Title of Invention

A WIPER BLADE FOR WINDOWS ,ESPECIALLY THOSE OF MOTOR VEHICLES

Abstract

A wiper blade for windows, especially those of motor vehicles, with an elongate, rubber-elastic wiper strip (14) that can be placed against the window (22) and is arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis on an elongate resilient supporting element (12), to which a component (16) belonging to a device for connecting the wiper blade (10) to a driven wiper arm (18) is directly connected, the supporting element (12) having band-type spring rails (28, 30), which are arranged in a plane situated in front of the window (22) and I essentially parallel to the window and whose one, lower band surfaces [sic] (13) I face the window, whose mutually adjacent inner longitudinal edges (32) each enter a longitudinal groove (54, 56), which is associated with each longitudinal edge and open toward t4e longitudinal side of the wiper strip, at a distance from 'one another and are connected to one another by at least two transverse webs (36) arranged at a distance from one another in the longitudinal direction, characterized in that at least one transverse web (36) has a central portion (42) that extends at a distance from the upper band surfaces (11) of the spring rails (28, 30), giving at least one bridge-type transverse web, the distance (34) between the two spring rails being, in particular, less than the bridge width (46), and in that holding means (74, 76, 78 or 174, 175, 176, 177, 178) for securing the wiper strip (14) on the supporting element (12) in the longitudinal direction of the latter are arranged on the supporting element (12).

Full Text

The present invention relates to a wiper blade for windows, especially those of motor vehicles. The supporting element is intended to ensure that the wiper-blade contact pressure on the window emanating from a wiper arm connected to the wiper blade is distributed as uniformly as possible over the entire area wiped by the wiper blade. By means of an appropriate curvature of the unloaded supporting element - i.e. when the wiper blade is not resting on the window - the ends of the wiper strip, which rests fully on the window when the wiper blade is in wiping mode, are loaded toward the window by the supporting element, which is then stressed, even if the radii of curvature of spherically curved vehicle windows varies in each position of the wiper blade. The curvature of the wiper blade must therefore be somewhat sharper than the sharpest curvature measured in the wiped area on the window to be wiped. The supporting element thus replaces the complex supporting-strap structure with two loose spring rails arranged in the wiper strip, as employed on conventional wiper blades (DE-A1505357). In the case of a known wiper blade of this kind (German Utility Model 29611722.6), the two spring rails are connected integrally to one another by transverse webs arranged at their two ends. Since these transverse webs are situated in the plane of the spring rails, the slot situated between the mutually facing longitudinal edges and surrounded by the spring rails and the transverse webs must be widened sufficiently in one of its end portions to allow the wiper strip to be mounted correctly in the slot. However, this widening for mounting purposes may have a disadvantageous effect on the spring properties of the supporting element as regards the wiping outcome to be achieved- The manual insertion of the wiper strip into the slot via this widened portion is also costly. Moreover, the wiper strip of the known wiper blade must be shorter than the spring rail, whose two webs arranged at its ends lie to the outside of the wiper strip. As a result, it is not always possible to maximize the height of the wiped area, which is determined by the length of the wiper strip, because it is necessary to allow for the transverse webs projecting beyond the ends of the wiper strip. Advantages of the invention Apart from considerable advantages in the design of the supporting element as regards its spring properties and the particular simplicity and economy with which the wiper strip can be mounted on the supporting element -the wiper strip can be inserted between the spring rails of the supporting element from one of the two open longitudinal ends of the latter without the bridge-type transverse webs hindering this mounting operation - it is now also possible to match the length of the supporting element to the length of the wiper strip. In specifying the height of the wiped area and also in determining the distance between the windshield wiper on the driver' s side and that on the front passenger's side or the distance between the two wiper shafts in pendulum-type wiper systems, there is no need to allow for transverse webs of the supporting element projecting beyond the wiper strip. Unproblematic mounting of the wiper blade is ensured if the holding means can be moved into their securing position after the wiper