May 7, 1963
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`P. G. K. SMITHERS
`WINDSCREEN WIPERS
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`Filed Feb. 23, 1960
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`3,088,155
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`Inventor
`IOAILLIP G'Qoffl'ay kcnTsrmThers
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`~
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`A ttom e y
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`Costco Exhibit 1012, p. 1
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`

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`United States Patent O??ce
`
`3,088,155
`Patented May 7, 1963
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`3
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`3,088,155
`WINDSCREEN WERS
`Phillip Geoffrey Kent Smithers, Ealing, England, assignor
`to Trico Products Corporation, Bu?alo, N.Y., a corpo
`ration of New York
`Filed Feb. 23, 1960, Ser. No. 10,29?
`11 Claims. (Cl. 15-25042)
`This invention is concerned with windscreen wipers
`having a wiping member of rubber-like material (which
`may be termed a “rubber”) of which a substantial part
`rocks with respect to a harness for the rubber to opposite
`sides of a central position as a result of ‘drag at the
`Wiping edge during use. The rubber and harness to
`gether constitute a wiper “blade,” the harness being
`connected to an oscillating wiper arm when in use; this
`invention is concerned with blades which include a back
`ing strip for the rubber, that is to say a ?exible strip
`lying substantially at right angles to a mean central
`plane through the rubber so that it is ?exible towards
`and away from the windscreen when in use but is stiff
`in direction parallel to the windscreen. Rocking may,
`for example, be achieved by arranging that the rubber
`is held loosely by the backing strip, so that rocking takes
`place about an axis at the backing strip, or by shaping
`the rubber so that it has a thin neck which bends to
`permit rocking, the neck being between the wiping edge
`and a backing strip mounted securely along the back
`of the rubber. The rocking is desirable in order to
`obtain a proper wiping action.
`A blade according to the present invention includes a
`thin self-supporting shroud of a deformable moulded
`material which lies along the length of the blade to
`shield from air flow across the windscreen of a ve
`hicle a substantial part of the rocking part of the rubber
`at least on one side, and which is connected to the
`remainder of the blade at least in a number of longitudi
`nally spaced positions. The shroud may serve as a
`shield only on one side of the rubber, in which case the
`blade should be used with the shielded side facing to
`wards the centre of the windscreen when the wiper arm
`is upright, but preferably serves as a shield on both sides
`of the rubber.
`When viewed from the side the shroud is preferably
`inclined away from the windscreen and from the ob
`server so that air ?ow towards it from the observer gives
`rise to a force urging the rubber towards the windscreen.
`The edges of the shroud are not intended to touch the
`windscreen but may do so during a part of the wiper
`stroke.
`An example of a wiper blade according to the present
`invention is shown in the accompanying drawings.
`In the drawings:
`FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the blade; and
`FIGURE 2 is a sectional view on the line H—-II in
`FIGURE 1.
`The blade shown in the drawings includes a harness
`made up of yokes 2, 4 and 6 pivoted together. The
`yoke 2 is shown pivoted to a wiper arm 7 (partly shown).
`The ends of the yokes have claws 8 which extend
`through openings in a shroud 10 and engage a backing
`strip for a rubber 12, the backing strip being in the form
`of two ?exible strips of metal 14 joined at longitudinal
`intervals by integral bridges 16 sheared from the metal
`of the strips. A bead 18 on the rubber is anchored in
`the backing strip and permits a body 20, at the end of
`which there is a wiping edge 22, to rock during wiping,
`as shown in dotted lines.
`The shroud 10 is trough-shaped with diverging side
`walls :and passes over the top of the backing strip and
`rubber, as shown in FIGURE 2. It grips the outside
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`edges of the backing strip throughout its length as a
`result of the engagement of the edges of the backing
`strip in opposed longitudinal grooves 24 in the shroud.
`Transverse ribs 26 are formed at longitudinal intervals
`on the outer surface of the shroud, and similar ribs 28
`are formed on the inner surface of the shroud. These
`ribs reduce longitudinal air ?ow [along the shroud, and
`also assist in making the shroud self-supporting, that is
`to say sufficiently stiff to ensure that the sides cannot
`sag appreciably under their own weight.
`Since the shroud must ?ex with the backing strip and
`rubber towards and away from the windscreen when
`the blade moves onto a curved part of a windscreen, it
`is necessary to choose a material which, though making
`the shroud self-supporting, does not give rise to too great
`a resistance to ?exing. Deformable materials of the class
`known broadly as “plastics” are preferred, examples be
`ing polyvinyl chloride and polythene of appropriate hard
`nesses.
