WIPER BLADE
A wiper blade is presented having a wiper strip, a primary frame, and a pair of secondary frames. The primary frame having a connection device capable of connecting the wiper blade to a wiper arm disposed on a top side of the primary frame, and a connection structure disposed, on opposite ends of the primary frame. The pair of secondary frame, each have a central pivot connection portion and two leg portions extending from the central pivot connection portion, a pivot structure disposed on the central pivot connection portion of the secondary frames wherein the pivot structure of the secondary frames are connected to the connection structures on the ends of the primary frame. A wiper blade is also presented having a wiper strip, a force distribution structure having opposite ends, and a cover.
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This application is a Continuation in Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/776,376 filed Feb. 25, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/603,222 filed Feb. 24, 2012, the disclosure of each is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to the field of windshield wiper blades.
BACKGROUNDTypical wiper blades used on vehicles are plagued with numerous persistent drawbacks. In an effort to improve upon the traditional, bracketed wiper blade, the beam blade (or flat blade) was developed, keeping a lower profile and generally providing a more uniform force distribution than most bracketed wiper blades. However beam blades do not have the lateral stability of bracketed blades, and can have problems with wrapping (i.e. keeping contact between the outer edges of the wiper blade and the windshield) when their curvature is not sufficiently sharp for the windshield, and banding (i.e. losing contact with the windshield in the middle of the wiper blade, thereby leaving an unwiped band) when their curvature is too sharp for the windshield. Accordingly, beam blades may serve well for original equipment (i.e. the wiper blades installed by manufacturers on cars that are designed specifically for that car, but can experience problems on certain vehicles if designed as aftermarket wiper blades (i.e. replacement blades designed to be used on a variety of different windshields where the manufacturer does not know what vehicle the blade will be used on).
The first generation of hybrid wiper blades developed improved on beam blade performance in these circumstances. These blades combine the use of brackets with a beam to improve on the blades' wrapping characteristics without creating problems with banding. The disclosed concept provides an improvement on the first generation hybrid wiper blades, using a combination of traditional brackets and either beams or flat brackets.
The following patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, including their disclosures with respect to the background and field of art of wiper blades: U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 13/453,601; 13/679,646; 13/572,100 and 13/587,389.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the invention nor delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, a wiper blade includes a wiper strip, a primary frame, and a secondary frame. The primary frame may have a top side, opposite ends, a connection device capable of connecting the wiper blade to a wiper arm disposed on its top side, and a connection structure disposed on one of the opposite ends of the primary frame. The connection structure may include pivot extension walls. The secondary frame may include a central pivot connection portion and two leg portions extending from the central pivot connection portion. A pivot structure may be disposed on the central pivot connection portion of the secondary frame, wherein the pivot structure disposed on the secondary frame is connected with the connection structure on the primary frame, and the secondary frame may be pivotable about a pivot axis extending through the pivot structure and the connection structure.
In another embodiment of the disclosure, a wiper blade includes a wiper strip, a primary frame, and a secondary frame. The primary frame may have a top side and opposite ends, a connection device having a base attached to the primary frame on the top side, the connection device being capable of connecting the wiper blade to a wiper. The primary frame may further include a connection structure disposed on one of the opposite ends of the primary frame. The secondary frame may have a central pivot connection portion and two leg portions extending from the central pivot connection portion, a pivot structure disposed on the central pivot connection portion of the secondary frame, wherein the pivot structure disposed on the secondary frame is connected with the connection structure on the primary frame, the secondary frame pivotable about a pivot axis extending through the pivot structure and the connection structure.
In an additional embodiment of the disclosure, a wiper blade includes a wiper strip; a force distribution structure having opposite ends, the wiper strip connected to the force distribution center; and a cover, wherein the cover is a segmented hard cover comprising a plurality of cover segments, and wherein the cover segments connect to one another via pivot joints, and wherein the cover is secured to the wiper blades at cover connection structures on the primary frame or secondary frame, wherein at least one of the cover segments has an end wall.
The following detailed description and the appended drawings describe and illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention solely for the purpose of enabling one of ordinary skill in the relevant art to make and use the invention. As such, the detailed description and illustration of these embodiments are purely exemplary in nature and are in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention, or its protection, in any manner. It should also be understood that the drawings are not to scale and in certain instances details have been omitted, which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention, such as conventional details of fabrication and assembly.
