JPH07291099A - Wiper device of external rearview mirror device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To wipe the overall surface of a mirror by furnishing a dent to outflow rain water attached on a string in a moving passage of the string and rain water blocked by the string on a mirror unit. CONSTITUTION:When a drive unit works, a wiper arm 20 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, a wiper holder 40 starts with the wiper arm 20 and a string 41 wipes the surface of a mirror 50. When the string 41 wipes the overall surface of the mirror 50 and reaches a position of a chain line A, the drive unit rotates the wiper arm 20 in the clockwise direction and moves the wiper unit 10 in the original position. When the wiper unit 10 reverses its direction, the wiper holder 40 comes in contact with projections 62, 63 of a mirror holder, the wiper holder 40 revolves in the clockwise direction around an axis of rotation 25 as its center, and it moves while wiping different regions on the surface of the mirror 50.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wiper device for a rear-view mirror device for a vehicle, and more particularly, to an improvement of a rear-view mirror device for a vehicle that wipes a mirror surface with a linear member. There is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 10 to 12 show an example of a vehicle rearview mirror device having a wiper device of this type.

This external rearview mirror device includes a mirror unit consisting of a mirror a and a mirror holder b, a mirror housing c for holding the mirror unit in a rotatable manner, and a mirror base d for supporting the mirror housing c in a tiltable manner.
The mirror base d is fixed to the vehicle body of the automobile with the surface of the mirror a facing the driver who is positioned on the front side of the drawing.

The wiper device has a wiper unit e arranged on the surface of the mirror a, a wiper arm f pin-connected to the center of the wiper unit e, and a rotatable shaft g connected to the wiper arm f. ,
The wiper arm f is reciprocally rotated to drive the wiper unit e to wipe the surface of the mirror a. The wiper arm f has one end fixed to the shaft g of the drive unit and the other end fixed to the wiper unit e.
Is attached. The wiper unit e includes a wiper h and a wiper holder i that holds the wiper h. The wiper holder i has pins j and k on the wiper arm f.
Are connected to each other and are allowed to rotate about these pins. The drive unit includes a motor, a speed reduction mechanism, and the like, and is incorporated inside the mirror housing c of the rearview mirror device. Then, when the motor is operated, the wiper arm f rotates counterclockwise about the shaft g, the wiper unit e moves together with the wiper arm f, and the wiper h in the wiper unit wipes the surface of the mirror a. Do it. When the wiper unit e wipes the entire mirror surface, the drive unit rotates the wiper arm f clockwise,
The wiper unit e is moved toward its original position.

[0005]

However, in such a wiper device, the wiper unit e is the mirror a.
When rotating from the upper part to the lower part of the wiper, that is, when it is rotated counterclockwise about the shaft g in FIG. 10, the wiper h moves in the direction opposite to the advancing direction while stopping rainwater, and the moving direction is reversed. However, the mirror a moved while the rainwater was dammed, and the dammed rainwater and the rainwater adhering to the wiper h wiped the mirror a before.
The surface is not wet, so the visibility is not so improved.

Further, when the mirror a has a surface formed of a three-dimensional curved surface, the wiper h is so hard that the contact pressure on the mirror surface is not uniform and unwiping occurs. Further, since the wiper unit e includes the blade rubber as the wiper h, the vertibra m that holds the blade rubber h, and the wiper holder i that connects the blade rubber h and the vertibra m, the number of parts is large, and Also, the vertibra m must be set on the upper part of the blade rubber h, and the claw n of the wiper holder i must be engaged with the groove in the blade rubber h so that the wiper holder i holds the blade rubber h via the vertibra m. No, it takes time to work. The blade rubber h needs a certain height for performing the wiping while bending the surface of the mirror a, the vertibra m is set on the tall blade rubber h, and the wiper holder i is set on the upper part. For this reason, not only is the wiper unit e high in height, but the pawl n in the wiper holder i has a structure in which the blade rubber h and the vertibra k are sandwiched from both sides.
The width of the wiper unit e also becomes wider, and when the wiper unit e is not used, the wiper unit e is stored in the space formed by extending the mirror holder b to the upper edge of the mirror a. The size of o becomes large, and the field of view of the mirror a becomes small.

