Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60S—SERVICING, CLEANING, REPAIRING, SUPPORTING, LIFTING, OR MANOEUVRING OF VEHICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60S1/00—Cleaning of vehicles
  • B60S1/02—Cleaning windscreens, windows or optical devices
  • B60S1/04—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers
  • B60S1/06—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers characterised by the drive
  • B60S1/08—Wipers or the like, e.g. scrapers characterised by the drive electrically driven

Definitions

• Such a drive mechanism usually includes a permanent magnet inductor motor coupled to a speed reducer comprising an endless screw whose threads mesh with a toothed wheel carried by a shaft orthogonal to that of the screw.
• the reducer is housed inside a sealed housing closed by a cover arranged opposite the reducer wheel.
• the end-of-travel stop device comprises a connector fixed on the front face of the reduction gear, the conductive sectors of which cooperate with three independent wipers positioned and fixed on the housing cover.
• Each wiper consists of an elastically deformable curved metal strip, the free end of which has an added contact grain which cooperates in friction with one of the three concentric circular tracks carried by the connector.
• the three wipers are at different potentials since one is connected to the motor supply circuit, the other is connected to the motor armature by a control switch and the third to earth.
• Such an end-of-travel stop device becomes mechanically difficult to achieve when one seeks to miniaturize the geared motor.
• the size of the connector is linked to the diameter of the reducer wheel which carries it, so that a reduction in the size of the reducer wheel leads to a reduction in the diameter of the connector and consequently a bringing together of the three friction shoes which describe the three concentric circular tracks of the connector.
• the three wipers are independent parts whose relative positioning becomes particularly difficult to perform due to the close tolerances. tes that result from their reconciliation.
• the end-of-travel stop device is, in general, designed to operate regardless of the direction of rotation of the motor or of the reduction gear.
• the present invention aims to remedy the aforementioned drawbacks and for this purpose, it proposes to provide an end-of-travel stop device in which the friction-connector system referred to above has been reversed.
• the connector is formed of three independent conductive sectors fixed on the cover of the housing and the wipers which are electrically linked are carried by the reducer wheel.
• the three conductive sectors of the connector are arranged in two concentric circular tracks, the number of wipers then being reduced by one and the two remaining wipers being formed by the two teeth of a fork-shaped part carried by the wheel. reducer.
• the device according to the invention therefore allows the elimination of a wiper and, consequently, of an added contact grain and simultaneously solves the problem of the relative positioning of the wipers, given that the two remaining wipers come from a single and the same part which acts as an electrical connection bridge with two contacts.
• the outside diameter of the connector can be greater than that of the reducer wheel, unlike the connector of known type, the outside diameter of which was necessarily smaller than that of the wheel on which it was fixed.
• the device according to the invention provides a simple solution to the problem resulting from the reversal of the direction of rotation of the motor.
• the reducer wheel which carries the twin wipers, may advantageously include a plurality of regularly spaced fixing holes in order to allow angular positioning of the twin wipers on the reducer wheel. and therefore, a preset of the stop position at the end of the stroke.
• the present invention therefore relates to an end-of-travel stop device for a drive mechanism, in particular for a motor vehicle windscreen wiper, this mechanism comprising an electric motor to which an output wheel is coupled housed in a housing closed by a cover disposed opposite said wheel, the end-of-travel stop device comprising two wipers able to move on one of the concentric circular tracks of a connector, the cooperation of the wipers and the connector ensuring either the power supply to the armature of the motor, or the short-circuiting of the said armature to cause the sudden stop of the motor, the wipers being carried by the output wheel and electrically connected together, the connector being fixed on the housing cover and comprising three sectors electrically isolated from each other, characterized in that the three sectors define two concentric circular tracks and that that of the three conductive sectors which is connected to the first terminal of the motor power source is in the form of an open ring, while the conductive sector which can be electrically connected to the armature of the motor, is present in the form of a closed ring
