FR2647400A1 - WIPER DEVICE FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE - Google Patents

Abstract

This windshield wiper device 1 for a vehicle comprises an arm 2, a frame connected near one end of the arm 2 and provided with at least one wiping element, a drive element 6 capable of being angularly coupled to a rotating shaft and connecting means 10, 46 of the drive element 6 at an opposite end 7 of the arm 2; such connecting means comprise a pivot 10 of articulation and a spring 46 mounted on a guide rod 37 articulated to the drive element 6 and guided at the opposite end 40 in an opening of a plate 45 of stop, integral with the arm 2 but removable from the latter; the spring 46 is compressed between stop means 38, 39 integral with the rod 37 and the plate 45. Application to motor vehicles.

Description

The present invention relates to a device

windshield wiper for a vehicle.

  The wiper devices for vehicles are known and are of the type comprising an arm of elongate shape, a frame connected near one end of the arm and provided with at least one wiper element attached to an element of drive connected to an opposite end of the arm and adapted to be angularly coupled to a rotating shaft. In particular, the arm is usually connected to the element

  by means of a rivet with a horizontal axis

  tal, so as to be overturned from a working position in which the wiper element cooperates with the surface of the ice at a position in which the wiping element is raised ice; between the arm and the driving element are generally interposed elastic means able to exert on the arm itself a thrust able to maintain it normally in the aforementioned working position and in an inverted position when a certain value of angular stroke is exceeded compared

at the working position.

  Known wiper devices of the type

  briefly described have a disadvantage.

  In particular, the aforementioned elastic means consist of a helical spring compressed between an integral shoulder of the arm and said drive element; since, as has been said, the connection between the arm and the driving element is made by means of a rivet and therefore not removable, it follows that it is impossible to replace the spring in case breaking, or else

to vary the load.

  The object of the present invention is the production of a wiper device for vehicles which does not have the disadvantage encountered with the aforementioned known device. To this end, the present invention relates to a wiper device for a vehicle of the type comprising an elongate arm ,. an armature connected near the end of said arm and provided with at least one element

  of wiping, a drive element capable of being angular-

  coupled to a rotating shaft and means for connecting said drive member to an opposite end of said

  arm, said connecting means comprising a pivot of

  culation suitable for authorizing the overturning of the arm of a working position in which said wiper element is adapted to cooperate with an ice of the vehicle to an inverted position in which said wiper element is raised

  relative to said ice, and resilient means interpolated

  between said drive member and stop means carried by said arm, said resilient means being adapted to exert on said arm a thrust adapted to maintain it stably in the said working position or in said reversed position, characterized in that said

  stopping means are disengageable from said arm.

  For a better understanding of the present invention, a preferred embodiment will be described hereinafter, by way of nonlimiting example and with reference to the appended drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of 'a

  windscreen wiper device according to the present invention.

  tion; Figure 2 is a side elevation view at plus

  large scale and in partial section of a detail of the

  tif according to Figure 1; Figure 3 is a bottom view of the same detail of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a section along line IV-IV of the

Figure 2

  Referring to the Figures, is indicated as a whole by the reference numeral 1 a wiper device for

vehicle.

  The device 1 comprises an arm 2 having an elongated shape and a substantially C-shaped section, an armature 3 connected to the arm 2 near an end 5 of the arm 2, and a driving element 6 to which the arm 2 is connected by one of its own end portions 7 opposite. The armature 3 is provided with a wiper element 8,

  able to slide, in operation, on an ice of the vehicle.

  The armature 3 and its link means to the arm 2 may be of any conventional type and are not described in detail because they do not form the subject of the present invention. The arm 2 is advantageously made by stamping plastic material and comprises inside facing the end portion 7, a metal profile 9 reinforcing C having a back 11 and two side walls 12. Such part of end 7 and the profile 9 have a linearly increasing height towards an end zone of the arm, in which is partially housed and connected the element

Training 6.

  Such an element 6, advantageously made of Zamac, has a lateral view of a substantially rhomboid profile, and is connected in a clean intermediate zone, near the vertex of a clean obtuse angle, to a pivot 10 fixed to

  side walls 12 of the section 9 by riveting.

  The element 6 comprises two parts 14, 15 tapered in opposite directions. The portion 14 of greater thickness is housed inside the end portion 7 of the arm 2; the portion 15, of smaller thickness, extends in the opposite direction towards the outside of the arm 2 and has a rounded appendix 16, flattened in the transverse direction, in which a passing hole 17 is formed capable of being

  coupled to a drive shaft not shown.

  In the intermediate zone of the element 6, in a position opposite to the pivot 10, is formed a rounded housing angle 18, in which extends, from the part 15,

  a boss 19 provided with a single piece of two lateral lugs 20

  ral. On such studs 20, a small plastic cover 21 is articulated whose essentially aesthetic function is to cover the part of the driving element 6 which leaves the arm 2. Such a cover 21 is open on the side facing the arm 2 and in particular comprises an upper surface 24 planar and parallel to the appendage 16 of the element 6, two side walls 25 arranged on the sides of the part 15 the element 6 same and partially superimposed on the arm 2, and a wall 27 opposite the arm and provided with an inner tooth 28 snap on a corresponding tooth 29 of the aforementioned appendix 16. A central zone of the upper wall 24 of the cover 21, extends in one piece towards the arm 2 to the curved appendix 29 which adheres to the boss 19 and which is provided with two flat sides 30 in which are formed the

  respective holes for the lugs 20.

  By unhooking the tooth 28, the cover 21 can rotate around said lugs 20 and discover the element 6 to allow, in operation, access to the connection between the element 6 itself and the drive shaft; during the rotation of the cover 21, the appendix 29 is received by the

housing 18 of the element 6.

