wiper arm

Abstract

Provided is a wiper arm that has an arm piece that is connected to a retainer as a result of a held part of the arm piece being accommodated and held in a holding part of the retainer. The wiper arm makes it possible for the arm piece to be appropriately connected to the retainer even if a curved part of the holding part of the retainer has a large radius of curvature. Chamfered parts 26, 27 that are to face curved parts 16, 17 of a holding part 12 of a retainer 10 are provided to a held part 22 of an arm piece 20. The held part 23 has a flat upper surface 23 between the chamfered parts 26, 27 and is held inside an accommodation part 18 of the holding part 12 such that the upper surface 23 abuts a lower surface 13A of a flat top wall 13 of the holding part 12. The chamfered parts 26, 27 are formed such that the width W1 of the upper surface 23 is greater than the width W2 of the lower surface 13A.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wiper arm used in a vehicle wiper device. [Background technology]

[0002] A vehicle wiper device used in a vehicle such as an automobile generally comprises a wiper blade for wiping a surface to be wiped, such as the windshield of the vehicle, a wiper arm for holding the wiper blade, and a drive means (drive motor) for driving the wiper arm. The wiper arm in such a vehicle wiper device includes an arm head connected to the drive means, a retainer pivotally connected to the arm head, and an arm piece held by the retainer (see Figures 1 and 2). The arm piece is connected to the wiper blade at a connecting portion at its tip, and is connected to a holding portion at the tip of the retainer at a held portion at its base end.

[0003] Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the connection portion between the retainer and the arm piece. As shown in the figure, the holding portion 110 of the retainer has a top wall 111 and side walls 112 and 113 on both sides, and the held portion 120 of the arm piece is accommodated in a storage portion 114 surrounded by the top wall 111 and the side walls 112 and 113. With the held portion 120 accommodated in the storage portion 114 in this manner, by crimping the holding portion 110 (side walls 112 and 113), the held portion 120 is held in the storage portion 114 of the holding portion 110, and the retainer and the arm piece are connected. Note that Figure 4 shows the state of the holding portion 110 before the crimping process is performed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-163956 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In such a wiper arm retainer, bent portions 115, 116 curved at a predetermined curvature are formed between top wall 111 and side walls 112, 113 of holding portion 110, but there are cases where it is desired to change the curvature (curvature) of these bent portions 115, 116. For example, if it is required to reduce the protrusion of bent portions 115, 116, it is necessary to increase the radius of curvature of bent portions 115, 116 (reduce the curvature to make the curve gentler).

[0006] However, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 4, if the radius of curvature of bending portions 115, 116 is increased (the curve is made gentler), because bending portions 115, 116 have a certain thickness, inner surfaces 115A, 116A of bending portions 115, 116 will intrude into the inside of accommodating portion 114 and will interfere with held portion 120 arranged within accommodating portion 114.

[0007] 5, when the held portion 120 is placed in the accommodation portion 114 of the holding portion 110, both side portions 122, 123 of the upper surface 121 of the held portion 120 come into contact with the inner surfaces 115A, 116A of the bent portions 115, 116. As a result, a gap 130 is created between the lower surface 111A of the top wall 111 of the holding portion 110 and the upper surface 121 of the held portion 120, so that the held portion 120 is not placed correctly in the accommodation portion 114 and tilts left or right relative to the holding portion 110 (tilts around the longitudinal axis of the held portion 120 of the arm piece). If the crimping process is performed in this state where the posture of the held portion 120 is distorted, the arm piece will be connected to the retainer in a twisted state, and the holding force that secures the arm piece (held portion 120) to the retainer (holding portion 110) will also be reduced, resulting in a problem of reduced wiping performance of the wiper device.

[0008] The present invention has been made in response to such problems, and aims to provide a wiper arm in which the arm piece is connected to the retainer by accommodating and holding the held portion of the arm piece within the holding portion of the retainer, and which can properly connect the retainer and arm piece even when the radius of curvature at the bent portion of the holding portion of the retainer is set large. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention provides a In a wiper arm having a retainer to which a wiper arm piece is connected, the arm piece has a held portion connected to the retainer, the retainer has a holding portion that receives and holds the held portion of the arm piece, the holding portion of the retainer has a bent portion curved at a predetermined curvature, and the held portion of the arm piece has a chamfered portion that faces the bent portion of the retainer when received in the holding portion. The chamfered portions face the curved inner surface of the bent portion and are formed on both sides of the upper surface of the held portion in a cross section in the longitudinal direction, and the width of the upper surface of the held portion is formed smaller than the width of the lower surface of the held portion due to the formation of the chamfered portions, and the held portion is held by the holding portion by being wrapped and crimped while housed within the holding portion. Ta.

[0010] The holding portion of the retainer includes a top wall and side walls on both sides of the top wall, and the bent portion is Ceiling wall It may be formed between the side walls on both sides.

