Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2080523
The present invention relates to a wiper device
and relates more particularly to a wiper device for
removing water and dust from a motor vehicle rear view
mirror.
In motor vehicles, a windshield wiper is
generally provided for removing water and dust from the
windshield glass during the rain, so that a motor vehicle's
driver can see through the windshield clearly. Since the
rear view mirrors of a motor vehicle may also be
contaminated by dust or blocked by rain water, they must be
protected against rain water and washed regularly so as to
clearly reflect the images of objects. Several rainhood
structures for protecting a motor vehicle rear view mirror
against the rain have been known, examples of which have
been disclosed in U.S. Patents no. 4,834,157; 4,620,777;
4,668,085; and 4,750,824. However, a rainhood can only
protect a motor vehicle rear view mirror against the rain.
If the glass of a motor vehicle rear view mirror is
contaminated by dust, it must be washed and cleaned. The
present invention has been developed to provide a wiper
device which can be automatically controlled to remove dust
and water from a motor vehicle rear view mirror.
According to the present invention, there is
provided a wiper device for cleaning a motor vehicle rear
view mirror, comprising:
- frame means coupled to a motor vehicle mirror
for angular displacement therewith, said frame means having
a top and bottom edge and a left and right side;
- a wiper blade slidingly coupled to said frame
means for longitudinal displacement across a surface of
said mirror, said wiper blade being flexible and touching
the surface of said mirror;
- driving means fixedly coupled to said frame
means for displacement of said wiper blade, said driving
means including a motor having a worm fixedly coupled to
~D~D~3
an output shaft thereof, a worm gear meshingly engaged with
said worm, an output gear meshingly engaged with said worm
gear, an output pulley rotatably coupled to said output
gear, and means for resiliently engaging said output gear
to said output pulley, said resilient engaging means
including a liner member having opposing sides in contact
with a respective surface of said output gear and said
output pulley, said resilient engaging means further
including a spring clamp member coupled between said output
gear and said output pulley for applying a bias force to
said liner member;
- means for displacing said wiper blade coupled
to said output pulley, said displacing means including a
pull wire having opposing ends coupled to said output
pulley, a first pair of first pulley wheels disposed on
opposing sides of said frame means adjacent the top edge
thereof for displaceably supporting a first portion of said
pull wire, a second pair of first pulley wheels disposed on
opposing sides of said frame means adjacent the bottom edge
thereof for displaceably supporting a second portion of
said pull wire, and a pair of second pulley wheels disposed
between opposing sides of said frame means and between said
first and second pairs of first pulley wheels, said pulley
mounted pull wire extending in a cross-over manner between
said pair of second pulley wheels, whereby said first and
second portions of said pull wire are displaceable in the
same direction responsive to a rotational displacement of
said output pulley;
- a first slide member slidingly coupled to said
top edge of said frame means, said first slide member being
fixedly coupled to said first portion of said pull wire for
displacement therewith;
- a second slide member slidingly coupled to said
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bottom edge of said frame means, said second slide member
being fixedly coupled to said second portion of said pull
wire for displacement therewith, each of said first and
second slide members being coupled to a respective opposing
end of said wiper blade for said longitudinal displacement
thereof; and,
- a pair of switches disposed on opposing sides
of said frame means for interrupting an electrical current
path through said motor in a first direction without
interrupting a current path through said motor in a second
direction responsive to a predetermined displacement of
said first slide member, wherein a rotational direction of
said motor can be reversed by passing an electrical current
in said second direction therethrough.
