Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Attachments – Optical-member-attachable cleaner
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-03
2001-07-31
Graham, Gary K. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Attachments
Optical-member-attachable cleaner
C015S250430, C015S250320
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266843
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to vehicle window wipers in general, and more specifically to wiper assemblies with a single piece blade carrier.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Windshield wiper systems used on most automotive vehicles have a whiffle-tree wiper superstructure for carrying the wiper blade. Such a system has many metal linkages, a single or double vertebrae, and many riveted joints with tight clearances. A typical system also includes claws for attachment of a rubber wiping blade. While such a structure works well in many circumstances, there are various drawbacks which make an improved wiper assembly desirable. One drawback is that moisture may seep into the riveted joints and freeze in colder temperatures preventing the wiper from flexing and thus causing it to separate from the windshield. Another potential drawback of the whiffle-tree wiper system is a large pressure variation along the length of the wiper blade causing smearing and streaking during wiping operations. This pressure variation is typically caused when the claws are spaced too far apart so that a high pressure area develops under each claw and low pressure areas develop between claws. This non-uniformity in wiper pressure may cause localize wiper blade element deformation which, over the course of time, may lead to a permanent set in the wiper element. Such a permanent set would invariably require wiper element replacement.
Another disadvantage of conventional wiping systems is an inability to uniformly wipe high curved portions of the windshield which are typically at the laterally outermost edges thereof. The wiper may not be in contact with the windshield at the outer extremes, thus allowing snow, ice and other debris to build up.
As a further complication, windshield curvature varies, in some cases substantially, across vehicle models thus requiring specialized wiper system designs for each vehicle model. One attempt for providing a wiper system to address some of the aforementioned problems is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,001 (Wright). The design in Wright forms a carrier by two similar parts, each being the mirror image of the other part to form a longitudinal recess for the wiper blade as well as a spline. Transverse grooves in the spline form confronting and abutting surfaces that promote flexibility of the spline. The disclosed design in Wright requires several parts to be assembled and, disadvantageously, has the transverse grooves along nearly the entire length of the wiper system, including the center of the windshield where a uniform wipe is important. Further, the Wright system is susceptible to precipitation freezing between the transverse grooves in the center area leading to non-uniform wiping.
There is thus needed a windshield wiping system which provides flexibility to accommodate high curvature portions of a windshield, which provides a uniform wipe pressure distribution over the central portion of the windshield, which has few parts to be assembled and which is not susceptible to wipe degradation under frozen precipitation conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To meet the desired characteristics and to overcome the disadvantages of the related art, the present invention provides a wiper assembly for a vehicle window comprising a one-piece carrier, a wiper blade mountable to the carrier, and attachment means for attaching the carrier to a wiper arm. The one-piece carrier has a central section with a substantially smooth upper surface, a bottom surface, and a pair of laterally opposed, continuous sides providing a first flexibility. A pair of tips extends from opposed ends of the central section, each of the pair of tips having serrated edges providing a second flexibility greater than the first flexibility. In one embodiment, the serrated edges are formed by a plurality of laterally extending notches. A longitudinal blade channel extends between opposed ends of the carrier with a blade opening in the bottom surface in communication with the blade channel receiving the wiper blade therein. The central section has a downturned lip integral therewith along a leading edge thereof, and an upturned lip integral therewith along a trailing edge thereof, the downturned and upturned lips cooperating to aerodynamically route air over the assembly so as to provide a downward force on the assembly to maintain contact with the vehicle. In another embodiment, the trailing edge has a downturned lip instead of an upturned lip.
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Doman Bradley Napier
Sopko Dennis Michael
Tzau Jerome
Ford Global Technologies,Inc.
Graham Gary K.
Kelley David B.
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