JP2007203769A - Wiper blade - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To preclude erroneous installation of a first vertebra and a second vertebra on a blade rubber. <P>SOLUTION: A wiper blade 10 structured so that the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 arranged asymmetrical about the longitudinal direction are held by a first retaining groove 23 and a second retaining groove 24 in the blade rubber 20, is configured so that a first projection 25 is formed in the first holding groove 23, a second projection 26 and a third projection 27 are formed in the second holding groove 24, that a first recess 33 to fit on the first projection 25 is formed in the first vertebra 31, and that the second recess 34 to fit on the second projection 26 and a third recess 35 to fit on the third projection 27 are formed in the second vertebra 32. If the second vertebra 31 is installed erroneously in the second groove 24 in the blade rubber 20, the person in operation will notice it because the longer edge member of the first vertebra 31 abuts to the second projection 26 while the longer edge member on the opposite side ranges out of the second retaining groove 24. This allows preclusion of erroneous installation of the first 31 and second vertebrae 32 on the blade rubber 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiper blade, and for example, to an effective one for wiping a windshield glass of an automobile.

As a conventional wiper blade of this type, a blade rubber is supported in the longitudinal direction by a pair of leaf spring members whose central portion is bent in a convex shape toward the side opposite to the windshield glass, and the pair of leaf spring members Some are configured to be coupled to the wiper arm by a holder attached to the central portion in the longitudinal direction. For example, see Patent Document 1.
JP 2005-231449 A

In such a wiper blade, it is conceivable to change the curvature of the leaf spring member in order to uniformly divide the pressing force from the wiper arm onto the windshield glass surface.
In addition, considering the curvature of the windshield glass and the curvature of the windshield glass that changes while swinging between the upper and lower inversion positions on the windshield glass, Changing in the longitudinal direction is also conceivable.

  However, in a wiper blade in which the curvature of the leaf spring member is changed in the longitudinal direction, the pair of leaf spring members are reversed with respect to the blade rubber when the wiper blade is reassembled, for example, during maintenance inspection or replacement. As a result, there is a problem that the pressing force of the wiper blade changes and the desired wiping performance of the wiper blade cannot be obtained.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a wiper blade that can prevent erroneous assembly of a pair of leaf spring members to a blade rubber.

Typical means for solving the above-described problems are as follows.
(1) A first holding groove and a second holding groove are formed on both side surfaces, a first protrusion is formed on the inner wall of the first holding groove, and a second protrusion is formed on the inner wall of the second holding groove. And a blade rubber formed with a third protrusion, respectively,
A first leaf spring member having a first recess engaged with the first projection in a state of being mounted in the first holding groove;
A second leaf spring member provided with a second concave portion that engages with the second convex portion and a third concave portion that engages with the third convex portion in a state of being mounted in the second holding groove;
A blade lever for holding the blade rubber;
Wiper blade with.
(2) The wiper blade according to (1), wherein the first convex portion and the second convex portion are formed at the same position in a cross section of the blade rubber.
(3) The distance between the first protrusion and the second protrusion from one end of the blade rubber is different from the distance from the other end of the blade rubber of the third protrusion (1) ) Or the wiper blade according to (2).
(4) The first leaf spring member and the second leaf spring member are provided with different curvatures in the longitudinal direction in a state where the first recess and the second recess face each other. The wiper blade according to (1), (2) or (3).

  According to the above (1), when the first leaf spring member is erroneously attached to the second holding groove of the blade rubber, the long side of the first leaf spring member abuts on the second convex portion, Since the long side on the opposite side of the first leaf spring member protrudes from the second holding groove, erroneous assembly can be noticed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent erroneous assembly of the first leaf spring member and the second leaf spring member to the blade rubber.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, a wiper blade 10 according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for wiping a wiping surface of a front windshield glass (hereinafter referred to as glass) of a vehicle. It is configured.
The wiper blade 10 receives a pressing force toward the wiping surface from a wiper arm (not shown) that is reciprocally rotated by a wiper motor by a predetermined angle, and is configured to wipe a predetermined angle range of the wiping surface of the glass by the rotation. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (in a state where one of caps 40 to be described later is removed), the wiper blade 10 according to the present embodiment includes a blade lever 11, a blade rubber 20, and a first A first vertebra 31 that is a leaf spring member and a second vertebra 32 that is a second leaf spring member are provided.

