JP2015020458A - Wiper device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a surface to be wiped off from being scratched by a wiper rubber hardened under low temperature environment.SOLUTION: A wiper device includes: a wiper arm 14 having a wiper rubber 16, and a heater 12 for heating the wiper rubber 16; and a wiper driving portion (a micro computer 1 and a motor 11) for switching an operational state of the wiper arm 14 and switching a heating state of the wire rubber 16 by the heater 12. In low temperature environment where the wiper rubber 16 is frozen, the wiper driving portion makes the heater 12 generate heat while the wiper arm 14 is stopped, and moves the wiper arm 14 after rising up of temperature of the wiper rubber 16.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiper device provided in a vehicle.

  A wiper unit for wiping the outer surface (surface to be wiped) is attached to a windshield, rear glass, headlight, and side mirror of a vehicle.

  The wiper unit is partly equipped with an elastic member called wiper rubber. By attaching the wiper rubber to the surface to be wiped and sliding along the surface to be wiped, water droplets and dirt adhering to the surface to be wiped, etc. Wipe away.

  However, there is a problem that in a cold region or a low temperature environment where the outside air temperature is low, the wiper rubber is cooled, so that the fibers are reduced and flexibility is lowered. With the wiper rubber having reduced flexibility, the contact area with the surface to be wiped is reduced, which may be a factor for creating unwiped areas on the surface to be wiped.

  With respect to such a problem, in Patent Document 1, a wiper that maintains the flexibility of the wiper rubber and secures the contact area with the surface to be wiped by moving the wiper arm while the heating element provided in the wiper rubber generates heat. Units have been proposed. Furthermore, it has also been proposed to automatically energize the heating element when the outside air falls below a predetermined temperature.

JP 2011-219075 A

  However, in the above technique, the state of the wiper rubber at the time when the wiper arm is moved (beginning to move) is not considered. If you wipe the hardened wiper rubber, especially wiped rubber that is frozen or snowy, along the surface to be wiped, there is a risk of scratching the surface to be wiped, and further the deterioration of the wiper rubber itself may be accelerated. It leads to.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a subject, and it aims at avoiding damaging a to-be-wiped surface with the hardened wiper rubber.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, a wiper arm having a wiper rubber and a heating element for heating the wiper rubber, switching of an operation state of the wiper arm and switching of a heating state of the wiper rubber by the heating element are performed. In a wiper device comprising a wiper drive unit, in a low-temperature environment in which the wiper rubber freezes, the wiper drive unit causes the heating element to generate heat while the wiper arm is stopped, and the wiper rubber rises in temperature. Thereafter, the wiper device is provided which moves the wiper arm.

  According to the above aspect, in a low temperature environment in which the wiper rubber is frozen, the wiper arm is moved after the temperature of the wiper rubber is raised. Therefore, it is possible to avoid damaging the surface to be wiped such as the windshield by the hardened wiper rubber.

It is a block diagram showing the whole wiper device composition in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of a wiper unit. It is a disassembled perspective view of a wiper arm. It is an enlarged view of a wiper rubber. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the temperature rising process which a microcomputer performs. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the temperature rising process which a microcomputer performs. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the temperature rising process which a microcomputer performs.

  Hereinafter, a wiper device in an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, the whole structure of the wiper apparatus in embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. The wiper device is configured around a wiper unit 10 and a microcomputer 1 that controls the wiper unit 10.

  The microcomputer 1 is mounted on a vehicle (not shown) and has a function of intensively controlling in-vehicle electronic devices including the wiper unit 10. The microcomputer 1 is connected to the rain sensor 2, the windshield freezing sensor 3, the outside air temperature sensor 4, the wiper switch 5, the heater switch 6, the torque sensor 7, and the wiper rubber temperature sensor 8 by wire or wireless, and inputs from these devices. In response, the motor 11 that moves the wiper arm 14 (see FIG. 2A) of the wiper unit 10 and the heater 12 that raises the temperature of the wiper rubber 16 are energized, and the alarm unit 9 that controls the interior of the vehicle is controlled.

  The rain sensor 2 is a sensor that detects precipitation on the windshield, that is, rainfall or snowfall, by irradiating the windshield with infrared rays from the vehicle interior side and monitoring the reflectance. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any apparatus that can detect precipitation, such as one that detects precipitation from vibrations when raindrops or snowflakes hit the windshield, may be used.

