JP7756618B2 - Front wiper for vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a front wiper for a vehicle.

Various technologies have been developed to mitigate pedestrian injuries when a vehicle such as an automobile collides with a pedestrian while in motion by designing the vehicle structure to absorb the impact the pedestrian sustains. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a synthetic resin cowl louver that covers the cowl top of an automobile. The cowl louver has an impact-absorbing function, with an impact-absorbing convex portion having a top plate and side walls integrally formed therewith, and a rigid engaging ring fixed near the through-hole through which the pivot shaft of the wiper pivot passes. This cowl louver absorbs impact by deforming the side walls when an external impact is input to the top plate of the impact-absorbing convex portion. Furthermore, when the side walls deform, the engaging ring engages with the wiper pivot, preventing displacement of the periphery of the through-hole. This allows for sufficient absorption of impact when the pedestrian's head is hit, achieving a high level of head protection for the pedestrian.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-335264

However, absorbing the impact of a collision by modifying the vehicle body structure (cowl louvers) as in the above-mentioned conventional technology poses the problem of imposing many restrictions on the design requirements for the vehicle's exterior, such as the design around the cowl top and the relative positions of the windshield and wiper arms.

Furthermore, in vehicles with a windshield that is tilted backward relatively little and has a vertically upright design, the structure of the vehicle tends to leave the connection between the windshield head and arm body of the front wiper exposed above the hood (bonnet) and cowl top. Near the connection point of the arm body, there is an edge that faces the windshield and a protrusion that corresponds to the connecting shaft. In the event of a collision, if a colliding object comes into contact with the edge or protrusion of the arm body, there is a risk of causing serious injury to the colliding object.

In vehicles with a vertical windshield design like the one described above, in order to reduce the injury level of the colliding object and provide a high level of protection for the colliding object, it is desirable to provide an injury reduction structure not only on the vehicle body side but also on the windshield wiper side. The above-mentioned conventional technology focuses on impact absorption on the vehicle body side, and there is room for improvement in terms of injury reduction on the windshield wiper side.

The present invention was made with the above points in mind, and aims to provide a front wiper for a vehicle that can provide a high level of protection for an impacted object in the event of a collision accident, without increasing restrictions on the design requirements for the vehicle's exterior.

To achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention provides a front wiper for a vehicle, comprising an arm head and a long arm body connected to the arm head, in which the vehicle's windshield is wiped by a wiper blade held at the longitudinal tip of the arm body. The arm body in this front wiper has a top wall portion extending in one direction and a pair of side wall portions extending from both short sides of the top wall portion toward the windshield, and when the front wiper is in a stopped wiping state, a convex portion that protrudes toward the top of the vehicle is formed on the upper surface of the upper wall portion of the pair of side wall portions that is located on the upper side of the vehicle.

With the vehicle front wiper according to the present invention, in the event of a collision, the impacting object will come into contact with the convex portion before the edge of the upper wall of the arm body, thereby reducing the injury level to the impacting object. This makes it possible to provide a high level of protection to the impacting object in the event of a collision without increasing restrictions on the design requirements for the vehicle's exterior.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a front wiper for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the windshield and the windshield wiper shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the right front wiper in FIG. 2 as viewed from the side of the vehicle. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining a state in which a collision object comes into contact with a front wiper when a collision accident occurs in the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification related to the above embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a front wiper for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the left and right front wipers and the windshield of a vehicle to which the front wiper of Fig. 1 is attached. In each of the drawings described below, the arrow Fr direction indicates the front in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the arrow U direction indicates the upward direction in the vertical direction of the vehicle, and the arrows R and L directions indicate the right and left when looking forward from inside the vehicle compartment.

1 and 2, the windshield wiper 1 of this embodiment includes, for example, an arm head 11 and a long arm body 12 connected to the arm head 11. A wiper blade 13 for wiping the windshield 31 of the vehicle 3 is held at the longitudinal tip of the arm body 12 (the end opposite the arm head 11). In this embodiment, a pair of left and right windshield wipers 1 are provided in front of the lower end of the windshield 31. The right and left windshield wipers 1 basically have the same structure, so the following describes the right windshield wiper 1 in detail and omits a description of the left windshield wiper 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the right front wiper 1 as viewed from the side (right side) of the vehicle.
As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the arm head 11 is a member disposed on the base end side of the windshield wiper 1. The arm head 11 has a substantially cylindrical base 11A and an arm 11B extending obliquely from the base 11A toward the arm body 12. A substantially cylindrical pivot shaft hole 11C is formed in the base 11A and penetrates the base 11A in the axial direction. A pivot shaft (not shown) is attached to the pivot shaft hole 11C, and the arm head 11 and a drive motor (not shown) are connected via the pivot shaft. The base end of the arm body 12 is rotatably connected to the tip end of the arm 11B (the end opposite the base 11A).

