JP2006044546A - Wiper blade - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a wiping property of a wiper blade by improving twisting rigidity of it. <P>SOLUTION: The wiper blade 18 has a blade rubber 21 and a rubber holder 22 to hold the blade rubber 21, and the rubber holder 22 is formed free to elastically deform in a direction vertical with a windshield glass. A reinforcing member assembly body 41 formed by connecting three reinforcing members 42 to 44 with each other free to revolve in the longitudinal direction by hinge parts 45 to 47 is provided on the wiper blade 18, and the twisting rigidity of the reinforcing member assembly body 41 is sufficiently improved by forming each of the reinforcing members 42 to 44 in a cross-section cup shape. The rubber holder 22 is connected to the reinforcing member assembly body 41, and consequently, the twisting rigidity of the wiper blade 18 is improved and the wiping property of the wiper blade 18 is also improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiper blade that is attached to the tip of a wiper arm and wipes a windshield of a vehicle, and in particular, a holding member that holds a blade rubber is elastically deformed in a direction perpendicular to the windglass, thereby reducing the pressing force of the wiper arm. It relates to what is distributed throughout the rubber.

  Passenger cars, buses, trucks, and other vehicles are equipped with wiper blades to wipe out the rain, snow, insects, and splashes from the front car to ensure the driver's visibility. . Such a wiper blade has a rubber blade rubber that contacts the window glass and a holding member that holds the blade rubber, and is attached to the tip of the wiper arm of the vehicle at a connecting portion provided on the holding member. When the wiper arm is driven by the wiper motor, the wiper blade swings between the lower reversal position of the lower end of the window glass and the upper reversal position on the glass surface, thereby wiping the glass surface.

In order to exhibit good wiping performance, it is necessary to distribute the pressing force applied from the wiper arm over the entire longitudinal direction of the blade rubber. For this reason, for example, in the wiper blade described in Patent Document 1, a holding member is formed by a flat bar material that is elastically deformable in a direction perpendicular to the wind glass, and the pressing force applied from the wiper arm is changed to a blade rubber by the elastic force of the holding member. It is made to disperse | distribute in the longitudinal direction. Also, a flat bar is provided with a plurality of joint portions, the holding member is formed to be bent in a direction perpendicular to the window glass, and the holding member is bent toward the window glass by a rubber cushion provided in each joint portion. By energizing, the holding member is adapted to the curvature of the window glass to further improve the wiping property.
Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2002-532336

  However, in such a wiper blade, the holding member for holding the blade rubber is formed so as to be elastically deformable in a direction perpendicular to the window glass, such as a flat plate bar, and thus its torsional rigidity is lowered. For this reason, when the wiper blade starts the wiping operation and the wiping resistance is applied to the blade rubber, the holding member is largely twisted particularly at the tip side, thereby reducing the wipeability of the wiper blade.

  In addition, when the holding member is bent at the joint portion, it is difficult to adjust the distribution pressure of the blade rubber immediately below the joint portion, and the wiper blade wiping performance at the portion corresponding to the joint portion is reduced. become.

  An object of the present invention is to increase the torsional rigidity of a wiper blade and improve its wiping property.

  The wiper blade of the present invention is a wiper blade that is attached to the tip of a wiper arm and wipes the windshield of a vehicle, and is capable of elastic deformation in a plane that is perpendicular to the windshield and a blade rubber that contacts the wind glass. A holding member configured to hold the blade rubber, and a plurality of reinforcing members that are arranged in the longitudinal direction and are rotatably connected to each other in a plane perpendicular to the window glass, the reinforcing member and the holding member; And a reinforcing member assembly that connects the two members so as to be relatively displaceable.

  The wiper blade of the present invention is characterized in that it has a biasing means for biasing the reinforcing member assembly toward the window glass in a closing direction.

  The wiper blade according to the present invention is characterized in that the biasing means is a torsion coil spring provided at a connecting portion that connects the adjacent reinforcing members.

  The wiper blade of the present invention is characterized in that the reinforcing member assembly is connected to the holding member so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction.

  The wiper blade of the present invention is characterized in that the reinforcing member is formed to be elastically deformable in a direction perpendicular to the window glass.