The blade lever 11 is made of a weather-resistant resin and is formed into a substantially U-shaped cross section including a pair of side walls covering the upper side of the blade rubber 20 and an upper wall connecting the pair of side walls. It covers the middle two places divided into approximately four equal parts in the longitudinal direction.
A holder portion 12 is provided in the center portion of the blade lever 11 in the longitudinal direction, and a rectangular attachment port 13 is formed in the holder portion 12. A connecting clip 14 (see FIG. 2) for connecting the blade lever 11 to a wiper arm (not shown) is rotatably attached to the mounting opening 13.
On both sides of the holder portion 12, a pair of arm portions 15, 15 are formed extending from the holder portion 12 along the longitudinal direction of the wiper blade 10. Both arm parts 15 and 15 are formed in a mountain fold shape that opens downward (blade rubber 20 side) along the longitudinal direction, and the base end side (holder part 12 side) is slightly lower than the height of the holder part 12. The height gradually decreases toward the tip end side.

Upper portions of both arm portions 15 and 15 form fin portions 16. The fin portion 16 is continuous over the entire longitudinal direction of both arm portions 15 and 15. The top portion 16 a of the fin portion 16 is formed in a shape that is offset by a predetermined distance on one side in the width direction with respect to the center line in the width direction of the wiper blade 10.
The fin portion 16 is formed with an inclined surface 16b. When the inclined surface 16b receives the traveling wind of the vehicle on the other side in the width direction from the offset top portion 16a, a force to press the wiper blade 10 against the wiping surface side is generated. As shown, it is inclined with respect to the wiping surface.

A pair of holding portions 17, 17 are extended at the distal end portions of both arm portions 15, 15 so as to be arranged at two intermediate positions obtained by dividing the wiper blade 10 into substantially equal parts. Both holding parts 17 and 17 are bent so that the lower side (blade rubber 20 side) is open and the opening is narrow.
Since both the holding portions 17 and 17 are arranged at two intermediate positions obtained by dividing the wiper blade 10 into substantially equal parts, the pressing force from the wiper arms of the both holding portions 17 and 17 is the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra The blade rubber 20 extends through both ends of the blade rubber 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the blade rubber 20 is formed in an elongated bar shape by an elastic material such as rubber, and includes a base portion 21 held by both holding portions 17 and 17 of the blade lever 11, and a base portion 21. It has a wiping portion 22 that extends and the tip portion contacts the wiping surface and wipes raindrops and the like. The base portion 21 and the wiping portion 22 are formed continuously in the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 20.