The arm body 12 includes, for example, a retainer 121 and an arm piece 122. The retainer 121 has a top wall portion 121A extending in one direction and a pair of side wall portions 121B, 121C extending from both short-side portions of the top wall portion 121A toward the windshield 31. In other words, the retainer 121 is made up of the top wall portion 121A and the pair of side wall portions 121B, 121C, and has a generally U-shaped cross section that is open on the side facing the windshield 31.

The top wall portion 121A is configured so that its outer surface opposite the windshield 31 forms part of the design surface of the front wiper 1. In a vehicle design in which the windshield 31 is tilted backward relatively little and stands upright (in the direction of arrow U in Figure 3), the outer surface of the top wall portion 121A is positioned so that it generally faces the front of the vehicle when the front wiper 1 is attached in a predetermined position on the vehicle 3 (Figures 2 and 3).

The pair of side walls 121B, 121C are spaced apart in the vehicle vertical direction when the front wiper 1 is attached to a predetermined position on the vehicle 3 and the front wiper 1 is not in use and its wiping action on the windshield 31 is stopped (hereinafter referred to as the "wiping stopped state") (Figure 3). In the following description, in the wiping stopped state, the one of the pair of side walls 121B, 121C that is located on the upper side of the vehicle will be referred to as the "upper wall 121B," and the one that is located on the lower side of the vehicle will be referred to as the "lower wall 121C."

The upper wall portion 121B and the lower wall portion 121C are located on either side of the arm portion 11B of the arm head 11 in the short direction near the base end on the arm head 11 side, and are connected to the arm portion 11B so as to be rotatable about the connecting shaft 14 (Figure 3). The end of the top wall portion 121A of the retainer 121 on the arm head 11 side is located farther toward the wiper blade 13 than the ends of the upper wall portion 121B and the lower wall portion 121C on the arm head 11 side (Figure 1).

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the front wiper 1 taken along a line (line AA in FIG. 3) that crosses the connecting portion between the arm head 11 and the arm body 12 (retainer 121).
4, the connecting shaft 14 provided at the connection between the arm head 11 and the retainer 121 is configured using, for example, a shaft member having a head 14A. The shaft portion 14B of the connecting shaft 14 is inserted through a shaft hole in the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121, between the side walls of the arm portion 11B of the arm head 11, and through a shaft hole in the lower wall portion 121C of the retainer 121. A shaft slip-out prevention portion 14C is provided at the tip of the shaft portion 14B. The connecting shaft 14 supports the upper wall portion 121B and the lower wall portion 121C of the retainer 121 rotatably relative to the arm portion 11B of the arm head 11.

The head 14A of the connecting shaft 14 protrudes from the upper surface of the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121 toward the top of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the head 14A of the connecting shaft 14 corresponds to the "protrusion" of the present invention. The protrusion amount A1 of the head 14A (protrusion) of the connecting shaft 14 is expressed as the height from the upper surface of the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121 to the top surface of the head 14A.

A convex portion 121D that protrudes toward the top of the vehicle is formed on the upper surface of the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121, separate from the head portion 14A of the connecting shaft 14 (Figs. 1 and 3). Note that the lower surface of the lower wall portion 121C of the retainer 121 does not have a shape equivalent to the convex portion 121D.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the front wiper 1 taken along a line (line BB in FIG. 3) that crosses the convex portion 121D.
3 and 5, the convex portion 121D extends, for example, along an edge portion 121E of the upper wall portion 121B that faces the windshield 31 and is disposed in a range that overlaps the center of the upper wall portion 121B in the lateral direction. The center line C shown by a dashed line in FIGS. 3 and 5 represents a straight line that passes through the center of the upper wall portion 121B in the lateral direction. In this embodiment, the convex portion 121D has a rectangular shape in a top view of the upper wall portion 121B, with its long side facing the windshield 31 being positioned close to the edge portion 121E of the upper wall portion 121B and its long side facing the top wall portion 121A being positioned between the center line C and the top wall portion 121A (FIG. 3).