strip has been positioned on the supporting element. Simple, economical shaping of the spring rails is possible if the holding means are arranged on one of the transverse webs• Unrestricted adaptation of the wiper strip during wiping to the continuously varying curvature of the window is possible if the holding means are arranged on a transverse web that is situated in the region of one of the end portions of the two spring rails. To ensure that the holding means do not obstruct the insertion path of the wiper strip, the holding means have a tongue-type extension, which extends from the central portion of one transverse web to the other end portion of the two spring rails. If, moreover, the tongue^type extension engages by means of fixing means on a non-sensitive area of the wiper strip, e.g. on a cover strip of the wiper strip, which is situated above the two longitudinal grooves and also above the upper band surfaces of the spring rails, the quality of wiping is not impaired by the fixing. This can be achieved in a particularly simple manner if, as a fixing means, the tongue-type extension has at least one projection pointing toward the cover strip of the wiper strip. Secure anchoring of the wiper strip on the supporting element is achieved if the projection is formed in the manner of a cutting edge at its free end. In certain applications, it may be advantageous if a plurality of projections that point toward the backing strip are arranged as a fixing means on the tongue-type extension. Stable and durable anchoring of the wiper strip on the supporting element is achieved if both the transverse webs and the tongue-type extension connected integrally to one of the transverse webs are manufactured from metal. Accordingly the present invention provides a wiper blade for windows, especially those of motor vehicles, with an elongate, rubber-elastic wiper strip that can be placed against the window and is arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis on an elongate resilient supporting element, to which a component belonging to a device for connecting the wiper blade to a driven wiper arm is directly connected, the supporting element having band-type spring rails, which are arranged in a plane situated in front of the window and essentially parallel to the window and whose one, lower band surfaces [sic] face the window, whose mutually adjacent inner longitudinal edges each enter a longitudinal groove, which is associated with each longitudinal edge and open toward the longitudinal side of the wiper strip, at a distance from one another and are connected to one another by at least two transverse webs arranged at a distance from one another in the longitudinal direction, characterized in that at least one transverse web has a central portion that extends at a distance from the upper band surfaces of the spring rails, giving at least one bridge-type transverse web, the distance between the two spring rails being, in particular, less than the bridge width, and in that holding means for securing the wiper strip on the supporting element in the longitudinal direction of the latter are arranged on the supporting element. Further advantageous developments and refinements of the invention are given in the following description of exemplary embodiments illustrated in the associated drawing. Drawing In the drawing: figure 1 shows a side view of a wiper blade according to the invention, figure 2 shows an extended representation of the wiper blade shown in figure 1, drawn in perspective and not to scale, one of the covering caps arranged on the ends of the wiper blade having been removed, figure 3 illustrates on an enlarged scale a detail, which is denoted by 111 in figure 2, figure 4 shows a partial longitudinal section through the wiper blade shown in figure 2 along the line IV-IV on an enlarged scale, figure 4a illustrates the arrangement shown in figure 4 in an intermediate assembly position, figure 5 illustrates the end portion, shown in figure 3, of the supporting element belonging to the wiper blade, rotated through 180oC, figure 6 illustrates the arrangement shown in figure 5 in another embodiment of the invention and figure 7 shows the cut surface of a section through the detail shown in figure 3 along the line VII-VII. Description of the exemplary embodiments A wiper blade 10 shown in figures 1 and 2 has a resilient supporting element 12, which is elongate in the manner of a band and on the underside 13 of which an elongate rubber-elastic wiper strip 14 is arranged parallel to the logitudinal axis. Arranged directly on the upper side 11 of the supporting element 12, which may also be referred to as a spring beam, in the central section of the latter, is the wiper-blade part 16 of a connection device, with the aid of which the wiper blade 10 can be connected releasably in an articulated manner to a driven wiper arm 18 indicated in chain-dotted lines in figure 1 _ For this purpose, the wiper arm 18 is provided at