On both side surfaces of the base portion 21 of the blade rubber 20, a first holding groove 23 and a second holding groove 24 are formed elongated in the longitudinal direction. The first holding groove 23 is configured to fit and hold the first vertebra 31, and the second holding groove 24 is configured to fit and hold the second vertebra 32.
A first convex portion 25 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped weir shape at one end portion of the groove bottom portion of the first holding groove 23. On the other hand, both the second convex portion 26 and the third convex portion 27 are formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped weir shape at both ends of the groove bottom portion of the second holding groove 24.
The first convex portion 25 and the second convex portion 26 are provided with the second convex portion 26 at the same position as seen in the cross section of the blade rubber 20, that is, the cross section of the blade rubber 20 including the first convex portion 25. ing. Moreover, the distance from the one end side of the blade rubber 20 of the 1st convex part 25 and the 2nd convex part 26 and the distance from the other end side of the blade rubber 20 of the 3rd convex part 27 are formed so that it may differ. .
Locking portions 28 are formed at both ends of the first holding groove 23 and the second holding groove 24, respectively. The locking portions 28 are respectively engaged with both ends of the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 from the outside. It is configured to stop.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the blade rubber 20 is formed with a pair of lever holding grooves 30, 30 formed in the longitudinal direction below the first holding groove 23 and the second holding groove 24. A pair of held portions 29, 29 (however, in FIG. 3, one of the held portions) is provided on one side of two intermediate portions obtained by dividing the blade rubber 20 of the pair of lever holding grooves 30, 30 into approximately four equal parts in the longitudinal direction. The portions 29 are not shown in the drawing.) Are arranged as shown in FIGS. 3D and 3E, respectively. That is, the held portion 29 is configured to sandwich the holding portion 17 of the blade lever 11 from both sides by a pair of convex portions.
Incidentally, there is a gap S between the upper surface of the blade rubber 20 that holds the held portions 29 and 29 by the holding portions 17 and 17 and the opposing surface of the blade lever 11 that has a substantially U-shaped cross section that holds the blade rubber 20. (See FIG. 6) is formed. That is, when the blade rubber 20 is elastically deformed following the change in the curvature of the wiping surface at the time of wiping, the blade rubber 20 is absorbed by the gap S so that it does not contact the holder portion 12 and the arm portion 15 of the blade lever 11. Thus, elastic deformation of the blade rubber 20 is allowed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first vertebra 31 is made of a leaf spring material having a predetermined elasticity, and is formed into an elongated plate shape that is fitted and held in the first holding groove 23 of the blade rubber 20. ing.
A first recess 33 is formed in a rectangular cutout shape at one end of the first vertebra 31, and the first recess 33 is mounted in the first holding groove 23 of the blade rubber 20. Is configured to fit with the first convex portion 25 of the first holding groove 23. That is, the position and shape of the first concave portion 33 in the first vertebra 31 are the same as the position and shape of the first convex portion 25 in the first holding groove 23.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the first vertebra 31 is pre-curved into a bow shape, and when the blade rubber 20 is attached to the first holding groove 23, the concave side of the bow shape is the wiping portion. It is set to be on the 22 side.
Further, the bow shape of the first vertebra 31 is asymmetric in the longitudinal direction, and a different curvature is given in the longitudinal direction.

As shown in FIG. 5, the second vertebra 32 is made of the same plate spring material having a predetermined elasticity as the first vertebra 31 and is inserted into the second holding groove 23 to be held. Is formed.
A second recess 34 and a third recess 35 are both formed in a rectangular notch shape at both ends of the second vertebra 32. The second concave portion 34 is configured to be fitted to the second convex portion 26 of the second holding groove 24 in a state where the second vertebra 32 is attached to the second holding groove 24 of the blade rubber 20. Similarly, the recess 35 is configured to fit with the third protrusion 27. That is, the position and shape of the second recess 34 in the second vertebra 32 are the same as the position and shape of the second protrusion 26 in the second holding groove 24, and the position and shape of the third recess 35 in the second vertebra 32. Is coincident with the position and shape of the third convex portion 27 in the second holding groove 24.
Moreover, the distance from the one end of the second vertebra 32 of the second recess 34 is different from the distance from the other end of the second vertebra 32 of the third recess 35.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the second vertebra 32 is pre-curved into the same bow shape as the first vertebra 31, and when the blade rubber 20 is attached to the second holding groove 24, The concave side of the bow shape is set to be the wiping portion 22 side.
Further, the bow shape of the second vertebra 32 is asymmetric in the longitudinal direction, and a different curvature is given in the longitudinal direction.
That is, when the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 are adjacent to each other in an appropriate mounting state to the blade rubber 20 corresponding to the first recess 33 and the second recess 34, the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 31 However, the second vertebra 32 forms the same saddle curved surface. However, the improper mounting state in which the third concave portion 35 corresponds to the first concave portion 33, that is, the two ends of the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 are exchanged. When they are adjacent to each other, the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 are not in the same curved surface.