A novel bracketed and/or hybrid (i.e. having both a spring elastic “beam” and one or more brackets/frames) wiper blade having a cover is presented. Several novel concepts are introduced which can be used both with the disclosed novel wiper blade, or separately with various kinds of traditional, hybrid or beam wiper blades. These novel concepts include, but are not limited to, a novel “soft” cover for any type of wiper blade that is more effective at keeping debris out of the internal structure of the wiper blade than traditional covers; a novel segmented hard cover for any type of wiper blade whose segments connect to each other, and do not require connection to the frame, allowing for a tighter fit line between segments and thus reducing the chance of debris from getting into the mechanism.
In certain embodiments, a primary frame, a secondary frame, and a wiper strip. The primary frame, may have a top side and opposite ends, a connection device capable of connecting the wiper blade to a wiper arm disposed on the top side of the primary frame, and a connection structure disposed on one of the opposite ends of the primary frame, the connection structure including pivot extension walls. The secondary frame may have a central pivot connection portion and two leg portions extending from the central pivot connection portion, and a pivot structure disposed on the central pivot connection portion of the secondary frame. Additionally, the pivot structure disposed on the secondary frame may be connected with the connection structure on the primary frame, the secondary frame pivotable about a pivot axis extending through the pivot structure and the connection structure
In certain embodiments, the wiper blade also includes an additional connection structure and an additional secondary frame. The additional connection structure may be disposed on the other opposite end of the primary frame, the additional connection structure including pivot extension walls each having a hole, the holes of the pivot extension walls substantially aligned along an additional pivot axis. The additional secondary frame may have a central pivot connection portion and two leg portions extending from the central pivot connection portion, an additional pivot structure disposed on the central pivot connection portion of the secondary frames, the additional pivot structure may include a pair of holes, the wiper blade may be connected to at least one of the leg portions of both the secondary frame and the additional secondary frame. Additionally, the pivot structure may be disposed on the secondary frame is connected with the connection structure on the primary frame, the holes of the pivot structure substantially aligned along the pivot axis with the holes of the pivot extension walls.
In certain embodiments, the pivot structure may be a separate structure attached to the secondary frame. In certain embodiments, the pivot structure may include a bushing provided between the secondary frame and the primary frame. In certain embodiments, the pivot extension walls may each include a hole, the holes of the pivot extension walls substantially aligned along the pivot axis, and the pivot structure may include a pair of holes substantially aligned with holes of the pivot connection walls along the pivot axis. In some embodiments, a rivet may be insertable through the aligned holes of the pivot connection walls and the pivot structure along the pivot axis. In certain embodiments, the secondary frame may include a pair of wings extending from the central pivot connection portion, each including a hole substantially aligned with the holes of the pivot connection walls and the pivot structure along the pivot axis. In certain embodiments, a rivet may be insertable through the aligned holes of the pivot connection walls, the pivot structure, and the wings of the secondary frame along the pivot axis. In certain embodiments, the central pivot connection portion and the pair of wings, the pivot structure, and the connection structure are dimensioned to have a complimentary shape.
In certain embodiments, the legs of the secondary frame may be symmetrical. In certain embodiments, the wiper blade may also include at least one tertiary frame, wherein at least one leg portion of at least one of the secondary frames is provided with a tertiary frame connection structure, and wherein the at least one tertiary frame is connected to the tertiary frame connection structure of the least one of the secondary frames.
In certain such embodiments, the wiper blade may also include a cover. In certain such embodiments, the primary frame further comprises a cover-connection structures. In certain such embodiments the cover may be a segmented hard cover, and wherein the cover segments connect to one another via pivot joints, and wherein the cover may be secured to the wiper blades at cover connection structures on the primary frame or secondary frame.
In certain such embodiments the cover may include a cover center section and two cover side sections that are made from a soft , elastic material, wherein the cover side sections cover the ends of the cover center section and extend to the ends of the wiper blade. In certain such embodiments, a central cover portion may be made from a harder material than the two cover side sections.
In another embodiment of the disclosure, a wiper blade includes a wiper strip, a primary frame, and a secondary frame. The primary frame may have a top side and opposite ends, a connection device having a base attached to the primary frame on the top side, the connection device being capable of connecting the wiper blade to a wiper. The primary frame may further include a connection structure disposed on one of the opposite ends of the primary frame. The secondary frame may have a central pivot connection portion and two leg portions extending from the central pivot connection portion, a pivot structure disposed on the central pivot connection portion of the secondary frame, wherein the pivot structure disposed on the secondary frame is connected with the connection structure on the primary frame, the secondary frame pivotable about a pivot axis extending through the pivot structure and the connection structure.
