GB1603264A

GB1603264A - Coupling device for a windscreen wiper assembly

Info

Publication number: GB1603264A
Application number: GB17691/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Ducellier et Cie
Current assignee: Ducellier et Cie
Priority date: 1977-05-04
Filing date: 1978-05-04
Publication date: 1981-11-25
Also published as: ES469261A1; HK57283A; IT7823007A0; TR20167A; IT1096062B; FR2389519A1; SG16283G; DE2819540A1

Description

(54) COUPLING DEVICE FOR A WINDSCREEN WIPER ASSEMBLY (71) We, DUCELLIER & CIE, a French Body Corporate located at Echat 950, 94024 Creteil Cedex, France, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention concerns a device for coupling a windscreen wiper blade assembly to the end of a wiper arm of rectangular crosssection, the wiper blade assembly including a wiper blade of resilient rubbery material connected by means of secondary yokes to a main yoke itself connected pivotally to the wiper arm by means of the coupling device which engages in an opening formed in the back of the main yoke and is adapted to be secured to a cylindrical pivot shaft disposed between the lateral sides of the main yoke.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved coupling device for the aforesaid purpose which is economical to manufacture and facilitates assembly of the wiper assembly on the wiper arm.

According to the invention, there is provided a device for coupling a windscreen wiper assembly to the end of a wiper arm of rectangular crosssection, the wiper assembly including a wiper blade of resilient rubbery material connected by means of secondary yokes to a main yoke itself pivotally connected to the wiper arm by means of the coupling device which engages in an opening formed in the back of the main yoke and is adapted to be fastened to a cylindrical pivot shaft disposed between the lateral sides of the main yoke, the coupling device comprising a body of resilient material having a longitudinal recess receiving an end of the wiper arm, the body being formed with an integrally moulded hook forming a part-circular cavity of which the diameter is at least equal to the diameter of the cylindrical pivot shaft, a slot leading into the cavity and opening in a direction away from the direction of engagement of the arm in the body, the slot having a width substantially less than the diameter of the shaft and being defined, in part, by the sides of the hook, one of which sides is free and the other is solid with the body but has a portion which is deformable relative to the remainder of said other side so as to deform resiliently upon passage of the cylindrical shaft during the assembly operation until the latter is housed in the part-circular cavity, whereupon said deformable portion of the hook regains its initial position and thus locks the shaft and wiper assembly on the arm.

In order to avoid the risk of faulty engagement of the wiper assembly on the arm, the body may be extended by a projection, performing a security function and of a length such that its distance from the centre of the part-circular cavity of the hook is at least equal to the distance between the centre of the cylindrical shaft of the wiper assembly and one of the end edges which longitudinally delimit the opening formed in the back of the main yoke and in which the coupling device is disposed with clearance in such a manner that the pivoting of the coupling device in the opening, towards a "working" position of the arm is only permitted after the effective fastening of the hook of the body on the cylindrical shaft of the wiper assembly.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a view in longitudinal section of a coupling device of the invention in operational position, Figure 2 is an end view of the device of figure 1, and Figure 3 is a view in longitudinal section of another embodiment of the coupling device of the invention.

The coupling device of Figures 1 and 2 retains a windscreen wiper blade assembly on the end of a wiper arm 1 of rectangular cross-section.

The wiper blade assembly (not shown) includes, in known manner, a wiper blade of resilient rubbery material connected by means of secondary yokes to a main yoke itself pivotally connected to the wiper arm by means of a coupling device 2 which engages in an opening 3 formed in the back of the main yoke 4 of the blade assembly and is adapted to be secured to a cylindrical pivot shaft 5 extending between the lateral sides of the yoke 4.

A preferred form of the coupling device 2 as illustrated is constituted by a body 6 which is advantageously made from plastics material and has at one of its ends 6a a longitudinal recess 7 which receives the end la of the arm 1. The opposite end 6b of the body is provided with a hook 8 obtained by moulding with the body 6 and in the base of which is formed a cavity 8a of circular form of which the diameter is at least equal to the diameter of the cylindrical pivot shaft 5. A slot 9 leads into the cavity and has its open end directed away from the direction of engagement of the arm 1 in the body 6.

