Air wiper mechanism for vehicle

• US 5,419,005 A
• Filed: 12/14/1993
• Issued: 05/30/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tokuo Mori
• Original Assignee: Tokuo Mori
• Inventors: Mori, Tokuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, Christopher K.
• Application Number:
  US08/166,361
• Time in Patent Office: 532 Days
• Field of Search: 15/313, 15/250.01, 15/250.05
• US Class Current: 15/313
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/544 moving gas spreading means, e.g. arranged in wiper arms

Abstract

An air wiper for a vehicle can provide more effective rain water blowing-off function and prevent a windscreen glass from being blurred due to moisture condensation. The air wiper includes a first air ejection unit (nozzle 14) and a second air ejection unit (nozzle 16). The first ejection unit spouts compressed air upward near windscreen glass 12 and along the outer surface of the windscreen glass to form a first air curtain. The second air ejection unit is arranged so as to oscillate and forms a second air curtain through the oscillating movement, the second air curtain being spaced away from the windscreen glass more than the first air curtain. The second air ejection unit is formed of plural nozzles (16), and divided into two or more nozzle parts to form the second air curtain from two or more small air curtains (102, 104) arranged at different distance from the windshield glass. A warm air supplying device (44) is arranged in front of and near the lower end of the windscreen glass 12 to feed warm air upward along the outer surface of the windscreen glass.

Claims

1. An air wiper mechanism comprising:

a first air ejection unit having plural nozzles for spouting air fed from said compressed air supplying means upward along the outer surface of a windscreen glass to form a first air curtain at a position near the surface of said windscreen glass, said plural nozzles being positioned in front of and near the lower end of said windscreen glass and being arranged along the lower end of said windscreen glass at predetermined spaced intervals;

a second air ejection unit having a nozzle for forming a second air curtain through an oscillating movement, said second air curtain being spaced away from said windscreen glass more than said first air curtain, said nozzle being arranged in front of and near the lower end of said windscreen glass so as to spout upward air fed from said compressed air supplying means and the nozzle of the second air ejection unit being mounted to oscillate over the outer surface of said windscreen glass in a substantially parallel direction to a direction in which air is spouted from the first air ejection unit; and

oscillating and driving means for performing said oscillation movement of the nozzle of the second air ejection unit;

said second air ejection unit including plural nozzles divided into at least two nozzle parts, said nozzle parts being arranged respectively at different slope angles with respect to said windscreen glass so as to form at least two small air curtains spaced away from said windscreen glass; and

warm air supplying means for feeding warm air upward from a position in front of and near the lower end of said windscreen glass and along the outer surface of said windscreen glass.

2. The air wiper mechanism for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said at least two nozzle parts of said second air ejection unit include:

a center nozzle part having at least one nozzle arranged at a substantially center position of said windshield glass so as to form said first small curtain in the center region horizontally to said windscreen glass; and

a side nozzle part formed of at least one nozzle arranged horizontally so as to form separately said second small curtains on a left side and right side of said windscreen glass;

the nozzles of each of said nozzle parts having an oscillation angle at which blast air does not spout excessively away from the right and left sides of said windscreen glass.

3. The air wiper mechanism for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein said second air ejection unit has three nozzles, one nozzle thereof forming said center nozzle part, and left and right nozzles thereof forming said side nozzle part.

4. The air wiper mechanism for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein a distance between the second small curtains and said windscreen glass is smaller than a distance between the first small curtain and said windscreen glass, whereby said first air curtain, said first small curtain and said second small curtains form a three layered air curtain as a whole.

5. The air wiper mechanism for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said first air ejection unit has four nozzles, said four nozzles being arranged at generally equal intervals.

6. The air wiper mechanism for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the compressed air supplying means has a compressed air supplying path to at least the nozzles of the first air ejection unit and the air wiper mechanism further comprising;

a throttle valve in the compressed air supplying path from said compressed air supplying means to each of said nozzles, said nozzles having said first and second air ejection units; and

an operation unit for adjusting an opening angle of said throttle valve, the operation unit being positioned proximate to a driver'"'"'s seat of said vehicle.

7. The air wiper mechanism for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said warm air supplying means includes a small fan arranged in said vehicle;

a small heater arranged on the downstream side of wind from said small fan; and

a warm air supplying conduit for conducting warm air heated by said small heater near to said windscreen glass and along said windscreen glass.

8. The air wiper mechanism for a vehicle according to claim 7, further comprising an operation unit provided proximate to a driver'"'"'s seat, said small fan and said small heater in said warm air supplying means being adjusted by the operation unit.

9. The air wiper mechanism for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said compressed air supplying means comprises a multiple-stroke compressor including:

plural cylinders;

a piston unit arranged to slidably reciprocate inside each of said cylinders;

an exhaust vent for exhausting compressed air when said piston unit in each of said cylinders moves forward and an intake vent for opening only when said piston moves backward to introduce outside air;

an exhaust tube communicating with the exhaust vent of said each cylinder and having internally an on-off valve for opening only during an exhaust operation; and

drive power transmission means for transmitting a rotational drive force obtained from a main power source of said vehicle as a reciprocative movement of each of said piston units so that at least one piston unit among all said piston units is always in a reciprocative state.

10. The air wiper mechanism for a vehicle according to claim 9, wherein said drive power transmission means comprises:

a reduction gear rotatable by a main power source of said vehicle;

a latch mechanism driven by the reduction gear;

a threaded shaft arranged extending axially in each of said cylinders, the shaft being reversible rotated at predetermined revolution intervals by the latch mechanism;

a mobile body screwed to said shaft for reciprocating along said shaft; and

an arm unit coupled to said mobile body and said piston unit for reciprocating said piston unit together with reciprocation of said mobile body along the shaft.

11. An air wiper mechanism for a vehicle comprising:

compressed air supplying means arranged in a vehicle having a windscreen glass;

an air ejection nozzle unit for spouting compressed air upward from a compressed air supplying means at a position in front of and near a lower end of said windscreen glass;

an ancillary windscreen glass arranged at a predetermined interval from said windscreen glass so as to confront one of an entire inner and outer surface of said windscreen glass; and

warm air supplying means for blowing warm air into a gap between said ancillary windscreen glass and said windscreen glass.

12. The air wiper mechanism for a vehicle according to claim 11, wherein said warm air supplying means includes:

a small fan arranged in said vehicle;

a small heater arranged on a downstream side of said small fan; and

a warm air conduit communicated to a gap between said ancillary windscreen glass and said windscreen glass so as to conduct air heated by said small heater to a position near said windscreen glass.