The present invention will now be described by
way of examples only, with reference to the annexed
drawings.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wiper device
embodying the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a front structural view thereof;
Fig. 2A is a schematic plan view of a first type
~
2a
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FIG. 2~ is a schematic plan view of a second type of rear view
mirror;
FIG. 2C is a schematic plan view of a third type of rear view
mirror;
FIG. 2D is a schematic plan view of a fourth type of rear view
mirror;
FIG. 2E is a schematic plan view of a fifth type of rear view
mirror;
FIG. 2F is a cross-sectional view of the rear view mirror of
FIG. 2 taken at the section line 2F-2F;
FIG. 2G illustrates a first type of wiper blade as constructed
according to the present invention;
FIG. 2H illustrates a second type of wiper blade as
constructed according to the present invention;
FIG. 2I illustrates a third type of wiper blade as constructed
according to the present invention;
FIG. 2J is an enlarged portion of the cross-sectional view of
FIG. 2F showing the spray nozzle;
FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the wiper device of the
present invention;
FIG. 3A is a partia~ cross-sectional view showing the
transmission of driving power from the motor to the output pulley;
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FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of the
slide;
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the control circuit unit; and,
FIG. 6 illustrates an alternate form of the present invention
in which a pneumatic cylinder is used to drive the pull wire unit.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Turning now to the drawings, there is illustrated a wiper
device as constructed in accordance with the present invention,
which is generally comprised of a driving unit 10, a pull wire unit
20, a wiper unit 30, a water sprayer unit 40, a frame unit 50, and
a control circuit unit 60.
Referring -to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 3A, the driving unit 10
comprises a motor 11, a worm 12 coupled to motor 11, a worm gear 13
drivingly engaged with worm 12. A gear 14 is drivingly engaged
with worm gear 13 to rotate a lining 15, and thereby drive a pulley
16, secured by a pivot 17. The lining 15 is disposed between the
gear 14 and the pulley 16 and retained in position by the spring
clamp l9. Because of the effect of the spring clamp 19, the pulley
16 is caused to rotate through its frictional contact with the
lining 15, when the gear 14 is driven to rotate by the motor 11 via
the worm 12 and the worm gear 13. When the pulley 16 is stopped,
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such as when the wiper blade is blocked, the inertia force from the
motor 11, until it is shut-off, will be transmitted to the lining
15, whose contact with pulley 16 will slip and therefore protect
the gear 14 from damage.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 3A, the pull wire unit 20 is
comprised of a wire extending from a fixing hole on the pulley 16
and wound around an annular groove 18 formed thereon. The wire is
then delivered through a first wheel 21, a second wheel 22, a third
wheel 23, a fourth wheel 24 where it crosses the portion of the
pull wire extending between wheels 21 and 22, a fifth wheel 25 and
a sixth wheel 26, and then returned back to the pulley 16. A first
slide 31 is coupled to the pull wire unit 20 at the top of the
frame 51, between wheels 22 and 23, and a second slide 31'is
coupled to the pull wire unit 20 at the bottom of the frame 51
-between wheels 25 and 26, and disposed in parallel with the first
slide 31. When the pulley 16 is rotated, both of slides 31 and 31'
will be simultaneously carried by pull wire unit 20 to move in
horizontal direction rssponsive to rotation of pulley 16. Both
slides being displaced in the same direction.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 2A through 2E, there is shown,
casings of motor vehicle rear view mirrors which may be variously
shaped. FIGS. 2A through 2E show five different casings for a
motor vehicle rear view mirror. The mirror for a motor vehicle
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rear view mirror may be made from a flat sheet of glass or from a
sheet of glass which curves outward in X-axis direction, Y-axis
direction or Z-axis direction. A wiper unit 30 in accordance with
the present invention may be alternatively made to fit different
casings and different glass contours. There are three different
types of wiper units 30 ~or use with particular mirrors. A first
type of wiper unit 30 is provided to operats with the casings shown
in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In this alternative, a wiper 32 is fastened
between the first and second slides 31, 31' by loc~ pins 314 (shown
in FIG. 3). Wiper 32 is comprised of a rubber blade 321 covered
over a holder 322 which is made from titanium alloy or plastic
material (as shown in FIG. 2G). The wiper 32 is made in a
substantially U-shaped configuration. When the first and second
slides 31, 31' are moved to slide horizontally, the wiper 32 is
longitudinally stretched, since the casing sides upon which slides
are coupled are inclined one with respect to the other, causing the
rubber blade 321 to rub against the glass 33 of the motor vehicle
rear view mirror to which the present invention is mounted.
A second type o~ wiper unit 30, as shown in FIG. 2H, will not
be caused to deform when it is moved in a horizontal direction.