The slot 9 has a width substantially less than the diameter of the shaft 5 and de-limits the sides 10 and 11 of the hook 8 of which one 10 is free and the other 11 solid with the body 6.

The side 11 of the hook includes a portion capable of resilient deformation relative to the remainder of that side so as to deform resiliently upon passage of the cylindrical shaft 5 during the assembly operation until the latter lodges in the cylindrical cavity 8a, from which moment the deformable portion of the side 11 regains its initial position to effect the locking of the shaft 5 and thus of the wiper assembly on the arm 1.

The end of the hook 8 remote from the wiper arm l is extended by an appendage 12 which performs a security function, being of a length such that its distance from the centre 0 of the circular cavity 8a of the hook 8 is at most equal to the distance between the centre 0 of the cylindrical shaft 5 of the wiper assembly and one of the ends 4a defining longitudinally the opening 3 formed in the back of the main yoke 4 and in which the coupling device engages with clearance in a manner such that pivoting of the coupling device 2 in the opening 3 towards a "working" position of the arm 1 is only permitted after the effective fastening of the hook 8 on the cylindrical shaft 5 of the wiper assembly.

The body 6 is provided with a projection 13, the purpose of which is to de-limit the angular play of the wiper assembly with respect to the body 6 and thus with respect to the arm 1. In order to do this, the distance between the centre O of the cavity 8a and the external edge of the projection 13 is slightly greater than the distance between the centre 0 of the cylindrical shaft 5 and the end 4b of the opening 3 formed in the back of the yoke 4. The body 6 includes, at the end opposite to the hook 8, a second recess 14 underlying the first recess 7 and of different dimensions to the latter so as to permit the assembly of an arm of different cross-section.

Part of the recess has a cross-section identical with that of the arm 1. Another portion of the recess 7 adjacent to the recess entrance has a cross-section of which the periphery is greater than that of the cross-section of the arm 1 and has a form (Figure 2) such as to enable it to deform resiliently upon passage of the anchoring projection 15 of the arm 1 and to regain its initial form after engagement of the said projection 15 in a corresponding housing 16 formed in the back portion 6a of the frame 6 and opening into the recess 7. A clearance 17 formed at the entrance to the recess 7 permits easier introduction of the arm 1 and more particularly of the projection 15.

The embodiment shown in Figure 3 differs essentially from the preceding one in that the slot 9 is partly defined by a bead 18 projecting from one of the sides of the hook at the entrance to the circular cavity 8a in which the cylindrical shaft 5 of the wiper assembly is resiliently held.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A device for coupling a windscreen wiper assembly to the end of a wiper arm of rectangular cross-section, the wiper assembly including a wiper blade of resilient rubbery material connected by means of secondary yokes to a main yoke itself pivotally connected to the wiper arm by means of the coupling device which engages in an opening formed in the back of the main yoke and is adapted to be fastened to a cylindrical pivot shaft disposed between the lateral sides of the main yoke, the coupling device comprising a body of resilient material having a longitudinal recess receiving an end of the wiper arm, the body being formed with an integrally moulded hook forming a part-circular cavity of which the diameter is at least equal to the diameter of the cylindrical pivot shaft, a slot leading into cavity and opening in a direction away from the direction of engagement of the arm in the body, the slot having a width substantially less than the diameter of the shaft and being defined, in part, by the sides of the hook, one of which sides is free and the other is solid with the body but has a portion which is deformable relative to the remainder of said other side so as to deform resiliently upon passage of the cylindrical shaft during the assembly operation until the latter is housed in the part-circular cavity, whereupon said deformable portion of the hook regains its initial position and thus locks the shaft and wiper assembly on the arm.

2. A coupling device according to Claim 1 wherein the body is extended by a projection performing a security function and of a length such that its distance from the centre of the partcircular cavity of the hook is at least equal to the distance between the centre of the cylindical shaft of the wiper assembly and one of the end edges which longitudinally de-limit the opening formed in the back of the main yoke and in which the coupling device is disposed with clearane in such a manner that the pivoting of the coupling device in the opening, towards a "working" position of the arm is only permitted after the effective fastening of the hook of the body on the cylindrical shaft of the wiper assembly.

3. A coupling device according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 which is made from plastics material.

4. A coupling device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 or Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.