`In the example shown in the drawings the dimension
`“X” is 0.035 of an inch. The Walls of the shroud may,
`however, be thinner with a dimension “X” as small “as
`0.01 of an inch.
`1 claim:
`1. A curved windscreen wiper blade including a pres
`sure distributing harness having relative movable mem
`bers, an elongated rubber of which a substantial part
`will rock with respect to the harness to opposite sides
`of a central position when the blade is in use, a ?ex
`ible surface conforming backing strip acted upon by said
`harness, and a thin self-supporting shroud of a deform—
`able moulded material capable of following the ?exing
`of the strip and lying along the length of the blade to
`shield from air flow across the windscreen of a vehicle
`a substantial part of the rocking part of the rubber at
`least on one side, said shroud being connected operatively
`to follow the surface conforming action of the backing
`strip at least in a number of longitudinally spaced posi
`tions.
`2. A wiper blade according to claim 11 in which the
`shroud shields a substantial part of the rocking part of
`the rubber from air ?ow across the windscreen on both
`sides.
`3. A wiper blade according to claim 2 in 'which the
`sides of the shroud diverge away from the harness of the
`blade and are provided with opposing recesses in which
`the opposite side margins of the backing strip supportingly
`engage.
`4. A wiper blade according to claim 2 in which the
`shroud passes over the top of the backing strip and
`rubber and grips the backing strip at both outside edges,
`at least at a number of longitudinally spaced regions,
`and in which claws on the harness engaging the backing
`strip pass through openings in the shroud.
`5. In a wiper blade ‘according to claim 1, said shroud
`comprising an inverted trough~shaped length of contour
`deformable moulded material, of which the wiper en—
`closing sides :are self-supporting, with opposed internal
`longitudinal grooves in the side walls for supportingly
`receiving the edges of a surface-conforming wiper back
`ing strip, and with one or more openings for the claws
`of a harness.
`6. A wiper blade according to claim 5 wherein said
`shroud includes longitudinally spaced transverse ribs re
`sisting longitudinal air?ow along the shroud.
`7. A curved windscreen wiper blade comprising a ?ex
`ible rubber having .a wiping ‘edge along one margin and
`an anchoring part along its opposite margin, a surface
`conforming backing strip supporting the rubber by its
`anchoring part for conforming the wiping edge to a
`windscreen surface, and a ?exible land self-supporting
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`Costco Exhibit 1012, p. 2
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`

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`3,088,155
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`shroud of substantially trough shape in cross section
`inverted over the anchoring part and backing strip and
`having inner side walls supportingly engaging the side
`edges of the backing strip for following its surface-con
`forming action, said backing strip being in?exible trans
`versely‘ of the rubber and a?ording like lateral sustaining
`support for the ?exible shroud, said shroud ?exing with
`the ,surfaceeconiorming backing strip and extending’ along
`the ‘length of the rubber to shield from air ?ow across
`the windscreen surface a substantial part of the Wiping
`edge portion below the backing strip.
`-8. A windscreen wiper blade according to claim 7,
`wherein the wiping edge portion of the rubber beneath
`the surface conforming backing strip is free to ?ex side
`wise within the shroud.
`9. A windscreen wiper blade according to claim 8,
`wherein a pressure ‘applying harness has longitudinally
`spaced claw means penetrating the shroud and holding
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`the surface-conforming backing strip in its operative po
`sition within the shroud for responding to a windscreen
`surface contour.
`10. In a Wiper blade according to claim 1, said shroud
`for a ?exible curved wiper ‘blade, comprising a ?exible
`surface conforming body for enclosing the blade, the
`material of the shroud being of polythene.
`11. In a wiper blade according to claim 1, said shroud
`comprising a ?exible surface conforming body 'for en
`closing the blade, the material of the shroud being of
`polyvinyl chloride.
`References Cited in the ?le of this patent
`UNITED STATES PATENTS
`Klapper _____________ __ Sept. '6, 19127
`Horton _____________ .._ June 25, 1935
`Bader _______________ __ Mar. 19, 1940
`‘Scinta et a1. _________ __ Aug. 245, 1953
`
`1,641,336
`2,006,39-2
`2,194,109
`2,649,605
`
`l
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`Costco Exhibit 1012, p. 3