Search Results

As automobiles become quieter, wiper operation noise becomes more noticeable. Squeal noise is one type of wiper operation noise. It is a high-frequency self-excited vibration that is easily generated before and after the wiper reverses direction. In analyzing this vibration, squeal noise was observed using a rotary disk system. Then FEM was applied to deduce an equation of motion that reflects the observation results. The equation suggests material and configuration approaches toward reducing squeal noise. Potential measures include improvement in the blade damping coefficient, reduction in the coefficient of friction by surface treatment, and an increase in neck thickness, etc. Implementation of these measures reduced squeal noise.

This paper details an analysis theory to simulate various dynamic characteristics of a windshield wiper system on a vehicle for the purposes of computer-aided virtual prototyping. The analytical model consists of three-dimensional (3D) mechanical models of the complete wiper system and arm & blade subsystem which carries out complex reversal behavior. The equations of motion are solved considering the vehicle's 3D windshield surface data. Thus, the dynamic reaction forces in the vertical and frictional directions can be calculated at any point within the wiping pattern.

The blade impact force at the top and bottom reversal points contributes significantly to wiper system noise. This paper describes a newly developed process to simulate blade reversal behavior. The results of this simulation can provide necessary insight into reducing blade reversal noise. As a result of simulation under various conditions, it is shown that the reversal impact force can be reduced by modifying the maximum rubber neck rotational angle and the rubber neck rotational spring constant. It is also shown that the reaction force at the top and bottom reversal points can be adjusted by modifying the arm head twist angle.

When a motorcycle runs with hands free riding, the change of the handle deflection angle is interlocked with the vehicle body (frame) bank angle, which is operated by the rider lean angle and caused by the disturbance of road surface. In this report, the motion of the rider who maintains the upright stability of a motorcycle in hands free and hold grips running at low speeds was studied from the experiment with measuring the vehicle frame bank angle, the rider's lean angle and the handle deflection angle, and the rider's feeling evaluation concerning the stability.