WO2004026646A1

WO2004026646A1 - Wiper device

Info

Publication number: WO2004026646A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/011362
Authority: WO
Inventors: Takashi Hoshino
Original assignee: Mitsuba Corporation
Priority date: 2002-09-19
Filing date: 2003-09-05
Publication date: 2004-04-01
Also published as: JP2004106712A

Abstract

A wiper arm (13a) is swingably installed on a vehicle, and a wiper blade (14a) adapted to be reciprocated by the wiper arm (13a) is removably installed on the wiper arm (13a). The front end of the wiper arm (13a) is provided with a retainer front end (22) for holding the wiper blade (14a), and the middle portion of the wiper blade (14a) is provided with an arm attachment (23) adapted to engage the retainer front end (22). The retainer front end (22) is provided with holding walls (32a, 32b) for contacting the side surface of the arm attachment (23) to hold the arm attachment (23) when the retainer front end (22) is to be engaged with the arm attachment (23). The holding walls (32a, 32b) hold the arm attachment (23) therebetween, thus making it possible to enhance the rigidity with which the wiper blade (14a) is attached in position and to improve wiping performance.

Description

Specification

Wiper device Technical field

The present invention relates to a wiper device for wiping a window glass surface of a vehicle. Background art

The wiper device mounted on vehicles such as automobiles is installed to wipe off rain, snow, insects, splashes from the preceding vehicle, etc. attached to the windshield surface, and to ensure the driver's view. The wiper blade is mounted on the tip of a wiper arm connected to an electric motor, and reciprocates in a wiping range set on a window glass surface. Further, a spring is accommodated in the wiper arm, and the wiper blade is pressed against the window glass surface by a pressing force transmitted from the spring via the wiper arm.

The connection structure of the wiper blade attached to the wiper arm can be divided into a center hinge type and a side latch type depending on the type of the retainer tip provided at the tip of the wiper arm and the arm mounting part provided at the center of the wiper blade. It is roughly divided. The center hinge type includes a U-hook type and a bayonet clip type, while the side latch type includes an E-talip type and a side clip type. The basic structure of such a wiper device is described, for example, in the second edition of the second edition of the Automotive Technology Handbook issued by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (issued on June 15, 1992), page 378.

In the center hinge type, the pressing load can be applied to the center of the wiper blade, so that the wiping performance of the wiper blade can be improved.In particular, the U-hook type, in which the tip of the retainer is bent like a hook, Excellent wiping performance can be obtained due to the high mounting rigidity. When the side latch type is used, the height of the wiper blade can be reduced.

In the connection structure between the retainer distal end and the arm mounting portion, a wiper device that connects the retainer distal end to the arm mounting portion by using a fastening member such as a bolt is also available. Since a certain force connection method is easy, a wiper device that connects by fitting a distal end portion of a retainer into an arm mounting portion is often used.

By the way, when the wiper blade is reciprocated by the wiper arm, the wiping speed at both ends of the wiper blade is different, so that a rotational force is applied to the wiper blade. When this rotational force acts on the wiper blade, the wiping operation of the wiper blade becomes unstable and the wiping performance may be deteriorated. Therefore, it is necessary to sufficiently increase the mounting rigidity between the wiper blade and the wiper arm. In particular, when the length dimension of the wiper blade is increased, the difference in wiping speed between both ends is increased, so that sufficient mounting rigidity is required. When the windshield surface is semi-dry, the coefficient of friction between the windshield surface and the wiper blade increases. Therefore, it is necessary to set the mounting rigidity taking this friction coefficient into consideration.

The fit-in type wiper device has a structure in which the tip of the retainer is housed inside the arm attachment part, and the outer wall of the tip of the retainer comes into contact with the inner wall of the arm attachment part, so that the wiper blade is formed. It is held in the width direction. However, a predetermined clearance is provided between the arm mounting portion and the retainer distal end portion so that it can be freely attached and detached. Also, since the retainer distal end portion is accommodated inside the arm mounting portion, the arm is The contact area between the mounting part and the tip of the retainer is small. For this reason, rattling is likely to occur in the width direction of the wiper blade, making it difficult to withstand the rotational force applied to the wiper blade during the reciprocating swing, and the wiping performance may be reduced.

