) Conventionally, as a visual guide, for example,
In Japanese Patent No. 27685, a horizontal shaft is provided that protrudes from the center of the surface of a reflector supported by a housing, and a plurality of blade pieces that extend toward the outer periphery of the front surface of the reflector and rotate in response to the wind are mounted on the horizontal shaft. It has been proposed to support the reflector body, and to attach a wiper to the blade piece to make sliding contact with the surface of the reflector body.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in such a conventional line-of-sight guide, a plurality of blade pieces that rotate in response to the wind are supported by a horizontal axis in front of the reflecting mirror, so the blade pieces are affected by wind pressure. Since the wiper is often rotated, too much load is placed on the horizontal axis, which causes wear and tear, and the wiper wears out too much, resulting in poor durability. Further, since the blade pieces have a large shape to catch the wind, the ratio of the blade pieces to the front surface of the reflecting body becomes large, and there is a problem that the reflection area of the reflecting body tends to be impaired by that amount.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In view of the problems of the conventional art, the present inventor has devised a self-cleaning line-of-sight guide that solves the above-mentioned problems by using a coil made of a shape memory alloy. It provides:

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a reflector body, in which a reflector 11 is supported by a housing 12 made of synthetic resin, metal, or the like. The shape of the reflector main body 1 is not particularly limited. Further, the surface of the reflecting surface 11 of the reflector main body 1 is usually a smooth surface. Incidentally, the reflector main body 1 is usually attached to the upper end of the support column 8 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a rotating body, which is integrally provided at one end of the shaft 3, which is supported through approximately the center of the reflecting surface 11, and protrudes from the surface of the reflector 11. Rotating body 2
has a plurality of rotators 21, 21, .
Wiper elements 211, 211... in contact with one surface.
...is provided. The wiper 211 is made of rubber, sponge, brush, etc., and for example, the rotator 21
A plurality of protrusions are appropriately provided on the back surface, a hole drilled on one side of the L-shaped wiper 211 is fitted into the protrusions, and the protrusions are later crushed to form a rotator. What is necessary is just to attach the wiper 211 to 21, and the attachment method is not particularly limited.

Moreover, the rotating body 2 is simply a plurality of rotating elements 21, 21...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As shown in FIG.

The shaft 3 is rotatably supported through a hole 13 bored approximately at the center of the reflector 11. One end of the shaft 3 is integrated with the rotating body 2 as described above, and a plate-shaped metal fitting 4 is integrally provided at the other end inside the reflector main body 1 that protrudes from the back surface of the reflector 11. Further, the metal fitting 4 has a coil spring 31 interposed between the back surface of the reflector 11 and the metal fitting 4, and screws 32 as shown in FIG.
It is attached to the shaft 3 by. That is, in the case of this FIG. 2, the coil spring 31 has the reflector 1 on the shaft 3.
A tensile force is applied to the back side of the reflector 11 so that the wiper 211 of the rotating body 2 is always in contact with the surface of the reflector 11.

Note that the shape of the metal fitting 4 is not particularly limited, although a V-shape is shown in the drawings, it may be circular, square, or the like.

Further, a bush 33 for supporting the shaft 3 and a bush fixture 34 are attached to the hole 13 in the approximately central portion of the reflector.

5 is an elastic spring, and 6 is a coil made of a shape memory alloy. One end of each is fixed at an appropriate position inside the reflector main body 1, and the other end is connected to the metal fitting 4 via ropes 7, 7. Regarding the mounting positions of the elastic spring 5 and the coil 6 made of a shape memory alloy, the rotating body 2 is fixed in a predetermined position via the metal fitting 4 and the shaft 3 due to the shape recovery force of the coil 6 made of a shape memory alloy and the elasticity of the elastic spring 5. Each is mounted at a position that allows it to rotate back and forth within a range (for example, 90 degrees). The coil 6 made of a shape memory alloy may be configured to expand and contract depending on the temperature range. still,
The ropes 7, 7 may be fixed to the reflector body 1, and the elastic spring 5 and the coil 6 made of shape memory alloy may be directly connected to the metal fitting 4.

In FIG. 1, which shows an example of the mounting state of the elastic spring 5 and the coil 6, holes 41, 41 are bored at two ends of the V-shaped metal fitting 4, respectively. Ropes 7, 7 are connected to each other, and the other ends of the ropes 7, 7 are connected to an elastic spring 5 and a coil 6 made of a shape memory alloy.
It is fixed to the housing 12 on the back side. In the case of FIG. 1, the metal fitting 4 is reciprocated together with the shaft 3 between the position shown by the solid line and the position shown by the broken line, around the shaft 3 due to the elasticity of the elastic spring 5 and the shape restoring force of the coil 6. .

