DE2424721A1 - WIPER FOR MOTOR VEHICLE HEADLIGHTS - Google Patents

Description

ROLLS-ROYCE MOTORS LIMITED, Pym's Lane, Crewe, Cheshire

Windscreen wipers for automobile headlights

The invention relates to a cleaning device for motor vehicle headlights.

There are a number of headlamp and wiper assemblies known, which all have one thing in common, that the wiper element consists of a rubber blade, similar to a windshield wiper for the windshield.

These well-known installations fall into two categories. In the first category, the wiper blade is fixed in front of the lamp and mounted in the middle on a pivot pin, which in turn is either on the cover glass of the headlamp or on a suitable one Frame is attached in front of the headlight. The shape of the wiper element is adapted to the curvature of the headlamp lens and rotating the wiper blade about the central pivot causes the headlamp lens to be wiped, wherein no change in the shape of the wiper blade is necessary.

The second category has a wiper element which is guided over the front surface of the headlight cover glass either by a swivel arm or a system of push rods. Here, the wiping element in ■ position of the changing curvature of the Scheinwerferabdeckglases must be flat except for headlight glass,

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to be followed when wiping the wiping element over the lamp to effectively clean it. This deflection of the wiping element is caused to a small extent by the carrier blade which carries the wiper blade and is elastic and articulated is trained.

Both categories have serious drawbacks, as shown below. The first category has no rest position for the wiper blade in one place, offset from the lamp. This leads to a considerable reduction in the Light output of the lamp because the wiper blade and the pivot pin partially cover the headlight lamp. The degree of coverage is permissible for a lamp with a diameter of 18 cm if However, a lamp only 14 cm in diameter is cleaned in this way, then this cover is sufficient to protect the light output lower than the prescribed value by international standards for headlamp cleaning units have been established.

The second method of cleaning by using a movable wiper blade is limited to the possibility of a wiper element for cleaning a headlight glass, which is convexly curved. However, the shape of the headlamp lens varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but one lamp widely used in the UK has a cover lens with a convex spherical radius of about 12.5 oia. A gurami leaf wiper is unable to effectively clean such a glass.

Another disadvantage of these known arrangements equipped with wiper blades is that certain headlights are equipped with projections in order to direct or diffuse the light in a certain way. These protrusions are often large enough to damage a wiper blade if it is not flexible enough to rub over it,

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without leaving large unwiped surfaces. If cutouts be made in the squeegee blade in order to override these directivity approaches, this leads to unwiped bands over the headlight bulb.

In addition, the systems with a rubber sheet that is in an articulated wiper support is housed, that the wiper blade and the support resiliently against the headlight glass be pressed. This also contributes to the complex arrangement of the system.

According to the invention, the problem posed of cleaning an automobile headlight glass is achieved in that the Cleaning device consists of a brush section, which has a plurality of bristles, and that a carrier of these bristles is mounted adjacent to the headlight glass.

The term "bristles" is intended to encompass not only natural bristles but also bristles made of synthetic plastic material.

According to one embodiment of the invention, there is the brush section from a unit which is releasably attached to a carrier. Instead, the brush and carrier can be made in one piece be made of the same material.

When the brush section forms a unit, the bristles can be held in a metal profile which is designed in this way is that it can be inserted into an arm forming the beam and has a complementary profile.

In order to support the cleaning effect, the cleaning tool can have means through which a cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the headlight window.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated below

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described in the drawing. In the drawing show:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a motor vehicle headlamp assembly with the wiper system according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a rare view of the wiper system according to Figure 1;

Ύ) a cross-sectional view of the wiper blade according to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The headlight arrangement shown in the drawing comprises two headlights for low beam and high beam which are located next to one another and which are housed in a casing. Under the casing there is a gear box K with an output shaft 5 on which a carrier with a correspondingly designed hole is placed. The carrier has the shape of a rigid arm 6. The gear can be driven by a rack and pinion system, not shown, which causes the arm to pivot over the lamps and, when switched off, come to rest vertically between the two headlights, as shown in FIG after the cleaning cycle is completed.

A brush section 7 consisting of a number of nylon bristles 8, is anchored in a metal profile 9, which enables simple attachment to the upper part of the arm 6.

The length of the bristles depends on the type of headlight glass to be cleaned. Around a headlight 14 cm in diameter to be cleaned with a radius of curvature of 12.5 cm a bristle length of about 2.5 cm is required. At a Headlight lens with a convex curvature and a radius of

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27.5 cm, a bristle length of 1.5 mm is sufficient. the The stiffness of the brush is achieved by using a large number of bristles or by changing the diameter of the individual bristles.

The cause is due to the fact that each brush can be deflected independently of the rest of the brushes that the brush element can effectively wipe a convex headlamp lens, including wiping over port sets on the headlight window is possible.

Two jet nozzles 10 are arranged at a suitable location so that that water can be directed onto the headlight glasses to aid the cleaning effect.

This wiper arrangement can consist of bristles Wiper blade can be put to rest at a point outside the headlight glasses, so that no impairment of the light output of the headlight is to be feared.

It is also possible to effectively wipe a headlamp lens with a spherical curvature with a radius of 12.5 om. Furthermore, the wiper element is able to slide over cushion-like projections of the headlight glass, which protrude for alignment purposes, whereby wiping becomes possible without leaving large unwiped areas. The degree of flexibility required to clean a convex lamp is effectively brought about by the wiper element itself, and there is no need to provide articulated support profiles which are resiliently biased towards the headlamp.

The arm 6 is also rigid and therefore easier to manufacture than a spring-loaded arm.

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The drawing shows only a non-limiting exemplary embodiment shown. For example, according to a modification, the brush part 7 could be carried by guides or rails instead of being attached to a swivel arm 6.

Claims

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Claims (1)

Claims Wiper system, for motor vehicle headlights, characterized in that that it has a brush section with a plurality of bristles in one Support section is set, which is adjacent to the headlights to be cleaned on Motor vehicle is stored. Wiper device according to claim 1, characterized in that that the brush section is a unit which is releasably attached to the carrier. Wiper device according to claim 1, characterized in: that the bristles of the brush section are held in a metal profile that is in an arm is insertable, which forms the carrier and has a complementary shaped profile. Wiper device according to claim 1, characterized in that that the brush and carrier are made in one piece from the same material. Wiper device according to Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that that the carrier has guides into which the brush section can be inserted. 409851/0752 ./■ 6. Wiper device according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that that the bristles are made of nylon. 7. wiper device according to claims 1 to 6, characterized in that spray nozzles are provided for a cleaning liquid to point at the headlight. 8. Wiper device according to claims 1 to ¹ J, characterized in that the carrier is carried by a shaft which protrudes from a drive gear which is arranged adjacent to the headlight and the brush part leads over the headlight glass and has a rest position in which the Brush offset to the headlights. 9. Wiper device according to claim 8, characterized in that that the drive has a gear with a rack and pinion system. 10. Wiper device according to claims 8 or 9 for two spaced adjacent to each other Headlight glasses, characterized that the rest position of the wiper brushes lies between the two panes. 11. Wiper device according to claims 8 to 10, characterized in that that the convex radius of each lamp glass is 12.5 cm and that the bristle length is 2.5 cm amounts to. 409851/0752 12. Wiper device according to claims 8 to 11, characterized in that that the convex radius of each headlight lens is 27.5 cro, with a bristle length of 1.25 cm. 409851/0752 Blank page