GB2281195A

GB2281195A - Modular windscreen cleaning apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2281195A
Application number: GB9416990A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jean-Pierre Eustache
Original assignee: Valeo Systemes dEssuyage SAS
Current assignee: Valeo Systemes dEssuyage SAS
Priority date: 1993-08-27
Filing date: 1994-08-23
Publication date: 1995-03-01
Anticipated expiration: 2014-08-23
Also published as: GB2281195B; FR2709277A1; GB9416990D0; DE4427934A1; FR2709277B1; DE4427934B4

Description

1 MODULAR WINDSCREEN CLEANING APPARATUS 2281195 This invention relates to

modular apparatus for the onboard cleaning of a vehicle windscreen, where the vehicle is of the type, such as a motor car, that has a bonnet extending away from the lower edge of the windscreen, the apparatus comprising screen cleaning means, typically in the form of at least one screen wiper and at least one screen washer, the latter comprising at least one nozzle connected through a pump to a reservoir, such as a bottle, for containing screen washing fluid.

It has been proposed in the past to integrate the screen wiping and washing means into a unit which is arranged to be mounted in the vehicle during assembly is of the latter, thus reducing manufacturing costs. These modular units in the prior art are either specific to one particular vehicle model, or- are arranged to be adapted to suit different models.

The cleaning means, i.e. screen wipers and washer nozzles, that are employed in the modular units known up to the present time, project from the outer surface of the body of the unit itself. In particular, the drive spindle for the wiper or wipers projects out of the body of the modular unit both in the working position and in the parked position of the wipers. This arrangement is detrimental to any attempt to make the bodywork smooth in such a way that its surface is not interrupted by projecting elements.

An object of the present invention is to overcome this drawback, by proposing a modular unit in which the screen cleaning means are covered except when in use.

2 According to the invention, there is provided modular apparatus for onboard cleaning of the windscreen of a vehicle having a bonnet extending away from the lower edge of the windscreen and comprising at least one enclosure which supports screen cleaning means of the apparatus, wherein the screen cleaning means are retractable into a rest position within the said enclosure, the modular apparatus further comprising a flap which Is movable between a closed position, in which it covers the open upper side of the said enclosure, and an open position in which the screen cleaning means are ready for use.

The modular unit in accordance with the invention facilitates optimisation of the costs of design and production line manufacture of the working assembly that comprises the elements which are required for washing and wiping the windscreen, while at the same time enabling the unit to be integrate_d into the bodywork of the vehicle in a way which is satisfactory both from the aesthetic and from the aerodynamic points of view.

Preferably, the retractable flap is an elongated element having a rear edge adapted to fit the shape of the windscreen in its closed position. The term "rear edge" as used in this document is to be understood to mean the edge of the bonnet which lies furthest away from the front end of the vehicle.

In a first embodiment of the invention, the apparatus further includes control means for moving the retractable flap in translation between its closed position in which its rear edge is adjacent to the windscreen, and its open position in which the flap is 3 retracted below the bonnet of the vehicle, the control means being accommodated in the said enclosure.

In another embodiment, the modular apparatus further includes control means for rotating the retractable flap between its closed position in which its rear edge is adjacent to the windscreen and its open position in which the flap is retracted below the bonnet of the vehicle, the said control means being accommodated in the said enclosure.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a vehicle having a modular apparatus in accordance with the invention, shown with the screen cleaning means of the apparatus in a rest or parked position; Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but shows the cleaning means in a working position, ready for use; Figure 3 shows, on a larger scale, a modular apparatus in its rest position, in a general cross section on the line A-A in Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the apparatus in its working position, in a general cross section on the line A-A in Figure 2.

The vehicle shown diagrammatically in Figure 1 is a motor vehicle having a bonnet 1 which extends backwards to meet the windscreen 2 of the vehicle. The screen wiping equipment, or screen cleaning means, is not shown because it is not in use here. This equipment is 1 4 incorporated in a modular unit which is covered by a retractable flap 3. The retractable flap 3 is so shaped as to match the form of the bonnet 1 when it is in its closed position. Figure 2 shows the same vehicle when the flap 3 is retracted into an open position.

The flap 3 slides under the bonnet 1, and exposes the wiping equipment, which comprises a screen wiper arm and the screen washing nozzles 6 and 7 of the screen washing equipment. In this way the screen cleaning equipment is made ready for use.

The modular unit is shown on a larger scale in Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 shows the flap 3 in its closed position corresponding to the rest or parked position of the screen wiper, while in Figure 4 the flap is shown retracted into its open position. The modular unit, or module, 8 comprises a body which may be a moulded pvc (polyvinyl chloride) body, on which the various components of the screen cleaning equipment are fixed. These components comprise, in particular, the drive motor 9 for the screen wiper arm 10, the bottle or bottles for containing screen washing liquid, and the screen washing pump. The modular unit 8 may also include air inlet vents in a known manner. When not in use, the screen wiper arm 10 lies within the free space 11 which is available between the retractable flap 3 and the modular unit 8.

The axis of the drive spindle 12 of the drive motor 9 is substantially at right angles to the plane which is tangential to the windscreen 2.

The retractable flap 3 is displaceable by means of an 1 electric or hydraulic motor (not shown) underneath the bonnet 1, to the open position shown in Figure 4. In this retracted position of the flap, the screen wiper arm 10 is able to perform its wiping function.

It is to be understood that the invention is described above by way of non-limiting example. The person skilled in this technical field will be able to conceive of numerous modifications without in any way departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, he will be able to provide a number of different ways of displacing the retractable flap, for example in rotation.

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Claims

CLAIMS is 1. Modular apparatus for on-board cleaning of the windscreen of

a vehicle having a bonnet extending away from the lower edge of the windscreen and comprising at least one enclosure which supports screen cleaning means of the apparatus, wherein the screen cleaning means are retractable into a rest position within the said enclosure, the modular apparatus further comprising a flap which is movable between a closed position, in which it covers the open upper side of the said enclosure, and an open position in which the screen cleaning means are ready for use.
2. Modular apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the retractable flap is an elongated element having a rear edge adapted to fit the shape of the windscreen in its closed position.
3. moaular apparatus according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, further including control means for moving the retractable flap in translation between its closed position in which its rear edge is adjacent to the windscreen, and its open position in which the flap is retracted below the bonnet of the vehicle, the control means being accommodated in the said enclosure.
4. Modular apparatus according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, further including control means for rotating the retractable flap between its closed position in which its rear edge is adjacent to the windscreen, and its open position in which the flap is retracted below the bonnet of the vehicle, the said control means being accommodated in the said enclosure.
5. Modular on-board windscreen cleaning apparatus 1 7 substantially as described in the foregoing description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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