US2100188A - Windshield cleaner - Google Patents

Description

NOR. 23, 1937.

AE. HANSMANN WINDSHIELD CLEANER Filed Oct. 17, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 23, 1937. E. HANsMANN WINDSHIELD CLEANER Filed Oct. 17, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 NNN. NNN

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AFiled Oct. 1'7, 19?.:4

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Patented Nov. 23, 1,937

UNITED STATES aioaiss ,wlNnsnrELn CLEANER Elwood Hausmann,

Glencoe, lll., assignor to Stewart-Warner Corporation, Chicago, lll., a

xinia corporation of Vir Application October 17, 1934,v Serial No. 748,628

6 Claims. My invention pertains to wind-shield cleaners 4 and is particularly concerned with a wind-shield cleaner for automobiles wherein means is provided for automatically parking the wiper blades beyond the line of vision of the occupants of the automobile when the control handle for the windshield cleaner is turned to oi position.

In wind-shield cleaners of the multi-blade type,

it is preferable to have the blades oscillate in parallel while the wind-shield cleaner is operating, but it is a diiiicult problem to park these blades in inconspicuous positions when the windshield cleaner is idle. An object of my invention is to provide simple, inexpensive, compact and reliable means for automatically parking the windshield cleaner blades in inconspicuous positions beyond the normal line of vision of the occupants of an automobile when operation of the wind-shield cleaner is discontinued.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a frontal view showing the upper part of an automobile and indicating particularly one parking position for the blades of the windshield cleaner;

Figure 2 is a view showing the driving mechanism forV operating the wind-shield cleaner from the automobile engine; y

Figure 3 is a top plan view of that part of the operating mechanism which is located just above or below the wind-shield of the automobile;

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the mechanism shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view showing a detail and is taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

. Figures 7 and 8 are a. top plan view and a front o elevation, respectively, of a further modication;

and

Figures 9 and 10 are, respectively, a pmtial top plan View and a partial front elevation of a still further modification.

:5 Referring to the drawings, I have shown, in Figure 1, an automobile having a wind-shield iB provided with a wind-shield cleaner in the form of two wiper blades i6 and i3 which are illustrated in parked position. The normal eld of 0 movement of the wiper blade i6, when operating, is indicated by the area 20 enclosed in dot and dash lines, and the area. 22 similarly enclosed indicates the normal range of movement of the wiper blade i8. It is to be noted that in parked 5 position the wiper blades I6 and I8 are outside'of their normal operating ranges and do not obstruct the vision of the occupants of the automobile.

In Figure 2 I have indicated a shaft of the automobile engine 24 as being provided with a worm 5 26 which drives a worm-wheel 28 non-rotatably mounted on a clutch member 30 carried 4by a bearing member 32 threadedly engaged with the automobile crankcase 34. Clutch member 30 is provided with a slot 36 for receiving the cross-pin 10 38 carried by a complementary clutch member 40 which is attached to one end of a flexible drive shaft 42 enclosed in a flexible sheath 44. A noise insulating coupling 46 is interposed between the sheath 44 and the bearing member 32 to prevent 15 the transmission of vibration and noise from the automobile engine to the dash and associated Darts.

The other end of the drive shaft 42 is connected to a rack 48 which is rotatable and slidable in a 20 housing 50 attached to the other end of the sheath 44.. 'Ihe rack 48 has an extension 52 which is slidably received in the hollow shaft of a worm 64, the extension 52 being provided with a crosspin 56 which engages a slot 58 in the worm 54 to 25 transmit rotative movement from the extension 52 to the worm 54.

Worm 54 drives worm-wheel 60 mounted on shaft 62 provided with crank-arm 64 (Figure 3) carrying a crank-pin 66 which is received in the 30 slot 68 of a cross-head member l0 slidably mounted on pins l2 and 14 carried by a supporting frame 16 which is attached to the automobile just above or below the wind-shield. "W

A bar I8 is riveted or otherwise attached to the cross-head member l0 and has a portion spaced therefrom, this portion being provided with notches 80 and 82 for receiving, respectively, an end of dogs 84 and 86 whichare, respectively, 40 mounted by pivots 88 and 90 to operating arms 92 and 36. Springs 96 and 98 normally hold the aforesaid ends 'of the dogs 645 and 86 in engagement with the notches 80 and 82. In this position of the dogs the operating arms 92 and 94 45 are connected to the cross-head member l0 and reciprocate therewith.