  The windshield freezing sensor 3 detects freezing of the windshield. The windshield is photographed by a camera (not shown) mounted on the vehicle, and the photographed image is analyzed to detect the windshield freeze. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any device that can detect the freezing of the windshield, such as a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the windshield, may be used.

  The outside air temperature sensor 4 is a sensor that measures the outside air temperature, and is provided inside the front bumper that is not directly affected by the heat or wind of the engine room.

  The wiper switch 5 is a switch that can be operated by the driver and is provided around the steering wheel (not shown). The wiper switch 14 stops the wiper arm 14 (wiper off), moves the wiper arm 14 (wiper on), and turns the wiper arm 14 on. Perform settings such as automatic movement (auto wiper on). When the wiper switch 5 is operated to change the setting state, a signal indicating a state newly set by the driver is input to the microcomputer 1, and a driving signal corresponding to the setting content is output from the microcomputer 1 to the motor 11.

  The heater switch 6 is provided in the vicinity of the wiper switch 5, and the driver operates the heater switch 6 (from off to on and from on to off) to operate the energization of the heat wire 17 described later with the driver's intention. Is.

  The torque sensor 7 is a sensor that measures the starting torque of the motor 11 that is generated when the wiper arm 14 is moved by the motor 11.

  The wiper rubber temperature sensor 8 is a sensor that measures the temperature of a wiper rubber 16 described later.

  The notification unit 9 is a unit that notifies the vehicle interior of the control status of the wiper unit 10 and notifies the passenger compartment by voice through a speaker. However, the notification unit 9 is not limited to voice notification via a speaker, and may be notified by turning on / flashing an indicator of a meter.

  In the wiper unit 10, the wiper arm 14 is connected to the motor 11 via the link arm 13 as shown in FIG. 2A. When the motor 11 receiving the drive signal from the microcomputer 1 rotates, the wiper arm 14 swings around the fulcrum 18 in the width direction of the windshield, and wipes the outer surface of the windshield.

  FIG. 2B is an exploded view of the wiper arm 14. A wiper blade 15 is attached to the distal end portion of the wiper arm 14, and a wiper rubber 16 is attached to a contact surface of the wiper blade 15 with the windshield.

  As shown in FIG. 2C, the wiper rubber 16 has a heat ray 17 built therein. The microcomputer 1 sends an energization signal to the heater 12 using a pulse width modulation method, and the heater 12 energizes the heat wire 17 with the duty ratio of the energization signal received from the microcomputer 1. The hot wire 17 generates heat while energized, and raises the temperature of the wiper rubber 16.

  The heat ray 17 does not necessarily need to be built in the wiper rubber 16, and may be an externally attached structure as long as it does not interfere with the operation of wiping the surface to be wiped of the windshield.

  The wiper device according to the embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configuration performs a heating process described later, and damages the surface to be wiped by the hardened wiper rubber even in a low temperature environment where the wiper rubber 16 is frozen. You can avoid things.

  “The wiper rubber freezes” means that the wiper rubber does not adhere to the surface to be wiped when the rubber is hardened due to a drop in the outside air temperature or ice is formed on the rubber surface (non-contact The area ratio exceeds the allowable ratio).

  Hereinafter, the contents of the temperature raising process executed by the microcomputer 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3A to 3C.

  This process is started when power is supplied to the microcomputer 1 from a battery (not shown).

  In step S <b> 10, the microcomputer 1 determines that the wiper rubber 16 is frozen. If it is determined that the wiper rubber 16 is frozen, the process proceeds to step S11. If it is determined that the wiper rubber 16 is not frozen, the process proceeds to step S13.

  Specifically, the microcomputer 1 determines that the wiper rubber 16 is frozen when the measurement value input from the torque sensor 7 exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

  In step S <b> 11, the microcomputer 1 outputs an energization signal to the heater 12 to heat the hot wire 17 in order to raise the temperature of the wiper rubber 16.

  In step S <b> 12, the microcomputer 1 notifies the vehicle compartment that the wiper rubber 16 is heated through the notification unit 9. For example, the microcomputer 1 plays a sound from a speaker such as “Wipe rubber is warmed because the wiper rubber is frozen”. In this way, by notifying the operation of the heater 12 toward the passenger compartment, for example, the wiper arm 14 does not move immediately despite the wiper switch 5 being turned on, and the driver feels uncomfortable. Can be reduced.

  In step S <b> 13, the microcomputer 1 determines that the windshield is frozen based on an input from the windshield freezing sensor 3. If it is determined that the windshield is frozen, the process proceeds to step S14. If it is determined that the windshield is not frozen, the process proceeds to step S17.