• the two aforementioned wipers consist of the teeth of a metal piece in the shape of a fork, the two wipers being convergent in the direction of a connection tab intended for born to be inserted in an appropriately shaped fixing hole made on the front wall of the output wheel;
• the two paired wipers of the fork-shaped part each consist of an elastically deformable flexible strip having a longitudinal U-shaped profile, one end of the U extending by the connection tab while the other end bears an added contact grain;
• the closed ring has two sections of different diameters; a section of smaller diameter disposed inside the open ring, and a section of larger diameter disposed in the peripheral extension of the open ring;
• the outer circular track of the connector is formed, on the one hand, by the conductive sector which is connected to the first terminal of the motor power source and, on the other hand, by the section of larger diameter of the conductive sector which is connected to the armature of the motor;
• the inner circular track of the connector is formed, on the one hand,
• the cover can itself be molded in plastic, which eliminates the support plate and allows the direct installation of the three aforementioned sectors.
• the closed ring which constitutes a conductive sector of the connector, is a circular ring connected to the armature of the motor and disposed entirely inside the open ring to form the inner circular track of the connector, the third sector being disposed in the open area of the open ring and constituting with said open ring, the outer circular track of the connector.
• FIG. 1 shows an operating diagram of a known type of stop device, the latter being shown in the rest position, the engine stopped;
• FIG. 2 shows, partially in section, the toothed wheel of the worm gearbox and, on the other hand, the cover of the gearbox, the connector of Figure 1 being fixed on the gearwheel and the three wipers being carried by the cover.
• - Figure 3 shows an operating diagram of the end of travel stop device according to the invention, the latter being shown in the rest position, engine stopped;
• - Figure 4 shows, partially in section, the gear wheel of the worm gearbox and the cover of the gearbox, the connector of Figure 3 being fixed on the wall of the cover and the two wipers being carried by the gear wheel ;
• - Figure 5 shows, in perspective, the two paired wipers of the device according to the invention;
• FIG. 6 represents a plan view of a conductive cut sheet from which the connector of the device according to the invention originates
• - Figure 7 shows in a view similar to that of Figure 3, an alternative embodiment of the connector of the device according to the invention.
• a toothed wheel whose teeth cooperate with the threads of a worm of a gear motor used for driving a motor vehicle wiper.
• the reducer wheel 1 is carried by a shaft 2 which is orthogonal to. that of the worm (not shown).
• the latter is conventionally driven by a permanent magnet inductor motor.
• the reduction gear is arranged inside a housing 3 sealed in a sealed manner by a metal cover 5 located opposite the reduction gear 1.
• a connector 6 consisting of a conductive metal disc fixed inside an annular housing provided on the front face of the wheel 1.
• the connector 6 cooperates with three separate wipers 7, 8, 9 which pass through an insulating support 10 fixed by any appropriate means, for example by snap-fastening, on the cover 5.
• the three wipers 7, 8 and 9 each consist of an elastically deformable curved strip, the end carries a contact grain 22 which cooperates with friction with the connector 6.
• FIG. 1 of the drawing there is shown the operating diagram of such a stop device at the end of the race.
• the wiper 7 is connected to ground while the wiper 8 can be connected, via the terminal 14 of a control switch 11, to the armature 12 of the motor.
• the wiper 9 is connected to the positive terminal of the power source and can be connected to the armature 12 of the motor by means of terminal 16 of the control switch 11.
• the latter which is mounted on the control panel. edge of the vehicle, is in two positions: a position called “stop at the end of the race” when the movable switching member 13 provides the electrical connection between the contacts 14 and 15 and a position called “on” when the organ of switching electrically connects contacts 16 and 15, contact 15 being connected to armature 12.
• the connector 6 constitutes three concentric circular tracks which are each traversed, during the rotation of the reduction gear 1, by one of the three wipers.
• the innermost circular track comprises a non-conductive section 17 formed by a cutout formed on the inner edge of the connector 6.
• the outermost track comprises a conductive section 18 projecting from the outer edge of the connector 6.