Operating arm 96 has a slot |00 for receiving the end of the pin 14 which acts as a guide for this operating arm. The other end of the operating arm is guided by a finger |02 which is rigid with and may be an integral part of the frame 16. This end of the ,operating arm 94 is shown as provided with a rack |04 which engages a pinion |06 of -a rock shaft |08 carrying the bent arm l|0 55 which vforms a guide therefor and is also guided by nger rigid with the frame 16. Rack |22 engages pinionl |24 to operate rock-shaft |26 and thereby oscillate the wiper blade attached to the end of the arm |26. Clutch mechanism like that previously described is interposed between pinion |24 and rock-shaft |26.

20 The operation of the wind-shield cleaner is controlledby a handle on a shaft |32 carrying a mutilated gear |344 (Figure 2) which engages the rack 48. In' Figure 2 the parts are shown in the position which'they assume when 2 the wind-shield cleaner is operating. when it is desired to stop the operation of the wind-shield `cleaner, the handle |30 is `turned so that rack 48 ismoved toward worm 6 4, and-pin 38 of member 40 is withdrawn from slot 36 of clutch member 38. f

:Shaft |82 carries. a camv |36 havingyan end |38 adapted to engage the offset end |40 of dog 84, and a second end |42 adapted to engage the offset end-|44f of dog 86? In Figure 4 cam |36 1" is-in the-idle position which it assumes when the wind-shield cleaner is operating. In this position the cam |36 is just'beyond the inward limits of movement of theends |40 and |44 of the dogs 84 and 86'.'y

When handle |30 is turned to disconnect the 40' drive for the wind-shield cleaner, as previously described, end |38 of cam |36 engages the offset end |40 of'dog 84 and oscillates this dog about its pivot 88, thereby'withdrawing the opPOSite .f end of the dog from the notch 80 in operating 45 arm 92, and thereby disconnecting this operating arm 'from cross-head member 10. Continued rotation of cam |36 presses the offset end |40 of the dog against the corner |46 of the operating arm 92. This corner forms a stop for the dog 59 '84 so that, after engagement with this stop, the

dog 84 in effect becomes a rigid part of operating, arm. 92.

` moves operating arm 92 to the left, as viewed g.. in Figure 4, thereby moving pinion |24, rockshaft |26, and wiper bladearm |28 in a clockwise direction. b

In'Figure 4 the mechanism is shown with the operating arms 92 and 94 at the rightward limit ,a of their range of movement under the 56 of crank-arm, 64,

cam |36 does not engage the offset end |44 of dog 86 until shortly before the operating handle |30 has completed its movement.

Because it is desirable to park the wiper blades beyond their normal range, of movement, the

ends of the cam |36 are made of such length that they move the operating arms 92 and 94 a greater distance outward, that is', away from shaft |32, t.: than 'does the crank-arm fact, end |42 yof the cam v'engages offset end |44 of dog 86, osciliates this dog to withdraw its opposite 'end from notch 82 and engage end |44 with corner |48, and moves operating arm 84 beyond its normal range of movement before handle |30, reaches its extreme position. This clutch Further movement of cam |36 inuence s. and therefore the end |42 of` 64. Because of this additional movement of operating arm 84 under the inuence of cam |36 causes additional movement of wiper blade ||2 which positions this wiper blade beyond its normal range of operation. When handle 30 reaches its full oi posiv tion operating arms 92 and 94 have been disconnected from their driving mechanism and moved beyond their normal ranges ofvmovement, the two wiper blades have been'moved toward each other to positions which are beyond their "10 normal ranges of movement, and clutch members 30 and 40 have been separated to disconnect'the flexible drive shaft 42 from the automobile engine.

I preferably provide means for yieldingly hold- 15 ing the handle |30 in either of its extreme posi- --tions, this means being best shown in Figures 5 and 6. The cam |36 may be fastened to the' shaft |32 by a pin |60. The hub of the cam |36 is provided with two depressions |62 which al- 29 ternately cooperate with a ball detent |64 mounted in a bearing sleeve |66 which isrigidly attached to the frame 16. One of the notches |62 corresponds to the position of the handle |30 when the wind-shield cleanerv is operating, and the 25 other notch |62 corresponds to Athe position of the handle |30 when the wiper blades are in their parked position. i