  The portion 16 of the element 6 has a central longitudinal notch 34 (FIG. 3) in which is housed and connected via a transverse lug 35

end 36 of a rod 37.

  Such a rod 37 has, near said end 36, a stop 38 for a washer 39. At an opposite end 40, the axis 37 is inserted into a central guide opening 44 (FIG. 4) of a stop plate. 45

  mounted inside the arm 2 and described in detail below.

  On the axis 37 is mounted a compressed coil spring 46

  between the washer 39 and the plate 45.

  According to the present invention, the plate 45 is substantially C-shaped and has a central wall 47 arranged transversely facing the arm 2 with which the spring 46 cooperates and two side walls 48 folded towards the end 5 of the arm 2 and disposed in contact with said respective side walls of the reinforcing section 9. Such side walls cooperate frontally with respective protrusions 49 protruding from the side walls 12 of the reinforcing section 9 and on which the elastic force of the spring 46 is exerted, the projections 49 present a elongate shape in the direction transverse to the arm 2 and are remote from the back 11. The side walls 48 of the wafer 45 have front projections 50, which are inserted between the projections 49 and the back 11 of the reinforcing profile 9 and prevent an accidental extraction of the plate 45 of the hollow part of the arm 2 in a transverse direction. The operation of the device 1, known per se, will not be described here. However, it has been found advisable to describe in detail the operation of the device constituted by the driving element 6, by the rod 37, by the

spring 46 and by the plate 45.

  Assuming the driving element 6 fixed, the

  spring 46 exerts on the arm 2 a direct force

  along its own axis, and thus able to rotate the arm around the pivot 10 in one direction or in

  the other according to the position of said axis relative to the pivot 10.

  In particular, the arm is normally held in a working position (shown in dashed lines in Figure 2) defined by the contact of the wiper member 8 with the surface of the ice; the position illustrated in full lines in the figures is instead that the arm 2 assumes when the device 1 is removed from the vehicle, and is defined by the contact of the back 11 of the profile 9 with the part

  14 of the driving element 6.

  According to the position illustrated, the aforesaid working position is slightly turned counterclockwise, so as to guarantee a certain degree of

elastic load on the arm.

  By turning the arm around the pivot 10, so as to take it off the ice of the vehicle (counterclockwise in the figures), the elastic resistance opposed by the spring 46 increases gradually until the axis of the spring 46 exceeds the pivot 10 and the torque transmitted by the spring 46 even to the arm 2 is reversed by determining a rotation by expansion of the arm 2 to a

  reversed position shown in phantom in Figure 2.

  The plate 45 can be moved by pushing it towards the driving element 6, against the elastic reaction of the spring 46, so as to release projections 50 of the corresponding projections 49; the plate 45 can be removed from the arm 2 in the transverse direction (downwards on

Figure 2).

  Examining the features of the device 1

  made according to the present invention makes obvious the advantages

they can achieve.

  In particular, the possibility of removing the plate 45 of the arm 2 allows the insertion of thicknesses, for example washers, on the rod 37, at one or both ends of the spring 46, to vary the load. In addition, the spring 46 can be easily replaced without

move the riveted pivot 10.

  Finally, it is clear that the device 1 described can be modified and present variants that will not come out

of the scope of the present invention.

Claims (11)

  A wiper device for vehicles of the type comprising an elongated arm, an armature connected near an end of said arm and provided with at least one wiper element, a driving element capable of being angularly coupled to a rotating shaft and means for connecting said drive member to an opposite end of said arm, said connecting means comprising a pivot pin capable of allowing the arm to overturn a working position in which said element wiper cooperates with an ice of the vehicle in an inverted position in which said wiper member is raised relative to said ice, and resilient means interposed between said drive means and stop means carried by said arm, said elastic means being able to exert on said arm a thrust suitable for maintaining it stably in said working position or in said position r upside down, characterized in that said means   stop (45) are disengageable from said arm (2).   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said arm (2) has a section C, said   stop means comprising a wafer (45) housed within the said arm (2).   3. Device according to claim i, characterized in that said arm (2) comprises support means (49) of said plate (45) 4. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said elastic means comprise a helical spring (46) cooperating with a self-end with the wafer (45).   5. Device according to claim 4, characterized   in that said wafer (45) has a C shape and comprises a central wall (47) disposed transversely to said arm (2) and cooperating with said spring (46), and two side walls (48) arranged in contact with the walls   respective sides (12) of said arm (2).   6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that said support means comprise two projections formed on the side walls (12) of the arm (2), said side walls (48) of said plate (45) cooperating   frontally with respective projections (49).   7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that said side walls (48) of said plate (45) have respective projections (50) frontal adapted to cooperate transversely with the projections (49) of said arm (2) to prevent a accidental transversal displacement of said plate (45) of the arm (2).   8. Device according to any one of the claims   5 to 7, characterized in that the spring (46) is mounted   on a guide rod (37) articulated by a   mite (36) to said driving member (6) and sliding by its own opposite end (40) in a guide opening (44) of the central wall (47) of said wafer (45). 9. Device according to claim 8, characterized   in that said spring (46) cooperates with its own end.   mité opposite said end cooperating with said plate (45), by means of stop (38, 39) solidarity said axis (37).   10. Device according to any one of the claims   previous arrangements, characterized in that said arm (2) comprises within its own end (7) connected to said drive element (6), a metal section (9) C reinforcement; said bearing projections (49) for said plate (45) being made on the side walls (12) respective of said profile.   11. Device according to claim 10, characterized   in that said articulation pivot (10) of said arm (2) to said drive element (6) is riveted to the walls lateral (12) of said arm (2).