The present invention is an improved vehicle capable of reliably wiping the entire surface of the mirror, operating with less power, and reducing the effective field of view of the mirror even if the wiper unit is stored in the mirror holding member. The present invention provides a wiper device for an external rearview mirror device.

[0008]

A vehicle wiper device for an external rearview mirror apparatus according to the present invention includes a mirror unit having a mirror and a member for holding the mirror, and a wiper unit having a wiper and a member for holding the wiper. And a drive unit that supports the wiper unit and reciprocates the wiper unit while keeping the wiper in contact with the mirror surface. The wiper is a string having a linear shape, and the mirror unit moves the string. The passage is provided with a dent that allows rainwater adhering to the string and rainwater blocked by the string to flow out.

[0009]

When the drive unit operates, the wiper unit moves, and the string moves on the mirror to wipe the surface of the mirror. At this time, when the string moves in the contacting direction of the mirror surface, rainwater on the mirror surface adheres to the string, and rainwater is dammed by the string and collects on one side of the string, but when the string passes through the dents. , Even if these rainwaters flow into the dents and the strings move in the opposite direction, they do not wet the mirror surface previously wiped by the rainwater. Furthermore, even if the string is made of a linear member and the mirror has a surface made of a three-dimensional curved surface,
Even if the surface of the mirror is flat, the contact pressure or pressing force on the mirror surface becomes uniform, so that the mirror surface is prevented from being wetted by rainwater that is dammed by the string and adheres to the string. You can surely wipe the whole.

The dent may be partly open so that the rainwater that has flowed into the dent is discharged to the outside of the mirror holder where it is dammed by the string and the rainwater adhering to the string re-illuminates the mirror surface. Wetting can be made less difficult. Further, if the dent is provided in the mirror unit at a position that reverses the moving direction of the string, the dent will not appear when the string is hidden by the mirror holder when the string is not used. It is not visible from the outside, and the appearance can be improved.

Further, the wiper is made of a string,
The sliding resistance of the string on the mirror surface is small,
Since the torque of the drive unit is small, it operates with less power, the drive unit is downsized, and it can be easily installed in the rearview mirror device, and the number of parts is far greater than that of the conventional wiper device of this type. In addition to being small, the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, the width of the wiper unit is much smaller than that of the conventional wiper device, and even when the wiper unit is stored in the mirror holding member when not in use, the storing portion in the mirror holding member becomes small. , The effective field of view of the mirror does not decrease.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a wiper device for an external rearview mirror device for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

This wiper device corresponds to an external rearview mirror device of an automobile, and as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Wiper unit 10 arranged on the surface of mirror 50
And a wiper arm 2 that supports the wiper unit 10.
0 and a drive unit that rotates the wiper arm 20 and moves the wiper unit 10 along the surface of the mirror 50.

The wiper arm 20 is made of a member having a narrow and elongated shape, and the wiper unit 10 is attached to one end thereof. The wiper unit 10 includes a wiper holder 30 and a wiper 40. The wiper holder 30 is composed of a member having a channel-shaped cross section in the longitudinal direction, has a pin 32 at the center of the main body 31, and is held by the wiper arm 20 so that the pin 32 can be rotated and tilted. Has been done. The wiper 40 is a string 41 composed of a thread or a string in which fibers such as synthetic fibers and natural fibers are twisted or knitted.
And a mooring tool 42, which is disposed across the channel in the body 31 of the wiper holder,
The mooring tools 42 at both ends are engaged with the ends of the wiper holder 30. The drive unit includes a motor, a speed reduction mechanism, etc., and in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, only the rotating shaft is indicated by reference numeral 25, and the side opposite to the end of the wiper arm 20 holding the wiper unit 10. The end portion of is engaged with and fixed to the portion of the rotary shaft 25 protruding from the mirror 50.

