Patent Abstract:
The present invention relates to a wiper system for an automobile and more particularly, to an active wiper system which secures a good front visual range by changing the track of the wiper blade of a passenger&#39;s side and positioning pertinently the wiper blade in each range of the track, thus preventing rainwater wiped by the wiper blade of a passenger&#39;s side from dropping down to the front of a driver&#39;s side while driving in the rain.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a wiper system for an automobile and more particularly, to an active wiper system which secures a good front visual range by changing the track of the wiper blade of a passenger&#39;s side and positioning pertinently the wiper blade in each range of the track, thus preventing rainwater wiped by the wiper blade of a passenger&#39;s side from dropping down to the front of a driver&#39;s side while driving in the rain. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Generally, the conventional wiper system used for wiping off rainwater on the windshield glass in order to ensure visibility of a driver is defective in that the rainwater wiped by the wiper blade of a passenger&#39;s side drops down at a time onto windshield glass of a driver. Thus, the visibility of a driver is considerably restricted as shown in FIG.  1 . Especially, while driving in a heavy rain, such a conventional wiper system puts a driver in danger due to limited visibility. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, in order to be free from the above-mentioned problem occurring in the conventional wiper system, an object of the present invention is to provide the active wiper system for an automobile which secures a good front visual range by changing the track of the wiper blade of a passenger&#39;s side and positioning pertinently the wiper blade in each range of the track, thus preventing rainwater wiped by the wiper blade of a passenger&#39;s side from dropping down to the front of a driver&#39;s side while driving in the rain. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a general wiper system. 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the components of the active wiper system in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the active wiper system in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIGS. 4 a - 4   b  are sectional views showing the operation of an active wiper system in accordance with the present invention wherein FIG. 4 a  is a sectional view of the active wiper system just before the wiper blade is reversed to move up pivotally; and FIG. 4 b  is a sectional view of the active wiper system just before the wiper blade is reversed to move down pivotally. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings as set forth hereunder. 
     The active wiper system of the present invention comprises a pivot shaft  14 , a link member  18 , a slider  20 , and a rail  21 . 
     The present invention is characterized in that (i) the pivot shaft  14  capable of moving vertically with elastic supporting of spring  13  is inserted into a body member  12  and connected with the lower end of wiper arm/blade  11  of a passenger&#39;s side; (ii) the linkage  18  is connected perpendicularly to the shaft  14  at the lower end of the shaft  14  and supported by the stopper  16  which is fixed on a wiper rod  15 ; (iii) the slider  20  is sliding between an opening  19  disposed in the link member  18  so as to move whole part of the link member  18  vertically; and (iv) the rail  21  leads the movement of the slider  20 . 
     The present invention is also characterized in that the slider  20  comprises a stay  22  disposed in the opening  19  of the link member  18  and a roller  25  which is installed at the lower end of the stay  22  and rolls on the rail  21 . 
     The present invention is further characterized in that the rail  21  on which the guide groove  24  is formed has a rising curvilinear section at the rear portion of the rail  21 . 
     The present invention is further characterized in that the stopper  16  has a ball-connection with the wiper rod  15  by means of the ball fixed to the lower end of the stopper  16 . 
     The present invention is further characterized in that the stay  22  is elastically supported by two stay springs  23  which are mounted at both ends of the stay  22 . 
     The present invention is described in more detail hereinafter. 
     FIG. 2 represents an exploded view showing the components of the active wiper system in accordance with the present invention and FIG. 3 represents a perspective view of the active wiper system. 
     The shaft is designated as reference numeral  14 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shaft  14  is inserted into the body member  12 , wherein the upper end of the shaft  14  is integrally connected to the lower end of the wiper are/blade  11  and the lower end is perpendicularly integrated with the link member  18 , thus the shaft  14  moves with the wiper arm/blade  11  in the upward and downward directions depending on the movement of the link member  18 . In particular, the restoring force of a rod spring  13  mounted between the linkage  18  and the shaft  14  allows the shaft  14  to return to its original position. 
     The link member is designated as reference numeral  18 . 
     The link member  18  as a power-transmitting member includes the opening  19  in the middle of the link member  18 , of which one end is perpendicularly integrated with the lower portion of the shaft  14  and the other end is connected on the wiper rod  15  by a means of the stopper  16 . The link member  18  moves vertically by the movement of the slider  21  mounted in the opening  19  in the middle of the link member  18 , thus allowing up-and-down movement of the wiper arm/blade  11  including the shaft  14 . The stopper  16  accepts sufficiently all the movements of the link member  18  by using the ball  17  mounted under the stopper  16 . 
     The slider is designated as reference numeral  20 . 
     The slider  20  consists of the stay  22  which is disposed in the opening  19  of the link member  18  and the roller  25  which is installed at the lower end of the stay  22 , wherein the stay  22  is supported for elastic movement by two stay springs  23  mounted at both ends of the stay  22 . 
     The rail is designated as reference numeral  21 . 
     The rail  21  for guiding the roller  25  is fixed on the wiper rod  15 . The guide groove  24  is formed on the rail  21  with rapid rising curvilinear section at the rear portion. As the roller  25  rides along with the rising curvilinear section of the rail  21 , the link member  18  and the shaft  14  begin to simultaneously rise. Therefore, the wiper arm/blade  11  can be detached from the windshield glass. In addition, it is preferred that the length of the rising curvilinear section should not exceed one third of full length of the rail  21 . 
     The operational effect of the active wiper system in accordance with the present invention will be delineated in detail as follows. 
     FIG. 4 a  is a sectional view showing the operation of the active wiper system just before the wiper arm/blade  11  moves. In this stage, the wiper arm/blade  11  and the shaft  14  are placed at the normal position where the wiper are/blade  11  is attached closer to the windshield glass surface due to the elastic force of the rod spring  13  and the roller  25  of the slide  20  is also on the flat section of the rail  21 . 
     When the roller  25  of the slider  20  in the link member  18  rolls along with the guide groove  24  of the rail  21  from the beginning portion to two third of the rail  21 , the wiper arm/blade  11  can wipe off rainwater on the surface of the windshield glass because the roller  25  is on the flat section of the rail  21 . On the other hand when the roller  25  starts to move up to the rising curvilinear section of the rail  21 , the wiper arm/blade  11  is detached from the windshield glass. 
     That is, when the roller  25  of the slider  20  starts to move along with the end portion of the guide groove  24  where is the rising curvilinear portion, the wiper arm/blade  11  is also moving as detached from the windshield glass. Therefore, the rainwater wiped falls down before it reaches the front of a driver&#39;s side. This active wiper system, thus, provides the large and good visual range for the driver while driving in the rain. 
     Reversely, the wiper arm/blade  11  begins its descent to downside with dectached form when the roller  25  rolls down the rising curvilinear portion of the rail  21 . Thereafter, since the roller  25  rolls down the flat portion, it finishes its descent with closely attached form, resulting in clear and wide visual range for the driver. 
     Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1