JPH0148182B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a window wiper blade, in particular to a connection between a main bridge and at least one secondary yoke of said wiper blade.

Window wiper blades with articulation members have been known for a long time. Many early articulating members were connected to each other by rivets, which allowed the members to rotate in a plane transverse to the axis of the rivet. Since the rivets are permanent, the respective members cannot be easily removed. Therefore, an improved connection between the articulating members was devised to enable rotational movement of the articulating members.
The connection was snapped using an elastically deflecting retaining element. The retaining member could become loose and create undesirable play in the connection area. Snap-on connections required additional parts, additional assembly time and steps, and additional cost.

The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set out above.

A window wiper blade is described, in particular a plastic wiper blade having a main bridge and two secondary yokes pivotally connected to the end portions of the main bridge. Each of the secondary yokes includes an opening through which a lateral pivot extends. The primary bridge includes a fork at each of its two end portions, the arms of the forks extending substantially as an extension of the primary bridge and forming seats for said lateral pivots of each secondary yoke. . For example, wiper blades are used in automobiles.

One aspect of the invention is to reduce manufacturing costs by eliminating the need for snapping devices with elastically deflecting retaining elements that, during use, create undesirable play in the connecting area, as is known in the prior art. The wiper blade realizes the connection between the main bridge and the secondary yoke by a quick and very simple functional pivot connection, so as to facilitate the assembly of the blade superstructure to reduce the The goal is to provide the following.

The wiper blade according to the invention is essentially characterized in that the main bridge is provided with forks at both ends thereof, and that the secondary yokes each have an open end on which a transverse pivot is located. The primary bridge and secondary yoke are provided with cooperating first and second stop devices spaced apart from the lateral pivots and capable of preventing the lateral pivots from exiting their respective seats.

The first stop device of the two forks is formed by a cylindrical section provided on the outer surface of the lower arm of said fork: the first stop device of the two secondary yokes is
The stop device is formed by a corresponding cylindrical surface provided on the inner surface of the opening of the secondary yoke.

The second stop devices of the two forks are formed by hooks provided on the end portions of each of the lower arms of said forks, and the second stop devices of the two secondary yokes are formed by hooks provided on the end portions of each of the lower arms of said forks. It is formed by a corresponding hook projecting into each of said openings.

The invention will be better understood when reading the following part of the specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, reference numeral 10 indicates main bridge 1.
4 and two secondary yokes 16
2 and a resilient support strip 18 connected to a secondary yoke 16 and supporting a wiper element 20 made of rubber.

Referring now specifically to FIGS. 2 and 3, the main bridge 14 has a generally U-shaped or groove-shaped cross-section, and the main bridge cavity 22 is defined by the secondary yoke 1.
It is directed to 6. The main bridge 14 has a rectangular opening 26 in its portion 24.
, with a lateral pivot 28 extending through the opening 26 for attaching the connector 32 , and a lateral pivot 28 for attaching the connector 32 .
2 consists of a fork-shaped snap device 34 for rotatably and removably attaching a wiper arm (not shown) to the wiper blade.

The two end portions of the main bridge 14 are each provided with a fork 36 consisting of one upper arm 38 and two lower arms 40. The upper arm 38 of each fork 36 extends substantially as an extension of the upper surface 14b of the main bridge 14, with two lower arms 40 substantially parallel to the upper arm 38.
are separated from each other by a cutout 42 (see FIG. 3) which communicates with the cavity 22 of the bridge 14. Arms 38, 40 define a seat 44 for a pivot 54 on secondary yoke 14 (see FIG. 2).

As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, each secondary yoke 16 has a central opening 50 defined by two side walls 52 with a lateral pivot 54 extending between the two side walls 52. ing. Figures 5 and 6
In the Figures and FIG. 7, the pivot has two diametrically opposed flat surfaces 56. However, these surfaces have no special function;
It should be noted that this is not a feature of the invention.

The secondary yoke 16 is provided at each of its end portions with an inner claw 58 and an outer claw 60, respectively, into which the resilient support strip 18 supporting the wiper element 20 is inserted. Furthermore, the outer pawl 60 of each secondary yoke 16 is associated with a stop 62 for axially retaining the resilient support strip 18 and the wiper element 20.

The inner surface of the side wall 14a of the main bridge 14 is provided with a plurality of opposing ribs 48 near the fork 36. The function of these ribs 48 will be explained in the next part of the specification.

The portion of each secondary yoke between the opening 50 and the outer pawl 60 has a U-shaped cross section, with the cavity 64 facing towards the wiper element 20 . Secondary yoke 16
The remaining portion, that is, the portion between the opening 50 and the inner pawl 58, extends below the pivot 54 and has a length connected to the pivot 54 at its apex by an extension 66'. directional ribs 66.

Now considering FIG. 5, the secondary yoke 16 is attached to the main bridge 14 and the bridge 1
The first stop device of 4 consists of a cylindrical portion 86 of the two lower arms 40 of the fork 36;
The corresponding first stop device of the next yoke 16 is:
It consists of a cylindrical surface 92 of an opening 50 provided in the secondary yoke 16.

When the secondary yoke 16 rotates slightly about the axis of the pivot 54, said cylindrical portion 86 and said corresponding cylindrical surface 92 slide against each other, and at the same time the secondary yoke 16 rotates relative to the main bridge 14.
prevent any longitudinal movement of 6, i.e.
When the wiper blade according to the invention is in the operating position, the pivot 54 does not pull out of the fork 36.