  In step S <b> 14, the microcomputer 1 outputs an energization signal to the heater 12 to cause the heating wire 17 to generate heat in order to raise the temperature of the wiper rubber 16. If energization of the hot wire 17 has already been performed, the microcomputer 1 continues that state.

  In step S <b> 15, the microcomputer 1 outputs a drive signal to the motor 11 to move the wiper arm 14.

  In step S <b> 16, the microcomputer 1 notifies that the wiper arm 14 is moved into the vehicle interior via the notification unit 9. For example, the microcomputer 1 plays a sound from a speaker such as “Because the windshield is frozen, the windshield is moved to warm the windshield.” Thus, by notifying that the wiper arm 14 is moved toward the vehicle interior, for example, a driver who has not operated the wiper switch 5 is prevented from being surprised that the wiper arm 14 has started to move.

  In step S <b> 17, the microcomputer 1 determines whether or not the auto wiper is selected (auto wiper on) based on an input from the wiper switch 5. If the auto wiper is selected, the process proceeds to step S20. If not selected (wiper off or wiper on is selected), the process proceeds to step S30 in FIG. 3C.

  In step S <b> 20 of FIG. 3B, the microcomputer 1 determines the presence or absence of precipitation based on the input from the rain sensor 2. “There is precipitation” means that there is rainfall or snowfall. If it is determined that there is precipitation, the process proceeds to step S21. If it is determined that there is no precipitation, the process proceeds to step S25.

  In step S <b> 21, the microcomputer 1 outputs a drive signal to the motor 11 to move the wiper arm 14. If the wiper arm 14 has already moved, the microcomputer 1 continues that state.

  In step S <b> 22, whether or not snow falls is determined by an input from the outside air temperature sensor 4. If it is determined that there is snow, the process proceeds to step S23. If it is determined that there is no snow, the process proceeds to step S24. Specifically, it is determined that there is snow when the outside air temperature input from the outside air temperature sensor 4 falls below a predetermined threshold.

  In step S <b> 23, the microcomputer 1 outputs an energization signal to the heater 12 to cause the heat wire 17 to generate heat in order to raise the temperature of the wiper rubber 16. If energization of the hot wire 17 has already been performed, the microcomputer 1 continues that state. When the process proceeds to step S23, since the wiper rubber 16 and the windshield are not frozen and need not be thawed, the microcomputer 1 sets the duty ratio of the energization signal output in this step to step S11 or Compared to the duty ratio of the energization signal output in step S14.

  In step S24, since it is not necessary to raise the temperature of the wiper rubber 16, the microcomputer 1 stops outputting the energization signal to the heater 12 and stops energizing the hot wire 17. If energization to the heat wire 17 has already been stopped, the microcomputer 1 continues that state.

  In step S25, since it is not necessary to raise the temperature of the wiper rubber 16, the microcomputer 1 stops outputting the energization signal to the heater 12 and stops energizing the hot wire 17. If energization to the heat wire 17 has already been stopped, the microcomputer 1 continues that state.

  In step S26, since there is no need to move the wiper arm 14, the microcomputer 1 stops outputting the drive signal to the motor 11 and stops the wiper arm 14. If the wiper arm 14 has already stopped, the microcomputer 1 continues that state. Thereafter, the processing returns to step S10.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S17 in FIG. 3A that the auto wiper is not selected, the process proceeds in step S30 in FIG. 3C where the microcomputer 1 has selected the wiper drive by the input from the wiper switch 5. Determine whether (wiper on). If the wiper on is selected, the process proceeds to step S31. If the wiper is not selected (wiper off is selected), the process proceeds to step S35.

  In step S <b> 31, the microcomputer 1 outputs a drive signal to the motor 11 to move the wiper arm 14. If the wiper arm 14 has already moved, the microcomputer 1 continues that state.

  In step S32, the presence or absence of snowfall is determined by the input from the outside air temperature sensor 4 as in step S22. If it is determined that there is snow, the process proceeds to step S33. If it is determined that there is no snow, the process proceeds to step S34.

  In step S <b> 33, the microcomputer 1 outputs an energization signal to the heater 12 to cause the heat wire 17 to generate heat in order to raise the temperature of the wiper rubber 16. If energization of the hot wire 17 has already been performed, the microcomputer 1 continues that state. When the process proceeds to step S33, since the wiper rubber 16 and the windshield are not frozen and need not be thawed, the microcomputer 1 sets the duty ratio of the energization signal output in this step to step S11 or Compared to the duty ratio of the energization signal output in step S14.