Therefore, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-198042, a wiper device has been developed in which a spacer is disposed between an arm mounting portion and a tip end of a retainer. As a result, the mounting rigidity in the wiper blade width direction is improved, but the attachment and detachment of the wiper blade may become complicated due to an increase in the number of parts. Also, the placement of the spacer alone could not be expected to significantly increase the contact area between the arm mounting part and the tip of the retainer, so there was a limit to improving the mounting rigidity.

In recent years, the size of window glass has often been increased for design reasons, and accordingly the length of the wiper blade has been increased.Therefore, it has become important to increase the mounting rigidity of the wiper blade in the width direction. I have. An object of the present invention is to increase the mounting rigidity of the wiper blade and improve the wiping performance of the wiper blade without impairing the detachability of the wiper blade with respect to the wiper arm. Disclosure of the invention

A wiper device according to the present invention is a wiper device comprising: a wiper arm swingably provided on a vehicle body; and a wiper blade removably provided on the wiper arm and swinging back and forth, wherein a central portion of the wiper blade is provided. An arm attachment portion that engages with a tip of the wiper arm; and an arm attachment portion that is provided at the tip of the wiper arm and contacts a side surface of the arm attachment portion when engaging the wiper arm with the arm attachment portion. The wiper device according to the present invention, characterized in that the wiper arm has a hook portion at a tip thereof, and the wiper arm is attached to the arm attachment portion via the hook portion. It is characterized by engaging.

The wiper device according to the present invention is provided with a lock member provided in the arm mounting portion, wherein the lock member holds an engagement state between the wiper arm and the arm mounting portion by fitting into a fitting hole formed at a tip end of the wiper arm. It is characterized by having.

The wiper device according to the present invention is characterized in that the fitting hole is formed in a main wall that supports the holding wall.

The wiper device according to the present invention, wherein the wiper blade has a bladed wiper for wiping a window glass surface, and a holding member that holds the blade wrapper and is formed to be thicker from one widthwise direction to the other. The mounting portion is located on one side in the width direction of the holding member that is formed thin.

In the wiper device according to the present invention, the wiper arm includes the two holding walls, and the holding wall that contacts one side surface of the arm mounting portion is more than the holding wall that contacts the other side surface of the arm mounting portion. It is characterized by being long.

According to the present invention, by providing the wiper arm with the holding wall, the arm mounting portion can be held in the width direction. As a result, the wiper shake against the wiper arm The mounting rigidity of the wiper blade can be increased, and the wiping performance of the wiper blade can be sufficiently exerted.

Further, since the holding wall is provided at the tip of the wiper arm, the detachability of the wiper blade is not impaired, and the size of the wiper device is not increased. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a wiper device including a wiper blade according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the wiper arm and the wiper blade of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the wiper blade of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the wiper blade of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of a retainer distal end portion and an arm mounting portion. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the tip of the retainer of FIG. 5 from the direction of arrow A.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of engagement between the distal end portion of the retainer and the arm mounting portion along the line BB in FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the rotational force applied to the wiper blade.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line II in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a part of a wiper device according to another embodiment of the present invention. (Α) shows a disengaged state between a retainer tip and an arm mounting portion, and (部) shows a disengaged state. Indicates the engagement state. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1, the wiper device 10 is a wiper device of an opposite wiping type. It is attached to the car body 11 to wipe off and secure the driver's view. The wiper arm 13a on the driver's seat side and the wiper arm 13b on the passenger's seat side are mounted facing each other, and wiper blades 14a, 14b are provided at the ends of the wiper arms 13a, 13b. It is installed.