This wiper device is incorporated in an external rearview mirror device. As shown in FIG. 5, the external rearview mirror device itself supports a mirror unit 70 including a mirror 50 and a mirror holder 60, a mirror housing 80 that holds the mirror unit 70 rotatably, and a mirror housing 80 that can be tilted. It has a mirror base 90 that allows the driver to see the mirror 5 on the front side of the drawing.
The mirror base 90 is fixed to the vehicle body with the surface of 0 facing.

The mirror 50 has, for example, a horizontally long shape,
The surface is made of a glass plate having a flat surface or a curved surface, and a reflective film is provided on the back surface. The mirror holder 60 is made of a synthetic resin molded product having a shallow box shape having an opening 61 on the front surface, and two projections 62, 63 are formed on the peripheral edge of the opening 61 as shown in FIG. Is provided. The mirror 50 is arranged inside the opening 60 of the mirror holder and fixed to the mirror holder 60, and forms a mirror unit 70 together with the mirror holder 60. The mirror housing 80 accommodates the mirror unit 70, and is made of a hollow synthetic resin molded product having an opening 81 on the front surface. The mirror unit 70 is
The mirror 50 is housed inside the mirror housing 80 with its surface facing outward, and is supported by the mirror housing 80 by a pivot mechanism. The mirror base 90 is made of a hollow synthetic resin molded product having a substantially L shape, and the side surface and the bottom surface are fixed to the vehicle body. The mirror housing 80 is supported by the mirror base 90 via a tilting mechanism.

In this wiper device, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wiper unit 10 has a space between the upper edge of the front wall 68 of the mirror holder 60 and the surface of the mirror 50 as a retracted position, and the wiper 40 is It is incorporated in the mirror holder 60 so as to move from the retracted position to the position indicated by the chain line A on the surface of the mirror 50 and then return to the retracted position as indicated by the chain line B by changing the direction. Assembling the rotary shaft 25 with the mirror 50 and the mirror holder 6
The drive unit is fixed to the back surface of the mirror holder 60 by penetrating 0, and the string 41 is pressed against the front surface of the mirror 50 to engage and fix the wiper arm 20 to the portion of the rotary shaft 25 protruding from the mirror 50. ,
This is done by making the necessary electrical connections to the drive unit. When the drive unit is activated,
The wiper arm 20 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1, whereby the wiper holder 40 moves together with the wiper arm 20, and the string 41 causes the mirror 5 to move.
Wipe the 0 surface. When the string 41 wipes the entire surface of the mirror 50 and reaches the position of the chain line A, the drive unit rotates the wiper arm 20 in the clockwise direction and moves the wiper unit 10 toward the original position. When the wiper unit 10 reverses its direction, the wiper holder 40 hits the protrusions 62 and 63 of the mirror holder 60,
The wiper holder 40 is rotated clockwise about the pin 32, and the wiper 40 is rotated in the rotated posture.
It is rotated around and is moved while wiping different areas of the surface of the mirror 50.

Further, in this wiper device, when the wiper unit 10 reverses its rotation direction in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. In order to prevent the rainwater adhering to 41 from wetting the surface of the mirror 50 again, the wiper 40 is provided with an indentation for draining these rainwater. Explain in detail.

The mirror holder 60 includes two members 65 and 6
It consists of 6. The upper member 65 is, as shown in FIG.
It is made of a synthetic resin molded product in the form of a deformable ring, and the peripheral wall 67 is high at the top and low at the bottom. A front wall 68 extending substantially at a right angle is integrally formed with the front end edge of the peripheral wall 67. As shown in FIG. 6, the front wall 68 is formed by bending a portion 68A located on the upper portion of the mirror holder 60, and forming both ends of this portion on both sides and a slope 68C which is lowered toward the lower portion 68B. There is. Protrusions 62, 63
Is provided on a portion 68B of the front wall 68. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower member 66 is opened on the front side and closed on the back side of the drawing sheet, and the peripheral wall 69 is attached to the upper member 65.
It has a shallow box shape formed in the same shape as
The peripheral wall 67 of the upper member 65 and the end faces of the upper member 65 are in contact with each other and are joined to the upper member 65. The dent is shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
Designated by the reference numeral 69 in FIG. 1 and provided on the lower member 66 of the mirror holder 60. Dent 69
Are provided in a region of the back wall 68 of the lower member 66 facing the portion 65 forming the covering wall of the upper member 62. However, the bottoms of these dents 69 are open. The mirror 50 is arranged inside the opening 61 of the mirror holder 60 so that the surface of the mirror 50 is substantially flush with the portion 66 while leaving the region having the dent 69, and is fixed to the bottom wall of the lower member 66. There is.