When the first vertebra 31 configured as described above is inserted into the first holding groove 23 of the blade rubber 20, the first concave portion 33 of the first vertebra 31 and the first convex portion 25 of the first holding groove 23 Therefore, the first vertebra 31 is properly attached to the first holding groove 23.
Similarly, when the second vertebra 32 is fitted into the second holding groove 24 of the blade rubber 20, the second concave portion 34 and the third concave portion 35 of the second vertebra 32 and the second convex portion of the second holding groove 24. 26 and the third convex portion 27 are aligned and fitted, so that the second vertebra 32 is properly attached to the second holding groove 24.

However, when the first vertebra 31 is mistakenly installed in the second holding groove 24 of the blade rubber 20, a part of the long side of the first vertebra 31 contacts the second convex portion 26 of the second holding groove 24. By contacting, a part of the long side on the opposite side of the first vertebra 31 protrudes from the second holding groove 24, so that the operator mistakenly attaches the first vertebra 31 to the second holding groove 24. You can notice.
Further, the first recess 33 does not align with the third protrusion 27 in the second holding groove 24 regardless of whether the first vertebra 31 is assembled on the front or back side, so that a part of the first vertebra 31 is part of the second holding groove 24. In order to protrude, the operator can notice a situation where the first vertebra 31 is erroneously attached to the second holding groove 24.
As described above, the operator notices the erroneous assembly of the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 to the blade rubber 20, so that the erroneous assembly can be prevented.

The blade rubber 20 in which the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 are properly mounted in the first holding groove 23 and the second holding groove 24 has a curved shape that is preliminarily applied to the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32. It is elastically deformed to follow and bend.
In this state, the lever holding grooves 30 and 30 formed in the blade rubber 20 are inserted into the holding portion 17 of the blade lever 11 from one side, and the held portions 29 and 29 are respectively inserted into the holding portions 17 and 17. It is in a state of being sandwiched and held.
In this state, the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 properly mounted in the first holding groove 23 and the second holding groove 24 are held from the outside by the holding portions 17 and 17 of the blade lever 11. Therefore, the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 are prevented from jumping out from the first holding groove 23 and the second holding groove 24 in the lateral direction.

  At this time, if the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 are misassembled to the blade rubber 20, a part of the long side on the opposite side of the first vertebra 31 protrudes from the second holding groove 24. The base portion 21 of the blade rubber 20 cannot be inserted into the holding portion 17 of the blade lever 11. Therefore, since the operator will notice misassembly of the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 with respect to the blade rubber 20, it is possible to prevent the blade rubber 20 from being assembled to the blade lever 11 with the misassembly. can do.

After the blade rubber 20 is assembled to the blade lever 11, a pair of caps 40, 40 are attached to both ends of the blade rubber 20, respectively. By mounting the caps 40, 40, the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 are prevented from falling off from both ends of the blade rubber 20.
Thereafter, the wiper blade 10 is used by being connected to the tip of the wiper arm by the connecting clip 14.

The curvature in the natural state (no load state) of the wiper blade 10 assembled as described above is higher than the highest curvature of the wiping surface 2 of the glass 1 as shown in FIG. The curvature is a curvature radius smaller than the curvature radius of the most curved wiping surface 2.
When the wiper blade 10 is pressed against the wiping surface 2 by a wiper arm (not shown) in this state, the wiper blade 10 is elastically deformed according to the curvature of the wiping surface 2 as shown in FIG. Then, the entire longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 20 contacts the wiping surface 2.
At this time, the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32, which are leaf spring members, apply a pressing force to the wiping surface 2 side transmitted from the wiper arm via the pair of holding portions 17, 17 of the blade lever 11 in the longitudinal direction of the blade rubber 20. It will also play the role of being distributed throughout the direction.
As described above, in the wiper blade 10 according to this embodiment, the first vertebra 31 and the second vertebra 32 are reliably prevented from being erroneously assembled to the blade rubber 20, and therefore the wiper blade 10 is designed in advance. The wiping surface 2 can be wiped with the desired pressing force.
In FIG. 1, in order to prevent the drawing from becoming complicated, the wiper blade 10 is shown in a straight line, but actually has a curved shape as described herein.