Wiper shafts 15a and 15b are provided at both left and right ends of the vehicle body 11, respectively. . The rotational force of a wiper motor (not shown) is transmitted to the wiper shafts 15a and 15b via a link mechanism (not shown), and the wiper shafts 15a and 15b rotate forward and reverse at a predetermined rotation angle. It turns repeatedly. The base end of each of the wiper arms 13a, 13b is mounted on the wiper shafts 15a, 15b. Rocked by. Therefore, the respective wiper blades 14a, 14b are provided with upper reversing positions 16a, 17a set near the left and right sides of the glass 12, and lower reversing positions 16 set near the lower side of the glass 12. By reciprocating rocking between b and 17b, it is possible to wipe out rain and the like adhering to the wiping area 16, 17 within the wiping area indicated by the dashed line in Fig. 1, respectively. As shown in the drawing, in the rest state, the wiper blade 14b on the passenger seat side is arranged near the lower side of the glass 12, and the wiper blade 14a on the driver's seat side is arranged above the wiper blade 14b.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the wiper arm 13a and the wiper blade 14a of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the wiper blade 14a. The wiper blade 14a is shown separated from the glass 12, and the wiper arm 13b and the wiper blade 14b on the passenger seat side have the same structure as that shown.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wiper arm 13a includes an arm head 20 connected to the wiper shaft 15a, and a retainer 21 movably connected to the arm head 20. The arm head 20 and the retainer 21 are connected by a spring (not shown), and the wiper blade 14 a is pressed against the glass 12 with a predetermined pressing force by a panel force acting on the retainer 21. A retainer tip 22 for holding the wiper blade 14a is formed at the tip of the retainer 21. The retainer 21 has a substantially U-shaped cross section from the base end mounted on the arm head 20 to the retainer distal end 22.If the bending rigidity of the retainer 21 can be sufficiently ensured, However, the space between the base end portion and the retainer front end portion 22 may be formed in a single plate shape.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the wiper blade 14a has an arm mounting portion 23 at the center in the longitudinal direction, with which the retainer tip 22 engages. Shown in Figure 3 As described above, the wiper blade 14a has substantially triangular prism-shaped holding pieces 24a to 24c, that is, holding pieces 24a to 24c that are formed thicker from one side to the other in the width direction. At both ends of the arm mounting portion 23, these holding pieces 24a to 24c are provided continuously in the longitudinal direction to form a holding member 25. The arm mounting portion 23 and each of the holding pieces 24 a to 24 c are connected to each other by bar spring members 26 a to 26 c provided therein, and the bar spring members 26 a to 26 c are provided. Are parallel to each other and penetrate into the arm attachment portion 23 and the holding pieces 24a to 24c. Such a holding member 25 is covered with a blade cover 27 made of a resilient material, and is a rod-shaped spring member 26 a to 26 c which is bent at a predetermined angle in advance. The holding pieces 24a to 24c are connected at a predetermined connection angle, and the holding member 25 is bent in the longitudinal direction by the elastic force of the rod-shaped spring members 26a to 26c. I'm in love. Further, a blade wrapper 28 that slides on the surface of the glass 12 and performs wiping is held below the holding member 25. The radius of curvature of the holding member 25 curved in the longitudinal direction is set to be smaller than the radius of curvature of the glass 12. When the wiper blade 14 a comes into contact with the glass 12, a rod-shaped spring is formed. Since the members 26a to 26c are elastically deformed, the pressing force from the wiper arm 13a is dispersed in the longitudinal direction of the wiper blade 14a by the panel force of the bar-shaped spring members 26a to 26c. You. That is, the rod-shaped spring members 26 a to 26 c are elastically deformed by the pressing force from the wiper arm 13 a so that the holding member 25 follows the curvature of the glass 12. Then, the reaction force of the bar-shaped spring members 26 a to 26 c due to the elastic deformation is transmitted to the holding pieces 24 a to 24 c, and the holding member 25 presses the blade wrapper 28 against the glass 12. Will be created. A blade (not shown) formed in a flat plate shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the blade wrapper is attached to the blade wrapper 28. When the pressing force of the wiper arm 13a is applied to the holding member 25, the blade rubber is displaced. Reference numeral 28 designates that the elastic force of the particle bra is applied in addition to the reaction force of the bar-shaped spring members 26a to 26c. As a result, the reaction force of the bar-shaped spring members 26a to 26c discontinuously applied in the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 28 is corrected by the elastic force of the particle continuously generated in the longitudinal direction. 2 8 pressure on glass 1 2 The cloth is made uniform in the longitudinal direction.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing FIG. 3 from the arrow A direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the arm attachment portion 23 is provided so as to be located closer to one side in the width direction where the holding member 25 is formed thin. Further, the wiper blade 14a is arranged with the thin side surface of the holding member 25 facing the vehicle front side and the thick side surface of the holding member 25 facing the vehicle rear side. As a result, the arm mounting portion 23 is shielded from the driver's view by the holding member 25, so that not only the appearance of the wiper blade 14a is improved, but also the lifting of the wiper blade 14a during traveling is prevented. can do . Further, air resistance is reduced, and wind noise caused by the wiper blade 14a can be reduced.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the retainer distal end portion 22 and the arm mounting portion 23, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the retainer distal end portion 22 of FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an engagement state between the retainer distal end portion 22 and the arm mounting portion 23 along the line BB in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a retainer tip 22 forming the retainer 21 has a main wall 31 having a fitting hole 30 and main walls 31 provided on both sides of the main wall 31. Holding walls 32a and 32b are provided, which are bent substantially at right angles to 1 and a hook 33 having the main wall 31 folded back is provided at the tip of the retainer tip 22. Provided. Such a retainer tip 22 is formed by bending a plate material made of metal or the like punched out corresponding to the main wall 31, the holding walls 32 a, 32, and the hook 33. The two holding walls 32 a and 32 b shown in the figure have different lengths extending from the retainer tip 22, but this is due to interference with the holding member 25 having a different thickness in the width direction. It is to avoid.

