JPH03217358A - Wiping range switching device in windshield wiper - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify a wiping range switching device in structure and miniaturize it in size by constituting a connecting shaft between a driving link and rocking link free of displacement selectively to both first and second positions, and also constituting the displaced connecting shaft so as to keep its position by means of the fulcrum jump-over operation of a spring. CONSTITUTION:A base end of a driving link 9 is pivotally supported on the tip part of a crank arm 8 connected to an output shaft 7a of a wiper motor 7 free of rocking motion, and linking operation of this driving link 9 is converted into reciprocating wipe rocking motion of right and left wiper arms 2 via a wiping range switching device 10. This wiping range switching device 10 has a rocking link 11 clamped to the base end of a wiper shaft 3, connecting the base end of a connecting link 5 is connected to the other end of this rocking link 11 free of rocking motion by a ball joint 12. In addition, a tip part of the driving link 9 is connected to a switching member 13 free of rocking motion along an elongated hole 11a installed in the rocking link 11 by a ball joint 14, and this switching member 13 is made possible to keep its position selectively in two positions by means of fulcrum jump-over operation of a spring 18 via a each of gear mechanism 16, 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a wiping range switching device for a wiper for wiping the windows of a vehicle such as an automobile.

[In general, the problems to be solved by the prior art and the invention,
In this type of wiper, when snow accumulates in the storage area in winter, this snow prevents the wiper blade from moving to the stop position and places an unnecessary load on the wiper device. There is a risk of damaging other members.

Therefore, a structure in which the wiping range of the wiper arm can be changed so that only the stop position changes without changing the upper reversal position is proposed, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-136851.
It is known in the publication no.

In this device, an auxiliary link, which is connected to a crank arm through a related link, is pivotably supported on a swing link fixed to the wiper shaft, and the auxiliary link is used to move the ammunition beyond the fulcrum. It is configured to be switched and maintained between a summer position and a winter position by a biasing force.

However, in order to eliminate the change in the upper inverted position, in this case, the support shaft mounting position of the auxiliary links is adjusted so that when the auxiliary link guides the wiper arm to the upper inverted position, This requires a very strict and special arrangement configuration, in which the position is set on the bisector of the angle that connects each axis position of the position and winter position and the connection point of the related link of the crank arm, resulting in a lack of freedom in design. Therefore, it is impossible to avoid increasing the size of the switching device, and as a result, a problem arises in that the wiper cannot be installed in a vehicle where the space for installing the wiper is limited.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention was devised for the purpose of providing a wiping range switching device for a wiper that can eliminate these drawbacks. A connecting shaft between the driving link and the swinging link is connected to the swinging link which is integrally fixed to the wiper shaft, and the other end of the swinging link whose one end is connected to the crank arm of the wiper motor. The connecting shaft is supported by a swing link so as to be freely displaceable between a first position close to the wiper shaft and a second position remote from the wiper shaft, and the connecting shaft is selectively positioned at each of the above positions by movement of the bullet across the fulcrum. The wiper wiping range switching device configured to hold and switch the stop position of the wiper arm is characterized in that the swing link is formed with a guide that slides and guides the connecting shaft between a first position and a second position. That is.

Further, in the above-mentioned device, the guide formed in the swing link is a long hole.

Moreover, in the above-mentioned device, the connecting shaft is linked to the bullet via a gear transmission mechanism.

Further, in the above-mentioned device, the gear transmission mechanism is composed of a plurality of gears, and these gears are arranged in series on the swing link. This increases the degree of freedom in design and allows for significant downsizing.

[Embodiment] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a pair of left and right wiper blades, and each wiper blade 1 is attached to a wiper arm 2. A wiper shaft 3, to which the base end of the wiper arm 2 is fixed, is attached to a pivot holder 4. A connecting link 5 is attached to the tip of a pivot lever 38 that is rotatably supported around a core and extends integrally from one wiper shaft 3.
The distal end portions of the two are swingably connected via a ball joint 6.

