United States Patent [191
`Palu
`
`3,881,214
`[111
`[45] May 6, 1975
`
`[54] WINDSHIELD WIPEvR BLADE MADE
`SYNTHETIC M ATERI AL’ WITH THE
`SUPPORTING STRUCTURE FORMED AS AN
`
`3,178,753
`3,427,637
`3,757,377
`
`.................. _. l5/250.42
`4/1965 Wise ........
`2/1969 Quinlan et al.
`IVS/250.42
`9/1973 l-layhurst ........................ .. l5/250.32
`
`INTEGRAL ELEMENT
`[75] Inventor: Attilio Dal Palu, Almese, Italy
`_
`_
`_
`_
`[73] Assignee: Fister S.n.c. dl Bosso Giacomo & C.,
`Tormo, Italy
`Aug. 31, 1973
`[22] Filed:
`[21] Appl. No.: 393,687
`
`'
`
`[30]
`
`,
`_
`_
`_
`_
`Forelgn Apphcauon Pnomy Data
`Sept- 9, 1972
`Italy ---- -
`May 7, 1973
`Italy ................................ ..
`.
`U-S. Cl. ........................................... ..
`........................... ..
`[5
`[53] Fleld 0f Search ----- ~- 15/250-32, 250-33, 250-34,
`15/25035, 250-42
`
`‘69370/72 ,
`
`_
`
`[56]
`
`2,760,220
`
`_
`References Cited
`UNITED STATES PATENTS
`8/1956 Deibel ............................ .. 15/250.42
`
`5;
`Primary Examiner-Peter Feldman
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Ladas, Parry, Von Gehr,
`Goldsmith & Deschamps
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A windshield wiper blade made of a thermoplastic ma
`terial and having the supporting structure formed as
`an integral element is described. The main feature of
`this
`wiper blade is that of having the Sup
`porting structure provided with inner reliefs which en
`able the
`blade to be conveniently de
`formed during the use_ Along the Supporting Structure
`there is also arranged a metal element, resiliently de
`formable, so that in its rest position, and even at high
`temperature values, the windshield wiper blade is
`caused to assume always the same configuration.
`
`8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures
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`l‘- Yl
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`2'
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`2
`1
`/ 1O \
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`l5‘
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`Costco Exhibit 1011, p. 1
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`PEVENTEU HAY 61975
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`3,881,214
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`SHEET 10F 2 '
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`Costco Exhibit 1011, p. 2
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`PATENTEDHAY 61975
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`3.881.214
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`SHEET 2 OF 2
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`- ‘.II II Ii .4: II '
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`m .wE
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`@ .QE
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`Costco Exhibit 1011, p. 3
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`

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`1
`WINDSHIELD WIPER BLADE MADE OF
`SYNTHETIC MATERIAL, WITH THE
`SUPPORTING STRUCTURE FORMED AS AN
`INTEGRAL ELEMENT
`
`3,881,214
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`2
`plane of symmetry they do not resume their original
`shape. _
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The object of the present invention is to provide a
`windshield wiper blade of synthetic material, which al
`lows to eliminate the above mentioned disadvantages.
`According to the present invention there is provided
`a windshield wiper blade comprising a supporting
`structure having ?xed on it a rubber element provided
`with an active edge which is apt to slide on the glass,
`said supporting structure being hinged to an attach
`ment, element which is apt to be fastened to a driving
`arm of the windshield wiper device, wherein said sup
`porting structure has a substantially constant cross sec
`tion, and in the lower portion of said supporting struc
`ture a plurality of inner recesses or reliefs being pro
`vided which allow said supporting structure to be de
`formed substantially in directions contained within the
`center line plane passing through said windshield wiper
`blade and said active edge of the rubber element.
`
`20
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention relates to a windshield wiper
`blade made of a synthetic material, in particular a ther
`moplastic material, modable by casting or injection
`molding, having the supporting structure formed as an
`integral element such that it can be manufactured using
`very simple and little expensive molding and assembly
`methods; furthermore, said supporting structure is pro
`vided with inner reliefs which enable the windshield
`wiper blade to be deformed in order to exert, during
`the use, substantially uniform pressures on the glass on
`which it rests.
`Windshield wiper blades are known in which the sup
`porting structure, which is hooked to the arm of the
`windshield wiper device, has also the function of sup
`porting the rubber element arranged to slide on the
`glass. Such windshield wiper blades are made entirely
`of thermoplastic material.
`Thus, the supporting structure of such windshield
`wiper blades is formed as an integral element which is
`hooked onto the arm of the windshield wiper device
`and whose outer pro?le has the shape of a leaf spring,
`that is to say that its cross section is larger in the central
`portion and decreases progressively towards the ends;
`the purpose of this shape is to allow a ?exure of the
`windshield wiper blade in the center line plane so that
`it may abut uniformly against the glass.
