Bearings – Rotary bearing – Plain bearing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-09
2001-05-29
Hannon, Thomas R. (Department: 3682)
Bearings
Rotary bearing
Plain bearing
C015S250310
Reexamination Certificate
active
06238094
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Description of the Prior Art
The invention is based on a wiper installation according to the preamble of claim
1
.
A wiper drive of a wiper installation usually drives one or more driven shafts by means of a rod linkage, wherein these driven shafts are mounted in wiper bearings and wipers are fastened to the driven shafts. The driven shafts project out of openings of a motor vehicle body and move the wipers over a windshield of the motor vehicle. In order to be able to mount the individual structural component parts or preassembled component assemblies of the wiper installation at the motor vehicle in a favorable manner, the wiper drive, rod linkage, wiper bearings and driven shafts are preferably preassembled on a plate or blank.
Subsequently, the preassembled wiper installation is correspondingly positioned and fastened at the vehicle body. In so doing, the wiper bearings are usually guided through mounting openings which can be introduced either directly in the vehicle body or in additional mounting plates. The wiper bearings are then fastened to the vehicle body or to the mounting plates.
In order to assist assembly, additional holding plates are often used. However, they are not usually sufficient for holding the wiper installation completely and securely. Therefore, during assembly the wiper installation must be held in the appropriate position with one hand, while the wiper bearings are fastened to the mounting plates with the other hand. Further, the holding plates represent additional structural component parts which are integrated in the body and must be correspondingly arranged, entailing additional effort and cost.
SUMMARY
According to the invention, the wiper bearings are held in the mounting openings by one or more catch connections before they are definitively fastened. The completely, or only partially, preassembled wiper installation with the wiper bearings is pushed through the mounting openings, the catch connection snaps in, and the wiper installation is securely fixed during the continued assembly. The person performing the assembly can then use both hands for further fastening without having to hold the wiper installation with one hand. The assembly is accordingly simpler, faster, more dependable, more pleasant for the person carrying out the assembly and therefore more economical as a whole. Additional holding plates and mounting thereof is dispensed with.
Many construction variants are known to the person skilled in the art for use as a catch connection, for example, hooks which are arranged at the mounting opening and engage behind parts of the wiper bearing or hooks which are arranged at the tubular blank and which engage around parts of the body or in openings provided for this purpose.
However, it is especially advantageous when one or more hook parts are fastened directly to the circumference of the wiper bearing in the area of the mounting opening and engage behind the rim or edge. The hook parts can be preassembled along with the structural component parts of the wiper installation. The existing edge of the mounting opening is used in addition as a snap-in edge. Since the wiper bearings are locked into the mounting holes by their catch connections, they are dependably and precisely fixed and can advantageously be completely fastened to the mounting plates.
The hook parts can be fastened to the outer circumference of the wiper bearing by frictional engagement, positive engagement or material engagement. In an advantageous construction of the invention, the hook parts are fixed to the circumference of the wiper bearing in a positive engagement so that they can be easily mounted and disassembled again.
The hook part is held in a positive engagement by a holding ring in a recess at the circumference of the wiper bearing. The wiper bearing usually has a tubular external cast part in which a bearing bush is inserted for the driven shaft. Accordingly, the recess for the hook part can easily be cast integral with the outer part or introduced in a subsequent process, for example, by cutting in a groove or notch.
The hook part can be formed of elastic material, for example, an elastic plastic or elastic metal, and can accordingly be deflected in an elastic manner during assembly. However, it may be more economical when the hook part itself has no elasticity. According to the invention, this is achieved in that the holding ring is formed of elastic material and the hook part is supported so as to be tiltable about a center of rotation at the wiper bearing. When the hook part is inserted into the mounting opening, it swivels radially outward against the holding ring with its end facing opposite from the mounting direction and radially inward with its end facing in the mounting direction.
The blank, e.g., a tubular blank, is supported at the wiper bearing by a contact collar and is supported at the edge of the mounting opening in the mounting direction via an annular damping element on the contact collar. The damping element is installed between the vehicle body and the wiper installation in conformity to standards in order to prevent the transmission of vibrations and noise from the structural component part to the vehicle body. According to an embodiment of the invention, the damping element can be used as a holding ring simultaneously and an additional holding ring can accordingly be omitted so as to save on an additional structural component part. In addition, the annular damping element is mostly formed of elastic material and can therefore take over the elastic function of the catch connection or holding ring.
Depending on the stability of the hook parts and on the equilibrium position of the wiper installation, one or more hook parts are arranged per wiper bearing. However, for a more reliable hold independent from the equilibrium position, it is recommended to provide at least two hook parts per wiper bearing, wherein the two hook parts are advantageously arranged opposite one another.
In order to facilitate the handling and mounting of the hook parts at the wiper bearing, the latter are fastened to the holding ring or the hook parts are formed integral with the holding ring or damping element. This reduces the number of structural component parts and facilitates assembly. In principle, the holding ring can be closed, open or divided into two or more parts and, depending on construction, can be attached to the wiper bearing laterally or from the side facing the mounting opening.
In order to prevent the transmission of structure-borne noise, especially from the wiper drive via the wiper bearings and via the hook parts to the edge of the mounting opening or to the body of the motor vehicle, the hook parts are preferably at a distance from the edge of the mounting opening after assembly is completed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4509878 (1985-04-01), Bryson et al.
patent: 4750878 (1988-06-01), Nix et al.
patent: 5507585 (1996-04-01), Diederich et al.
patent: 5675862 (1997-10-01), Reinl
patent: 7-017365 (1993-06-01), None
patent: 9-024800 (1997-07-01), None
Kotlarski Thomas
Reiss Juergen
Schabanel Francois
Hannon Thomas R.
Robert & Bosch GmbH
Striker Michael J.
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