When the wiper blades areinparked position, the outer ends of the operating arms 92 30 and 94 are in engagement with spring-Dressed plungers |68 and maintain the springs |66 thereof in compressed condition. These springs n|6|I are seated against turned-over ends |62 ot the frame 16, these turned-over ends also forming guides for the plungers |68. 'I'he plungers |68 may be provided with facings |64 of leather, rubber, fiber or other suitable material which will eliminate noise when engaged by an end of an operating arm. The plungers |66 have 40 shafts provided with stops |66 which .limit the inward movements of the plungers under the influence of their springs |66 when the ends of the operating arms are disengaged from the, plungers. 45 When the handle |36 is turned from of! to on position, the rack 48 (Figure 2) is moved toward the right and the cross-pin 88 on one clutch member is moved' into the slot 36 in the other clutch member, thereby connecting m crank-arm 64 with a rotating part of the automobile engine. At the same time the cam |36 is disengaged from the ends |40 and |44 of dogs 84 and 86 and is returned to the position shown in Figure 4. As soon as the ends of cam 55 |36 disengage dogs 84 and 86, operating `arms 92 and 94 are movedv toward each other by springs |60 -of plungers |68. The springs |66 move the operating arms 92 and 94 inward to such an extent that as bar 13 is reciprocated 60 the notches and 82 thereof will pass under the cooperating ends of'the dogs 84 and'86 and be engaged thereby, whereupon the operating arms 92 and 94 assume the reciprocating movement of bar 18 and cross-head member 16. 55

When the stops |66 are'y in ,engagement with the turned over ends'l62 of the frame 16,I the V plungers |68 are in a position to be engaged andmoved slightly by the operating arms 62 and 94 as they reachthe vouter extremes of their 70 movement under the iniluence of the 'crankarm '64. Instead of being a disadvantage, this is an advantage since at each'ezitfeme of movement of the operating arms and 94, one of the springs |60 is compressed and assists the 75 pivotally connected at driving mechanism in reversing the direction of movement of the operating arms 92 and 94. As the greatest burden occurs on the driving mechanism during' the reversal of movement of the arms 92 and94, the springs |60 assist in overcoming this burden.

From the foregoing description of one embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that I have provided a simple and efficient mechanism whereby the wind-shield wiper blades will be-automatically parked in unobtrusive positions when the wind-shield cleaner is disconnected from the automobile engine. One important advantage of my invention lies in the fact that the handle |30 may` be turned to off position at any time, that is, without waiting for the wiper blades to assume any certain position, and as the operatinghandle is turned to oil position the wiper blades are moved to parked'position so that as soon as the operating handle reaches its off position the wiper blades reach their full parked positions.

In the particular embodiment just described, the wiper blades are oscillated in parallel during their normal operation but are parked with their extreme ends pointing toward each other which is advantageous with certain types of wind-shields. If it be desired to park the wiper blades with their ends pointing away fromeach other, it is only necessary to put the racks |04 and |22 above instead of below their respective pinions |06 and |24. While I have illustrated the wiper blades in Figure 1 as being driven from 'below the wind-shield, it is to be understood that my'inventlon is equally adapted for installations in which the wiper blades are driven from above the wind-shield.

The modiiication shown in Figuresv 7 and 8, `like the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4, is designed for a wind-shield cleaner wherein the wiper blades operate in parallel but are parked in non-parallel relationship. In Figures 7 and 8 the crank-pin 66 is connected to a link |84 |86 to a slide |88 supandv |92 attached to the I 96 and |98 normally connect ported on pins |90 frame |94. Dogs l the slide |88 to the operating arms 200 and 202,

respectively.

In this form of my invention, the operating arms 200 and 202 are not connected to the pinions |06 and |24 by means of racks but instead the ends of the operating arms are connected to cranks 204 each crank being attached to a large gear 206 mounted 4on a stud 208 carried by the frame |94. Each gear 206 is larger than and in engagement with one of the pinions |06 and |24.

The inner ends of operating arms 200 and 202 are oilset as indicated at 2| 0 and 2|2, and these oiset portions are adapted to be 'engaged by the cam 2|4 on the shaft |32 of the operating handle |30. In this form of my invention the slide |88 is provided with notches 2|6 and 2|8, each notch being normally engaged by one end of one of the dogs |96 and |98, springs 220 being provided to maintain this engagement. The other ends of the dogs |96 and |98 overlie the shaft |32 and are adapted to be engaged and move .by a cam 222 on the shaft |32. If desired, cams 2|4 and 222 may be formed as parts of an integral member.

` The parts are shown in Figures 7 and 8 as being in the positions which they assume when the Wind-shield cleaner is operating. When the handle |30 is turned to 0E position, cam 222 enof my invention,

gages the adjacent ends of dogs |96 and |98 and disconnects them from the notches in the slide |88. Thereafter cam 2 I4 yengages the turned-over ends 2|0 and 2|2 of the operating arms 200 and 202 and separates these arms, each arm being moved outward toa position slightly beyond the limit of its outward movement under the inuence of the crank-pin 66.

The ends 2|0 and 2|2 of the operating arms are connected by a spring 224 which may be under no appreciable tension when the wind-shield cleaner is operating, but as the arms 200 and 202 are movedvto parking positions the spring 2| 0 is placed under tension. When the handle |30 is again moved to operating position, spring 224 pulls operating arms 200 and 202 towards each other so that the dogs |96 and |98 may engage the notches 2| 6 and latter is reciprocated link |84.

