GB2041730A

GB2041730A - Wiper blade harness

Info

Publication number: GB2041730A
Application number: GB8002014A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: SWF Spezialfabrik fuer Autozubehoer Gustav Rau GmbH
Current assignee: SWF Auto Electric GmbH
Priority date: 1979-02-10
Filing date: 1980-01-22
Publication date: 1980-09-17
Also published as: GB2041730B; JPS5852852B2; FR2448461A1; JPS55106842A; DE2905138C2; DE2905138A1; FR2448461B3

Abstract

A wiper blade harness has a supporting yoke (1) pivotally connected to a supported yoke with side walls (16, 17) by a link (3) having resilient legs (10, 11, 12, 13). The legs (10, 11, 12, 13) have locking elements (21, 25, 32) co-operable with complementary locking elements (23, 26, 29) so that the yokes are both locked to the link (3). Fig. 2 shows two embodiments, one on each side of its vertical centre line. Other arrangements are shown in Figs. 3 and 4. All of the arrangements are such that the supporting yoke (1) is wider at the link than the supported yoke to simplify production and assembly of the yokes and the link therebetween. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Wiper blade This invention refers to a wiper blade including in combination a supporting yoke, a supported yoke and a link for connecting the supporting and supported yokes together.

In order to interconnect the yokes of a wiper blade a separate bearing pin is used in known types of hinge connections, whereby the bearing pin is inserted into the link and into the side walls of the yoke through aligned bores and secured therein by riveting. Thereby the link itself can be locked in the supported yoke by locking elements formed on the front edges of said link. This kind of connection between a supporting yoke and a supported yoke in addition to the separate bearing pin requires costly mounting work.

In contrast thereto German patent 22 20 941 shows a wiper blade for which a riveting operation is no longer necessary for connecting two yokes.

The bearing pin is held by the side walls of the supported yoke in bores of the link and of the supporting yoke which with its side walls engages into two recesses of the link. In this connection only the mounting work is reduced, but not the number of parts.

From the wiper blade of German patent 24 01 431 it is known to engaye the link not only with the supported yoke, but also with the supporting yoke. Thus the bearing pin is omitted.

The link again has two recesses for the side walls of the supporting yoke. One leg each limiting the recesses is resiliently developed and carries locking pins with inclined locking portions rising into the direction of insertion of the supporting yoke. The locking pins snap into the bores of the side walls. The link is secured on the supported yoke in the known manner by two front side detents, whereby the side walls of the yoke are laterally embracing the link.

This known wiper blade has the disadvantage tha the supporting yoke, at least near to the hinge connection, must be slimmer than the yoke articulated on it. This diminishes the stability of the supporting yoke, if this width of the yoke is retained over the entire length or it necessitates complicated tools, if the width of the yokes is only adapted in the area of the moving joint.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to create a wiper blade the supporting yoke of which is wider at the moving joint than the supported yoke, whereby the tools for production of the link and the wiper blade yokes are relatively simple and the wiper blade can be mounted in a simple manner.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a wiper blade including in combination, a supporting yoke, a supported yoke and a link for pivotally connecting the supporting yoke and the supported yoke together, the link having one or more recesses for accommodating two side walls of the supported yoke, which one or more recesses are limited by resilient first legs of the link, said link being provided with locking members on the resilient legs co-operating with complementary locking members on the side walls of the supported yoke whereby to pivotally mount the supported yoke thereon, the link being non-rotatably secured between side walls of the supporting yoke by two further legs of the link which at least partly touch the side walls of the supporting yoke, the two further legs being arranged in parallel with the first legs, wherein the supporting yoke covers the link with its side walls and a web therebetween wherein the further legs of the link touching the side walls of the supporting yoke resiliently give way upon assembly of the supporting yoke and the link and carry locking elements adapted to engage complementary locking elements on the side walls of the supporting yoke and wherein the supported yoke is assembled to the link by being pushed into the recesses thereof.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a link for use in such a wiper blade combination when made and sold separately.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a lateral view of the connecting point of two yokes of a wiper blade, Fig. 2 shows two embodiments in a section vertical to the longitudinal direction of the wiper blade, Fig. 3 shows two further embodiments in a sectional view, and Fig. 4 is a section through another embodiment.