[0011] The holding portion of the retainer The aforementioned The top wall has a flat lower surface disposed opposite the held portion, the upper surface of the held portion is a flat surface disposed opposite the top wall. It is a surface , the top wall of the holding portion The aforementioned The lower surface and the held portion The aforementioned The upper surface may be in contact with the upper surface.

[0012] The held portion The aforementioned The width of the upper surface is The aforementioned It may be no larger than the width of the lower surface.

[0013] The held portion The aforementioned The width of the upper surface is The aforementioned It may be equal to the width of the lower surface.

[0014] The chamfered portion may be a flat inclined surface that slopes downward from both sides of the upper surface of the held portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, in a wiper arm (e.g., wiper arm 1) in which a held portion (e.g., held portion 22) of an arm piece (e.g., arm piece 20) is accommodated and held in a holding portion (e.g., holding portion 12) of a retainer (e.g., retainer 10), the held portion has a chamfered portion (e.g., chamfered portions 26, 27) that faces a bent portion (e.g., bent portions 16, 17) of the holding portion, so that an appropriate gap (a gap that can avoid contact between the bent portion and both sides (corners) of the upper surface of the held portion) is formed between the bent portion and the chamfered portion, and even if the curvature (radius of curvature) of the bent portion is large, interference between the bent portion and the held portion is suppressed. Therefore, the held portion can be held in an appropriate position without tilting within the holding portion, preventing twisting of the arm piece relative to the retainer. Therefore, since the arm piece is connected to the retainer in an appropriate position, the wiper blade connected to the wiper arm is also positioned in an appropriate position relative to the surface to be wiped, ensuring high wiping performance of the wiper blade. Furthermore, since the chamfered portion can be easily formed by, for example, surface pressing (pressing), even if a change is made to a conventional wiper arm such that the radius of curvature of the bent portion of the retainer is increased, this can be achieved easily and at low cost by making only minimal changes to the arm piece.

[0016] Furthermore, if the present invention is applied to a wiper arm in which a bent portion is formed between the top wall (e.g., top wall 13) of the holding portion of the retainer and the side walls on both sides (e.g., side walls 14, 15), the radius of curvature of the bent portion can be appropriately increased while maintaining high wiping performance, and the bent shape between the top wall and the side walls can be appropriately gentle.

[0017] Furthermore, if the flat upper surface of the held portion (e.g., upper surface 23) is made to abut against the flat lower surface of the top wall of the holding portion (e.g., lower surface 13A), this abutment appropriately regulates the angle of the held portion relative to the holding portion, so that the held portion can be held in the correct posture without tilting within the holding portion.

[0018] Furthermore, if the width of the upper surface of the held portion is not larger than the width of the lower surface of the top wall of the holding portion, the upper surface of the held portion can be properly fitted within the lower surface of the top wall, so that the entire upper surface of the held portion can be in complete contact with the lower surface of the top wall, and tilting of the held portion can be reliably prevented.

[0019] Furthermore, by making the width of the upper surface of the held portion equal to the width of the lower surface of the top wall of the holding portion, the contact area between the upper surface and the lower surface of the top wall can be maximized, thereby increasing the stability of the posture of the held portion within the holding portion.

[0020] Furthermore, if the present invention is applied to a wiper arm in which the held portion is held by the holding portion by wrapping and crimping the holding portion while the held portion is housed within the holding portion, the held portion can be kept in the correct position without tilting relative to the holding portion when the holding portion is wrapped and crimped. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a wiper arm according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view of the wiper arm taken along line AA in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a connecting portion between a retainer and an arm piece in a conventional wiper arm. [Figure 5] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a connecting portion between a retainer and an arm piece in a conventional wiper arm, in which the radius of curvature at a bent portion of a holding portion of the retainer is increased. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 show the overall configuration of a wiper arm 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figures, the wiper arm 1 includes an arm head 2, a retainer 10 rotatably connected to the arm head 2, and an arm piece 20 connected to the retainer 10.

[0023] The arm head 2 is a member that constitutes the base end side of the wiper arm 1, and includes a base 3 that is connected to a driving means (not shown), and an arm 4 that extends from the base 3. The retainer 10 is a long member that constitutes the central portion of the wiper arm 1, and is made of, for example, metal, and is rotatably connected at its base end 11 to the arm 4 of the arm head 2. Meanwhile, the tip portion of the retainer 10 forms a holding portion 12 that is connected to a held portion 22 at the base end of the arm piece 20.

[0024] The arm piece 20 is a long member that forms the tip end of the wiper arm 1 and is made of, for example, metal. The tip end of the arm piece 20 forms a U-hook portion 21 that is bent into a hook shape, and this U-hook portion 21 is connected to the connecting portion of the wiper blade (not shown), thereby connecting the wiper blade to the wiper arm 1.