  In step S34, since it is not necessary to raise the temperature of the wiper rubber 16, the microcomputer 1 stops outputting the energization signal to the heater 12 and stops energizing the hot wire 17. If energization to the heat wire 17 has already been stopped, the microcomputer 1 continues that state.

  In step S35, since there is no need to move the wiper arm 14, the microcomputer 1 stops outputting the drive signal to the motor 11 and stops the wiper arm 14. If the wiper arm 14 has already stopped, the microcomputer 1 continues that state.

  In step S36, since it is not necessary to raise the temperature of the wiper rubber 16, the microcomputer 1 stops outputting the energization signal to the heater 12 and stops energizing the hot wire 17. If energization to the heat wire 17 has already been stopped, the microcomputer 1 continues that state. Thereafter, the processing returns to step S10.

  Then, the effect by performing the said temperature rising process is demonstrated.

  According to the above temperature raising process, when the wiper rubber 16 is frozen, the microcomputer 1 first raises the temperature of the wiper rubber 16 (step S10: YES, step S11). It is possible to avoid damaging the wiped surface of the glass.

  When the windshield is frozen, the microcomputer 1 moves the wiper arm 14 while raising the temperature of the wiper rubber 16 (step S13: YES, step S14, step S15), so that the windshield is efficiently frozen. Can be thawed.

  Further, the microcomputer 1 raises the temperature of the wiper rubber 16 when it is snowing even after the wiper arm 14 is moved (step S22: YES, step S23, step S32: YES, step S33). The surface to be wiped can be wiped off efficiently while melting the snow adhering to the glass.

  Further, the microcomputer 1 changes the duty ratio of the energization signal to be output according to the purpose of raising the temperature of the wiper rubber 16. Specifically, when the wiper rubber 16 is frozen (step S11) or the windshield is frozen (step S14), it is necessary to thaw the freeze at an early stage. It is better to raise the temperature to (the duty ratio of the energization signal is high). On the other hand, when it is snowing (steps S23 and S33), the wiping efficiency can be increased even if the temperature of the wiper rubber 16 is lower than that in the above case (the duty ratio of the energization signal is low). I can do it. In this way, the microcomputer 1 can increase the temperature of the wiper rubber 16 without excess or shortage by changing the duty ratio of the energization signal according to the purpose, leading to reduction of power consumption. Furthermore, compared with the case where the temperature of the wiper rubber 16 is increased to a high temperature each time, the load applied to the wiper rubber 16 can be suppressed and deterioration can be reduced.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the above embodiment is merely one example of application of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is limited to the specific configuration of the above embodiment. is not.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the wiper unit 10 is provided on the windshield is shown, but the same configuration and processing can be applied to a rear glass, a headlight, a side mirror, and the like.

  In addition, although the heat wire 17 generates heat when energized, the heat wire 17 is not limited to this as long as it has a function of raising the temperature of the wiper rubber 16. For example, a structure in which a hot water passage is provided instead of the hot wire 16 and the warm water heated by the heater 12 is passed through the pipe may be used. Further, if the vehicle is equipped with an engine, the heater 12 may be used instead of the warm water heated by the exhaust heat of the engine.

  Moreover, you may set the target temperature according to the temperature rising purpose for temperature rising of the wiper rubber 16. In that case, the microcomputer 1 only needs to optimally adjust the duty ratio of the energization signal toward the set target temperature while monitoring the temperature of the wiper rubber 16 by the input from the wiper rubber temperature sensor 8. Further, the duty ratio may be adjusted in consideration of the environment such as the outside temperature. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to efficiently thaw the wiper rubber 16 and the windshield, and it is also possible to suppress wasteful power consumption.

  The trigger for starting the processing by the microcomputer 1 is not limited to the above-described timing when the power to the microcomputer 1 is supplied, and it is only necessary to detect the start of the vehicle and start the processing. For example, in the case of a vehicle equipped with an engine, the engine start may be used as a trigger, or the timing when the driver's seat belt is detected or the timing when the ignition switch is turned on may be used as a trigger.