The wiper device comprises a portion 68A of the front wall 68.
With the space between the mirror 50 and the surface of the mirror 50 as the retracted position, the wiper unit 10 moves from the retracted position to the position indicated by the chain line A on the surface of the mirror 50, and then the wiper holder 40 hits the protrusions 62, 63 and the wiper unit 10 is reached. Is rotated by this and the posture is changed so that it returns to the retracted position as shown by the chain line B,
It is incorporated in the mirror holder 60. Also in this wiper device, when the wiper unit 10 rotates counterclockwise as described above, the rotation direction is reversed, and when the wiper unit 10 moves counterclockwise, rainwater adheres to the string 41 and the string 41 mirrors. It moves on the surface of the mirror 50 while stopping the rainwater newly adhering to the surface of the mirror 50. However, when the wiper unit 10 moves to the vicinity of the retracted position shown by the solid line, the rainwater is washed away by the string 41 into the recess 69 in the lower member 66 of the mirror holder 60, and is located below the housing of the recess 69 and the mirror 50. Even if the wiper unit 10 is discharged to the outside of the rearview mirror device through the opening and rotates in the opposite direction, the string 41 pushes back the dammed rainwater and does not re-wet the surface of the mirror 50 wiped previously.

Further, in this wiper device, the wiper unit 10 is constituted by the wiper 40 composed of the strings 41 and the wiper holder 30 as described above. The string 41 is made of, for example, twisted or braided ester resin fibers and having a diameter of about 1 mm. Stops 42 are attached to both ends of the string 41. The attachment is performed by inserting the end of the string 41 into the stopper 42, moving the stopper 42 so that the length between the stoppers 42 in the string 41 becomes a predetermined length, and then crushing the stopper 42. ing.

The wiper holder 30 is composed of a narrow and elongated member having a channel-shaped cross section in the longitudinal direction, and has a pin 32 at the center of the main body 31 and two end walls 33 extending horizontally from both side walls of the main body 31. Means for mooring the string 41 are provided. Of these, pin 32
Although not shown in detail, it has a small diameter portion and a large diameter portion, and the large diameter portion is the main body 3 of the wiper holder.
It is fixed at 1. The wiper holder 30 has a pin 32.
Of the pin 32 of the pin 32, which is held by the wiper arm 20 by fitting a small diameter portion of the wire into a hole at the free end of the wiper arm 20 and attaching a nut 35 to the end portion of the small diameter portion protruding from the wiper arm 20. It is designed to be able to rotate around the small diameter portion. However, the nut 35 is attached to the small-diameter portion of the pin 32 with a gap larger than the thickness of the wiper arm 20 between the nut 35 and the large-diameter portion of the pin 32, so that the wiper holder 30 can be inclined by the small-diameter portion. I am making it. The string 41 is attached to the wiper holder 30 by fitting the string 41 into the open groove 34 of the wiper holder and preventing the string 41 from coming off by a stopper 42. Further, one end wall 33 of the wiper holder 30 is formed flat and an open groove 34 is formed at the end portion thereof, while the other end wall 33 has a protruding wall 36 extending perpendicularly therefrom as shown in FIG. An opening groove 35 is formed in the protruding wall 36. String 4 for wiper holder 30
For mounting 1, the string 41 is fitted into the open groove 34 in the end wall 33 while the stopper 42 at one end of the string 41 is positioned outside the end wall 33 having no protruding wall 36, and then the main body 31 is attached. Bend and place the opposite end of the string 41 into the open grooves 34, 35 in the other end wall 33 and the protruding wall 36 of the wiper holder 30 and place the stop 42 outside the protruding wall 36. Is done by.