  According to the embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

1) When reassembling the wiper blade at the time of maintenance inspection, replacement, etc., the wiper blade is designed to prevent the first vertebra and the second vertebra from being misassembled into the blade rubber. Since the wiping surface can be wiped with a pressing force, the wiper blade can exhibit the desired wiping performance.

2) When the first vertebra and the second vertebra are formed in an asymmetrical curved shape in the longitudinal direction, the wiper blade is reliably prevented from being erroneously assembled to the blade rubber of the first vertebra and the second vertebra. Since the wiping surface can be wiped with the predetermined pressing force designed in advance, the wiper blade can exhibit the desired wiping performance.

  Needless to say, 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, as in the wiper blade 10A shown in FIG.
That is, in the wiper blade 10 </ b> A shown in FIG. 7, a pair of covers 41 covering the base 21 of the blade rubber 20 are rotatably connected to the distal ends of both arm portions 15 and 15 of the blade lever 11. A pair of fin portions 42, 42 are formed on the upper portions of the covers 41, 41 so as to be continuous with the fin portions 16, 16 of the blade lever 11.

  Further, like the wiper blade 10 </ b> B shown in FIG. 8, it may be configured in a fin shape as a whole and the holder portion 12 may be eccentric with respect to the blade lever 11.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The wiper blade which is one embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a top view, (c) is a rear view, (d) is a bottom view. FIG. The blade rubber is shown, (a) is a partially omitted front view, (b) is a sectional view taken along line bb in (a), and (c) is an enlarged section taken along line cc in (a). FIG. 4D is an enlarged view of a portion d in FIG. 4A, and FIG. The 1st vertebra is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is an expanded sectional view in alignment with the bb line of (a), (c) is a bottom view, (d) is d section of (c). FIG. The second vertebra is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line bb of (a), (c) is a bottom view, and (d) is a portion d of (c). (E) is an enlarged view of part e of (c). (A) is a schematic diagram showing a wiper blade in an unloaded state not receiving a pressing force from the wiper arm, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing a wiper blade in a state receiving a pressing force from the wiper arm. The wiper blade which is 2nd embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a top view, (c) is a rear view, (d) is a bottom view. It is a perspective view which shows the wiper blade which is 3rd embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Glass, 2 ... Wiping surface 10, 10A, 10B ... Wiper blade, 11 ... Blade lever, 12 ... Holder part, 13 ... Mounting port, 14 ... Connection clip, 15 ... Arm part, 16 ... Fin part, 17 ... Holding part, 20 ... blade rubber, 21 ... base part, 22 ... wiping part, 23 ... first holding groove, 24 ... second holding groove, 25 ... first convex part, 26 ... second convex part, 27 ... third convex part , 28 ... locking part, 29 ... held part, 30 ... lever holding groove, 31 ... first vertebra (first plate spring member), 32 ... second vertebra (second plate spring member), 33 ... first Recess, 34 ... second recess, 35 ... third recess, 40 ... cap, 41 ... cover, 42 ... fin.

Claims (4)

A first holding groove and a second holding groove are formed on both side surfaces, a first convex portion is formed on the inner wall of the first holding groove, and a second convex portion and a third are formed on the inner wall of the second holding groove. Blade rubber formed with convex portions, and
A first leaf spring member having a first recess engaged with the first projection in a state of being mounted in the first holding groove;
A second leaf spring member provided with a second concave portion that engages with the second convex portion and a third concave portion that engages with the third convex portion in a state of being mounted in the second holding groove;
A blade lever for holding the blade rubber;
Wiper blade with.   The wiper blade according to claim 1, wherein the first convex portion and the second convex portion are formed at the same position in a cross section of the blade rubber.   The distance from the one end of the blade rubber of the first convex portion and the second convex portion is different from the distance from the other end of the blade rubber of the third convex portion. The wiper blade described.   The first leaf spring member and the second leaf spring member are provided with different curvatures in the longitudinal direction in a state where the first recess and the second recess face each other. The wiper blade according to 2 or 3.

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