[0025] 3, the holding portion 12 of the retainer 10 has a U-shaped cross section and includes a top wall 13 and side walls 14, 15 that bend and extend downward from both the left and right sides of the top wall 13. The top wall 13 is a portion that constitutes the upper portion of the holding portion 12, has a flat plate shape, and includes a flat lower surface 13A. In addition, bent portions 16, 17 that are curved at a predetermined curvature are formed between the top wall 13 and the side walls 14, 15 on both sides.

[0026] The space surrounded by the top wall 13 and both side walls 14, 15 forms a storage section 18 that stores the held portion 22 of the arm piece 20. With the held portion 22 stored in the storage section 18, the holding section 12 (both side walls 14, 15) of the retainer 10 is crimped (more specifically, the both side walls 14, 15 of the holding section 12 of the retainer 10 are crimped so as to surround the held portion 22), whereby the both side walls 14, 15, which were in the state shown by the dashed dotted lines in Figure 3, are deformed to the state shown by the solid lines, and the lower ends 14A, 15A of the side walls 14, 15 wrap around to the underside 24 of the held portion 22 and come into contact with the underside 24, so that the held portion 22 is held within the holding section 12.

[0027] The held portion 22 of the arm piece 20 has a flat upper surface 23. When the held portion 22 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 18 of the holding portion 12, the upper surface 23 of the held portion 22 is disposed opposite the lower surface 13A of the top wall 13 of the holding portion 12.

[0028] Chamfered portions 26, 27 are formed on both the left and right sides of the upper surface 23 of the held portion 22. When the held portion 22 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 18 of the holding portion 12, the chamfered portions 26, 27 are disposed opposite the inner surfaces 16A, 17A of the bent portions 16, 17 of the holding portion 12. With this configuration, when the held portion 22 is assembled to the holding portion 12, gaps 31, 32 are secured between the chamfered portions 26, 27 and the inner surfaces 16A, 17A of the bent portions 16, 17.

[0029] Therefore, even when bending portions 16, 17 are curved with a large radius of curvature, it is possible to prevent both side portions (both corners) of upper surface 23 of held portion 22 (both side portions that are boundary portions between both side surfaces of held portion 22 and upper surface 23) from coming into contact with inner surfaces 16A, 17A of bending portions 16, 17. Therefore, upper surface 23 of held portion 22 comes into proper contact with lower surface 13A of top wall 13 of holding portion 12, and held portion 22 is held in the correct posture without tilting relative to holding portion 12, so arm piece 20 is properly connected to retainer 10 without twisting.

[0030] The chamfered portions 26, 27 are formed as flat inclined surfaces that slope downward from both the left and right sides of the upper surface 23 of the held portion 22 (both sides in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the held portion 22 and along the upper surface 23). Note that the shape of the chamfered portions 26, 27 is not limited to the inclined surfaces in this embodiment, and any shape can be used as long as gaps 31, 32 can be secured between the chamfered portions 26, 27 and the inner surfaces 16A, 17A of the bent portions 16, 17.

[0031] Chamfered portions 26, 27 are formed so that width W1 of upper surface 23 of held portion 22 (the width between chamfered portions 26, 27) is not larger than width W2 of lower surface 13A of top wall 13 of holding portion 12 (the width between bent portions 16, 17). That is, in cross sections of holding portion 12 and held portion 22 at various locations in the longitudinal direction, width W1 of upper surface 12 is equal to or smaller than width W2 of lower surface 13A. This allows the entire upper surface 23 to be properly accommodated within lower surface 13A of top wall 13, allowing the entire upper surface 23 to fully abut against lower surface 13A.

[0032] In particular, in this embodiment, width W1 of upper surface 23 of held portion 22 is set equal to width W2 of lower surface 13A of top wall 13 of holding portion 12. This maximizes the contact area between upper surface 23 and lower surface 13A of top wall 13, thereby improving the stability of the posture of held portion 22 relative to holding portion 12.

[0033] The chamfered portions 26, 27 can be formed, for example, by pressing (pressing) both side portions of the upper surface 23 of the held portion 22. Therefore, when changing the curvature of the bent portions 16, 17, chamfered portions 26, 27 having an appropriate shape and size can be easily formed simply by performing pressing on the held portion of the conventional arm piece 20.

[0034] The chamfered portions 26, 27 of the held portion 22 are provided over the entire length of the held portion 22 in the longitudinal direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 3). However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and if the curvature of the bent portions 16, 17 varies at various points in the longitudinal direction of the holding portion 12, the presence or absence and size of the chamfered portions 26, 27 of the held portion 22 can be determined according to the curvature of the opposing bent portions 16, 17. For example, if the radius of curvature is larger only in part of the longitudinal direction of the bent portions 16, 17 of the holding portion 12, the chamfered portions 26, 27 may be provided in the held portion 22 only in the part opposite the part with the larger radius of curvature.