`The lower portion of said supporting structure, where
`it has to retain the rubber element, comprises a plural
`ity of small teeth located along both sides of the wind
`shield wiper blade, which are alternate and bent so that
`the rubber element may be accomodated between said
`small teeth and the supporting structure and retained
`therebetween, whereas the cleaning portion of said
`rubber element protrudes beyond the surfaces of said
`small teeth.
`However, the windshield wiper blades of the de
`scribed type have some disadvantages.
`First of all, said supporting structure which has a
`cross section decreasing gradually towards the ends,
`under the action of forces exerted on these ends, with
`components perpendicular to the center line plane of
`the windshield wiper blade, generated for instance by
`snow deposited on the glass, is subject to being bent lat
`erally and in case of strong forces it can even break.
`Moreover, the side surfaces of such supporting struc
`ture presents a plurality of spaces alternate with said
`small teeth, which spaces are subject to in?ltration of
`earth, dust and other foreign bodies.
`Furthermore, the supporting structure of the wind
`shield wiper blades of the aforementioned type has, in
`its lower portion where the small teeth are located, a
`complex con?guration and the molding of such sup
`porting structure requires the use of complex molds
`which necessitate particular care for their operation.
`Therefore, such windshield wiper blades turn out to be
`rather costly, on the whole.
`Finally, the windshield wiper blades made of thermo
`plastic material have the disadvantage that when they
`are subject to deformation at rather high temperature
`values they deform permanently,,so that after the-ces
`sation of the force which causes them to bend in their
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`For a better understanding of the present invention
`some embodiments will be described hereinafter with
`reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
`FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the windshield
`wiper blade forming the object of the present inven
`tion;
`FIG. 2 is a side elevational sectional view showing a
`portion of the supporting structure of the windshield
`wiper blade represented in FIG. 1 and the relative at
`tachment element which is apt to connect the wind
`shield wiper blade with the arm of the windshield wiper
`device;
`FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the windshield wiper
`blade along the line III-~III of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the end portion of the sup
`porting structure of the windshield wiper blade shown
`in FIG. 1;
`FIG. 5 is a side elevational partially sectional view of
`a portion of a windshield wiper blade according to a
`second embodiment of the present invention; and
`FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the windshield
`wiper blade shown in FIG. 5, sectioned along the line
`VI—VI.
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`25
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`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
`Referring now to FIG. 1, the windshield wiper blade
`50
`. according to the invention comprises substantially a
`supporting structure (shown in sectional views in FIGS.
`2 and 3) indicated generally by reference numeral 1,
`having hinged on it an attachment element 2a rubber
`element 3 being in turn connected to said supporting
`structure 1.
`The supporting structure 1, which has the function of
`a spring, is arc-shaped, with a constant cross section
`(visible in FIG. 3), and de?nes a continuous T-shaped
`channel 4 arranged to accomodate a corresponding T
`shaped continuous projection 5 of the rubber element
`3. Said channel 4 is generated by a couple of continu
`ous legs 6, each having a substantially L-shaped cross
`section.
`In the embodiment shown, on each of the side faces
`of the supporting structure 1, in correspondence with
`the central portion thereof, are formed recesses 7, from
`each one of which protrudes a corresponding pin 8 ar
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`Costco Exhibit 1011, p. 4
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`3,881,214
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`15
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`ranged to be inserted into a corresponding hole 9
`formed in a wall 10 of the attachment element 2.
`As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side walls of the at
`tachmentuelem'ent ‘are obtained integrally in a small
`block 12 provided with a hole 13 having a rectangular
`cross section, arranged to be telescoped on the end
`portion of the arm of the windshield wiper device (not
`represented). Two opposite side walls of the small
`block are provided with slots 14 which have the func
`tion of rendering resiliently deformable the other walls
`of the small block, whereas one of said other walls is
`provided with a hole 15 which is apt to receive a corre
`sponding protuberance (not represented) formed on
`said end portion of the arm of the windshield wiper de
`vice.
`Protruding from the small block 12 is a wall 16 pro
`vided with a substantially cylindrical concave surface
`17 which is apt to cooperate with a corresponding cy
`lindrical convex surface 18 formed on a projecting por
`tion of the supporting structure 1.
`In correspondence with predetermined sections or
`regions said supporting strucure is formed with inner
`reliefs or recesses 21; as it can be seen in FIG. 3, said
`reliefs are obtained by removing some material from
`the supporting structure 1 above the channel 4. Said
`reliefs have a height which can conveniently be de
`creasing progressively from the center towards more
`distant regions of the windshield wiper blade and are
`located progressively closer to one another in direction
`towards the ends of the windshield wiper blade.
