`Merkel et al.
`
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`US006292974Bl
`US 6,292,974 Bl
`Sep.25,2001
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`(54) GLASS WIPER BLADE FOR MOTOR
`VEHICLES
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Kappelrodeck;
`Wolfgang Lentsch; Thomas Kotlarski,
`both of Buehlertal, all of (DE)
`
`(73) Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart (DE)
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.:
`
`09/284,398
`
`(22) PCT Filed:
`
`Jul. 9, 1998
`
`(86) PCT No.:
`
`PCT/DE98/01893
`
`§ 371 Date:
`
`Jun. 11, 1999
`
`§ 102(e) Date: Jun. 11, 1999
`
`(87) PCT Pub. No.: W099/10211
`
`PCT Pub. Date: Mar. 4, 1999
`
`(30)
`
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`
`Aug. 21, 1997
`
`(DE) .............................................. 197 36 368
`
`Int. Cl.7 .................................. B60S 1/38; B60S 1/40
`(51)
`(52) U.S. Cl. .................................... 15/250.201; 15/250.43
`(58) Field of Search ......................... 15/250.201, 250.43,
`15/250.44, 250.361, 250.48, 250.451, 250.32
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`3,088,155 * 5/1963 Smithers .
`3,317,945 * 5/1967 Ludwig .
`
`3,418,679 * 12/1968 Barth et al. .
`3,879,793 * 4/1975 Schlegel .
`5,546,627 * 8/1996 Chen .
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`1/1970 (DE) .
`1 247 161
`2311293 * 9/1974 (DE) .................................. 15/250.43
`2336271 * 2/1975 (DE) .
`2440179 * 11/1975 (DE) .................................. 15/250.43
`316114 * 5/1989 (EP) .
`2199302 * 4/1974 (FR) .
`1429820 * 3/1976 (GB) ................................. 15/250.43
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner-Gary K. Graham
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Michael J. Striker
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A wiper blade (10) is proposed that serves to clean windows
`of motor vehicles. The wiper blade has an elongated, rubber(cid:173)
`elastic wiper strip (14) which can be placed against the
`window to be wiped and is disposed substantially longitu(cid:173)
`dinally axially parallel to one face, that is, the face oriented
`toward the window, of a striplike, spring-elastic support
`element (12), which is connected to a wiper arm (18) that is
`driven crosswise to the length of the wiper blade and can be
`urged toward the window. Even at high vehicle speeds, a
`requisite wiper blade contact pressure for attaining a swept
`field clean enough to meet legal requirements is achieved if
`the wiper blade (10) is provided with a leading-edge face (36
`or 60), which extends longitudinally of the wiper blade and
`substantially parallel to the window and faces into the wind
`(arrow 38), and which crosswise to its length forms an acute
`angle with the window.
`
`8 Claims, 1 Drawing Sheet
`
`16
`
`36
`
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`
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`Costco Exhibit 1105, p. 1
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`Costco Exhibit 1105, p. 2
`
`
`
`US 6,292,974 Bl
`
`1
`GLASS WIPER BLADE FOR MOTOR
`VEHICLES
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`5
`
`2
`at least in the region of the swept field swept by the wiper
`blade, that is, the region that is important to the vehicle's
`driver. Depending on the size of the leading-edge face and/or
`on the size of the approach angle a, this auxiliary contact
`pressure can be adapted to the variable demands that depend
`on the type of vehicle. It is also advantageous in the
`arrangement of the invention that as a function of the vehicle
`speed, the contact pressure rises or falls with this speed.
`Thus a suitably "high auxiliary contact pressure" is opposed
`10 only to the liftoff tendency that occurs at high speed.
`A compact wiper strip is obtained if the leading-edge face
`is disposed on the face of the support element facing away
`from the window. The auxiliary contact pressure is then
`distributed not in point form but areally, over the entire
`length of the wiper blade.
`The embodiment of a leading-edge face can advanta(cid:173)
`geously by attained in that it is embodied on a separate,
`elongated component that is solidly joined to the support
`element.
`A simple structure of such a separate component is
`obtained in that, seen in cross section, it has at least
`approximately the shape of a triangle, one side of which
`contacts the face of the support element facing away from
`25 the window, and also that the leading-edge face is embodied
`on another side of the triangle. In certain cases, it can be
`advantageous to equip the leading-edge face at least partially
`with a hollow curvature facing into the wind.
`Securing the component to the one side of the support
`element is achieved economically by a glued connection. So
`that the distribution of the contact pressure effected by the
`support element will not be impaired, the component is
`made from a rubber-elastic material whose hardness is no
`greater, and is preferably less, than the hardness of the
`rubber-elastic wiper strip. Advantages in terms of produc(cid:173)
`tion are attained if the component is made from a suitable
`plastic.
`The length, and the width and height projected in the
`operating direction of the wiper blade, of the leading-edge
`face is designed to suit the requirements. In certain cases it
`is expedient if the leading-edge face extends at least nearly
`over the entire length of the wiper blade.