The portion of the peripheral edge of convex portion 121D facing the windshield 31 is spaced slightly apart from the edge portion 121E of upper wall portion 121B toward the top wall portion 121A (Figures 3 and 5). The upper corners of the peripheral edge of convex portion 121D are rounded (Figure 5). The radius R of the rounded corners is preferably 2.5 mm or greater, but is not limited to this. The protrusion amount A2 of convex portion 121D is expressed as the height from the top surface of upper wall portion 121B to the top end surface of convex portion 121D.

The convex portion 121D and the head 14A (protruding portion) of the connecting shaft 14 are aligned longitudinally of the upper wall portion 121B (Figs. 1 and 3). In other words, the convex portion 121D is spaced apart from the head 14A of the connecting shaft 14 toward the longitudinal tip of the retainer 121. The protruding amount A2 of the convex portion 121D is set to be equal to or greater than the protruding amount A1 of the head 14A of the connecting shaft 14 (A1 ≦ A2).

A return spring 15 is disposed within the space enclosed by the top wall 121A, upper wall 121B, and lower wall 121C of the retainer 121 (Figures 3 to 5). The base end of the return spring 15 is connected to the arm head 11, and the tip end is connected to the retainer 121. The spring force of the return spring 15 biases the retainer 121 relative to the arm head 11 to rotate toward the windshield 31.

An arm piece 122 is fixed to the longitudinal end of the retainer 121 (Figures 1 and 3). The arm piece 122 extends continuously in one direction from the end of the retainer 121. The end of the arm piece 122 is provided with an attachment portion 122A for attaching the wiper blade 13.

The wiper blade 13 is attached to the mounting portion 122A of the arm piece 122 and is held at the tip of the arm body 12. The wiper blade 13 wipes the exterior surface (wiped surface) of the windshield 31 as the arm head 11 and arm body 12 rotate in conjunction with a drive motor (not shown).

Next, the operation of the front wiper 1 according to this embodiment will be described in detail.
In the windshield wiper 1 configured as described above, due to the vertically-oriented design of the windshield 31 of the vehicle 3, the connection portion between the arm head 11 and the arm body 12 is exposed above the hood or cowl top of the vehicle 3. If a vehicle 3 having a windshield wiper 1 in this state collides with an object in front of the vehicle while traveling, the object (colliding object) may strike the vicinity of the connection portion between the arm head 11 and the arm body 12 of the windshield wiper 1 from above the vehicle, potentially causing serious injury to the colliding object.

In this embodiment, a convex portion 121D is formed on the upper surface of the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121, which constitutes part of the arm body 12, as an injury reduction structure for the front wiper 1 in the event of a collision accident such as the one described above. As a result, the front wiper 1 of this embodiment reduces the injury value of a colliding object that strikes the vicinity of the connecting portion of the front wiper 1 in the event of a collision accident, enabling a high level of protection for the colliding object.

Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the state in which a collision object H strikes the front wiper 1 during a collision accident. Figure 6 also illustrates a cross section of the front wiper 1 and the vehicle components arranged around it (windshield 51, cowl top outer panel 32, etc.) cut along a straight line extending from line B-B in Figure 3, as viewed from the side (left side) of the vehicle.

In the event of a collision, there is a possibility that a colliding object H will strike the cowl top outer panel 32, which is located between the windshield 31 and the base end of the retainer 121 of the front wiper 1 that is in a stopped wiping state, from above the vehicle. At this time, the base end of the retainer 121 is exposed above the cowl top outer panel 32, increasing the likelihood that the colliding object H will strike not only the cowl top outer panel 32 but also the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121.

In the event of such a collision accident, if the impact absorption structure is provided only on the vehicle body side, as in the conventional vehicle structure described above, and no injury reduction structure (convex portion 121D) is provided on the front wiper 1 side, the impacting object H will come into contact with the windshield-side edge portion 121E of the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121 of the front wiper 1. The edge portion 121E typically has a relatively sharp shape (for example, a shape with a corner radius R of less than 2.5 mm). Therefore, when the impacting object H comes into contact with the sharp edge portion 121E of the upper wall portion 121B, the injury value for the impacting object H will increase.

On the other hand, as described above, the front wiper 1 of this embodiment has an injury reduction structure in which a convex portion 121D is formed on the upper surface of the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121. This causes the impacting object H to contact the convex portion 121D before the edge portion 121E of the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121 (Figure 6). The contact point between the impacting object H and the convex portion 121D does not have a sharp shape like the edge portion 121E, thereby reducing the injury value of the impacting object H. In particular, in this embodiment, the upper corners of the periphery of the convex portion 121D are formed with rounded corners, so that even if the impacting object H contacts the vicinity of the periphery of the convex portion 121D, it is possible to suppress an increase in the injury value of the impacting object H. Furthermore, the formation of the convex portion 121D on the upper surface of the upper wall portion 121B also increases the rigidity of the retainer 121.

