Mazda Motor Corporation

Asmo Co., Ltd.

Takeshi Yamamoto

Takeshi Konishi

Shinshi Kajimoto

Hisao Fukutomi

Susumu Okazaki

Iseo Hamasaki

Takanori Tuchiya

Takahiko Tanaka

Naogi Hisanaga

Yutaka Imura

Morio Umeda

Koji Kuraoka

Nobutaka Tanaka

Hideyuki Katoh

Shosuke Nomura

Syosuke Nomura

A cowl box is provided in a vehicle body between a rear edge of an engine hood and a windshield. The front hood is mounted on the vehicle body to be swung open and closed about a hinge mounted on the vehicle body on the rear side of the rear edge of the front hood. The cowl cover is opened and closed by a driving mechanism comprising a four-bar link mechanism including first and second links each of which is pivoted at one end thereof on a member mounted on the front hood and at the other end on the lower surface of the cowl cover and which extend substantially in parallel spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, a driving motor and a connecting mechanism for transmitting the output power of the driving motor to the four-bar link mechanism.

Movable cowl cover

A windshield wiper system for a vehicle has a wiper arm and a wiper blade connected to one end of the wiper arm. The wiper arm is mounted on a wiper pivot mounted on the vehicle body near an edge of the windshield of the vehicle and adapted to be pivoted back and forth about the wiper pivot between a first position and a second position to swing the wiper blade between a first reverse position and a second reverse position on the windshield when wiping the windshield. The wiper arm is arranged to be further pivoted to swing the wiper blade beyond the first reverse position to a concealed position below the windshield and to be held there. The wiper arm has a first arm portion connected to the wiper pivot at one end, a second arm portion connected to the wiper blade at one end and to the other end of the first arm portion at the other end by way of a joint which permits change in the angle between the first and second arm portions, and a spring which urges the first and second arm portions into a predetermined angular relationship. A stopper member is provided on the vehicle body to abut against the second arm portion to prevent the second arm portion from following the first arm portion when the wiper arm is pivoted beyond the position corresponding to the concealed position of the wiper blade, thereby changing the angle between the first and second arm portions overcoming the force of the spring.

Windshield wiper system

A power-driven cowl for an automotive vehicle including a cowl panel which is shiftable between a closed and an open position. The cowl panel covers a front windshield wiper and in the open position uncovers the windshield wiper to allow normal operation. An electric motor causes the cowl panel to shift between the closed and open positions. A cowl forcing member forces the cowl member to uncover the windshield wiper in, for example, an emergency need. A releasable locking member holds the cowl forcing member locked to permit normal automatic operation of the power driven cowl. If the cowl driving electric motor becomes inoperative and the cowl panel is closed, the locking member can be operated by the driver to cause the cowl forcing member to open the cowl panel to uncover the windshield wiper and enable operation thereof.

Power-driven cowl for an automotive vehicle

A vehicle is provided with a beltline lace extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body on the side of the vehicle body through the outer side a door. The beltline lace is cut at a part of the door. A door handle for releasing the door lock mechanism is positioned at the beltline lace cut part of the door at which the belt line lace is cut.

Automotive door handle

A controlling circuit for a motorcar front window wiper accommodating apparatus of a concealed type wherein a wiper is accommodated within an opening portion provided between the front window lower edge and the bonnet rear-end edge, the opening portion is opened and closed by the cowl cover, to a controlling circuit for interlockingly controlling the operation between the cowl cover and the wiper. It is adapted to operatively cooperate the opening and closing operations of the cowl cover with the wiper, to actuate the wiper when the cowl cover reaches the position where it does not interfere with the lifting wiper wiping portion to be lifted in the position before it reaches its fully open position in the opening process of the cowl cover so as to retain the speediness of the wiper actuation to remove the delay feeling for improving the safety.

Controlling circuit for window wiper accommodating apparatus

The vehicle door construction contains an inner door panel and an outer door panel with a skeleton juxtaposed by the inner and outer door panels and mounted with interior door parts. The vehicle door construction is assembled with the vehicle body by mounting the interior door parts on the skeleton and then mounting the inner door panel on the skeleton. This vehicle door construction permits a less laborious assembly of the side door and enhances serviceability.

Method of assembling a vehicle door

A convertible vehicle body has front rear retractable roof panels which fit behind a rear seat back and a power system for retracting the roof panels, the power system also providing a mechanism for forwardly inclining the rear seat when the roof panels are to be retracted. The vehicle body may also include a power-operated rear quarter window and the power system for retracting the same in sequence with the roof panels.

Convertible vehicle body structure having a rear seat

A convertible vehicle body structure having a rigid front roof panel covering the front top portion of the passenger compartment and a rear roof panel covering the rear portion of the passenger compartment. The front roof panel is supported by an inverted U-shaped swingable pillar and the rear roof panel is mounted on the rear body structure through mounting arms. The front and rear roof panels are retracted in the rear body section in a fore-and-aft jaxtaposed relationship.

Roof structure for a convertible vehicle body

An arrangement for concealing a windshild wiper of an automobile comprises a structural portion for forming a hollow space for receiving the windshield wiper in a body of the automobile, a cover structure including a pair of plate members each provided for covering the hollow space and mounted on the body to be rotatable and movable up and down, a cover support mechanism for supporting the cover structure so as to cause the plate members selectively to be placed at respective first operating positions with their respective outer surfraces succeeding smoothly to an outer surface of an exterior panel member, such as a hood, and extending contiguously for closing the hollow space containing the windshield wiper and to be moved to get partially under the exterior panel member to be placed at respective second operating positions for opening the hollow space, and a driving device for driving the cover structure through the cover support mechanism to keep the plate members in the respective first operating positions when the windshield wiper is in an inoperative state and to keep the said plate members in the respective second operating positions when the windshield wiper operates. When the plate members are kept in the respective first operating positions, the windshield wiper placed in the hollow space is concealed.

Arrangements for concealing windshield wipers of automobiles

A rear windowpane wiper stowage system for an automobile comprises a rear windowpane, a rear spoiler secured to an automobile rear body structure in the vicinity of the rear windowpane, a rear wiper assembly having a wiper blade supported for movement back and forth across the windowpane and normally retained at a home position when the rear wiper assembly is not in use, a lid member hingedly mounted on the rear spoiler for movement between opened and closed positions for opening and closing the hatch, respectively, and a drive mechanism for driving the lid member from the closed position towards the opened position and also from the opened position towards the closed position when the rear wiper assembly is used and not used, respectively. The rear spoiler has a hollow defined in at least a portion thereof and also has a hatch defined therein in communication with the hollow in the vicinity of the rear windowpane. The wiper blade held at the home position when the wiper assembly is not in use is completely accommodated within the hollow in the rear spoiler, but is exposed to the outside through the hatch for sweeping the rear windowpane back and forth across the rear windowpane when the wiper assembly is in use.

Rear windowpane wiper stowage

A convertible vehicle body including a swingable pillar structure for supporting a front roof panel movably between an extended position and a retracted position. A rear side panel or a rear fender panel assembly has a rear side glass panel and a side door has a transparent glass panel. The rear side glass panel has a front edge which is located outside the pillar structure and in an abutting relationship with a rear edge of the transparent glass panel in the side door. Thus, the pillar structure is covered by the transparent glass panels to provide a good appearance.

Growing community of inventors

Hiroshima, Japan

Takeshi Yamamoto