Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Attachments – Optical-member-attachable cleaner
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-07
2001-11-06
Graham, Gary K. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Attachments
Optical-member-attachable cleaner
C015S250453, C029S897200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06311363
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is based on a wiper blade.
In windshield wiper systems for motor vehicles, a fastening part is generally secured to a drive shaft, and a pivoting part is connected to it via a shaft. The pivoting part is adjoined by a wiper rod, from which a wiper blade is suspended. The wiper blade has a support bracket system with a plurality of members and with intermediate brackets pivotably connected to a main bracket; claw brackets are pivotably connected to the ends of the intermediate brackets and have retaining claws on their ends. A wiper strip is retained by the retaining claws. The support bracket system makes it possible for the wiper strip to adapt to a curved window during wiping. A spring rail is placed in the rubber profile of the wiper strip in order to achieve a uniform contact pressure with the window.
When the windshield wiper system is actuated, the wiper strip slides over the motor vehicle window and in the process is subjected to unavoidable wear, which impairs the cleaning quality. The wiper strip must therefore be replaced from time to time. Since as a rule the support bracket system of the wiper blade is still fully functional by then, the end user is sold a so-called refill kit, so the old support bracket system can continue to be used.
From German Patent Disclosure DE 195 22 273 A1, a wiper blade is known into which a refill kit comprising a wiper strip with a spring rail and a securing body can be introduced. The spring rail is disposed in a head strip of the wiper strip, in a longitudinal channel that is closed all the way around and opens out at the end faces of the wiper strip. The securing body is slipped onto one end of the head strip and in the process, with legs encompassing the head strip, engages longitudinal grooves on two opposed longitudinal sides of the head strip. It is thus fixed on the head strip except for the longitudinal direction.
The securing body has a fastening clamp, which presses channel walls of the head strip into recesses of the spring rail and thereby fixes the securing body, spring rail and wiper strip longitudinally relative to one another. Once the used wiper strip is removed from the wiper blade, the preassembled refill kit can be thrust into the retaining claws of the support bracket system of the wiper blade; the retaining claws engage the longitudinal grooves in the wiper strip. The securing body has not only the fastening clamp but a spring clamp with deflectable spring arms and hooks disposed on them. Once the refill has been thrust virtually all the way into the retaining claws, the hooks of the spring clamps are swiveled out of a retaining claw disposed on the outer end of the support bracket system, and on the other side they snap in the form of a snap closure onto the retaining claw, so that the securing body contacts the retaining claw on both sides and fixes the wiper strip longitudinally to the support bracket system.
The spring clamp is cut out of a larger sheet-metal part after a stamping or other cutting operation, either after or before a bending operation. The hooks are formed by a right-angle shoulder made in the cut outer contour of the sheet-metal part; after the bending operation, in the installed state, this shoulder extends in the direction pointing away from the window.
The thinner the metal sheet, the sharper are the edges that are created at the cut outer contour; they can be removed only with great effort and often not completely. When the refill kit is removed, with the spring clamp described, pressure must be exerted on the cut outer contour in the region of the hooks in order to unsnap it. The sharp outer contours can cause injury then. The risk of injury is present not only during disassembly but also during installation, cleaning, and so forth.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the embodiment according to the invention the hooks are formed by bending or swaging of an arm of the securing body; this produces wide faces crosswise to the deflection direction, regardless of the material thickness; these wide faces prevent injuries during installation and disassembly. Especially when the securing body is disassembled, there is no need to press on a cut outer contour in order to unsnap the securing body or hook. Furthermore, the side of the sheet metal on which a burr may form on one edge in the cutting to a pattern, can be placed in such a way that this edge points in the actuation direction. By means of the guide face adjoining the hook in the assembly direction, a dangerous cut outer contour edge in the region of the hook is avoided. The arm should also defect automatically when the securing body is mounted so that it can snap back into a detent position after the retaining claw. This is achieved with a guide face which either extends obliquely to the assembly direction or in the assembly correspondingly meets a wall of the retaining claw and deflects the arm.
The arm of the securing body may be moved past the outside of the retaining claw of a claw bracket or preferably be guided through the space between the retaining claw and the wiper strip and secures the wiper strip with the hook in the form of a snap connection by snapping onto the retaining claw after the retaining claw. In disassembly, the hook must be forced out of the detent position in order to loosen the securing body or remove the wiper strip. For that purpose, the hook should be disposed in an easily accessible way. This is attained according to the invention with at least one arm extending laterally of the head strip longitudinally of the wiper strip and having a hook that extends laterally outward. The hook is thus freely accessible from the side, without hindrance from components to access and thus disassembly, and can thus be easily pressed out of the detent position in the direction of the wiper strip. It is also possible for the arm and the hook to be disposed on the side of the wiper strip away from the window, that is, on an upper face of the head strip. In such a design, however, the access to the hook might be hindered by the claw bracket.
According to the invention, two arms extending substantially parallel from one another are disposed on a platformlike base part of a spring clamp of the securing body. The platformlike base part rests on the upper face, pointing away from the window, of the head strip, and the arms extend laterally, longitudinally of the wiper strip. It is also possible for the wiper strip to be secured with only one arm, but a better hold is attained with two arms and hooks. If there is a flat stop face, the two hooks are located in a transverse plane, and as a result they can easily be pressed out of the detent position from two sides in a plane in the direction of the wiper strip, for instance with one hand, using the thumb and index finger.
A plurality of spring rails may be disposed in the wiper strip. However, preferably only one spring rail is disposed in a longitudinal channel that is closed all the way around and opens out at two end faces of the wiper strip. If the arms of the spring clamps are introduced through the space between the retaining claw and the wiper strip, then they must be pressed in the direction of the wiper strip in order to install the wiper strip and in order, in disassembly, to press the hooks out of the detent position. It is proposed that the spring rail has a recess in the region of the hook, preferably extending from one hook shoulder to the end of the arm in the assembly direction, and as a result the arm together with the hook can be pressed into the recess in the direction of the wiper strip in both installation and disassembly.
An especially economically produced spring clamp is obtained if the spring clamp is embodied integrally with the arms that have the hooks. Spring band steel is preferably used as the material; it has the appropriate elasticity to create the snap closure.
To enable the securing body to secure the wiper strip longitudinally on the retaining claw, the securing body must be firmly joined to the wiper strip once the h
Kessler Peter
Lammens Koen
Mayer Juergen
Vanroy Jan
Graham Gary K.
Robert & Bosch GmbH
Striker Michael J.
LandOfFree
Wiper blade for cleaning motor vehicles windscreens does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Wiper blade for cleaning motor vehicles windscreens, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Wiper blade for cleaning motor vehicles windscreens will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2618324