WO2004041607A1 - Adapter for standard windscreen wiper brush bracket - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns an adapter for standard windscreen wiper brush bracket (1) constituting an arrangement designed for fixing an arm (1B) to a lateral pivot, said adapter comprising a body (10, 10') provided with a transverse through hole (11, 15, 15') on its upper surface, means for receiving (12, 12') a lug (4B) of the arm. The invention is characterized in that said body also comprises means for being linked (13, 13') to the bracket, the standard bracket consisting of a U-shaped extruded profile whereof the web is open-worked over a certain length to form a mounting arrangement, said mounting arrangement including a transverse pin (3) linking the two wings of the extruded profile comprising each a through orifice (5A, 5B), said linking means (13, 13') being designed to be urged into engagement with said pin (3) and said hole (15, 15') being designed to be urged opposite said mounting orifices (5A, 5B).

Description

 ADAPTER FOR STANDARD BROOM MOUNTING DΕSSU1E

ICE CREAM

The present invention relates to an adapter for a standard mount for a wiper blade forming an arrangement for fixing an arm.

Such a standard mount shown in Figure 1 has a mounting arrangement constituted as follows.

The mount 1 consists of a U-shaped profile whose core is perforated over a certain length to form the mounting arrangement. Significantly at the center of this opening 2, the profile has a transverse rolled axis 3 connecting the two wings 4, 4 'of the profile. Near this axis 3, the wings each have an orifice 5A, 5B, the two orifices being opposite and identical. Above axis 3, the wings also have a groove 6A, 6B, the two grooves being opposite and identical. This mounting arrangement is conventionally intended to receive a connector itself intended for fixing an arm consisting of a flat rod forming a longitudinal hook at its end. This hook engages with corresponding holding elements of the connector.

Furthermore, for a few years, arms of the following type have been used more and more which will be said below with lateral pivot and the end of the arm of which is shown in FIG. 2, seen in perspective. This end is in stamped sheet metal and crimped at the end of a rod 2B forming the arm. It has a riveted axis 3B lateral and a tab 4B folded in L near this axis. Such an arm is mounted on a specific wiper mount with lateral bore receiving the axis 3B, the tab 4B retaining the blade on the arm.

Document DE-A1 -199.24.662 describes a wiper arrangement intended for fixing an arm of the lateral pivot type. This arm has a lateral riveted axis and a leg folded in an L near this axis. The brush connector has a housing for the lateral riveted axis. The connector is fixed to the wiper blade. This type of arm is therefore currently associated with a specific type of broom mount and therefore requires a particular manufacture of broom as well as a particular supply of broom in the case of replacement of a worn broom in the context of the after-sales market. This is complex and costly from the point of view of manufacturing and also of managing the spare parts that are the brushes.

The invention solves this problem by proposing an adapter for such a standard mount for a wiper blade forming an arrangement intended for fixing an arm of the lateral pivot type. To do this, the invention provides an adapter for a standard mount for a wiper blade forming an arrangement for fixing a side pivot arm, this adapter comprising a body provided with a transverse transverse bore and means for receiving on its upper face, characterized in that this body also comprises means for connecting to the frame, the adapter being intended for a standard frame consisting of a U-shaped profile whose core is perforated over a certain length to form a mounting arrangement, this mounting arrangement comprising a transverse axis connecting the two wings of the profile each comprising a through orifice, said connecting means being intended to come into engagement with said axis and said bore being intended to come into contact with said mount holes.

According to one embodiment, the receiving means comprise a transverse groove.

According to one embodiment, the reception means comprise a transverse shoulder.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the adapter comprises a sheath comprising said bore and intended to be introduced into said orifices.

According to another embodiment, said body is of thickness substantially equal to the distance separating said wings from the frame and said sheath is a part separate from the body. In this case, advantageously, said bore has its longitudinal axis forming a non-zero angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of said sleeve and, preferably, said angle is less than or equal to 3 degrees.

According to another embodiment, the adapter is in one piece and has a tongue comprising said transverse groove.

Advantageously, it may include a longitudinal guide groove intended to receive a wall of the arm.

Preferably, said connecting means are latching means. The invention is described below in more detail with the aid of figures showing only preferred embodiments of the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a standard wiper blade mount.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one end of a side pivot arm.

Figure 3 is a front view of a first alternative embodiment of an adapter according to the invention.

Figure 4 is a top view of the same adapter.

Figures 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views along the planes V-V and VI-VI of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a sleeve, separate part of this adapter.