• the wiper 7 s' presses on the outer track, the wiper 9 on the inner track and the wiper 8 on the central track.
• control switch 11 When the control switch 11 is in the on position, that is to say when the electrical connection is established between the pads 16 and 15 by the movable member 13, the armature 12 of the motor is connected to the positive terminal power, so the engine is running and the wiper is on. If the control switch is put in the "stop at end of travel" position, that is to say if the switching member 13 is moved to establish an electrical connection between the pads 14 and 15, l electrical supply of the motor is carried out until the wiper 7, which is connected to earth, comes to bear against the conductive sector 18 and that, simultaneously, the wiper 9, which is connected to the supply, comes on the non-conductive sector 17 of the connector 6; in this position, which is shown in Figure 1, the armature of the motor is short-circuited, which has the effect of stopping the wiper in a determined position which is its rest position.
• FIG. 3 to 6 of the drawing there is shown an end of travel stop device according to the invention.
• the three independent wipers 7, 8 and 9 are replaced by three corresponding conductive sectors 37, 38 and 39 of a connector 40 carried by the wall of the cover 5, and on these sectors can move two paired wipers 20 and 21 carried by the reducer wheel 1.
• the system (wipers 7, 8, 9-connector 6) described above has therefore been reversed, since the connects 40 is now fixed on the cover 5 and that the two twin wipers 20 and 21 are carried by the reducer wheel 1.
• connection diagram of the connector 40 is shown: the conductive sector 39 is connected by a connection 39ja to the positive supply terminal and to the. pad 16 of the control switch 11; the conductive sector 38 is connected by a connection 38a to the pad 14 of the switch and the conductive sector 37 is grounded by its connection 37a.
• the conductive sector 38 is in the form of a closed ring having two sections of different and concentric diameters: a section of small diameter 24 joined to the section of larger diameter 23 by two radial connections 25, 26.
• the connector 40 defines two concentric circular tracks which are traversed by the two grains 22 of the paired wipers 20 and 21 when the reduction wheel 1 is driven in a rotational movement.
• the outer circular track is formed, on the one hand, by the conductive sector 39 and, on the other hand, by the section of larger diameter 23 of the conductive sector 38, this section being arranged in the extension of the open ring that constitutes the conductive sector 39.
• the grain 22 of the wiper 20 by traversing the circular track which is devoted to it on the connector 40, cooperates frictionally with the conductive sector 39 or the section 23 of the conductive sector 38
• the inner circular track of the connector 40 which is described by the grain 22 of the wiper 21, is formed by the section of smaller diameter 24 of the conductive sector 38 and by the radial conductive sector 37 which is arranged inside the sector conductor 38 in the space delimited between the two connections 25 and 26, on the one hand, and the section of larger diameter 23, on the other hand.
• the conductive sector 39 has, in relief, on its inner rim three lobes in which orifices 27 are formed. The three lobes are arranged towards the inside of the outer circular track described by the wiper 20. Similarly, the conductive sector 38 is provided on its outer edge, towards the outside of the inner circular track, of three lobes in which holes 28 are drilled; the conductive sector 37 is also, towards the inside of the inner circular track, pierced with an orifice 29.
• the orifices 27, 28 and 29 are intended to be crossed by riveting lugs made in one piece with a support disc 30 electrically insulating which is fixed by any appropriate means, for example by snapping onto the metal cover 5 of the housing.
• the support disc 30 is advantageously made of molded plastic.
• the projecting part of said lugs is crushed in a known manner by application of ultrasound.
• the three conductive sectors 37, 38 and 39 on the support disc 30 come from the same metal sheet cut by stamping. As can be seen in FIG. 6 of the drawing, there are left between the three sectors of the cut metal sheet narrow zones of conductive metal constituting connection bridges 31. Thus, the two conductive sectors 38 and 39 are connected by three regularly spaced connecting bridges 31 which are arranged in the annular space between these two sectors. Likewise, the conductive sector 37 is connected to the sector 38 by two connecting bridges 31. The cut metal sheet, as shown in FIG.
• connections 37a, 38a and 39a of the three conducting sectors are, in this example of embodiment, "AMP" type male connectors allowing quick connection with external connections.
• the two twin wipers 20 and 21 constitute the two teeth of a single piece in the form of a fork designated by 32 as a whole.