As shown in FIG. 5, the arm mounting portion 23 has a receiving groove 35 for receiving the lock member 34, and two support walls 36 a and 3 forming both side surfaces of the arm mounting portion 23. Support holes 37a and 37b are formed in 6b, respectively. The support holes 37a and 37b support both ends of a pin 39 which passes through the through hole 38 of the lock member 34, and the lock member 34 can swing freely with respect to the arm mounting portion 23. Is provided. The mouth member 34 includes a base 40 having a through hole 38, a restriction piece 41 extending from the base 40, and a fitting piece 4. 2 and has a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape. The end of the restriction piece 41 is freely contactable with the bottom surface of the arm mounting portion 23, and the swing range of the lock member 34 is restricted by the contact of the restriction piece 41 with the bottom surface. . The fitting piece 42 has a fitting projection 43 at an end thereof. When the retainer tip 22 and the arm mounting part 23 are engaged, the fitting projection 43 is fitted into the fitting hole 30. By entering, the engagement between the retainer distal end portion 22 and the arm mounting portion 23 is maintained.

When the retainer distal end 22 and the arm mounting portion 23 are engaged with each other, as shown by an arrow B in FIG. 7, from the base 40 side of the lock member 34 attached to the arm mounting portion 23, Slide the hook part 3 3 of the retainer tip part 2 2 into the accommodation groove 35 of the arm mounting part 23. Next, the wiper blade 14 a is moved in the direction of the retainer tip 22 while guiding the base 40 of the lock member 34 inside the hook 33 provided on the retainer tip 22. The inner peripheral surface of the hook portion 33 can be brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the hook member 34. Further, since the fitting projections 43 protrude from the fitting holes 30, the movement of the arm mounting part 23 in the longitudinal direction is restricted with respect to the retainer tip part 22. The engagement state between the part 23 and the retainer tip part 22, that is, the wiper arm 13a and the wiper blade 14a is maintained. Since the hook member 34 is formed of a resin member that can be elastically deformed with a predetermined displacement amount, when the retainer tip 22 and the arm mounting portion 23 are engaged with each other, The fitting projection 43 can be pushed down by the main wall 3 1 of the retainer tip 2 2. When the fitting hole 30 and the fitting projection 43 overlap, the fitting projection 4 3 is formed by elastic force. Can be inserted into the fitting hole 30. The lock member 34 may be formed using another material as long as the lock member 34 can be elastically deformed.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the rotational force applied to the wiper blade 14a, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, when wiping the glass 12 by moving the wiper blade 14a forward and backward, a difference in wiping speed, that is, a difference in wiping resistance occurs at both ends of the wiper blade 14a. A rotating force is applied to the wiper blade 14a. When the wiper blade 14a is swung in the direction of arrow A, one end of the wiper blade 14a moves at the wiping speed V1, while the other end of the wiper blade 14a moves at a speed higher than V1. Move at a fast wiping speed V2. In other words, this payment Rotational force is applied to the wiper blade 14a in the direction indicated by arrow B according to the difference in wiping speed.