Figure 8 is a partial perspective view of a first improvement of the same adapter. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of this improvement.

Figure 10 is a front view of a second improvement of this adapter mounted on a mount.

Figure 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of this second improvement of this adapter mounted on a mount.

Figure 12 is a front view of a second alternative embodiment of an adapter according to the invention mounted on a mount. FIG. 13 is a transverse view along the plane XIII-XIII of FIG. 12.

Figure 14 is a front view of a second alternative embodiment of an adapter according to the invention. A first alternative embodiment of an adapter according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 3 to 11.

The adapter comprises a body 10 provided with a transverse through bore 11. Receiving means in the form of a transverse groove 12 are formed on the upper face of the adapter and are intended to receive the tab 4B of the arm 1B. This body 10 also includes connecting means 13 to the frame. It is of thickness substantially equal to the distance separating the wings 4, 4 ′ from the mount 1 (FIG. 1).

According to another embodiment, the receiving means are in the form of a shoulder 33. The connecting means are intended to come into engagement with the axis 3 of the standard frame and the bore 11 is intended to come into screw with screw holes 5A, 5B of the mount.

The connecting means consist of a slot 13 made in the body 10 and opening on its underside. This slot 13 is of triangular section and ends with a bore of circular section in order to snap onto the axis 3 of the frame.

On one of its lateral faces, at the level of the groove 12, the body 10 has a lateral boss 17.

A sheath 14 shown in Figure 7 is a separate part of this body 10 and is provided with a through bore 15 of diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the lateral pivot 3B of the arm (Figure 2) and a shoulder 16 to one of its ends ensuring the stop in translation during its assembly. It has near its other end a rod 19 for locking in a groove 18 arranged at one end of the bore 11 of the body 10.

The body 10 is intended to be mounted between the wings 4, 4 ′ of the U-shaped profile of the frame (FIG. 1) with positioning of the boss 17 in the groove 6B of the frame and with snap-fastening of the slot 13 on the axis 3, then introduction of the sleeve 14 into each of the orifices 5A, 5B of the frame and into the bore 11 of the body, until the shoulder stops 16 against the wing of the frame and locking of the rod 19 in the groove 18. Once thus mounted on the frame, the adapter 30 can receive an arm 1B with lateral pivot (FIG. 2), this pivot 3B being introduced into the bore 15 and the tab 4B in the groove 12. Thus in the wiping position, the brush is locked and retained by contact of the surfaces of the boss 17 and the shoulder 16 with the arm. There is thus obtained perfect alignment of the brush relative to the arm in the wiping position on the motor vehicle. This alignment and this guidance of the brush with the arm can be improved thanks to the improvement shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. This improvement makes it possible to obtain better control of the angular play between brush and arm. According to this improvement, the body 10 has a rear extension portion 10A. This part 10A comprises a first groove 21 opening onto its lower face and a second groove 20 opening onto its upper face. These grooves are positioned and dimensioned for, as regards the first groove 21, to fit into the wing 4 'of the frame and, as regards the second groove 20, to receive the wall 7B forming part of the end piece of arm 1 B (figure 2).

Another improvement, relating to the optimization of the angle of attack of the brush in the wiping position, is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 where the adapter is shown mounted on the mount. When designing a wiper, an angle of attack of the blade relative to the window is defined taking into account the evolution of this angle depending on the position of the blade during its travel from the sweep angle to the window. A variation of this angle due to wear, to the weakening of the brush frame or to the aging of the different constituent parts, can have an impact on the behavior of the brush blade and lead to its non-overturning, a defect. wiping and an acceleration of its aging. The possibility of adjusting the angle of attack is all the more important in the case of an arm with a lateral pivot that the pressure of the arm is offset with respect to the brush and tends to deform it.

This improvement provides a solution to this problem. The body 10 is therefore inserted between the wings 4, 4 'of this mount 1 and the sheath 14 is introduced to pass through each of these wings 4, 4' and the body 10 by the bore 11. The shoulder 16 here comprises two extensions 16A, 16B covering the wing 4 ′ and a part of the body 10 once the sheath is mounted. The body 10 advantageously then comprises two flats for guiding these extensions.

The sleeve 14 can therefore take two positions, one where the extension 16A is above the frame and the extension 16B is below the frame (as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11) and another position where the sleeve is reversed in position, the extension 16B being above the frame and the extension 16A being below the frame.

