GB2119637A

GB2119637A - Connectors for pivotally connecting wiper arms to wiper blades

Info

Publication number: GB2119637A
Application number: GB08308928A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen David Knight
Original assignee: Trico Ltd
Current assignee: Trico Ltd
Priority date: 1982-04-01
Filing date: 1983-03-31
Publication date: 1983-11-23
Also published as: ES271257Y; NZ203714A; GB2119637B; IT8348007A0; DE3311303A1; BR8301661A; ES271257U; BE896356A; FR2524409A1; DE3311303C2; FR2524409B1; KR840004004A; JPH0148183B2; IT1197616B; AU561017B2; JPS58199252A; AR231417A1; AU1311683A; ZA832121B

Abstract

A connector for pivotally connecting a wiper arm to a wiper blade comprises a body 12 provided with a bearing 14 for a pivot pin of the wiper blade, a first guide comprising abutment surfaces 18, 24 in association with tongue 30 having protrusion 34 for locating and securing a hook-shaped wiper arm end, and a second guide comprising abutment surfaces 36, 38 in association with opening 40 for locating and securing a straight wiper arm end, the second guide being inclined relatively to the first guide. In a modification, see Fig. 10, the body may be provided with resilient fingers 52 for engagement with a hook- shaped wiper arm end. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Connectors for pivotally connecting wiper arms to wiper blades The present invention is concerned with improvements in connectors for pivotally connecting wiper arms to wiper blades.

It is well known that there are commercial advantages in being able to provide a single connector which is capable of pivotally connecting different types of wiper arm termination to different types of wiper blade.

Most wiper arm terminations can be classified as being of either straight or hooked type. The straight type is a flat steel bar of nominal rectangular cross-section provided with a small locking boss on the upper surface (also known as bayonet type). The hooked type is also a flat steel bar of nominal rectangular cross-section but has an upper straight portion, which is a continuation of the main portion of the arm, and a lower portion parallel to the upper portion and joined to it by an intermediate portion curving through 1 800. The lower straight portion is provided either with an opening for engaging a latch as in the U-hook type, or with two side-by-side downwardly bent prongs at its end which are separated by a slot and are characteristic of the Ducellier-hook type.

Each of these straight and hooked types of arm termination can be pivotally connected by a suitable intermediate connector to a pivot pin spanning a central opening in a main yoke of a wiper blade as in superimposed mounting, or to a pivot pin which extends laterally from a wiper blade as in side mounting.

Moreover, each of these types of arm termination can be further classified as being or not being downcranked i.e. having respectively a termination parallel to or downwardly inclined from an adjacent main portion of the arm. The need for the arm termination to be downcranked arises particularly with those terminations of the straight type for superimposed mounting on appropriate wiper blades. The downcranking provides an adequate working clearance permitting pivotal movement between the wiper blade and the arm.

British published patent application GB 2 073 583A discloses a connector having alternative bearings for receiving the pivot pin spanning an opening of a wiper blade. One of these bearings is higher than the other and is utilised when the connector is to accommodate the hooked type of arm. The connector then occupies a low working position between the walls defining the opening. There is nevertheless adequate clearance for pivoting during working between the main portion of the arm and the blade without having to downcrank the arm termination. The lower of the bearings is utilised to raise the connector to a working position in which it protrudes sufficiently above the wiper blade to allow a straight arm to pivot during working without having to downcrank the arm termination.

A connector in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, however, for pivotally connecting a wiper arm termination to a wiper blade, comprises a bearing for receiving a pivot pin supported by the wiper blade, a first guide comprising first abutment surfaces in association with first latching means respectively for locating and detachably securing a wiper arm termination of hooked type, and a second guide comprising second abutment surfaces in association with second latching means respectively for locating and detachably securing a wiper arm termination of straight-type, characterised in that the second guide is inclined with respect to the first guide.

The first aspect of the present invention thus enables the connector to be of particularly compact size, yet with the superimposed mounting type of wiper blade enables the connector to provide the above-mentioned working clearance, even when the arm termination is of the straight type and is not downcranked.

It is also well known that there are commercial advantages in being able to supply a single connector which is capable of being secured to different sizes of wiper arm termination, particularly different sizes of the hooked type of which the bar materials are of different width and the curved portions of the hooks are of correspondingly different radius of curvature.

British published patent application GB 2 073 583A discloses a connector for superimposed mounting on a wiper blade in which different sizes of the Ducellier-hook type of wiper arm termination are accommodatable. Two latching detents are formed opposite each other on resiliently deformable side parts of the connector.