Here, as shown in FIG. 9, when the retainer distal end 22 is engaged with the arm mounting portion 23, the retaining walls 32a and 32b of the retainer distal end 22 are attached to the arm mounting portion. The side surface of 23, that is, the outer peripheral surface of the support wall 36a, 36b is in contact with the side wall. As a result, the retainer tip 22 enters the receiving groove 35 of the arm mounting portion 23, and the side surface of the hook portion 33 comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the arm mounting portion 23. In addition to holding, the arm mounting portion 23 can be held in the width direction by the holding walls 32a and 32b from the outer peripheral surface of the arm mounting portion 23, and the wiper blade 14a and the arm mounting portion 2 can be held. The rotation force transmitted to 3 can be suppressed. That is, the mounting rigidity of the wiper blade 14a with respect to the wiper arm 13a can be increased, and the wiper blade 14a can be reciprocally oscillated without causing unnecessary movement of the wiper blade 14a.

By providing the retaining walls 32a and 32b at the retainer tip 22 in this manner, the wiper blade 14a can be removed without impairing the detachability of the wiper blade 14a with respect to the wiper arm 13a. The mounting rigidity of a can be increased in the width direction, and the wiping performance of the wiper blade 14 a can be sufficiently exhibited. Further, since the arm mounting portion 23 has a simple structure that is sandwiched between the holding walls 32a and 32b, the tip end portion 22 of the retainer does not become large.

Also, when removing the wiper blade 14a from the wiper arm 13a, push the fitting protrusion 43 into the fitting hole 30 of the retainer tip 22 while pushing the wiper blade 14a into the wiper arm 1. It can be removed by sliding it toward the base end of 3a. At this time, since the fitting hole 30 is formed on the main wall 31 of the retainer distal end portion 22, that is, on the upper surface, the work can be performed while visually observing and can be easily removed. Further, since the lock member 34 can be released from the engaged state by directly pushing the fitting projection 43, it is not necessary to newly provide a member such as a release lever, and a simple lock mechanism is provided. Can be.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a part of a wiper device 50 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 10 (A) shows the disengaged state between the retainer tip 51 and the arm mounting part 52 FIG. 10 (B) shows an engagement state between the retainer tip 51 and the arm mounting portion 52. As shown in FIG. 10, the wiper device 50 is configured such that the retainer distal end 51 is formed by inserting the retainer distal end 51 forming the wiper arm into the insertion opening 53 of the arm mounting portion 52. A wiper device 50 of a bayonet clip type to which the arm attachment portion 52 is connected. An engagement protrusion 54 is formed on the retainer distal end 51, and an engagement hole 55 corresponding to the engagement protrusion 54 is formed on the upper surface of the arm mounting portion 52. The second insertion port 53 is provided with a spring member 56 that contacts the lower surface of the retainer tip 51. When the retainer distal end 51 is inserted into the arm mounting portion 52, the engaging convex portion 54 enters the engaging hole 55, and the retainer distal end 51 is pressed upward by the spring member 56. The engagement between the retainer tip 51 and the arm mounting portion 52 is maintained. The retainer distal end portion 51 is provided with two holding walls 58 a and 58 b that are bent substantially at right angles to the main wall 57 of the retainer distal end portion 51. As shown in Fig. 10 (B), when the tip 51 of the retainer is inserted into the arm mounting part 52, the two holding walls 58a and 58b contact each side of the arm mounting part 52. Thus, the arm mounting portion 52 can be held in the width direction. As a result, the mounting rigidity of the wiper blade 14a can be increased in the width direction, and the wiping performance of the wiper blade 14a can be sufficiently exhibited.