The convex portion 121D serving as an injury reduction structure on the front wiper 1 side as described above does not impose restrictions on the design around the cowl top of the vehicle 3 or the positional relationship between the front wiper 1 and the windshield 31. Therefore, the front wiper 1 of this embodiment can provide a high level of protection for the colliding body H in the event of a collision accident without increasing restrictions on the design requirements of the vehicle's exterior.

In addition, in the front wiper 1 according to this embodiment, the convex portion 121D extends along the edge portion 121E of the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121 that faces the windshield 31, and is positioned in a range that overlaps with the center of the shorter side of the upper wall portion 121B. This ensures that in the event of a collision, the colliding object H will come into contact with the convex portion 121D before the edge portion 121E, effectively reducing the injury value of the colliding object H, and further increasing the rigidity of the retainer 121 due to the convex portion 121D being positioned over a wide area.

Furthermore, in the front wiper 1 according to this embodiment, the convex portion 121D and the head portion 14A (protruding portion) of the connecting shaft 14 are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121. The convex portion 121D arranged in this manner improves the rigidity of the area around the connecting shaft 14, which is likely to be subjected to load when the front wiper 1 performs a wiping operation.

In addition, in the front wiper 1 according to this embodiment, the protrusion amount A2 of the convex portion 121D is set to be equal to or greater than the protrusion amount A1 of the head portion 14A (protrusion) of the connecting shaft 14 (A1≦A2). This makes it easier for the impacting object H to come into contact with the convex portion 121D before the head portion 14A of the connecting shaft 14 in the event of a collision accident, thereby more effectively reducing the injury value of the impacting object H.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible based on the technical concept of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which the lower surface of the upper wall portion 121B of the retainer 121 has a flat shape, including the portion corresponding to the convex portion 121D ( FIG. 5 ). However, as illustrated in FIG. 7 , the portion of the lower surface of the upper wall portion 121B corresponding to the convex portion 121D may have a shape that is recessed toward the upper side of the vehicle. The cross section of the convex portion 121D' shown in the upper part of FIG. 7 is formed in an arc shape, and the cross section of the convex portion 121D" shown in the lower part of FIG. 7 is formed in a substantially U-shape. Such convex portions 121D', 121D" can be easily formed by, for example, pressing the flat upper wall portion 121B.

In addition, the above-described embodiment shows an example in which the arm head 11 and the arm body 12 are rotatably connected using a connecting shaft 14 having a head portion 14A, but the connection structure of the arm head 11 and the arm body 12 is not limited to the above example, and the present invention is effective for windshield wipers with well-known connection structures.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Front wiper 11... Arm head 11A... Base portion 11B... Arm portion 11C... Pivot shaft hole 12... Arm body 121... Retainer 121A... Top wall portion 121B... Side wall portion (upper wall portion)
121C...Side wall part (lower side wall part)
121D, 121D', 121D"... Convex portion 121E... Edge portion 122... Arm piece 122A... Mounting portion 13... Wiper blade 14... Connecting shaft 14A... Head portion (protruding portion)
15... Return spring 3... Vehicle 31... Windshield 32... Cowl top outer panel A1... Projection amount of head (projection portion) A2... Projection amount of convex portion C... Center line H... Collision body

Claims (4)

A windshield wiper for a vehicle includes an arm head and a long arm body connected to the arm head, and the windshield of the vehicle is wiped by a wiper blade held at a longitudinal tip of the arm body,
A front wiper for a vehicle, characterized in that the arm body has a top wall portion extending in one direction and a pair of side wall portions extending from both short side portions of the top wall portion toward the windshield, and when the front wiper is in a wiping stopped state, a convex portion protruding toward the top of the vehicle is formed on the upper surface of the upper wall portion of the pair of side wall portions that is located on the upper side of the vehicle. A front wiper for a vehicle as described in claim 1, characterized in that the convex portion extends along the edge of the upper wall portion facing the windshield and is positioned in an area overlapping the center of the upper wall portion in the short direction. the arm body is connected to the arm head so as to be rotatable around a connecting shaft, and a protrusion that protrudes toward the upper side of the vehicle is provided on an upper surface of the upper wall portion at a position corresponding to the connecting shaft,
The windshield wiper for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion and the protrusion are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the upper wall portion. 4. The windshield wiper for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the protruding amount of the convex portion is equal to or greater than the protruding amount of the protruding portion.