7 is a wiper motor, and the base end of a drive link 9 is pivotally supported via a ball joint 8a to the distal end of a crank arm 8 which is interlocked with the output shaft 7a of the wiper motor 7. The link operation of the translation link 9 accompanying the motor rotation is converted into a reciprocating wiping swing of the left and right wiper arms 2, and the wiping range switching device 10 of the present invention is implemented in this link operation conversion mechanism.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a swinging link constituting the wiping range switching device 10, and the swinging link 11 is integrally fixed to the base end of the wiper shaft 3 on the other side. 11, the base end portion of the connecting link 5 is swingably connected via a ball joint 12, so that both the left and right wiper blades 1 integrally swing back and forth for wiping.

Furthermore, 13 is a switching member provided on the swing link 11, and a ball joint 14 to which the tip of the drive link 9 is swingably connected is integrally attached to the switching member 13. It is slidably fitted into an elongated hole 11a formed in the swing link 11, and is prevented from rotating by guide pieces 15 provided on both sides of the elongated hole 11a. That is, the switching member 13 is configured to be able to displace the ball joint 14 between a summer position in which it is close to the wiper shaft 3 and a winter position in which it is away from the wiper shaft 3 by sliding along the long hole 11a. In the winter position, the swing range of the swing link 11 is narrowed without changing the swing reverse position on the side corresponding to the upper reverse position of the wiper arm 2.
The stopping position of the wiper blade 1 is switched to a position higher than the normal position (summer position).

On the other hand, a first gear 16 is rotatably supported by the swing link 11, and a gear 16a formed in a small diameter portion of the first gear 16 is formed in a protrusion 13a of the switching member 13. The first gear 16 is engaged with the gear 13b formed in the large diameter portion of the first gear 16, and the first gear 16 rotates forward and backward in accordance with the forced switching operation of the switching member 13.
It meshes with a second gear 17 that is rotatably fitted onto the wiper shaft 3. In other words, the switching operation of the switching member 13 causes the second gear 17 to rotate in the forward and reverse directions via the first gear 16.
is a swing link 1 formed long in the radial direction of the wire shaft 3.
1 are arranged in series.

Furthermore, 18 is a bullet, one end of the bullet 18 is engaged with a protrusion 1lb formed on the swing link 11, and the other end is protruded toward the second gear 17 in the radial direction. An L-shaped hook 19 is attached to the engaging pin 17b provided on the protrusion 17a.
The ammunition 18 is connected via the switching member 13.
The rotation of the second gear 17 accompanying the switching operation causes the wiper shaft 3 to be displaced beyond the axis of the wiper shaft 3, which serves as a fulcrum. That is, the switching member 13 is selectively held in the summer position and the winter position through the gear mechanism consisting of the second and first gears 17 and 16 by the movement of the ammunition 18 beyond the fulcrum. .

In the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, the wiper arm 2 is driven by the wiper motor 7 to swing back and forth between the stop position and the reverse position.
To switch the wiping range at the stop position, the wiper arm 2 is gripped and forcibly swung, and the switching member 13 provided on the swing link 11 is selectively slid to the summer position or the winter position along the elongated hole 11a. In this case, the position of the switching member 13 that has been slid and displaced is maintained by the biasing force of the ammunition 18 passing over the fulcrum.

As described above, in the present invention, the connecting shaft between the drive link 9 and the swing link 11, that is, the switching member 13 provided with the ball joint 14 is configured to be selectively displaceable between the summer position and the winter position. At the same time, although the displaced switching member 13 is held in position by the movement of the ammunition 18 over the fulcrum, the switching member 13 is slidably displaced by the guide of the elongated hole 11a formed in the swing link 11. position and winter position. Therefore, in the present invention, the switching member 13 can be moved by simply forming the elongated hole 11a facing in a predetermined direction in the swinging link 11, without having to perform a strict and special arrangement as in the case of using an auxiliary link that swings. Displacement guidance is achieved, and as a result, the degree of freedom in design increases, and the wiping range switching device 1o can be significantly downsized based on the extremely advantageous arrangement.

Furthermore, in comparison with a system using a swinging auxiliary link, it has the advantage of not requiring a stopper to set the range of swing of the auxiliary link, and the structure can be simplified. , problems associated with damage can also be resolved.