`At each end of the supporting structure 1, the contin—
`uous legs 6 are deprived of their lower tab 23 so as to
`define, in such regions, channel sections 24 which have
`not a T-shaped cross section, but a substantially rectan
`gular cross section in order to allow inserting the pro
`jection 5 of the rubber element 3 into the channel 4, as
`will be described hereinafter. Furthermore, two pro
`truding portions 25 are provided to close the channel
`at its ends.
`The rubber element 3 presents, as usual, a continu
`ous rim 27 arranged to slide on the glass, and a couple
`of tabs 28 which are perpendicular to said rim.
`F168. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the
`windshield wiper blade of the invention, which, besides
`the elements of the described windshield wiper blade
`shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, indicated with the same refer
`ence numerals, comprises a metal element 110 having
`the shape of a lamination. Said element 110, which has
`a lenght substantially equal to the lenght of the channel
`4, is arranged between the projection 5 of the rubber
`element 3 and the upper wall of the channel 4.
`The metal element 110, which has proprieties of re
`silient deformability, accomplishes therefore the func
`tion of maintaining substantially indeformed the sup
`porting structure 1 of the windshield wiper blade when
`the force applied. onto the windshield wiper blade
`ceases, so that the latter, keeping always its original
`camber, is always in a position to accomplish its spring
`function.
`Furthermore, said metal element 110 can serve to
`modify suitably the camber of the supporting structure
`1 after the latter has been obtained by molding.
`The assembly and the operation of the windshield
`wiper blade described in the foregoing are accom
`plished as follows.
`The rubber element 3 is mounted on the supporting
`structure 1 by inserting an end of the projection 5 of
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`45
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`65
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`4
`the rubber element through a channel section 24 whose
`width, as said before, is substantially equal to that of
`the projection. After having inserted said end, the rub
`ber element 3 is slided, relative to the supporting struc
`ture l, in the interior of channel 4 so as to insert the
`projection completely into the interior of the channel,
`thereby causing the ends of said projection to come
`into contact with the protruding portions 25 which are
`apt to act as a stop for the rubber element 3.
`After this operation has been achieved, the legs 6 and
`the protruding portions 25 of the supporting structure
`1 constitute undercuts for the projection 5, thus pre
`venting the rubber element from being casually de
`tached from the supporting structure.
`Successively, the attachment element 2 may be
`mounted onto the supporting structure 1._ The pins 8,
`by deforming resiliently the walls 10, are positioned to
`correspond with the holes 9, thereby snapping into
`them.
`When the windshield wiper blade described is
`mounted on an arm of a windshield wiper device, the
`end of the arm is inserted into the hole 13 of the small
`block 12; during this operation, the pin located on said
`end portion deforms resiliently the upper and lower
`walls of the small block until said pin is positioned in
`correspondence with the hole 15., thereby snapping re
`siliently into it.
`In the embodiment represented in FIG. 5, instead,
`the supporting structure 1 presents at one end the pro
`truding portion 25 serving to close the channel 4,
`whereas at the other end said channel may be open to
`allow introducing into it the metal element 110, or it
`may also be closed and such metal element 110 may be
`inserted, together with the projection 5 of the rubber
`element 3, into the channel 4 through a substantially
`rectangular aperture, formed at said end of the channel
`4 because of the absence, in said region, of the bent
`portions of the legs 6.
`In use, when the windshield wiper arm applies onto
`the central portion of the supporting structure 1 a force
`directed substantially in a direction perpendicular to
`the surface of the glass (or to the plane tangent to said
`surface), such force causes the supporting structure to
`flect so that the continuous rim 27 of the rubber ele
`ment 3 comes entirely into contact with the surface of
`the glass.
`The inner reliefs 21 located above the channel 4 in
`the supporting structure 1 have the function of allowing
`the ?exibility of the supporting structure in the plane
`which contains the windshield wiper blade, under the
`action of said force.
`At the same time, since the cross section of said sup
`porting structure is substantially constant, the ends of
`the supporting structure can withstand very well the
`forces which tend to fleet them laterally.
`The supporting structure 1 and the attachment ele
`ment 2 can be conveniently made of a synthetic mate
`rial, for instance a thermoplastic material, using the
`usual technics of injection molding, because of the sim
`ple shape of these parts, the required molds turn out to
`be constructionally simple and considerable strong.
`In particular, as regards the forming of the supporting
`structure 1, the mold for said structure, in order to sim
`plify the constructional arrangement, can be con‘
`structed with a forming punch for the continuous chan
`nel 4, which punch, during the opening of the mold and
`the removal of the supporting structure from the mold,
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`Costco Exhibit 1011, p. 5
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`3,881,214
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`of the described embodiments of the present invention
`can be made without departing from the scope and the
`spirit of the invention.