`Further advantageous refinements and features of the
`invention are recited in the ensuing description of an exem(cid:173)
`plary embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing.
`
`The present invention relates to a wiper blade for win-
`dows of motor vehicles.
`In wiper blades the support element is meant to assure the
`evenest possible distribution of the wiper blade contact
`pressure on the windows, over the entire swept field swept
`by the wiper blade. By means of a suitable curvature of the
`unstressed support element-that is, when the wiper blade is
`not applied to the wiper blade-the ends of the wiper strip,
`which in wiper blade operation is pressed entirely against
`the window, are urged toward the window by the then(cid:173)
`stressed support element, even if the radii of curvature of 15
`spherically curved vehicle windows differ in every position
`of the wiper blade. The curvature of the wiper blade must
`accordingly be somewhat greater than the greatest curvature
`measured in the swept field of the window to be wiped. The
`support element thus replaces the complicated support 20
`bracket construction, having two spring rails disposed in the
`wiper strip, of the kind employed in conventional wiper
`blades.
`The invention takes as its point of departure a wiper blade
`of this type. In a known wiper blade of this type (German
`Patent DE-PS 12 47 161), the wiper blade, or its support
`element, which for reasons of distributing the contact pres(cid:173)
`sure protrudes far past the wiper strip in the middle region
`of the wiper blade, can on the one hand be engaged from 30
`below, on the front side facing into the wind, with an
`attendant buildup of overpressure, by this overpressure. On
`the other hand, on the back side facing away from the wind,
`because of the structural form noted above, a considerable
`negative pressure builds up. Although the wiper blade, 35
`which during operation usually executes a pendulum
`motion, constantly changes its position relative to the
`oncoming relative wind, even then one of its long sides is
`always more or less greatly exposed to the wind and is
`therefore called the front side, while its other long side is 40
`accordingly also thought of as the back side. At relatively
`high vehicle speeds, given the cooperation of these two
`aforementioned pressures, both of which are oriented
`counter to the wiper blade contact pressure, this contact
`pressure is reduced at least enough that proper wiping is no 45
`longer possible. Increasing the wiper blade contact pressure
`against the window at high vehicle speeds could admittedly
`reduce the severity of this problem, but at lower vehicle
`speeds, when the liftoff tendency is less, the friction between
`the wiper blade and the window increases; this leads to 50
`undesirable noise buildup and to excessively high stress on
`the drive components and on the rubber of the wiper.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide 55
`a wiper blade which avoids the disadvantages of the prior
`art.
`In keeping with these objects, one feature of present
`invention, resides, briefly stated, in a wiper blade provided
`with a leading-edge face which extends longitudinally over 60
`the wiper blade and substantially parallel to the window and
`faces into the wind, and which crosswise to its length forms
`an acute angle with the window.
`In the wiper blade of the invention, via the leading-edge
`face that faces into the wind, a force component aimed at the 65
`window is built up, which counteracts the liftoff tendency of
`the two pressures and thus assures excellent cleaning quality,
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
`
`In the drawing:
`FIG. 1 shows a side view of a wiper blade of the
`invention;
`FIG. 2 shows a plan view on the wiper blade of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 3 shows a section through the wiper blade, taken
`along the line III-III in FIG. 1 and shown on a larger scale
`in schematic form; and
`FIG. 4 shows a basic illustration of the wiper blade of
`FIG. 3.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT
`
`A wiper blade 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a single- or
`multi-part, elongated, spring-elastic support element 12, to
`whose underside an elongated, rubber-elastic wiper strip 15
`is secured longitudinally axially parallel to it. A connection
`device 16 is disposed on the top side of the support element,
`and with its aid the wiper blade 10 can be detachably
`
`Costco Exhibit 1105, p. 3
`
`
`
`US 6,292,974 Bl
`
`5
`
`3
`connected to a driven wiper arm 18. A hook acting as a
`counterpart connection means is formed onto the free end 20
`of the wiper arm 18 and grasps a pivot pin 22 that belongs
`to the connection device 22 of the wiper blade. The securing
`between the wiper arm 18 and the wiper blade 10 is taken on
`by securing means not shown in further detail but known per
`se and embodied as adapters. The wiper arm 18 and thus also
`the hook on the end 20 of the arm is urged in the direction
`of the arrow 24 toward the window to be wiped, whose
`surface to be wiped is suggested in FIG. 1 by a dot-dash line
`26. Since the dot-dash line 26 is meant to represent the
`greatest curvature of the window surfaces, it is quite appar(cid:173)
`ent that the curvature of the wiper blade 10, which rests with
`its two ends on the window, is greater than the maximum
`curvature of the window. Under the contact pressure (arrow 15
`24), the wiper blade presses with its wiper lip 28 over its
`entire length against the window surface 26. This causes a
`tension to build up in the bandlike, spring-elastic support
`element 12, and this tension assures a proper contact of the
`wiper strip 14 or wiper lip 28, over their entire length, with 20
`the motor vehicle window.