During assembly the curved portion of the hook forces the detents and the side parts outwardly as it passes between the detents. The resilience of the side parts causes the detents to latch with the outer curved surface of the hook as the hook moves to its final position on the connector. The connector can then be pivoted into its working position between the walls of the blade opening and for this reason the connector has, prior to assembly with the arm, to be pivoted in the blade opening until the side parts are clear of the blade and free to be flexed outwardly by the hook.

A connector in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, however, for pivotally connecting a wiper arm termination to a wiper blade, comprises a bearing for receiving a pivot pin supported by the wiper blade, one set of abutment surfaces arranged in planes parallel to a longitudinal axis of the bearing, and another set of abutment surfaces arranged in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bearing, the two sets of abutment surfaces collectively presenting a stepped formation and being associated with latching means for locating and detachably securing a selected one of different sizes of wiper arm termination of the Ducellier-hook type, characterised in that the latching means includes a pair of fingers with lateral resilience for snapping into latching engagement with side-by-side prongs of the different sizes of Ducellier-hook arm termination.

The second aspect of the present invention thus enables the connector to be designed for convenience of assembly so that the pair of resilient fingers can be fixed outwardly even when the connector occupies its normal working position between the side walls or flanges of a wiper blade.

Preferably not only different types but also different sizes of arm termination can be accommodated by a single connector, and to this end each of the first and second aspects of the present invention can be embodied in a connector which further embodies either the classifying features, or even the characterising features, of the other aspect of the present invention.

Indeed, a preferred connector can accommodate, at different times, two different sizes of the Ducellier-hook type, and two different sizes of the U-hook type, as well as one size of the straight type, of arm termination.

Preferably a connector in accordance with either or both of the first and second aspects of the present invention is moulded of plastics material in one piece.

Two connectors will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:~ Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wiper arm termination of straight type; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a wiper arm termination of U-hook type; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a wiper arm termination of Ducellier-hook type; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a central part of a wiper blade of superimposed mounting type; Figure 5 is a top plan view of a connector embodying the first aspect of the present invention; Figure 6 is a longitudinal section taken along the line VI-VI of Figure 5; Figure 7 is an underneath plan view of the connector of Figure 5;; Figure 8 is a schematic view of the connector of Figure 5 shown, in longitudinal section, secured to a wiper blade of the superimposed mounting type and itself securing a wiper arm of the straight type which is not downcranked; Figure 9 is a top plan view of a connector embodying both the first and second aspects of the present invention; Figure 10 is a longitudinal section taken along the line X-X of Figure 9; and Figure 11 is an underneath plan view of the connector of Figure 9.

Before describing the two connectors, it will be convenient to draw attention to the salient features of various types of wiper arm termination and wiper blade, which are to be pivotally connected by the two connectors.

A straight type of wiper arm termination (Figure 1) provides a small locking boss B on the upper surface of a flat steel bar of nominal rectangular cross-section. The phantom lines indicate the arrangement if the arm termination is downcranked i.e. downwardly inclined from an adjacent main portion of wiper arm A. In hooked types of arm termination (Figures 2 and 3) the nominally rectangular sectioned bar presents a hook including a top straight portion T, a curved portion C and a lower straight portion L parallel to portion T. The lower straight portion L can be provided with an opening 0 to be of U-hook type (Figure 2), or with downwardly bent side-by-side prongs P separated by a longitudinal slot S as in the Ducellier-hook type (Figure 3).A superimposed mounting type of wiper blade (Figure 4) includes a main yoke Y of inverted channel form with a pivot pin R which spans a central opening between upstanding flanges F. A side mounting type of wiper blade (not shown) could be similar to the superimposed mounting type but with the pivot pin extending laterally from the outside of the main yoke.

A connector 10 in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention (Figures 5 to 8) may be integrally moulded of plastics material.

The connector 10 can be regarded as having a body 12 of block form. A bearing 14 extends from side to side of the body 12 and has a gap 1 6 for receiving a pivot pin of a wiper blade.

The top, left and bottom of the body 12 (as seen in Figure 6) present contiguous abutment surfaces 18 arranged in planes parallel to a longitudinal axis 20 of the bearing 14. The abutment surfaces 18 are bounded by lateral flanges 22 presenting opposed abutment surfaces 24 arranged in planes perpendicular to the axis 20. The channel formed by the abutment surfaces 18 and 24 constitutes a first guide for receiving and snugly locating a given size of wiper arm termination of the U-hook type on the connector.

Just the top and left of the body 1 2 (as seen in Figure 6) are recessed to present contiguous abutment surfaces 26 arranged in planes parallel to the longitudinal axis 20 of the bearing 14. The abutment surfaces 26 are bounded by opposed abutment surfaces 28 arranged in planes perpendicular to the axis 20. The abutment surfaces 1 8, 24, 26 and 28 thus collectively present a stepped formation. Just the top straight and curved portions of a smaller size of wiper arm termination of U-hook type can be snugly located in the channel formed by the abutment surfaces 26 and 28 which constitute an alternative first guide.