In the further modification shown in Figures 9 and 10, the crank-pin 66 travels in a slot 226 of a cross-head member 228 having a pin 230 at each end thereof. The pins 230 lare received in slots 232 and 234 provided in operating arms 236 and 238, respectively. These operating arms are provided with ngers 240 and 242 for receiving the ends of a relatively heavy spring 244 which pulls the operating arms towards each other until the outer ends of their slots 232 and 234 abut the pins 230, in which position the operating arms are maintained throughout the normal operation of the wind-shield cleaner. The inner ends of the operating arm are offset as indicated at 246 and 248, these olset arms being adapted to cooperate with a cam.250 on the shaftA |32 of the operating handle |30. When the operating handle is moved to off position, the cam 250 engages the ends 246 and 248 of the operating by the crank-pin 66 and arms, and separates these arms against the re' sistance ofthe spring 244. The operating arms 236 and 238 are to be understood as being connected to the rock shafts and wiper blades by any suitable mechanism as, forexample, either by the rack and pinion drive shown in Figures 3 and 4, or by the alternative driving connections shown in Figures 7 and 8,' and as the operating arms 236 and 238 are spread apart by the cam 250 the wiper blades are moved to their parking positions. When the wiper blades are in parked position, the thrust of the spring 244 is exerted on the opposite ends of the cam 250 so that there is no tendency for the handle |30 to be moved from oi position under'the inuence of spring 244. When the handle |30 is returned to operating position, the spring 244 returns the operating arms 236 and 238 to the positions shown in Figures 9 and 10.

While I have described only a few embodiments it is to be understood that my invention is capable of assuming numerous forms, and-that the scope of my invention is to be limited solely by the following claims.

I claim:

l. In wind-shield cleaners of the class described, the combination of a plurality of wiper blades, common driving means therefor, a separable detachable connection connecting each blade with said driving means, respectively, a handle having parts positioned to be movable `thereby into engagement with the parts of said connections secured to the wiper blades respectively, for detaching both of said detachable connections and simultaneously/moving said blades to parked position.

2|8 in the slidev |80 as'the 2. In wind-shield cleaners of the class described, the combination of a plurality of wiper blades, reciprocable racks for actuating said blades, driving means therefor, means establishing a connection betweenthe driving means and racks in operation of thewiper, said means comprising a pivoted dog connecting each wiper blade with said driving means, respectively, a cam engageable with 4the pivoted dogs to disconnect the racks from the driving means by continued movement to advance the racks so disconnected from the driving means to move said wiper blades to parked-position, a single handle for operating said cam, a clutch under control -of said handle for connecting said driving means with a source of power, and for disconnecting it therefrom when the said cam is blades to parked position.

3. In wind-shield cleaners of the class described, the combination of a plurality of blades,

driving mechanism therefor, a clutch for connecting said mechanism with a source of power, a separable connection between said mechanism and each of said blades respectively', a Vcam lfor separating said connections, and moving said blades to parked position, v,a handle connected to 'said cam, a pinion carried by said handle and engaging a rack for actuating said clutch, and resilient means for returning said blades to operating position.

turned to move the wiper- 5. In wind-(shield cleaners of the class described, the combination of a plurality of blades, a rock shaft supporting each respective blade, a pinion carried on each rock shaft, an operating arm for each blade having a rack engaging the pinion associated therewith, driving mechanism for said arms, a dog connecting each arm with said driving mechanism, respectively, a clutch connecting said driving mechanism with a source ,of power, a handle, means movable with said handle for disengaging said clutch, a cam carried by said handle and moved thereby to disengage said dogs and move saidarms to place said wiper blades in parked position, spring and plunger means positioned to engage each arm when said arms are moved to place said Wiper blades in parked position to move said arm and its associated blade from parked position, and resilient means for reengaging said dogs.

6. In wind-shield cleaners of the class described, the combination of a crank-pin, driving means therefor, a clutch connecting said driving means with a source of power, a cross-head member having a slot receiving said pin, said member being reciprocated thereby, a pair of slidable bars, a latch connecting each bar with said member respectively for reciprocation therewith, a rack carried by each bar, a pinion engaging each rack, a rock shaft oscillated by each pinion, a wiper blade carried by each rock shaft, a springpressed plunger engaged by each bar during each outward movement of said bar under the influence of said crank-pin and tending to urge the respective bars to normal position, a cam positioned between said bars for disengaging the latches and separating said bars, said cam moving said bars beyond their range of movement under the influence of said crank-pin, and a handie for operating said cam and disengaging said clutch. i

ELWOOD HANSMANN.

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