`The particular design of the wiper blade 10 will be
`described in further detail, especially in terms of FIGS. 3 and
`4. On the upper face 30 of the bandlike support element 12,
`facing away from the windshield 25, a single- or multiple- 25
`part component 32 extending longitudinally of the wiper
`blade 10 is secured; it is made from a rubber-elastic material,
`preferably a plastic, whose hardness is less than the hardness
`of the rubber-elastic wiper strip 14. This wiper strip 14 is
`disposed on the lower face 34, toward the window 25, of the 30
`support element 12. As FIG. 1 shows, the component 32
`extends over the entire length of the wiper blade 10. It has
`a cross section in the shape of a triangle or wedge (FIG. 3).
`In the exemplary embodiment, to that end, the shape of a
`non-isosceles triangle has been selected. The longest side 36 35
`of this triangle forms a leading-edge face for the relative
`wind created by the motor vehicle, which is symbolized by
`the arrow 38 in FIG. 3. A second, shorter side 40 of the
`triangular shape faces toward the upper face 30 of the
`support element 12. The two faces, facing one another, of the 40
`support element 12 and 40 of the component 32 are joined
`together by gluing.
`To explain the mode of operation of the wiper blade of the
`invention, see FIG. 4, in which all the necessary parts of the
`wiper blade are shown in basic form. During operation of the 45
`wiper blade, whose operating motion is represented by the
`double arrow 42 when the wiper blade is displaced with its
`wiper strip 14 over the surface 26 of the window, the support
`element 12 is located in a plane that extends substantially
`parallel to the surface 26 of the window. The wiper blade 10
`then experiences a contact pressure 52 (FIG. 3) that is
`countered during wiper blade operation, especially at high
`vehicle speeds, by a liftoff tendency acting in the direction
`of the arrow 54 in FIG. 4. Since the leading-edge face 36 of
`the component 30 facing into the wind 38, and forms an
`acute angle a with the surface 26 of window 25, the pressure
`of the relative wind 38 generates a force component that is
`
`4
`represented in FIG. 4 by the arrow 56. This force component
`56 acts counter to the liftoff tendency (arrow 54) in FIG. 3
`and thus keeps the contact pressure (arrow 52) within the
`legally prescribed range. In a departure from the exactly
`triangular cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 3 for the
`component 12, this component can also be embodied such
`that its side facing into the wind 38 is provided with a hollow
`curvature 60, which is represented in FIG. 4 by a dot-dash
`line. But even with the provision of a hollow curvature on
`10 the side toward the wind 38, the component 30 maintains its
`basically triangular cross-sectional shape and thus also the
`possibility of the development of a force component (arrow
`56 in FIG. 4) from the contact pressure with which the wind
`(arrow 38) meets the curved leading-edge face 60.
`What is claimed is:
`1. A wiper blade for windows of motor vehicles, com(cid:173)
`prising a curved, band-shaped, spring-elastic support ele(cid:173)
`ment which distributes a pressure applied by a wiper arm
`and has a concave and a convex surface which defines
`corresponding planes; an elongated rubber-elastic wiper
`strip placeable on a window to be wiped and mounted to said
`concave surface of said support element which faces the
`window, substantially longitudinally parallel to said concave
`surface; a connection device provided for a wiper arm and
`arranged directly on a convex side of said support element;
`and a component which is separate from said wiper strip and
`is mounted directly to the convex surface of said support
`element so as to form a leading-edge face extending in a
`longitudinal direction of the support element and forming, as
`seen crosswise to its longitudinal extension, an acute angle
`with a plane which extends parallel to a plane formed by said
`convex surface.
`2. A wiper blade as defined in claim 1, wherein said
`leading-edge face is disposed on a face of said support
`element which faces away from the window.
`3. A wiper blade as defined in claim 1, wherein said
`leading-edge face is formed as a separate elongated com(cid:173)
`ponent which is solidly joined to said support element.
`4. A wiper device as defined in claim 3, wherein said
`component, seen in a transverse cross-section, has at least
`approximately a shape of a triangle with one side contacting
`a face of said support element facing away from the window,
`and said leading-edge face being formed on another side of
`said triangle.
`5. A wiper device as defined in claim 3, wherein said
`component is glued to the one side of said support element.
`6. A wiper device as defined in claim 3, wherein said
`component is composed of a rubber-elastic material with a
`hardness which is no greater than a hardness of said rubber-
`50 elastic wiper strip.
`7. A wiper device as defined in claim 3, wherein said
`component is composed of plastic.
`8. A wiper blade as defined in claim 1, wherein said
`leading-edge face extends at least nearly over an entire
`55 length of the wiper blade.
`
`* * * * *
`
`Costco Exhibit 1105, p. 4