Both sizes of wiper arm termination of U-hook type are detachably securable to the connector 10, when snugly located as described above, by latching means consisting of a resiliently deflectable tongue 30 located by a recess 32 in the body 12 and carrying a protrusion 34 for snap engagement in the opening in the lower straight portion of the arm termination.

During assembly on to the connector 10, the lower right hand extremity of the arm termination shown in Figure 2 engages the sloped underside of the protrusion 34 seen in Figure 6 and deflects the tongue up from the unstressed position into the recess 32 in the body 12 as the arm is being pulled to the right onto the connector. The protrusion 34 snaps into latching engagement with the opening 0 in the arm as the arm moves into its final position on the connector.

The connector also provides a second guide which is suitable for receiving and locating a given size of straight arm termination. The second guide consists of a passageway of rectangular crosssection extending up through the body 12 at an inclination to the alternative first guides as seen in Figure 6. The passageway is constituted by opposed parallel abutment surfaces 36 arranged in planes parallel to the longitudinal axis 20 of the bearing 14 as well as opposed parallel abutment surfaces 38 arranged in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 20 of the bearing 14. An opening 40 extends from the top of the body 12 (as seen in Figure 6) and opens into the passageway through the upper abutment surface 36. Two slits 42 (Figure 7) extend from the bottom of the body 12 (as seen in Figure 6) and open into the passageway through the lower abutment surface 36 to form a tongue 44.The tongue 44 is resiliently deflectable downwardly from its unstressed position (as seen in Figure 6) during assembly with a wiper arm having a straight termination. The arm is forced up into the lower end of the passageway, the boss B on the arm being uppermost and some downward leverage being applied by the arm to the tongue 44. As the arm moves into its final position on the connector the boss snaps into latching engagement with the opening 40 and the tongue returns to its unstressed position and tends to maintain the boss engaged in the opening.

It is important to note that the second guide constituted by the abutment surfaces 36 and 38 is inclined to the guide constituted by the abutment surfaces 18, 24, 26 and 28 forming the channels.

One advantage of inclining the guides (Figure 8) is that, even when the wiper arm end is of the straight type and is not downcranked, an adequate working clearance W is provided permitting relative pivotal movement between the main portion of the wiper arm A and the main yoke Y of a wiper blade of the superimposed mounting type, whose pivot pin R is received in the bearing 14, and whose upstanding flanges F give lateral support to and largely conceal the connector 10, especially when chamfered to present surface 46.

It is also to be noted that whichever arm termination, hooked or straight, is to be applied to the connector, only the one bearing is required.

This factor and the inclining of the guides enable the connector to be made compact. Moreover, compactness is facilitated by directing the second guide so that it does not intersect the bearing 14 but opens through a straight part of the first guide, with the tongue 30 being located generally between the bearing 14 and the second guide.

To provide good stability for the smaller size of U-hook type termination to be located in the channel formed by the abutment surfaces 26 and 28, the latter abutment surfaces 28 may be of greater magnitude nearer to the main portion of the wiper arm. This can be achieved by sloping the abutment surfaces 18 upwardly, as shown in Figure 6, as the abutment surfaces 18 approach the chamfered surface 46. When assembling the larger size of U-hook type arm termination in the channel formed but the abutment surfaces 18 and 24, the top and lower straight portions of the wiper arm termination are caused to diverge slightly.

A connector 50 in accordance with both the first and second aspects of the present invention (Figures 9 to 11) may also be integrally moulded of plastics material. Indeed the connector 50 may include all of the features described above with reference to the connector 10. To enable the connector 50 to locate and detachably secure a selected one of two different sizes of arm termination of the Ducellier-hook type, in addition to the uses described above, the connector 50 further includes latching means constituted by a pair of fingers 52 with lateral resilience. Each of the fingers 52 can snap into latching engagement with a respective prong P on an arm termination of the Ducellier-hook type (shown in phantom).

The protrusion 34 is received by the longitudinal slot separating the prongs P on the term termination. Each of the fingers 52 is of L-form, the stem 54 on the L being integral with the body 12, and the limb of the L having a free end portion 56 which extends generally away from the region of the bearing 14 and is inclined towards the corresponding limb of the other finger 52, both the stem and the limb of each finger having lateral resilience. The resilient fingers 52 can be flexed outwardly by the lower limb of a Ducellier-hook termination as it moves into its final position on the connector 50 even when the connector 50 occupies its working position in the wiper blade opening, thus making assembly more convenient.