As described above, the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment.1S The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Needless to say. For example, in the present embodiment, a wiper blade 14a having a holding member 25 formed by holding pieces 24a to 24c is used, but the blade is formed by a plurality of assembled reppers. It goes without saying that the present invention may be applied to a tournament type wiper blade holding the wrapper 28.

Further, the retainer 21 for connecting the arm head 20 and the arm mounting portion 23 may be formed by a plurality of members. In this case, a retainer attached to the arm head 20 and an arm end formed with holding walls 32 a and 32 b and a fitting hole 30 and engaged with the arm mounting portion 23 are provided. The retainer and armend are Connected by a source.

Further, two retaining walls 32 a and 32 b having different lengths are provided at the retainer tip 22, but only one of the retaining walls 32 a and 32 b may be provided. Needless to say, the lengths of 32a and 32b may be provided to be equal.

Further, the illustrated arm mounting portions 23, 52 and the holding walls 32a, 32b, 58a, 58b may be formed to further extend in the longitudinal direction. This makes it possible to further increase the mounting rigidity of the wiper blade 14a, which is effective when the length of the wiper blade 14a is increased. The illustrated holding walls 32a, 32b, 58a, 58b are formed by bending. However, the holding walls 32a, 32b, 58a, 58b are formed by welding or the like. , 57 and may be provided using a fastening member or the like.

Although the description has been given based on the wiper blade 14a on the driver's seat side, it goes without saying that the present invention may be applied to the wiper blade 14b on the passenger seat side. Industrial applicability

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention can be applied when manufacturing the wiper apparatus provided with the wiper blade attached to the wiper arm.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A wiper device comprising: a wiper arm movably provided on a vehicle body; and a wiper blade which is provided on the wiper arm to be attached and detached and swings reciprocally.

An arm attachment portion provided at a central portion of the wiper blade and engaged with a tip of the wiper arm;

A holding wall that is provided at a tip of the wiper arm and that contacts the side surface of the arm mounting portion to hold the arm mounting portion when the wiper arm and the arm mounting portion are engaged with each other. Wiper device.

2. The wiper device according to claim 1, wherein the wiper arm has a hook portion at a distal end thereof, and the wiper arm engages with the arm mounting portion via the hook portion.

3. The wiper device according to claim 1, wherein the engagement state between the wiper arm and the arm attachment portion is maintained by being fitted into a fitting hole provided at the arm attachment portion and formed at a tip end of the wiper arm. A wiper device comprising a locking member that locks.

4. The wiper device according to claim 3, wherein the fitting hole is formed in a main wall that supports the holding wall.

5. The wiper device according to claim 1, wherein the wiper arm includes two of the holding walls, and a holding wall that contacts one side surface of the arm attachment portion is more than a holding wall that contacts the other side surface of the arm attachment portion. A wiper device characterized in that it is also long.

6. The wiper device according to claim 1, wherein the wiper blade includes a blade wrapper for wiping a wind glass surface, and a holding member that holds the blade wrapper and is formed to be thicker from one width direction to the other. The arm mounting portion A wiper device is located on one side in the width direction of the holding member that is formed thin.