  According to the present invention, the holding member for holding the blade rubber is connected to the reinforcing member assembly so that the wiping resistance applied to the blade rubber is supported by the reinforcing member assembly in addition to the holding member. The wipeability of the wiper blade can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the urging means for urging the reinforcing member toward the window glass is provided, the distributed pressure of the blade rubber can be optimized by adjusting the urging force of these urging means. Can be

  Further, according to the present invention, since the pressing force of the wiper arm is uniformly distributed by elastic deformation of the holding member, the followability of the blade rubber at the connecting portion of the reinforcing member assembly is improved and the wipeability of the wiper blade is improved. be able to.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an outline of a wiper device having a wiper blade according to an embodiment of the present invention. A vehicle 11 is operated by wiping rain attached to a front window glass 12 or splashes of a front vehicle. A wiper device 13 is provided in order to secure a person's field of view.

  The wiper device 13 includes two wiper arms 14 on the driver's seat side and the passenger seat side, and each wiper arm 14 is fixed to the wiper shaft 15 at the base end portion thereof and is supported on the vehicle 11 so as to be swingable. Each wiper shaft 15 is connected to a wiper motor 17 via a link mechanism 16, and when the wiper motor 17 is operated, the wiper arm 14 swings within a predetermined range.

  A wiper blade 18 is attached to each end of the wiper arm 14, and these wiper blades 18 are in elastic contact with the windshield 12 with a pressing force applied from the wiper arm 14. When the wiper motor 17 is actuated to swing the wiper arm 14, each wiper blade 18 swings the wiping range 12 a on the front window glass 12 and wipes the front window glass 12.

  2 is a front view showing details of the wiper blade shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the wiper blade 18 has a blade rubber 21 that contacts the front window glass 12 and a rubber holder 22 as a holding member that holds the blade rubber 21. In a state away from, it is curved in a closing direction toward the front window glass 12. A connection block 23 is provided at a substantially intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the rubber holder 22, and a clip 25 is rotatably supported by a pin member 24 on the connection block 23. The clip 25 is engaged with the tip of the wiper arm 14, whereby the wiper blade 18 is attached to the wiper arm 14.

  The blade rubber 21 is formed in the shape of a bar having a uniform cross section in the longitudinal direction by using natural rubber, chloroprene rubber or a material in which natural rubber and chloroprene rubber are blended so as to have the advantages of each material. As described above, the head portion 26 and the front window glass 12 are directly in contact with the lip portion 27 and the head portion 26 and the neck portion 28 that connects the lip portion 27 to each other. The neck portion 28 is formed with a narrow width in the wiping direction with respect to the head portion 26 and the lip portion 27, whereby the lip portion 27 is tiltable in the wiping direction with respect to the head portion 26. Further, leaf spring members 31 (vertebras) are respectively attached to the attachment grooves 26a formed on both side surfaces of the head portion 26, thereby giving the head portion 26 a predetermined rigidity. Further, two holding grooves 26b are formed on both side surfaces of the head portion 26 so as to be positioned closer to the lip portion 27 than the mounting groove 26a.

  On the other hand, the rubber holder 22 is formed by bending a plate material, such as a steel plate, formed into a predetermined shape by blanking using a press machine, and has a cross-sectional core having a top wall portion 34 and a pair of side wall portions 35. It is formed in a letter shape.

  The top wall portion 34 is formed in a flat plate shape having a length dimension substantially the same as that of the blade rubber 21 and a width dimension wider than that of the blade rubber 21, and is a surface on which the neck portion 28 of the head portion 26 is formed. It is arrange | positioned so as to oppose a surface on the opposite side. Further, the top wall portion 34 is fixed to the connecting block 23 at a substantially intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction thereof, whereby the pressing force of the wiper arm 14 is applied to the top wall portion 34 via the connecting block 23. The side wall portions 35 are provided on both side portions of the top wall portion 34 on the wiping direction side, and are formed by being bent perpendicularly to the top wall portion 34 by bending a plate material. As shown in FIG. 2, each side wall portion 35 is formed with a plurality of slits 36 that open to the front window glass 12 and extend to the top wall portion 34 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction. 22 is elastically deformable in a plane perpendicular to the front window glass 12.