`What we claim is:
`1. Windshield wiper blade, comprising a supporting
`structure having ?xed on it a rubber element provided
`with an active edge which is apt to slide on the glass,
`said supporting structure being hinged to an attach
`ment element which is apt to be ?xed to a driving arm
`of the windshield wiper device, said supporting struc
`ture having a substantially constant cross section, and
`in the lower portion of said supporting structure being
`formed a continuous channel having a T-shaped cross
`section, in the interior of which channel being ac
`comodated a corresponding projection of said rubber
`element, also having a T-shaped cross section, and in
`the upper Wall of said continuous channel being formed
`a plurality of inner recesses or reliefs, said recesses
`presenting a height decreasing progressively as they ap
`proach the ends of said supporting structure, and the
`distance between two adjacent recesses being also de
`creasing progressively as they approach said ends, said
`recesses allowing the supporting structure to be de
`formed substantially in directions contained within the
`center line plane passing through said windshield wiper
`blade and said active edge of the rubber element,
`2. The windshield wiper blade of claim 1, wherein
`said supporting structure is made of a thermoplastic
`material.
`‘
`3. The windshield wiper blade of claim 1 wherein said
`channel of the supporting structure comprises, in cor
`respondence with each end of said supporting struc
`ture, a short channel section which has a substantially
`rectangular cross section and is apt to allow the inser
`tion of said projection of the rubber element into said
`T-shaped channel.
`4. The windshield wiper blade of claim 1, wherein
`along the longitudinal axis of that portion of said sup
`porting structure which supports said rubber element,
`there is arranged a metal element which is resiliently
`deformable, so that said portion of said supporting
`structure, in its rest position, and even at high tempera
`ture values, is caused to assume always substantially the
`same con?guration.
`5. The windshield wiper blade of claim 4, wherein
`said metal element has the shape of a lamination having
`a rectangular cross section.
`‘
`6. The windshield wiper blade of claim 4, wherein
`said metal element has the shape of a rod.
`7. The windshield wiper blade of claim 4, wherein
`said metal element is disposed between said T-shaped
`projection and the upper wall of said continuous chan
`nel.
`8. The windshield wiper blade of claim 4, wherein the
`length of said metal element is substantially equal to
`the length of said continuous channel.
`*
`* * * *
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`15
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`5
`will move in a direction substantially perpendicular to
`the axis of the supporting structure. Under these cir
`cumstances, during said movement the tabs 23 of the
`legs 6 are resiliently deformed to allow the removal of
`said punch from the channel 4. Successively, the tabs
`23 return to the original molding position (represented
`in FIG. 3).
`Thus, the windshield wiper blade according to the
`present invention presents, with respect to the prior art
`windshield wiper blades, the advantage of withstanding
`considerably higher lateral loads, since its supporting
`structure 1 has a substantially constant cross section. In
`fact, the deformation of the supporting structure, in the
`central line plane containing it, in order to generate
`substantially constant pressures between the active
`edge 27 of the rubber element 3 and the glass, instead
`of being obtained by reducing gradually towards the
`ends the cross section of the supporting structure, is ob
`tained by the provision of a plurality of inner reliefs
`having a suitable height and conveniently located pro
`gressively closer to one another towards the ends of the
`supporting structure.
`Furthermore, the lower portion of the supporting
`structure 1, which locks the rubber element 3, is now
`substituted by continuous legs 6, so that the small teeth
`25
`of the prior art windshield wiper blades are dispensed
`with; in this way, in?ltration of foreign matters and dirt
`into the windshield wiper blade is prevented.
`Finally, due to a major simplicity of ‘the shape, the re
`spective molds turn out to be less costly.
`The windshield wiper blade according to the present
`invention has a good behavior also at high speeds of the
`vehicle. In fact, the aerodynamic actions applied on the
`windshield wiper blade when the vehicle is running, do
`not tend to disjoin said windshield wiper blade from the
`glass. The aforementioned aerodynamic actions are
`known to tend to detach the windshield wiper blade
`when the drag in the section of the plane which con
`tains the windshield wiper blade is high, which occurs
`with the known windshield wiper blades of the prior
`art. In the windshield wiper blade according to the
`present invention, which is de?ned substantially by ?at
`side surfaces deprived of the aforementioned teeth and
`spaces, the drag in said direction is very small.
`The metal element 110 may also have a shape differ
`ent from that of a rectangular cross section represented
`in FIGS. 5 and 6; for instance, it can have the shape of
`a rod. Furthermore, said metal element can be ac
`comodated in a position different from the one which
`has been described; it can, for instance, be connected
`with the supporting structure 1 by insertion in small
`rings which protrude from the surface, also the outer
`one, of the windshield wiper blade. Moreover, the
`metal element 110 can also be inserted directly, during
`the molding process, into the material of the supporting
`structure of the windshield wiper blade.
`It is obvious that various modi?cations and variations
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`Costco Exhibit 1011, p. 6