• the two twin wipers 20 and 21 are in the form of two flexible elastically deformable strips which converge in the direction of a connection tab 33.
• Each wiper has a profile curved longitudinally in a U, the free end of the U carrying the added grain 22 while its other end is connected to the lug 33.
• the two twin wipers 20 and 21 are fixed by their connection lug 33 in a hole made for this purpose in the front wall of the reduction wheel 1 between its hub and its peripheral toothing.
• the attachment of the part 32 on the reducer wheel 1 can be carried out by any suitable means, for example by snap-fastening of the connection lug 33 inside the fixing hole which receives it.
• This arrangement can be easily adapted for reverse rotation of the motor and consequently of the reduction wheel 1.
• it is indeed necessary to orient the two paired wipers 20 and 21 appropriately as a function of the direction of rotation of the wheel. reducer which can be achieved without any difficulty by providing for example on the reducer wheel an additional fixing hole in which can snap the part 32, when one wishes to change the orientation of the two paired wipers.
• the arrangement of the wipers on the reducer wheel has the further advantage of allowing easy presetting of the stop position at the end of the wiper stroke.
• a rough adjustment of the stop position at the end of the stroke is carried out, which can be completed by a fine adjustment carried out by positioning the wiper arm. with respect to its drive axis.
• the stop device of Figures 1 and 2 does not allow such an adjustment since it would result in the production on the cover 5 of a series of holes which should be plugged after adjustment to maintain the tightness of the gearbox.
• the maximum outside diameter of the connector 6 in FIGS. 1 and 2 was necessarily less than that of the reducer wheel 1 since it was fixed on the front face of the wheel between. the hub and the peripheral toothing.
• the outside diameter of the connector can be equal to or slightly greater than the diameter of the reducer wheel, measured at the top of the teeth (see FIG. 4), thereby saving space.
• the stop device according to the invention allows the elimination of a wiper (two paired wipers 20, 21 instead of the three independent wipers 7, 8 and 9) and makes it possible to solve the problem of the relative positioning of the wipers, since the latter are made in one piece, which was obviously not possible on the known stop device since the three wipers 7, 8 and 9 had to be electrically isolated from each other.
• the operating mode of the fixed stop device according to the invention is similar in all respects to that of FIGS. 1 and 2.
• the armature 12 of the motor is connected to the conductive sector 37 grounded by means of the bridge formed by the two twin wipers 20, 21 of the conductive sector 38 and pads 14 and 15 electrically connected by the movable member 13 of the control switch. If the two paired wipers 20, 21 are not in the position shown in FIG. 3 when the switch switches to the stop position, the armature 12 of the motor is connected to the positive terminal of the source supply via the conductive sector 39, the bridge formed by the two wipers 20 and 21, the conductive sector 38 and the electrical connection established between the pads 14 and 15 of the switch.
• FIG 7 there is shown an alternative embodiment of the connector of the device according to the invention.
• a connector also comprises the three conductive sectors 37, 38 and 39 electrically isolated from each other and arranged in two concentric circular tracks which are traversed by the two grains 22 of the paired wipers 20 and 21.
• the electrical connection of the three conductive sectors n has also not been changed.
• the conductive sector 38 is in the form of a closed circular ring entirely disposed inside the conductive sector 39 in the form of an open circular ring.
• the conductive sector 38 alone constitutes, in this case, the interior circular track of the connector.
• the outer circular track is closed, on the one hand, by the conductive sector 39 in the form of an open ring and, on the other hand, by the conductive sector 37 which is inserted in the opening area of the aforementioned open ring.
• the operating mode of the fixed stop device with the connector of FIG. 7 is identical in all points to the operation described above, of the fixed stop device equipped with the connector of FIG. 3.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Connection Of Motors, Electrical Generators, Mechanical Devices, And The Like (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=9237151

Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (3)

Citations (2)

• 1980
  • 1980-01-04 JP JP1980600011U patent/JPS56500007U/ja active Pending
  • 1980-01-04 GB GB8101633A patent/GB2077578B/en not_active Expired
  • 1980-01-04 WO PCT/FR1980/000002 patent/WO1981001985A1/fr unknown

Patent Citations (2)

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