its free end with the wiper-arm part of the connection device. The wiper arm 18 is loaded in the direction of the arrow 20 toward the window to be wiped - toward the windshield of a motor vehicle for example - whose surface to be wiped is indicated by a chain-dotted line 22 in figure 1. Since the line 22 is intended to indicate the sharpest curvature of the window surface, it is clearly apparent that the curvature of the as yet unloaded wiper blade 10, which rests with its two ends on the window, is sharper than the maximum curvature of the window (figure 1) - Under the contact pressure (arrow 20) , the wiper blade 10 comes to rest against the window surface 22 over its entire length by means of its wiping lip 24 . At the same time, a stress builds up in the resilient supporting element 12, which is manufactured from metal for example, this stress ensuring proper contact of the wiper strip 14 or wiping lip 24 with the window over its entire length and uniform distribution of the contact pressure. A first embodiment of the wiper blade 10 will be explained in greater detail below with reference to figures 3 and 7. From figure 7 it can be seen that the supporting element 12 of the wiper blade 10 lies in front of the window 22 to be wiped, at a distance 26. At the same time, its arrangement is such that its band surfaces 11 and 13 are in a plane extending essentially parallel to the window surface 22 to be wiped. The supporting element 12 has two band-type spring rails 28 and 30, which lie in a common plane and are aligned parallel to one another. The mutually facing inner longitudinal edges 32 are at a distance 34 from one another. At each of the two ends of the spring rails 28, 30, they are connected to one another by a bridge-type transverse web 36, being welded together for example. In this arrangement, each bridge-type transverse web rests by its end portions 40 on the upper side 11 of the supporting element 12 or its spring rails 28, 30 (figure 5). Each of the two transverse webs 36 has a central portion 42, which is at a distance 4 4 from the upper band surface 11 of the spring rails and thus forms the basis of its bridge^ type form. Since the longitudinal extent 4 6 of the central portions 42, which may also be referred to as the bridge width, is greater than the distance 34 between the mutually facing inner longitudinal edges 32, the two spring rails 28 and 30 extend with inner edge strips 4 8 into the region of the central portions 42, the edge strips 48 being arranged underneath the central portions 42, at a distance 4 4, Apart from the already-mentioned tasks of the supporting element 12 as regards distribution of the bearing force, it is also intended to ensure correct stress-free guidance of the wiper strip 14 and hence also low-noise wiper operation. This is also achieved by means of the dimensional matching, described below, between the supporting element 12 and the wiper strip 14. The wiper strip 14 of this first embodiment has a cross section that will be made clear from figures 3 and 7. It has a top strip 50, to which the wiping lip 24, which performs the actual wiping work, is connected by means of a narrow web strip 52. The arrangement of the web strip 52 allows the wiping lip 24 to tilt during the wiping movement into a dragging position familiar to the person skilled in the art, which promotes the wiping work. The top strip 50 is provided on its mutually opposite longitudinal sides with longitudinal grooves 54 and 56, which are open at the edges to said longitudinal sides. The longitudinal grooves 54 and 56 serve to accommodate the inner edge strips 48 of the spring rails 28 and 30. The depth of the longitudinal grooves 54 and 56 is chosen in such a way that a wall 58 remains between the two longitudinal grooves. The top strip 50 thus has a base strip 60 and a cover strip 62, which are connected to one another by the wall 58. The thickness 64 of the wall 58 is less than the distance 34 between the inner longitudinal edges 32 of the spring rails 28, 30 or less than the distance between the inner edge strips 48. The width of the two longitudinal grooves 54 and 56 in the top strip 50 is matched to the thickness of the spring rails 28, 30 or their inner edge strips 48 in such a way that stress-free retention of the wiper strip 14 on the supporting element 12 is ensured when the wiper strip is assembled with the supporting element 12 (figures 3 and 7). Since the width 66 of the cover strip 62 is also somewhat less than the bridge width 4 6 of the central portion 42, and its thickness 68 is less than the distance 4 4 between the central portion 42 and the upper sides 11 of the spring rails 28, 30, the wiper strip 14, which is produced economically by extrusion and has a constant cross section over its entire longitudinal extent, can be inserted into the supporting element 12 in the longitudinal direction without difficulty and thus connected to the latter in a stress^free manner. That part 16 of the