A wiper blade as shown in Fig. 1 comprises at least one supporting yoke 1 which on at least one end carries a supported yoke 2. Between the yokes a link 3 is located which covers a front side sheet metal edge 5 of the yoke 1 by a circumferential bead 4 and renders it safe. The side walls of the yoke 1 - in Fig. 1 one side wall 6 is to be seen - are elongated in downward direction in the region 7 of the link 3. In this region 7 locking elements are formed by pressing projections of rectangular shape directed to the interior from material of the side walls. It is indicated by dotted lines that the projections 8 can also be arc-shaped or circular.The locking of circular projections 8 admittedly does not assist an attachment of the link 3 on the yoke 1 in a manner protected against twisting, but the tool for their manufacture can be produced in a simpler manner.

The embodiment according to Fig. 1 is shown in a sectional view in the right-hand half of Fig. 2.

This Fig. shows a different embodiment in each half, which can easily be completed by imagination. The link has four legs 10, 1 1, 12 and 13 arranged in parallel to each other, between which are arranged two recesses 14 and 15, for side walls 16 and 17 of the yoke 2, and a space 1 8 into which the legs can give way. All of the legs are interconnected by a web 19 which above the space 18 has a given bending point 20 in central plane about which the two halves of the link are symmetrical and can flex.

Locking pins 21 of circular cross-section with inclined locking portions 22 rising in the direction of insertion of the side walls 1 6 and 1 7 are formed on the legs 11 and 12 of the link. These locking pins 21 project into the recesses 14 and 15 and are located in bores 23 of the side walls 1 6 and 17. The recesses 14 and 1 5 are deeper than the side walls 1 6 and 17, so that a gap 24 is formed which together with the circular locking pin 21 enables a pivoting between the link and the supported yoke 2 and thus the capability of the wiper blade to adapt itself to different windscreen curvatures.

The leg 10 in the left-hand half of Fig. 2 carries a locking pin 25 directed outwards, which must not be circular and engages into an opening in side wall 27 of the yoke 1 complementary developed to its outer surface. In order to facilitate the locking operation this locking pin too is provided with an inclined locking portion 28.

The right-hand half of Fig. 2 shows another type of locking which corresponds to that of Fig. 1.

A projection 29 is provided on the side wall 6 by laterally displaced material of the yoke and said projection is engaged with recess 30 in the leg 13 of the link. A projection 29 can of course be made too by a bent lug which is connected to the side wall 6 only at one edge. In order not to squeeze the link when the yoke 1 is mounted this embodiment has an insertion groove 31 on the leg 13, which is approximately as wide and deep as the projection 29 and at its lower end ends gradually, so that the front wall 32 for the recess 30 is formed.

It is ensured that the link is secured to the supporting yoke 1 in a manner protected against twisting in that the web 1 9 of the link rests against the web 33 of the yoke 1. Furthermore, said fastening method is assisted, if the locking between link and yoke 1 is effected by locking elements interlocking with surfaces differing from an annular shape or ball shape.

In the embodiments shown in Fig. 3 the locking and the co-ordination between the link 2 and the yoke 1 are the same as in Fig. 2. However, the locking members 21 and 23 on the legs 11 and 12 of the link 3 and on the side walls 16 and 17 of the yoke, which moreover are like those of Fig. 2, are arranged at the lower ends of the legs and of the side walls. Thereby the bending of the legs 11 and 12 during the locking operation is diminished.

The embodiment according to Fig. 4 offers the particular advantage that neither in the web 33 of the yoke 1 nor in the web 40 of the supported yoke has an opening to be provided. The supported yoke is pushed into the recesses 41 of the link 3 and locked with it via the locking pins 42 on the legs 43 of the link 3 and the recesses 44 on its side walls 45. The yoke 1 with its projections 46 engages with the side walls 6 and 27 into the recesses 47 on the legs 48. Corresponding to the other embodiments the section according to Fig. 4 shows insertion grooves 31, spaces 18, the bending point 20 and the gap 24.

During the mounting process of the wiper blade the link 3 is pressed into the yoke 1 in direction of arrow A, respectively the yoke 1 is slipped over the link 3. Thereby the two halves of the link 3, which is preferably made from a thermoplastic synthetic material can flex round the given bending point 20, so that the two projections 46 of the yoke 1 are engaging into the recesses 47 of the link 3 in a locking manner. Then the supported yoke is pressed in direction of arrow A, whereby the legs 43 with the locking pins 42 spring back into the spaces 18 and then engage with the recesses 44 in the supported yoke. The supported yoke prevents the two halves of the link 3 springing back and thus fixes the locking connection between link 3 and yoke 1.

