Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Attachments – Optical-member-attachable cleaner
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-03
2001-03-27
Graham, Gary K. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Attachments
Optical-member-attachable cleaner
C074S070000, C074S075000, C074S600000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06205613
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wiper apparatus for wiping the windows of vehicles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a wiper apparatus having a rise-up mechanism.
There are wipers that have so called rise-up mechanism. In such wipers, wiper blades are stored below their wiping range when not operating so that the visibility of a driver is improved. When the wiper is operating, the wiper blades move into the wiping range and pivot in the range.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication NO. 7-165021 describes such a wiper. As shown in
FIG. 13
, the wiper includes a crank
301
, which is rotated by a motor
300
. The proximal end of a connecting rod
303
is connected to the distal end of the crank
301
through a shifting mechanism
302
. A wiper arm
305
is connected to the distal end of the connecting rod
303
through a link lever
304
at a connecting point. The link lever
304
and the wiper arm
305
integrally pivot about the connecting point. A wiper blade
306
is supported on the wiper arm
305
.
When the crank
301
is rotated by the motor
300
, rotation of the crank
301
is converted to pivotal movement of the link lever
304
by the connecting rod
303
. When the link lever
304
pivots, the wiper blade
306
pivots with the wiper arm
305
.
A shaft
307
is provided in the distal end of the crank
301
. The shifting mechanism
302
includes an eccentric rotor
308
that is eccentrically rotatable about the shaft
307
. The center axis N of the eccentric rotor
308
is offset by a distance H with respect to the shaft
307
. The connecting rod
303
is rotatably connected about the axis N of the eccentric rotor
308
. The shifting mechanism
302
further includes a first key for fixing the eccentric rotor
308
to the crank
301
and a second key for fixing the eccentric rotor
308
to the connecting rod
303
.
When the wiper is not operating, the crank
301
is in an outer position A, the eccentric rotor
308
is positioned as shown by the broken circle A
1
in
FIG. 13
, the second key is released, which permits the connecting rod
303
to rotate with respect to the eccentric rotor
308
, and the first key locks the eccentric rotor
308
to the crank
301
. The eccentric rotor
308
A
5
is fixed to the crank
301
in the position indicated by the broken circle A
1
. Therefore, the axis N of the eccentric rotor
308
is located on the longitudinal axis of the crank
301
and on an outer side of the shaft
307
. In this state, the connecting point between the connecting rod
303
and the link lever
304
is positioned at an upper location A
1
′. Therefore, the wiper blade
306
is positioned at a lower location A
1
″, which is below a predetermined wiping range R.
When the wiper starts operating, the motor
300
rotates the crank
301
from the position A counterclockwise in FIG.
13
. While the crank
301
rotates from the position A to a position C via a position B, the position of the eccentric rotor
308
with respect to the crank
301
is retained. The path of the axis N of the eccentric rotor
308
is shown by the broken line L
1
. At the same time, the connecting rod
303
rotates about the axis N of the eccentric rotor
308
with respect to the eccentric rotor
308
. While the axis N of the eccentric rotor
308
moves on the path L
1
, the connecting point between the connecting rod
303
and the link lever
304
moves from the position A
1
′ to the position C′. Simultaneously, the wiper blade
306
moves from the storage position A
1
″ to an upper position C of the wiping range R.
When the crank
301
passes the position C, the eccentric rotor
308
is released from the crank
301
by unlocking the first key, and the second key is locked to fix the eccentric rotor
301
to the connecting rod
303
. From then on, as long as the crank
301
rotates counterclockwise, the state of the keys does not change. Accordingly, as the crank
301
rotates counterclockwise, the eccentric rotor
308
integrally rotates with the connecting rod
303
about the shaft
307
with respect to the crank
301
. A solid-line path L
2
shows the movement of the axis N of the eccentric rotor
308
.
When the crank
301
reaches the position A again, after one rotation, the eccentric rotor
308
is positioned with respect to the crank
301
at an inner position A
2
as shown by a solid-line circle. In this state, compared to the inoperative position A
1
indicated by the broken circle, the axis N of the eccentric rotor
308
is offset by a distance
2
H toward the axis of the crank
301
. Therefore, the proximal end of the connecting rod
303
is closer to the link lever
304
by the distance
2
H. As a result, the connecting point between the connecting rod
303
and the link lever
304
reverses direction at a limit position A
2
′. Thus, the wiper blade
306
reverses direction at a corresponding limit position A
2
″ of the wiping range R.
While the crank
301
initially rotates from the position A to the position C as described above, the axis N of the eccentric rotor
308
moves on the broken-line path L
1
. From then on, as long as the crank
301
rotates counterclockwise, the axis N of the eccentric rotor
308
moves on the solid-line path L
2
. Accordingly, once the wiper blade
306
moves from the storage position A
1
″ into the wiping range R, the wiper blade
306
swings between the lower position A
2
″ and the upper end position C″ of the wiping range R as long as the wiper is operating.
When the wiper is stopped, after reaching the position A, the crank
301
returns to the position A after making one rotation in the reverse direction, or clockwise in FIG.
13
. While the crank
301
makes the one clockwise rotation, the initial movement described earlier is reversed. That is, when the crank
301
passes through the position C, the eccentric rotor
308
is released from the connecting rod
303
by the second key, and the first key locks the eccentric rotor
308
to the crank
301
. Accordingly, while the crank
301
rotates from the position C to the position A via position B, the axis N of the eccentric rotor
308
moves along the path L
1
. Therefore, the wiper blade
306
moves from the upper position C″ of the wiping range R to the storage position A
1
″.
In the prior art wiper, the operation of the two keys locks the eccentric rotor
308
to the crank
301
or to the connecting rod
303
. This change moves the wiper blade
306
between the lower limit position of the wiping range R and the storage position A
1
″.
However, the two keys increase the number of parts and complicate the structure. Complexity increases the cost of manufacturing and lowers reliability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objective of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive wiper with reliable operation.
To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a wiper mechanism including a crank, a rod and a joint. The crank is rotatable about a crank axis. The rod transmits motion from the crank to a wiper arm, which supports a wiper blade. The rod has a crank end and a wiper end. The crank end is connected to the crank. The axis about which the crank end of the rod pivots is a rod pivot axis. The joint is located between the crank and the rod. The joint includes a shift mechanism for changing the axis about which the rod pivots with respect to the crank. The shift mechanism includes a shaft, an eccentric rotor and a key. The shaft is supported by the crank. The axis of the shaft is parallel to the crank axis. The eccentric rotor is supported on the shaft to eccentrically rotate about the axis of the shaft. The eccentric rotor has a center axis that is offset from the axis of the shaft. The key selectively locks either the crank or the rod to the eccentric rotor. The key is operated by the rotation of the crank. The key locks the eccentric rotor to one of the crank and the rod when the crank rotates in a first direction. The key locks the eccen
Asmo Co., Ltd
Crompton Seager & Tufte LLC
Graham Gary K.
LandOfFree
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