  As shown in FIG. 3, each side wall portion 35 is provided with holding claws 37, and these holding claws 37 are engaged with the holding grooves 26 b of the blade rubber 21. Each side wall portion 35 is provided with support portions 38 adjacent to both sides in the longitudinal direction of the holding claws 37, and the upper surface side of the head portion 26 of the blade rubber 21 is supported by these support portions 38. . Thus, the blade rubber 21 is held by the rubber holder 22 with the head portion 26 supported by the holding claws 37 and the support portions 38.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the wiper blade 18 is provided with reinforcing member assemblies 41 located on both sides of the connecting block 23. Since these reinforcing member assemblies 41 have the same structure except that they are symmetrical with respect to the connecting block 23, only one reinforcing member assembly 41 will be described below.

  4 is a perspective view showing details of the reinforcing member assembly shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a top view showing details of a connecting portion of the reinforcing member shown in FIG. FIGS. 6A and 6B are front views showing details of the connecting portion shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the reinforcing member assembly 41 includes three reinforcing members 42, 43, and 44 arranged in the longitudinal direction along the rubber holder 22. Each of the reinforcing members 42 to 44 is formed into a U-shaped cross section by bending a steel plate and has sufficiently high rigidity against bending and twisting in a direction perpendicular to the front window glass 12.

  The reinforcing member 42 is connected to the connecting block 23 by a hinge portion 45 as a connecting portion, whereby the reinforcing member 42 is perpendicular to the front window glass 12 with respect to the connecting block 23 around the hinge shaft 45a of the hinge portion 45. It is freely rotatable in the direction. Further, the reinforcing member 42 is connected to the reinforcing member 43 by a hinge portion 46 as a connecting portion, whereby the reinforcing members 42 and 43 are surfaces perpendicular to the front window glass 12 around the hinge shaft 46a of the hinge portion 46. It is free to rotate within. Further, the reinforcing member 43 is connected to the reinforcing member 44 by a hinge portion 47 as a connecting portion, whereby the reinforcing members 43 and 44 are surfaces perpendicular to the front window glass 12 around the hinge shaft 47a of the hinge portion 47. It is free to rotate within. As described above, the reinforcing member assembly 41 has the torsional rigidity formed higher than that of the rubber holder 22 by connecting the reinforcing members 42 to 44 having high rigidity via the hinge parts 45 to 47, and each hinge part. In 45-47, it can be bent in a plane perpendicular to the front window glass 12.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a torsion coil spring 48 as an urging means is provided at a hinge portion 46 as a connecting portion for connecting adjacent reinforcing members 42 and 43. The torsion coil spring 48 is mounted on the hinge shaft 46 a and urges the reinforcing members 42 and 43 toward the front window glass 12. Similarly, a torsion coil spring 48 is also attached to the hinge shaft 45 a of the hinge portion 45 and the hinge shaft 47 a of the hinge portion 47, and the reinforcing members 42 to 44 are biased toward the front window glass 12. With such a structure, the reinforcing member assembly 41 is urged in the closing direction toward the front window glass 12 by the spring force of the torsion coil spring 48.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, a pair of connecting portions 51 are provided on the top wall portion 34 of the rubber holder 22 so as to be adjacent to the hinge portion 46 of the reinforcing member assembly 41. Each of the connecting portions 51 is provided with an engaging long hole 51a extending in the longitudinal direction of the wiper blade 18, and the hinge shaft 46a of the hinge portion 46 is engaged with the engaging long hole 51a. It is engaged so as to be movable in the axial direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, a pair of connecting portions 52 project from the rubber holder 22 toward the reinforcing member assembly 41, and the wiper blades 18 are respectively connected to the connecting portions 52. An engagement long hole 52a extending in the longitudinal direction is provided. On the other hand, as can be seen from FIG. 4, the distal end of the reinforcing member 44 is formed in a T shape having a pair of connecting leg portions 53, and the reinforcing member 44 is engaged with the connecting portion 52 at these connecting leg portions 53. The long hole 52a is engaged so as to be movable in the axial direction. In this way, the reinforcing member assembly 41 is connected to the rubber holder 22 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction by the hinge shaft 46a and the connecting leg 53, whereby the reinforcing members 42 to 44 and the rubber holder 22 are relatively displaced. It is connected freely. Therefore, when the wiper blade 18 is elastically deformed in a direction perpendicular to the front window glass 12, the hinge shaft 46a and the connecting leg 53 move relative to each connecting portion 51, 52 in the axial direction, thereby The elastic member assembly 41 does not restrict elastic deformation of the rubber holder 22.