connection device for the wiper arm which is arranged in the central portion of the wiper blade 10 reaches around the respective outer edge strips 72 of the spring rails 28, 30 or supporting element 12, which edge strips 72 project from the longitudinal grooves 54 and 56 (fig- 2). The connection between part 16 and the supporting element 12 can be form- and/or force-blocking, A welded joint as for the transverse webs 36 is also conceivable. Like the transverse webs 36 located at the ends, part 16 of the connection device thus forms a central transverse web which - like the transverse webs 36 - likewise contributes to the stabilization of the wiper blade and furthermore allows the connection to be made between the wiper arm 18 and the wiper blade 10 - Given an appropriate length of the wiper blade 10, it may also be expedient if further corresponding transverse webs are arranged between the two transverse webs 36 arranged at the ends. To avoid injury in handling the wiper blade, especially to the end user, a covering cap 70, which is preferably manufactured from plastic, is arranged on the two spring rails 28, 30 and the transverse webs 36 at the ends, preferably being snapped on (figures 1 and 2). As already mentioned above, the wiper strip 14 is to be guided in a stress-free manner on the supporting element 12 to enable the wiping lip 24 to adapt to the changing curvature of the window surface 22 during wiper operation. To avoid the possibility of the wiping lip 14 [sic] drifting out of the spring rails 28, 30 of the supporting element 12 in the longitudinal direction during this process, the supporting element is provided on one of the transverse webs 36 with holding means, which are preferably brought into operative connection with the wiper strip once the wiper strip 14 has been inserted into the supporting element 12. In a first exemplary embodiment of the invention (figures 3 to 5), these holding means have a tongue- type extension 74, which is connected integrally to the central portion 42 of the transverse web 36 manufactured from a metal. The extension 74 extends from the central portion 42 to the other end portion of the two spring rails 28, 30. At its free end, the extension 74 has a projection 76, which serves as a fixing means for the wiper strip 14, points toward the cover strip 62 and, at its free end 78, is formed in the manner of a cutting edge. Before the mounting of the wiper blade, the extension 74 is bent out of the plane of its central portion 42 to such an extent that the extension of the bridge-type passage between the spring rails 28, 30 and the central portion 42 is free (compare figures [sic] 4a and figure 5) and the wiper strip 14 can thus be mounted without problems by insertion into the supporting element 12. When this has reached its correct position relative to the supporting element 12, the extension 74 is bent in the direction of the arrow 80, with the result that the cutting edge 78 of the projection 76 penetrates into the cover strip 62 of the wiper strip 14 - cutting into it or deforming it elastically - and fixes the wiper strip (figure 4) . The holding means 74, 76, 78 can thus be moved into their securing position after the positioning of the wiper strip on the supporting element. Such fixing is expediently performed at only one point to ensure optimum matching of the wiper strip to the changing curvature of the window. The illustration in figure 5 shows the end of the supporting element 14 [sic] shown in figure 3 - that is to say without the wiper strip 14 but seen from the opposite direction. For the abovementioned reason, the transverse web - covered by the covering cap 70 in figure 2 - at the other end of the supporting element has no holding means for securing the wiper strip on the supporting element. Of course, the transverse web 36 shown in figure 2, with its extension 74, is likewise covered by a cap 70 on the finished wiper blade (compare figure 1). For special applications of the invention, it is possible, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention, illustrated in figure 6, for the transverse web 136, the basic construction of which is identical with the transverse web 36 explained above, or its tongue-like extension 17 4 to be provided with a plurality of projections, in this case two projections 175, 17 6, the free ends 177, 178 of which are likewise formed in the manner of cutting edges. The operation of these holding means corresponds fully to the operation of the holding means shown in figures 3 to 5. In both instances, holding means 74, 7 6, 78 and 17 4, 175, 176, 177, 178, respectively, which serve to secure the wiper strip 14 on the supporting element 12 in the longitudinal direction of the latter, are arranged on the supporting element 12 or a transverse web 36 belonging to the latter. Since - as already explained -part 16 of the connection device likewise forms a transverse web of the supporting element, it is conceivable to arrange corresponding