Further, in this embodiment, the switching member 13 and the ammunition 18 are linked via a gear mechanism consisting of the first gear 16 and the second gear 17, and both gears 16, 17 and the switching member 13 are connected to each other by a swinging link. Since they are arranged in series on 11,
It is possible to reliably prevent the wiping range switching device 10 from becoming wider and contribute to further miniaturization. Furthermore, in the gear mechanism, the gear ratio is set so that the amount of displacement of the engagement pin 17b that is displaced in accordance with the amount of displacement of the switching member 13 due to switching of the wiping range is large. Inadvertent movement of the projectile 18 beyond the fulcrum can be suppressed without using a large projectile with a particularly strong biasing force, and as a result, the projectile can be made much lighter and more compact by using the projectile 18 with a small biasing force. become.

Further, since the wire shaft 3 is also used as the support shaft of the second gear 17, the structure can be simplified and the number of parts can be reduced.

It should be noted that the present invention is of course not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and for example, as in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 21 may be changed.

Further, it goes without saying that the guide for slidingly guiding the switching member 13 is not limited to an elongated hole, and may be, for example, a guide rail.

[Operations and Effects] In summary, since the present invention is configured as described above, the connecting shaft between the drive link and the swing link is configured to be selectively displaceable between the first position and the second position. At the same time,
The displaced connecting shaft is held in position by the movement of the bullet over the fulcrum, but the connecting shaft is switched to the above two positions by sliding displacement using a guide such as a long hole formed in the swing link. Become.

Therefore, such as those using an auxiliary link that swings,
The displacement of the connecting shaft can be guided simply by forming a guide pointing in a predetermined direction on the swing link, without having to make a strict and special arrangement.As a result, the degree of freedom in design increases, and it is extremely advantageous. Based on the arrangement, the wiping range switching device can be significantly downsized.

Furthermore, when the connecting shaft and the bullet are linked via a gear transmission mechanism, the gear ratio is set so that the amount of displacement of the bullet is greater than the displacement of the connecting shaft associated with switching the wiping range. Inadvertent movement of the projectile beyond the fulcrum can be suppressed without using a large projectile with a particularly strong biasing force, and as a result,
It can be made much lighter and more compact by using small ammunition.

Furthermore, if multiple gears constituting a gear transmission mechanism are arranged in series on a swing link, the width of the wiping range switching device can be avoided and this can greatly contribute to further miniaturization.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the wiping range switching device for a wiper according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the wiper device, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the wiping range switching device,
Figure 3 is a bottom view of the same as above, Figure 4 is a side view of the same as above, Figure 5 is a top view of the same as seen from a different angle, and Figure 6 shows the stopped position state when switching between the summer position and the winter position. Fig. 7 is an action explanatory diagram showing the reverse position state when switching between the summer position and the winter position, and Fig. 8 is a stop position when switching between the summer position and the winter position in the second embodiment. Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation in the reverse position state when switching between the summer position and the winter position in the second embodiment. In the figure, 2 is a wiper arm, 3 is a wiper shaft, 5 is a connecting link, 7 is a wiper motor, 9 is a drive link, 10 is a wiping range switching device, 11 is a swing link, 11a is a long hole, 13 is a switching member, 14 is a ball joint, 16 is a first gear, 17 is a second gear, and 18 is a bullet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A drive link and a swinging link are connected to a swinging link integrally fixed to the wiper shaft, and the other end of the drive link whose one end is connected to the crank arm of the wiper motor. A connecting shaft with the link is supported by a swinging link so as to be freely displaceable between a first position close to the wiper shaft and a second position away from the wiper shaft, and the connecting shaft is further moved as described above by the movement of the bullet beyond the fulcrum. In the wiper wiping range switching device configured to selectively maintain each position and switch the stop position of the wiper arm, a connecting shaft is slidably guided to the swing link between a first position and a second position. A wiping range switching device for a wiper, characterized in that a guide is formed. 2) The wiping range switching device for a wiper according to claim 1, wherein the guide formed in the swing link is a long hole. 3) The wiping range switching device for a wiper according to claim 1, wherein the connecting shaft is connected to the bullet via a gear transmission mechanism. 4) The wiping range switching device for a wiper according to claim 3, wherein the gear transmission mechanism is composed of a plurality of gears, and these gears are arranged in series on a swing link.