  FIGS. 7A to 7C are explanatory views showing a change in shape when the wiper blade shown in FIG. 2 is in contact with the front window glass.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the wiper blade 18 is curved more strongly than the most curved portion of the front window glass 12 in the natural state. As shown in FIG. When the pressing force from the wiper arm 14 is applied to the connecting block 23 by contacting the weakly curved portion of the front window glass 12, the rubber holder 22 is elastically deformed in accordance with the curvature of the front window glass 12, and the wiper blade 18 is deformed so that the entire longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 21 is in contact with the front window glass 12. Further, the reinforcing member assembly 41 is bent in the opening direction with respect to the front window glass 12 at each of the hinge portions 45 to 47, and generates an elastic force in the closing direction toward the front window glass 12. Accordingly, the pressing force from the wiper arm 14 is distributed and applied to the blade rubber 21 by the rubber holder 22 and the reinforcing member assembly 41, and the blade rubber 21 has a predetermined distributed pressure characteristic with respect to the front window glass 12. Contact.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7 (c), even when the wiper blade 18 is in the lower inverted position and the tip of the wiper blade 18 reaches a strongly curved portion, the rubber holder 22 and the reinforcing member assembly 41 Accordingly, the tip end portion thereof is urged to be curved along the front window glass 12, and the wiper blade 18 follows the front window glass 12.

  In such a wiper blade 18, when the wiper motor 17 is actuated to swing the wiper arm 14, the blade rubber 21 performs a wiping operation on the front window glass 12. At this time, a wiping resistance is applied to the blade rubber 21 from the glass surface. . The wiping resistance is supported by a rubber holder 22 that holds the blade rubber 21. In the wiper blade 18, since the rubber holder 22 is connected to the reinforcing member assembly 41, the wiping resistance is a reinforcement with high torsional rigidity. It is supported by the member assembly 41. Therefore, even if a load in the twisting direction is applied to the rubber holder 22 due to the wiping resistance, the load is supported by the reinforcing member assembly 41 having a high twisting rigidity, so that the twisting rigidity of the wiper blade 18 can be increased. it can.

  As described above, in the wiper blade 18, the reinforcing member assembly 41 is connected to the rubber holder 22, so that the torsional rigidity of the wiper blade 18 can be increased. Therefore, the wiping performance of the wiper blade 18 can be improved by bringing the lip portion 27 of the blade rubber 21 into contact with the glass surface at an appropriate wiping angle.

  In the wiper blade 18, the pressing force applied to the blade rubber 21 via the reinforcing member assembly 41 is uniformly distributed in the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 21 by the rubber holder 22, so that the reinforcing member assembly 41 is hinged. Even if it is the structure which has the parts 45-47, the wiping property of this wiper blade 18 does not fall. Further, since the distributed pressure of the blade rubber 21 is uniformly distributed due to the elastic deformation of the rubber holder 22, the followability of the blade rubber immediately below the hinge portion of the reinforcing member assembly 41 is enhanced to improve the wipeability of the wiper blade. Can do.

  Further, in the wiper blade 18, the reinforcing member assembly 41 is provided with the torsion coil springs 48 that urge the reinforcing members 42 to 44 toward the front windshield 12. By adjusting the power, the distribution pressure of the blade rubber 21 can be optimized.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a modification of the wiper blade shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. In FIGS. 8 and 9, members corresponding to those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the wiper blade 18 shown in FIG. 2, the reinforcing members 42 to 44 constituting the reinforcing member assembly 41 are formed so as to have sufficiently high rigidity against bending and twisting in a direction perpendicular to the front window glass 12. However, in the wiper blade 61 shown in FIG. 8, the four reinforcing members 63 to 66 constituting the reinforcing member assembly 62 are each formed in a U-shaped cross section by a steel plate, and both side walls 63 a to 66 a Two slits 67 are provided side by side in the longitudinal direction, and the reinforcing members 63 to 66 are elastically deformable in the direction perpendicular to the front window glass 12 in the portions of these slits 67. Further, the portions notched to form the respective slits 67 are bent to the opposite side with respect to the side walls 63a to 66a to form the holding claws 68. As shown in FIG. Are engaged with the holding claws 68 and held by the reinforcing members 63 to 66.