In the wiper device having such a wiper, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, whether the surface of the mirror 50 is formed into a curved surface having a radius of curvature R or a three-dimensional curved surface, the wiper 40 is formed. When the string 41 is attached to the mirror 50, the string 41 is stretched along the surface of the mirror 50, and even if the surface of the mirror 50 is flat as shown in FIG. Since the contact pressure or the pressing force of the string 41 on the surface of the mirror 50 becomes even, the tension is equal to the surface of the mirror 50 regardless of the surface shape of the mirror 50.
String 41 ensures removal of rainwater over the entire surface of
Not only can this be done, but the pressing force on the mirror surface does not become uneven, unlike the blade rubber that constitutes the wiper of the conventional wiper device. Further, since the wiper 40 is composed of a lightweight string 41 having a small diameter, the contact area between the string 41 and the surface of the mirror 50 is small, and the sliding resistance is small, so that the motor torque of the drive unit is small, Not only the drive unit but also the entire device is downsized, and the wiper unit 10 is composed of the string 41 and the wiper holder 30, and the number of parts is smaller than the wiper unit of the conventional wiper device of this kind, and the wiper The wiper 40 can be attached to the holder 30 by only fitting the string 41 into the open grooves 34 and 35 of the wiper holder, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced together with the fact that a drive unit with a small torque is sufficient. Since the wiper unit 10 is small, the height H and the width W shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are small, so that the wiper arm 20, the wiper holder 30, and the wiper unit 10 are accommodated therein, that is, the mirror holder. The size of the space formed by the front wall 68 and the surface of the mirror 50 at 60 can be reduced, increasing the effective field of view of the mirror 50.

In this rear-view mirror device, the dent 6
9 is a wiper unit 10 in the mirror holder 60.
The wiper unit 10 may be provided at a lower position of the mirror holder 60 at a position where the rotation direction changes, and the bottom of the dent is opened. However, the side wall may be opened depending on the position on the mirror holder, and the number of dents is also plural, but one or both of the end portions is in the form of a single groove opened at the periphery of the mirror holder. The bottom may be closed according to the traveling environment of the automobile in which the wiper device is installed.

[0025]

As described above, in the wiper device for the vehicle external rear-view mirror device of the present invention, the rainwater adhering to the string and the rainwater dammed to the string wet the mirror surface wiped previously. In addition, the contact pressure with the string is constant regardless of the shape of the mirror surface, so the entire mirror surface can always be wiped securely, and the drive mechanism is small, so it can be easily incorporated into the mirror unit. Since the wiper unit is small, the effective field of view of the mirror is not reduced even if the wiper unit is stored in the mirror holding member.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a vehicle external rearview mirror device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a mirror holder and a wiper unit.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the mirror holder with an upper member removed.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line S-S in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state of being incorporated in an external rear-view mirror for an automobile.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a mirror holder.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing a mounting structure of a wiper for a wiper holder in a wiper unit.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a contact state of a wiper with respect to a mirror.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a contact state of a wiper with another mirror.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing an example of a conventional rearview mirror device having a wiper device.

11 is an enlarged bottom view of the wiper device in the rearview mirror device shown in FIG. 10. FIG.

12 is a side view of a wiper device in the rearview mirror device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Wiper unit, 20 ... Wiper arm, 25
... rotating shaft of drive unit, 30 ... wiper holder, 40
… Wipers, 50… Mirrors, 60… Mirror holders, 68
... storage means, 69 ... dent.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A wiper unit including a mirror and a mirror unit having a member for holding the mirror, the wiper unit having a wiper and a member for holding the wiper, and the wiper unit while supporting the wiper unit and bringing the wiper into contact with the mirror surface. In a wiper device of a vehicle external rearview mirror device having a drive unit for reciprocating,
The wiper is composed of a string having a linear shape, and the mirror unit is provided with a dent for draining rainwater adhering to the string and rainwater blocked by the string on a moving path of the string. Wiper device for rearview mirror device.