This type of wiper unit 30 is suitable for the casings shown in
FIGS. 2C and 2D and suitable for removing water and moisture from
-
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a mirror having a convex lens. In this type of wiper unit 30, the
holder 322 is comprised of two metal clamps clamped on the rubber
blade 321 at the top edge thereof at two opposite ends. A third
type of wiper unit 30, as shown in FIG. 2I, is stretchable and
suitable for the casing as shown in FIG. 2E.
Referring to FIGS. 3, 3A and 4, the first and second slides
31, 31' are symmetrical in structure, each of which is comprised of
a plurality of rollers 312 and 313 and arranged to slide on the
frame 51 of the frame unit 50. The first slide 31 further
comprises a trigger rod 311 at one side which may be alternately
moved to contact the switches 63, 64, the switches being located at
the two opposite~ends of the displacement path for the slides. The
opening of eith-er switch thereby only permitting the motor 11 to
operate in the reverse rotary direction from its previous
direction, when the source potential is reversed externally. As
indicated, the two opposite ends of the wiper 32 of the wiper unit
30 are secured to the first and second slides 31, 31' by lock pins
314. The slides 31, 31' are strong enough to absorb the torsional
force from the wiper 32 when the wiper is stretched for removing
water and dust from a motor vehicle rear view mirror.
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Referring to FIGS. 2, 2F and 2J, the water spray unit 40 is
comprised of a connecting pipe 41 connected to a motor vehicle's
windshield washer, and a spray pipe 43 connected to the connecting
pipe 41 through a connector 42. The spray pipe 43 is fastened in
the casing of a motor vehicle rear view mirror around the periphery
of the glass 33 thereof, having a plurality of spray nozzles 44
formed therein at equal intervals. Through the spray nozzles 44,
water 45 from the windshield washer can be sprayed over the glass
33 so that the wiper 32 can be moved to efficiently clean the glass
33.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, the control circuit 60 is shown
comprising two diodes 61, 62, and two switches 63, 64. The switches
63 ànd 64 can be a leaf spring type switch or micro-switch. When
the motor 11 is turned on, the slides 31, 31' will be moved
horizontally, rightwards or leftwards. As soon as the respective
switch 63 or 64 is contacted by the trigger rod 311, the motor 11
is cut off from the power supply. As the motor 11 is stopped, the
inertia force from the motor 11 will be absorbed by the lining 15
so that the gear 14 and the pulley 16 will not be damaged. When
the motor 11 is stopped, i.e. the switch 63 is opened (switch 64
being closed), and Vccis a positive polarity potential, current can
~ 2080523
pass through diode 62, through the motor 11 to the negative
connection Vcc', and therefore, the motor 11 is caused to rotate in
a direction opposite to its previous direction. When the motor 11
is caused to rotate in this opposite direction, the slides 31, 31'
are moved horizontally leftwards or rightwards, depending upon the
previous direction. As soon as the switch 64 is contacted by the
trigger rod 311, the motor 11 will be stopped, such that a reverse
polarity applied to the input (Vcc' being of positive polarity)
permits current to flow through motor 11, diode 61 and closed
switch 63 to the negative side of the power supply, now connected
to Vcc through an external switch circuit (not shown). Therefore,
the slides 31, 31' will be carried to alternatively move back and
forth as required.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the frame unit 50 is
comprises of a frame 51 covered with a covering 53 and attached to
a mount 54 which can be conveniently fastened in a motor vehicle's
side window, and includes a rotary device 52 for controlling the
angular position of the glass 33. The rotary device 52 which
controls the angular position of the glass 33 of a motor vehicle's
rear view mirror is well known in the art and not within the scope
of the present invention.
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Referring to FIG. 6, there is illustrated an alternate form of
the present invention which is suitable for use in a truck or bus
having an air compressor. In this embodiment, a pneumatic cylinder
70 is used to replace the motor 11 which is used in the aforesaid
first embodiment of the wiper device. When the piston 71 of the
pneumatic cylinder 70 is caused to move back and forth, the pull
wire 72 which is secured thereto is moved accordingly, and
therefore, the slides 31, 31' are carried to slide. This structure
eliminates the arrangement of the switches and the diodes which are
used in the first embodiment of the present invention.--