  Like the reinforcing members 42 to 44 shown in FIG. 2, the reinforcing members 63 to 66 are connected to each other in a direction perpendicular to the front window glass 12 by hinge portions 71 to 74 as connecting portions and twisted. The coil spring 48 is biased toward the front window glass 12.

  That is, in the wiper blade 61, the reinforcing members 63 to 66 hold the blade rubber 21 and are elastically deformable in a direction perpendicular to the front window glass 12, and have a function as a holding member. It has a function as a reinforcing member assembly 62 that can be bent toward the front window glass 12 by being connected to each other via hinge portions 71 to 74.

  As described above, the reinforcing member assembly 62 provided in the wiper blade 61 has both functions of the rubber holder 22 and the reinforcing member assembly 41 which are holding members in the wiper blade 18 shown in FIG. Therefore, similarly to the wiper blade 18 shown in FIG. 2, the torsional rigidity of the wiper blade 18 is increased, whereby the lip portion 27 of the blade rubber 21 is brought into contact with the glass surface at an appropriate wiping angle so that the wiper blade 61 The wiping property can be improved.

  It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the rubber holder 22 is formed into a U-shaped cross-section by bending a plate material formed in a predetermined shape, but is not limited thereto, and is formed of a flat plate material. For example, it may be elastically deformable in a direction perpendicular to the front window glass 12.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the wiper blade 18 in the tandem wiper device 13. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the wiper blade used in other types of wiper devices such as a counter wiping type is also used. You may apply to.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the reinforcement members 42-44 are formed by bending a steel plate in a U-shaped cross section, it does not restrict to this but fully resists the wiping resistance which arises in the blade rubber 21. For example, a rod-like member, a hollow member, or the like may be used as long as it has a bending rigidity and a torsional rigidity.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the torsion coil spring 48 is used as the urging means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, as long as the reinforcing member assembly 41 can be urged toward the window glass 12. For example, a leaf spring bent into a U-shape may be used.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the wiper apparatus provided with the wiper blade which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the detail of the wiper blade shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the detail of the reinforcement member assembly shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the detail of the connection part of the reinforcement member shown in FIG. (A), (b) is a front view which shows the detail of the connection part shown in FIG. 5, respectively. (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows the change of the shape when the wiper blade shown in FIG. 2 contacts front windshield. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of the wiper blade shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Vehicle 12 Front window glass 12a Wiping range 13 Wiper device 14 Wiper arm 15 Wiper shaft 16 Link mechanism 17 Wiper motor 18 Wiper blade 21 Blade rubber 22 Rubber holder 23 Connection block 24 Pin member 25 Clip 26 Head part 26a Mounting groove 26b Holding groove 27 Lip Part 28 Neck part 31 Leaf spring member 34 Top wall part 35 Side wall part 36 Slit 37 Holding claw 38 Support part 41 Reinforcement member assembly 42-44 Reinforcement member 45-47 Hinge part 45a-47a Hinge shaft 48 Torsion coil spring 51, 52 Connecting portion 51a, 52a Engagement hole 53 Connecting leg portion 61 Wiper blade 62 Reinforcement member assembly 63 to 66 Reinforcing member 63a to 66a Side wall 67 Slit 68 Holding claw 71 to 74 Hinge portion

Claims (5)

A wiper blade attached to the tip of the wiper arm to wipe the windshield of the vehicle,
A blade rubber in contact with the window glass;
A holding member configured to be elastically deformable in a plane perpendicular to the window glass and holding the blade rubber;
A reinforcing member assembly that includes a plurality of reinforcing members that are arranged in a longitudinal direction and that are rotatably connected to each other in a plane perpendicular to the window glass, and that connects the reinforcing member and the holding member so as to be relatively displaceable. A wiper blade characterized by comprising:   2. The wiper blade according to claim 1, further comprising a biasing unit that biases the reinforcing member assembly toward the window glass in a closing direction.   3. The wiper blade according to claim 2, wherein the biasing means is a torsion coil spring provided at a connecting portion that connects the adjacent reinforcing members.   The wiper blade according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reinforcing member assembly is connected to the holding member so as to be movable in a longitudinal direction. The wiper blade according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the reinforcing member is formed to be elastically deformable in a direction perpendicular to the window glass.

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