The second stop device of the main bridge 14 consists of a hook 46 provided on the end portion 45 of the lower arm 40 of said fork 36, and the second stop device of the secondary yoke 16 consists of a hook 46 provided in the end portion 45 of the lower arm 40 of said fork 36; It consists of a corresponding hook 72 projecting from part 50. When the secondary yoke 16 rotates about the axis of the pivot 54, the flat surfaces 46a, 72a of the hooks 46, 72 interact, thereby preventing the pivot 54 from being removed from the fork 36. prevent. When the outer portion of the secondary yoke 16 is at its lowest position (see FIG. 5), the hooks 46,
It should be noted that 72 do not touch each other, which is necessary to rotate the secondary yoke 16 slightly with respect to the main bridge 14.

When assembling the different elements of the wiper blade according to the invention, first the secondary yoke is connected to the main bridge. For this purpose, with the yokes 16 vertical, the pivot 54 of each secondary yoke 16 is
Insert into the corresponding seat 44 of the main bridge 14 (see FIG. 6). Once the pivot 54 contacts the bottom of the seat 44, the rib 66 of the secondary yoke 16
4 into the cavity (Fig. 5), the secondary yoke 1
6 clockwise (see Figure 7). now,
The secondary yoke 16 is pivotally connected to the main bridge 14 and, as explained above, any longitudinal movement of the secondary yoke 16 relative to the bridge 14 is no longer possible.

During rotation of the secondary yoke, the curved rear surface 46b of the hook 46 comes into contact with the curved rear surface 72b of the hook 72 (see FIG. 7). As the rotation continues, the elastic wall 68 is elastically deformed and the hook 46 passes over the hook 72, so that the straight portion 70 of the hook 72 can return to its pre-deformed state as shown in FIG.

When the wiper blade according to the invention is assembled, the two lower arms 40 of the fork 36 are
Extension 6 of the rib 66 in the longitudinal direction of the next yoke 16
It has a saddle-shaped relationship with 6'. When the secondary yoke 16 rotates about its pivot 54, the ribs 66 are inserted into the cavity 22 of the main bridge 14.
In particular, entering the spaces between said opposing ribs 48, the function of these spaces is to avoid any excessive lateral play between the secondary yoke 16 and the main bridge 14.

During use, the irreversible connection between hooks 46, 72 prevents accidental removal of the secondary yoke from main bridge 14. Such a separation is
This can only be done by deforming the resilient wall 68 with a suitable tool to disengage the hooks 46,72. Further, the hooks limit rotation of the secondary yoke 16 about the axis of the respective pivot 54 in a direction corresponding to the direction in which the longitudinal ribs 66 disengage from the primary bridge cavity 22; Thus, for example, when cleaning the wiper element 20, excessive tension applied to the intermediate region of the strip 18 in a direction opposite the superstructure 12 may cause the elastic support strip 18 to be removed from the outer pawl 60.
prevent it from coming off accidentally.

Thus, one embodiment of a wiper blade according to the invention has been described. However, it should be understood that variations and/or modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a wiper blade according to the invention. FIG. 2 is a view similar to the first side view, partially in section, of the various elements of the wiper blade prior to assembly; FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the main bridge along the alignment of FIG. 2; Figure 4 shows
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the secondary yoke taken along the line of FIG. 2; FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line - in FIG. 3 after the secondary yoke of FIG. 4 has been assembled. 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views similar to FIG. 5 showing how the secondary yoke connects to the main bridge during assembly. 10...Plastic wiper blade, 12...
...superstructure, 14...main bridge, 16...2
Next yoke, 18... Support strip, 20... Wiper element, 22... Cavity, 24... Central portion, 26... Opening, 36... Fork, 38...
...Upper arm, 40...Lower arm, 42...Notch, 44...Seat, 48...Rib, 50...
Opening, 52...Side wall, 54...Pivot, 86
...Cylindrical portion, 92...Cylindrical surface.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 Consisting of a main bridge and two secondary yokes rotatably connected to the end portions of the main bridge, each of the secondary yokes having an opening through which a lateral pivot extends. , the main bridge comprises a fork at each of its two end portions, the arm of the fork comprising:
a plastic wiper blade extending substantially as an extension of the main bridge and forming a seat for said lateral pivot of each secondary yoke;
The fork and secondary yoke each include cooperating first and second stop devices spaced apart from the lateral pivot and capable of preventing the lateral pivot from exiting its respective seat. A plastic wiper blade featuring 2. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the two forks of the main bridge has one upper arm and two lower arms. 3. The first stop devices of the two forks are formed by cylindrical sections provided on the outer surface of the lower arms of the forks, and the first stop devices of the two secondary yokes are formed by openings in the secondary yokes. Wiper blade according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is formed by a corresponding cylindrical surface provided on the inner surface of the wiper blade. 4. The second stop devices of the two forks are formed by hooks provided on the end portions of each of the lower arms of the forks, and the second stop devices of the two secondary yokes are formed by a hook provided at the end portion of each of the lower arms of the forks, and the second stop devices of the two secondary yokes are Wiper blade according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each of the wiper blades is formed by a corresponding protruding hook. 5 In a wiper blade in which the main bridge has a downward U-shaped cross section in the region of each of the at least two end portions, each secondary yoke has a main bridge on its upper surface between the opening and the inner end portion. Wiper blade according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a longitudinal rib capable of entering a longitudinal cavity in the U-shaped end portion of the bridge. 6. The side wall of the U-shaped end portion of the main bridge is provided with a plurality of inwardly projecting ribs capable of guiding the longitudinal ribs of the secondary yoke. Wiper blade as described in section. 7. Wiper blade according to claim 5, characterized in that each secondary yoke longitudinal rib has an extension projecting between the two lower arms of the corresponding fork of the main bridge.