holding means on part 16. Instead of the relatively stiff extensions 7 4 and 174, the holding means can also be formed by elastically deflectable tongues, which can be deflected temporarily from their securing position counter to spring force. The projection and the cutting edge could also perfectly well be replaced by claw- or barb-type embodiments of the holding means. WE CLAIM : 1. A wiper blade for windows, especially those of motor vehicles, with an elongate, rubber-elastic wiper strip (14) that can be placed against the window (22) and is arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis on an elongate resilient supporting element (12), to which a component (16) belonging to a device for connecting the wiper blade (10) to a driven wiper arm (18) is directly connected, the supporting element (12) having band-type spring rails (28, 30), which are arranged in a plane situated in front of the window (22) and essentially parallel to the window and whose one, lower band surfaces [sic] (13) face the window, whose mutually adjacent inner longitudinal edges (32) each enter a longitudinal groove (54, 56), which is associated with each longitudinal edge and open toward the longitudinal side of the wiper strip, at a distance from one another and are connected to one another by at least two transverse webs (36) arranged at a distance from one another in the longitudinal direction, characterized in that at least one transverse web (36) has a central portion (42) that extends at a distance from the upper band surfaces (11) of the spring rails (28, 30), giving at least one bridge-type transverse web, the distance (34) between the two spring rails being, in particular, less than the bridge width (46), and in that holding means (74, 76, 78 or 174, 175, 176, 177, 178) for securing the wiper strip (14) on the supporting element (12) in the longitudinal direction of the latter are arranged on the supporting element (12). 2. The wiper blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holding means (74, 76, 78 or 174, 175, 176, 177, 178) can be moved into their securing position after the wiper strip (14) has been positioned on the supporting element (12). 3. The wiper blade as claimed in any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the holding means (74, 76, 78 or 174, 175, 176, 177, 178) are arranged on one of the transverse webs (36 or 16). 4. The wiper blade as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the holding means are arranged on a transverse web (36) that is situated in the region of one of the end portions of the two spring rails (28, 30), 5. The wiper blade as claimed in claim 4, wherein the holding means have a tongue-type extension (74 or 174), which extends from the central portion (42) of one transverse web (36) to the other end portion of the two spring rails. 6. The wiper blade as claimed in claim 5, wherein the tongue-type extension (74 or 174) engages by means of fixing means (78 or 177, 178) on a cover strip (62) of the wiper strip (14), which is situated above the two longitudinal grooves (54, 56) and also above the upper band surfaces (11) of the spring rails (28, 30). 7. The wiper blade as claimed in claim 5, wherein, as a fixing means, the tongue-type extension has at least one projection pointing toward the cover strip (62) of the wiper strip (14). 8. The wiper blade as claimed in claim 7, wherein the projection (76) is formed in the manner of a cutting edge at its free end. 9. The wiper blade as claimed in any one of claims 7 and 8, wherein a plurality of projections (175, 176) that point toward the cover strip (62) are arranged as a fixing means on the tongue-type extension (174). 10. The wiper blade as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein both the transverse webs (36) and the tongue-type extension (74 or 174) connected integrally to one of the transverse webs are manufactured from metal 11. A wiper blade for windows, especially those of motor vehicles, substantially as hereinabove described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

abs-in-pct-2001-1629-che.jpg

in-pct-2001-1629-che-abstract.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-claims filed.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-claims granted.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-correspondnece-others.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-correspondnece-po.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-description(complete)filed.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-description(complete)granted.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-drawings.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-form 1.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-form 26.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-form 3.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-form 5.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-other documents.pdf

in-pct-2001-1629-che-pct.pdf