Clearly, modifications may be made to the connectors described above, for example the connectors could be of a more skeletal construction to present discontinuous abutment surfaces, and indeed some of the described abutment surfaces may be omitted provided sufficient location is provided by the remaining abutment surfaces.

Either of the connectors described above, if intended for use with a wiper blade of the side mounting type, should be formed with thicker flanges 22 to withstand side-loading imposed by wiper arm operation. Moreover, as with a wiper blade of the side mounting type a convenient way of retaining the connector alongside the wiper blade is by upsetting the free end of the pivot pin, security would be improved by omitting the gap 16 of each connector so that the bearing 14 was a cylindrical bore.

Claims

1. A connector for pivotally connecting a wiper arm termination to a wiper blade, comprising a bearing for receiving a pivot pin supported by the wiper blade, a first guide comprising first abutment surfaces in association with first latching means respectively for locating and detachably securing a wiper arm termination of hooked type, and a second guide comprising second abutment surfaces in association with second latching means respectively for locating and detachably securing a wiper arm termination of straight type, characterised in that the second guide is inclined with respect to the first guide.

2. A connector according to claim 1, characterised in that the second guide extends in a direction which does not intersect the bearing.

3. A connector according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the latching means associated with the first guide is located generally between the bearing and the second guide.

4. A connector according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the second guide consists of a passageway which opens through a straight part of the first guide.

5. A connector according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the first guide includes one set of first abutment surfaces arranged in planes parallel to a longitudinal axis of the bearing, and another set of first abutment surfaces arranged in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bearing, the two sets of first abutment surfaces collectively presenting a stepped formation for locating a selected one of different sizes of wiper arm termination of hooked type.

6. A connector according to claim 5, characterised in that those of said other set of first abutment surfaces for abutment with a relatively smaller size of wiper arm termination of hooked type are of greater magnitude nearer to the main portion of the wiper arm.

7. A connector according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the latching means associated with the first guide includes a resiliently deflectable tongue for snapping into latching engagement with an opening in a wiper arm termination of U-hook type.

8. A connector according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the latching means associated with the first guide includes a pair of fingers with lateral resilience for snapping into latching engagement with side-by-side prongs of a wiper arm termination of Ducellier-hook type.

9. A connector according to claim 8, characterised in that the fingers have free end portions inclined towards one another.

10. A connector according to claim 8 or claim 9, characterised in that the fingers have free end portions which extend generally away from the region of the bearing.

11. A connector according to claim 8, characterised in that the fingers are each of L-form, the stem of the L being integral with the connector, and the limb of the L having a free end portion which extends generally away from the region of the bearing and is inclined towards the corresponding limb of the other finger, both the stem and the limb of each finger having lateral resilience.

12. A connector according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the latching means associated with the second guide includes a resiliently deflectable tongue and an opening, which are respectively formed by and in an opposed pair of the second abutment surfaces lying in parallel planes themselves parallel to a longitudinal axis of the bearing, the tongue being capable of urging a boss on a wiper arm termination of straight type into snap engagement with the opening.

13. A connector according to any preceding claim, characterised in that it is formed of plastics material in one piece.

14. A connector substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 5 to 8, or Figures 9 to 11, of the accompanying drawings.

1 5. A connector for pivotally connecting a wiper arm termination to a wiper blade, comprising a bearing for receiving a pivot pin supported by the wiper blade, one set of abutment surfaces arranged in planes parallel to a longitudinal axis of the bearing, and another set of abutment surfaces arranged in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bearing, the two sets of abutment surfaces collectively presenting a stepped formation and being associated with latching means for locating and detachably securing a selected one of different sizes of wiper arm termination of the Ducellier-hook type, characterised in that the latching means includes a pair of fingers with lateral resilience for snapping into latching engagement with side-by-side prongs of the different sizes of Ducellier-hook arm termination.

16. A connector according to claim 15, characterised in that the fingers have free end portions inclined towards one another.

17. A connector according to claim 15 or claim 16, characterised in that the fingers have free end portions which extend generally away from the region of the bearing.

18. A connector according to claim 15, characterised in that the fingers are each of L-form, the stem of the L being integral with the connector, and the limb of the L having a free end portion which extends generally away from the region of the bearing and is inclined towards the corresponding limb of the other finger, both the stem and the limb of each finger having lateral resilience.

19. A connector according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterised in that those of said other set of abutment surfaces for abutment with a relatively smaller size of wiper arm termination of Ducellier-hook type are of greater magnitude nearer to the main partion of the wiper arm.

20. A connector according to any one of claims 1 5 to 19, characterised in that the latching means also includes a resiliently deflectable tongue for snapping into latching engagement with an opening in a wiper arm termination of U-hook type.

21. A connector according to any one of claims 15 to 20, characterised in that it is formed of plastics material in one piece.