5. A unit comprising a windscreen wiper assembly and a wiper arm interconnected by a coupling device according to any one of the preceding claims.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. advantageously made from plastics material and has at one of its ends 6a a longitudinal recess 7 which receives the end la of the arm 1. The opposite end 6b of the body is provided with a hook 8 obtained by moulding with the body 6 and in the base of which is formed a cavity 8a of circular form of which the diameter is at least equal to the diameter of the cylindrical pivot shaft 5. A slot 9 leads into the cavity and has its open end directed away from the direction of engagement of the arm 1 in the body 6. The slot 9 has a width substantially less than the diameter of the shaft 5 and de-limits the sides 10 and 11 of the hook 8 of which one 10 is free and the other 11 solid with the body 6. The side 11 of the hook includes a portion capable of resilient deformation relative to the remainder of that side so as to deform resiliently upon passage of the cylindrical shaft 5 during the assembly operation until the latter lodges in the cylindrical cavity 8a, from which moment the deformable portion of the side 11 regains its initial position to effect the locking of the shaft 5 and thus of the wiper assembly on the arm 1. The end of the hook 8 remote from the wiper arm l is extended by an appendage 12 which performs a security function, being of a length such that its distance from the centre 0 of the circular cavity 8a of the hook 8 is at most equal to the distance between the centre 0 of the cylindrical shaft 5 of the wiper assembly and one of the ends 4a defining longitudinally the opening 3 formed in the back of the main yoke 4 and in which the coupling device engages with clearance in a manner such that pivoting of the coupling device 2 in the opening 3 towards a "working" position of the arm 1 is only permitted after the effective fastening of the hook 8 on the cylindrical shaft 5 of the wiper assembly. The body 6 is provided with a projection 13, the purpose of which is to de-limit the angular play of the wiper assembly with respect to the body 6 and thus with respect to the arm 1. In order to do this, the distance between the centre O of the cavity 8a and the external edge of the projection 13 is slightly greater than the distance between the centre 0 of the cylindrical shaft 5 and the end 4b of the opening 3 formed in the back of the yoke 4. The body 6 includes, at the end opposite to the hook 8, a second recess 14 underlying the first recess 7 and of different dimensions to the latter so as to permit the assembly of an arm of different cross-section. Part of the recess has a cross-section identical with that of the arm 1. Another portion of the recess 7 adjacent to the recess entrance has a cross-section of which the periphery is greater than that of the cross-section of the arm 1 and has a form (Figure 2) such as to enable it to deform resiliently upon passage of the anchoring projection 15 of the arm 1 and to regain its initial form after engagement of the said projection 15 in a corresponding housing 16 formed in the back portion 6a of the frame 6 and opening into the recess 7. A clearance 17 formed at the entrance to the recess 7 permits easier introduction of the arm 1 and more particularly of the projection 15. The embodiment shown in Figure 3 differs essentially from the preceding one in that the slot 9 is partly defined by a bead 18 projecting from one of the sides of the hook at the entrance to the circular cavity 8a in which the cylindrical shaft 5 of the wiper assembly is resiliently held. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A device for coupling a windscreen wiper assembly to the end of a wiper arm of rectangular cross-section, the wiper assembly including a wiper blade of resilient rubbery material connected by means of secondary yokes to a main yoke itself pivotally connected to the wiper arm by means of the coupling device which engages in an opening formed in the back of the main yoke and is adapted to be fastened to a cylindrical pivot shaft disposed between the lateral sides of the main yoke, the coupling device comprising a body of resilient material having a longitudinal recess receiving an end of the wiper arm, the body being formed with an integrally moulded hook forming a part-circular cavity of which the diameter is at least equal to the diameter of the cylindrical pivot shaft, a slot leading into cavity and opening in a direction away from the direction of engagement of the arm in the body, the slot having a width substantially less than the diameter of the shaft and being defined, in part, by the sides of the hook, one of which sides is free and the other is solid with the body but has a portion which is deformable relative to the remainder of said other side so as to deform resiliently upon passage of the cylindrical shaft during the assembly operation until the latter is housed in the part-circular cavity, whereupon said deformable portion of the hook regains its initial position and thus locks the shaft and wiper assembly on the arm.