In addition, due to the action of the coil 6 made of a shape memory alloy and the elastic spring 5, the elastic spring 5, coil 6, ropes 7, 7 are applied to the metal fittings 4 and the inner surface of the reflector body 1 so that the entire surface of the reflector 11 is cleaned. It is preferable that the rotators 21, 21, . . . of the rotary body 2 are arranged in consideration of the mounting position.

(Function) Next, the self-cleaning function of the surface of the reflector 11 of the reflector main body 1 in the sight line guide of the present invention will be explained.

The devised visual guide uses the shape recovery force of the coil 6 made of a shape memory alloy due to temperature changes, and the coil 6 made of a shape memory alloy is in a fully expanded state when the temperature is low (e.g. 0°C). It is said that
When the temperature reaches a high temperature (for example, 20°C), the shape recovery force allows the material to completely contract. Therefore, as the coil 6 contracts as the temperature rises, the metal fitting 4 gradually rotates and the metal fitting 4
The shaft 3 integrally formed with the shaft 3 is rotated, and the rotating body 2 integrally attached to the shaft 3 is accordingly rotated. Since the rotary body 2 is provided with wipers 211, 211, . Moreover, as the temperature decreases, the shape recovery force of the coil 6 to contract weakens, and the force to contract the elastic spring 5 gradually becomes stronger than the shape recovery force of the coil 6, causing the metal fitting 4 to rotate in the opposite direction to that described above. The rotating body 2 is also rotated in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned direction to clean the surface of the reflector 11.

In the above embodiment, the coil 6 made of a shape memory alloy is stretched by the force of the elastic spring 5 at low temperatures, and as the temperature rises, the coil 6 tends to contract due to the shape recovery force. Alternatively, the coil 6 may be in a compressed state at a low temperature, and the shape recovery force of the coil 6 which tends to expand as the temperature rises may be utilized.

(Effects of the invention) As detailed above, the sight line guide of the invention includes a rotary body that has a wiping element that contacts the surface of the reflector at one end of a shaft that is rotatably supported through approximately the center of the reflector. A plate-shaped metal fitting is integrally provided at the other end of the shaft, and an elastic spring and a coil made of a shape memory alloy are connected to each metal fitting via a rope. The rotating body is fixed at an appropriate position inside the reflector body, and the rotating body is configured to reciprocate within a predetermined range via the metal fittings and shaft due to the elasticity of the elastic spring and the shape recovery force of the coil, so that temperature changes can be prevented. The shape recovery force of the coil made of shape memory alloy and the opposing force of the elastic spring enable the reflector surface of the reflector body to be automatically cleaned. There is no need to do this, and the ratio of the rotator to the surface of the reflector can be reduced, resulting in excellent visibility.

In addition, since the shaft is rotated by the elasticity of the elastic spring and the shape recovery force of the coil made of shape memory alloy, there is no need to put too much stress on the shaft as in the conventional case, and there is no wear on the part where the shaft and rotating body contact the reflector. It is possible to improve durability with a small degree of strength.

Furthermore, since the reflection body has a rotating operation part such as a metal fitting for rotating the rotating body, an elastic spring, and a coil made of a shape memory alloy, these rotation operation parts can be protected and used as a line-of-sight guide. The self-cleaning function can be performed stably regardless of external conditions, and it can fully fulfill its role in terms of traffic safety.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings are drawings showing an example of the visual guide of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a front view showing the interior with the reflector removed, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a front view. 1... Reflector body, 11... Reflector, 2... Rotating body, 21... Rotating element, 211... Wiping element, 3...
... shaft, 4 ... metal fitting, 5 ... elastic spring, 6 ... coil made of shape memory alloy, 7 ... rope.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A shaft 3 is rotatably supported through approximately the center of the reflector 11 of the reflector body 1 in which the reflector 11 is supported by a housing 12, and a rotating body 2 is attached to one end of the shaft 3 protruding from the surface of the reflector 11. integrated,
The rotating body 2 has at least rotating elements 21, 21, . A plate-shaped metal fitting 4 is integrally provided on the other end of the shaft 3 protruding from the back surface, and a rope 7, a metal fitting 4 is attached to the metal fitting 4 on the back side of the reflector 11, respectively.
An elastic spring 5 and a coil 6 made of a shape memory alloy are connected via a coil 7, and the ends of the spring 5 and the coil 6 are respectively fixed at appropriate positions inside the reflector body 1, so that the elasticity of the elastic spring 5 and the coil 6 are fixed at appropriate positions inside the reflector body 1. 6, the rotating body 2 is configured to reciprocate within a predetermined range via the metal fitting 4 and the shaft 3.