Furthermore, the bore 15 of the sleeve 14 has its longitudinal axis forming a non-zero angle α relative to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve and, preferably, this angle is less than or equal to 3 degrees. This improvement therefore allows the adjustment of the angle of attack, positive or negative, by a simple corresponding positioning of the sheath. Advantageously, an indication "more" and "less" is engraved on the upper and lower faces of the extensions 16A, 16B of the sheath.

The sheath without this improvement therefore allows a brush arrangement with zero angle of attack and with this improvement a brush arrangement with positive or negative angle of attack. With only an inclined bore 15 but no possibility of turning the sheath, one obtains either a brush arrangement with a positive angle of attack, or a brush arrangement with a negative angle of attack, depending on the direction of this bore 15 The extension system 16A, 16B may be replaced by any equivalent means. For example, the bore 11 of the adapter may have a flat or be of parallelepiped shape instead of being of section circular, in order to achieve this adequate positioning of the sheath. In this case, the sleeve is of the same shape as the bore.

A second alternative embodiment of an adapter according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 where it is shown mounted on the mount as shown in FIG. 1.

The adapter comprises a body 10 'provided with a transverse bore through 5' and a transverse groove 12 'on its upper face, this body also comprising connection means 13' to the frame.

The connecting means are intended to come into engagement with the axis 3 of the standard mount and consist of a clipping cavity 13 ′ produced in the body and opening out on its underside. This cavity 13 ′ has a bore of circular section which engages on the axis 3 of the frame.

The adapter is here in one piece and has an integrated sleeve provided with the through bore 15 'of diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the lateral pivot 3B of the arm (FIG. 2) and of a shoulder 16' at one of its ends ensuring the stop in translation during assembly.

This shoulder 16 'is extended by a tongue 20' for closing and gripping disposed above the sheath and extending longitudinally. It is this tab which carries on its underside the connecting means 13 '.

The body 10 'is intended to be mounted on the U-shaped profile of the frame by introducing the sheath 14' into each of the holes 5A, 5B of the frame, until the shoulder 16 'abuts against the wing 4' of the mount, then snap-fit of the cavity 13 'on the axis 3 by pivoting the adapter.

This snap-in ensures the locking in translation of the adapter 10 '.

Once thus mounted on the mount, the adapter can receive an arm 1 B with lateral pivot (FIG. 2), this pivot 3B being introduced into the bore 15 'and the tongue 4B into the groove 12'. Advantageously, the adapter also includes a boss identical to that 17 of the first variant and the brush is locked and retained by contact with the surfaces of this boss and of the shoulder 16 'with the arm. There is thus obtained perfect alignment of the brush relative to the arm in the wiping position on the motor vehicle.

Claims

1. Adapter for standard frame (1) of wiper blade forming an arrangement intended for fixing an arm (1B) with lateral pivot, this adapter comprising a body (10, 10 ') provided with a transverse bore passing through (11, 15, 15 ') on its upper face, means (12, 12') for receiving a leg (4B) of the arm, characterized in that this body also comprises connecting means (13, 13 ') to the frame, the standard frame consisting of a U-shaped profile whose core is perforated over a certain length to form a mounting arrangement, this mounting arrangement comprising a transverse axis (3) connecting the two wings ( 4, 4 ') of the profile each comprising a through hole (5B, 5A), said connecting means (13, 13') being intended to come into engagement with said axis (3) and said bore (15, 15 ') being intended to come opposite said orifices in the frame (5A, 5B). 2. Adapter according to claim 1, characterized in that the receiving means comprise a transverse groove (12, 12 '). 3. Adapter according to claim 1, characterized in that the receiving means comprise a shoulder (33) transverse. 4. Adapter according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a sheath (14, 14 ') comprising said bore (15, 15') and intended to be introduced into said orifices (5A, 5B). 5. Adapter according to claim 4, characterized in that said body (10) is of thickness substantially equal to the distance separating said wings (4, 4 ') from the frame (1) and said sheath (14) is a part separated from the body. 6. Adapter according to claim 5, characterized in that said bore (15) has its longitudinal axis (32) forming an angle (α) not zero with respect to the longitudinal axis (31) of said sleeve (14). 7. Adapter according to claim 6, characterized in that said angle (α) is less than or equal to 3 degrees. 8. Adapter according to one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that it is in one piece and has a tongue (20 ') having said groove (12'). 9. Adapter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a longitudinal guide groove (20) intended to receive a wall (7B) of the arm (1 B). 10. Adapter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said connecting means (13, 13 ') are latching means.