[0035] As described above, according to the wiper arm 1 of this embodiment, chamfered portions 26, 27 are provided on both sides of the upper surface 23 of the held portion 22 of the arm piece 20, and the chamfered portions 26, 27 are arranged opposite the inner surfaces 16A, 17A of the bent portions 16, 17 of the holding portion 12 of the retainer 10.Therefore, appropriate gaps 31, 32 are formed between the chamfered portions 26, 27 and the inner surfaces 16A, 17A of the bent portions 16, 17 to avoid contact between the inner surfaces 16A, 17A of the bent portions 16, 17 and both sides of the upper surface 23.

[0036] Therefore, even if the radius of curvature (curvature) of the bent portions 16, 17 is set large, the held portion 22 can be prevented from interfering with the inner surfaces 16A, 17A of the bent portions 16, 17 of the holding portion 12, so the held portion 22 can be arranged in the correct posture without tilting within the accommodation portion 18 of the holding portion 12. In other words, the held portion 22 will not tilt so that one of the left and right sides is lower when viewed in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, twisting of the arm piece 20 relative to the retainer 10 can be appropriately prevented, so the wiper blade connected to the arm piece 20 of the wiper arm 1 is arranged at the desired angle as designed, ensuring high wiping performance by the wiper blade.

[0037] Furthermore, width W1 of upper surface 23 of held portion 22 (i.e., the width between chamfered portions 26, 27) is set so as not to be larger than width W2 of lower surface 13A of top wall 13 of holding portion 12 (i.e., the width between bent portions 16, 17), so upper surface 23 can be arranged so that it is entirely contained within lower surface 13A of top wall 13, and the entire upper surface 23 of held portion 22 can be brought into contact with lower surface 13A of top wall 13. Therefore, holding portion 12 is crimped with the flat surfaces of upper surface 23 and lower surface 13A of top wall 23 abutting against each other, so that held portion 22 can be assembled in the correct posture without tilting relative to holding portion 12.

[0038] In particular, by making the width W1 of the upper surface 23 of the held portion 22 equal to the width W2 of the top wall 13 of the holding portion 12, the contact area between the upper surface 23 and the lower surface 13A of the top wall 13 can be maximized, thereby maximizing the stability of the posture of the held portion 22 relative to the holding portion 12. [Industrial Applicability]

[0039] The present invention can be used in a wiper arm of a wiper device for a vehicle such as an automobile. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 wiper arm 2 Arm Head 3 Base of arm head 4 Arm Head Arms 10 retainer 11 Proximal end of retainer 12 Retainer holding part 13 Top wall of holding section 13A Underside of ceiling wall 14 Side wall of holding part 14A Lower end of side wall 15 Side wall of holding part 15A Bottom edge of side wall 16 Bend of holding part 17 Bend of holding part 18 Retaining portion of the holder 20 Arm Pieces 21 U-hook part 22 Retained part of arm piece 23 Upper surface of the held part 24 Underside of the held part 26 Chamfered portion of the held part 27 Chamfered portion of the held part

Claims

1. A wiper arm having a retainer to which an arm piece is connected, the arm piece includes a held portion that is connected to the retainer, the retainer includes a holding portion that receives and holds the held portion of the arm piece, the holding portion of the retainer includes a bent portion curved at a predetermined curvature, the held portion of the arm piece includes a chamfered portion that faces the bent portion of the retainer when the arm piece is housed in the holding portion, the chamfered portion faces the curved inner surface of the bent portion and is formed on both sides of the upper surface of the held portion in a cross section in the longitudinal direction, The width of the upper surface of the held portion is formed smaller than the width of the lower surface of the held portion due to the formation of the chamfered portion, The held portion is housed in the holding portion and is wound and crimped to be held by the holding portion.

2. the holding portion of the retainer includes a top wall and side walls on both sides of the top wall, The wiper arm according to claim 1 , wherein the bent portion is formed between the top wall and side walls on both sides of the top wall.

3. the top wall of the holding portion of the retainer has a flat lower surface disposed opposite the held portion, the upper surface of the held portion is a flat surface disposed opposite the top wall, The wiper arm according to claim 2, wherein the lower surface of the top wall of the holding portion and the upper surface of the held portion are in contact with each other.

4. 4. The wiper arm according to claim 3, wherein the width of the upper surface of the held portion is not greater than the width of the lower surface of the top wall of the holding portion.

5. The wiper arm according to claim 4, wherein the width of the upper surface of the held portion is equal to the width of the lower surface of the top wall of the holding portion.

6. A wiper arm described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the chamfered portion is a flat inclined surface that slopes downward from both sides of the upper surface of the retained portion.

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