In the embodiments shown in the other figures the individual parts can be mounted according to the same principle. However it is not necessary to retain the mounting directions as described. It is for instance imaginable too that at least some parts can be locked on each other by displacement in the longitudinal direction of the yokes.

In the wiper blades according to the present invention both yokes are engaged with legs of the link which are parallel to each other. Thereby a reciprocal reduction in elasticity of the link portions provided with the locking element is excluded. The supporting yoke is slipped over the link, whereby both side walls of the supporting yoke are engaging with two legs of the link. The supported yoke may be pushed into the recesses of the link from below and thereby engages with two further legs of the link. The entire hinge is covered from the top by the wide web of the supporting yoke made possible by this design.

Thus the web of the supporting yoke can have a big width over the entire length of the yoke.

Claims

1. A wiper blade including in combination, a supporting yoke, a supported yoke and a link for pivotally connecting the supported yoke and the supported yoke together, the link having one or more recesses for accommodating two side walls of the supported yoke, which one or more recesses are limited by resilient first legs of the link, said link being provided with locking members on the resilient legs co-operating with complementary locking members on the side walls of the supported yoke whereby to pivotally mount the supported yoke thereon, the link being non-rotatably secured between side walls of the supporting yoke by two further legs of the link which at least partly touch the side walls of the supporting yoke, the two further legs being arranged in parallel with the first legs, wherein the supporting yoke covers the link with its side walls and a web eherebetween wherein the further legs of the link touching the side walls of the supporting yoke resiliently give way upon assembly of the supporting yoke and the link and carry locking elements adapted to engage complementary locking elements on the side walls of the supporting yoke and wherein the supported yoke is assembled to the link by being pushed into the recesses thereof.

2. A wiper blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and further legs are resilient over the entire length of the link and a space or spaces which is/are closed when the legs are flexed opens/open into the same side of the link as the one or more recesses.

3. A wiper blade as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the link is symmetrical about a central plane therethrough, each half of the link being associated with one respective side wall of the both the supporting and the supported yokes, and wherein the link is flexible about the central plane.

4. A wiper blade as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the link includes a web, connecting the first and further resilient legs, which is adjacent the web of the supporting yoke.

5. A wiper blade as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the locking elements of the further legs and the supporting yoke have engaging surfaces which differ from an annular shape or a ball shape.

6. A wiper blade as claimed in claim 4, wherein the locking elements of the further legs and the supporting yoke have engaging surfaces which correspond to an annular shape or a ball shape.

7. A wiper blade as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the locking elements include locking pins formed on the link, which locking pins have an inclined locking portion rising in the direction of insertion of the supporting yoke, and include locking apertures in the side walls of the supporting yoke.

8. A wiper blade as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein projections with inclined locking portion provided on either the supporting yoke or the link and recesses of complementary shape on the link or supporting yoke, respectively, serve as the locking elements.

9. A wiper blade as claimed in claim 8, wherein the projections are located on the side walls of the supporting yoke.

10. A wiper blade as claimed in claim 9, wherein projections at the side walls of the supporting yoke are formed by laterally displaced material of the supporting yoke.

11. A wiper blade as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10, wherein direction of mounting of the supported yoke on the link the legs of the link in front of recesses adapted to receive the projections on the side walls of the supporting yoke are provided with insertion grooves which are at least initially approximately as wide and deep as the projections and gradually decrease in depth towards the recesses, so that the legs reach full thickness.

12. A wiper blade as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the locking members and/or the locking elements are located at the ends of the resilient legs of the link and of the side walls of the supporting or supported yoke furthest from the web of the supporting yoke.

13. A wiper blade as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the link has a circumferential bead which overlaps a front side sheet metal edge of the supporting yoke.

14. A wiper blade as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the link is made from a thermoplastics synthetic material.

15. A wiper blade, including in combination a supporting yoke, a supported yoke and a link for pivotally connecting the supporting and supported yokes, substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, Figs. 1 and 3 or Figs. 1 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.

16. A link for use in a wiper blade combination as claimed in any one of the preceding claims when made and sold separately.

17. A windscreen wiper installation including a wiper blade combination as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15.