  Further, the determination of the freezing of the wiper rubber 16 by the microcomputer 1 (step S10) may be performed using input information other than the torque sensor 7. For example, when the outside air temperature input from the outside air temperature sensor 4 falls below a predetermined threshold, or when the temperature of the wiper rubber 16 input from the wiper rubber temperature sensor 8 falls below a predetermined threshold, the wiper rubber It may be determined that 16 is frozen. With this configuration, it is possible to determine that the wiper rubber 16 is frozen without providing the torque sensor 7.

  Further, the input information may be added to the input information from the torque sensor 7 so that the freezing of the wiper rubber 16 is comprehensively determined. With such a configuration, it is possible to increase the accuracy of the determination of freezing of the wiper rubber 16.

  Further, the determination of freezing of the windshield (step S13) by the microcomputer 1 may be performed using input information other than the windshield freezing sensor 3. For example, it may be configured to comprehensively determine whether the windshield freezes from the reflectance input from the rain sensor 2 and the outside air temperature input from the outside air temperature sensor 4. With such a configuration, it is possible to determine whether the windshield is frozen without providing a vehicle-mounted camera.

  In addition, the microcomputer 1 determines that the wiper rubber 16 is frozen (step S10). When the microcomputer 1 determines that the wiper rubber 16 is frozen and proceeds to the next process (step S11), the same freeze determination process is performed. Return (Step S11 → Step S12 → Step S10), this process is repeated until it is determined that the wiper rubber 16 is not frozen. If it is determined that the wiper rubber 16 is frozen, the heater 12 is energized for a certain period of time, and the wiper rubber is You may make it progress to the next process, without judging whether 16 was answered.

  Alternatively, in a low temperature environment where the wiper rubber 16 is frozen, the heater 12 may be energized for a certain period of time while the wiper arm 14 is stopped without determining whether the wiper rubber 16 is frozen.

  The same applies to the determination of whether or not the windshield is frozen (step S13). Under a low temperature environment where the windshield is frozen, the wiper rubber 16 is defrosted by energizing the heater 12. The wiper arm 14 may be moved while energizing the heater 12 for a certain period of time without determining whether the windshield is frozen.

  Further, if the notification (step S12, step S16) by the notification unit 9 is performed every time this step is processed, there is a possibility that it may be troublesome depending on the driver. Therefore, it is good also as a structure which alert | reports only once first and does not alert | report even if a flow passes these steps after the 2nd time.

  Moreover, although this embodiment demonstrated the case where this invention was applied to the wiper apparatus which has an auto wiper function, this invention can also be applied to the wiper apparatus which does not have an auto wiper function. In this case, the content of the temperature raising process may be advanced to step S30 in FIG. 3C after it is determined in step S13 in FIG. 3A that the windshield is not frozen.

  When the heater switch 6 is turned on, the microcomputer 1 outputs an energization signal to the heater 12 until the heater switch 6 is turned off or for a certain period of time, regardless of the temperature raising process. Causes fever. With this configuration, the wiper rubber 16 can generate heat in response to a driver's request, in addition to the wiper rubber 16 generating heat according to the judgment of the microcomputer 1.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Microcomputer 2 Rain sensor 3 Windshield freezing sensor 4 Outside temperature sensor 5 Wiper switch 6 Heater switch 7 Torque sensor 8 Wiper rubber temperature sensor 9 Notification unit 10 Wiper unit 11 Motor 12 Heater (heating element)
13 Link arm 14 Wiper arm 15 Wiper blade 16 Wiper rubber 17 Hot wire 18 Support point

Claims (5)

A wiper arm having a wiper rubber and a heating element for heating the wiper rubber;
A wiper driving unit for switching the operating state of the wiper arm and switching the heating state of the wiper rubber by the heating element;
In a wiper device with
In a low temperature environment in which the wiper rubber freezes, the wiper driving unit generates heat when the wiper arm is stopped, and moves the wiper arm after the temperature of the wiper rubber rises. Wiper device.   When the surface wiped by the wiper rubber is frozen, the wiper driving unit heats the heating element while moving the wiper arm after the temperature of the wiper rubber is increased. The wiper apparatus according to 1.   3. The wiper device according to claim 1, wherein when the snow is falling, the wiper driving unit heats the heating element while moving the wiper arm. 4.   4. The wiper device according to claim 3, wherein when the surface wiped by the wiper is frozen, the wiper driving unit causes the heating element to generate heat at a higher temperature than when it is snowing.   5. The wiper device according to claim 3, wherein the wiper driving unit heats the heating element at a higher temperature in a low temperature environment in which the wiper rubber is frozen than when it is snowing. .

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