In certain embodiments the connection device may be disposed side-saddle to the wiper blade. In certain embodiments the base of the connection device may be recessed into the top side of the primary frame. In certain embodiments, device is attached by having a protrusion on each end of the connection device secured into a respective receiving hole in the primary frame.
In an additional embodiment of the disclosure, a wiper blade includes a wiper strip; a force distribution structure having opposite ends, the wiper strip connected to the force distribution center; and a cover, wherein the cover is a segmented hard cover comprising a plurality of cover segments, and wherein the cover segments connect to one another via pivot joints, and wherein the cover is secured to the wiper blades at cover connection structures on the primary frame or secondary frame, wherein at least one of the cover segments has an end wall.
As can be seen in
The primary frame 20 may be made out of metal, plastic or any other suitable material known in the art, or any combination of suitable materials known in the art. The primary frame 20 may be straight or predominantly straight in shape when viewed from the front (as shown in
As shown in
An alternative low profile embodiment of primary frame 20 and connection device 10 is illustrated in
As discussed in greater detail below, the primary frame 20 and/or the connection device 10 may also have cover-connection structures, such as projections, recesses, extension walls with holes, recesses, projections or rivets, etc., to facilitate the connection of the cover 60, 70, or portions thereof, to the primary frame 20.
The secondary frame 30 is preferably made out of metal, such as steel, and can optionally be spring-elastic. The secondary frame 30 can also be made from plastic, or any other suitable material known in the art. In certain embodiments (not shown in the figures), the secondary frame 30 can be a curved, spring-elastic beam, making the such embodiments “hybrid” wiper blades, as they are a hybrid combining elements of a bracketed (or framed) wiper blade and a beam (or frameless) wiper blade. The secondary frame 30 preferably has a central pivot connection portion 31, which connects the secondary frame 30 to the primary frame 20 via a pivot structure. The central pivot connection portion 31 is preferably flattened (as shown in
On either side of the central pivot connection portion 31, the secondary frame 30 has legs 33, 34. The legs 33, 34 of the secondary frame 30 may be symmetric or asymmetric (as shown). The legs 33, 34 of the secondary frame 30 may be of the same, or different in lengths. In some embodiments, it may be advantageous to have the outer leg 33 (the leg further from the middle of the wiper blade) with a longer length than the inner leg 34 to allow a more compact primary frame 20, while still allowing the wiper blade to wrap around the curvature of the windshield along its extremities, and improve wipe quality. Similarly, each leg 33, 34 may be independently straight, curved, or have a more elaborate structure depending on the vehicle(s) for which they are designed. In some embodiments having curved legs 33,34 it may be advantageous to have the curvature of the inner leg 34 (i.e. the leg closer to the center of the wiper blade) be different than the curvature of the outer leg 33. In some embodiments, it can be particularly advantageous to provide the inner leg 34 with a sharper curvature than the curvature of the outer leg 33 in order to provide better wrapping of the wiper blade around the curvature of a windshield, and thus improving wipe quality. Similarly, in embodiments with straight legs 33, 34 it may be advantageous to provide the outer leg 33 with a smaller angle of descent from the central pivot connection portion θ than the angle of descent φ of the inner leg 34.
As shown in
As discussed above, persons of skill in the art will recognize that the pivoting structure joining the primary frame 20 and the secondary frame 30 may be made in many different ways known in the art, either by directly connecting the two frames, or by using intermediary structures to do so. One such method for connecting the primary frame 20 to the secondary frame 30, described in greater detail in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/603,223, and in the concurrently filed non-provisional application entitled Hinged Wiper Blade filed concurrently herewith uses a turn-buckle holder 51 made up of two holder halves 52 held together by a rivet 50. Thus, when assembled, one holder half 52 is attached to the secondary frame 30 opposite the other holder half 52 at the central pivot connection portion 31 wherein the central pivot connection portion 31 is inserted into the channel 54 formed between the upper channel wall 56 and lower channel wall 57 of each holder half 52. The holder halves 52 are then pushed together such that the holder half's 52 projections 55 engage the recesses 32 on the central pivot connection portion 31 of the secondary frame 30. Alternatively, in embodiments where the central pivot connection portion 31 has projections, the holder halves 52 can be implemented so as to have recesses to receive such projections.
Once the holder 52 halves have been pushed together such that the turn-buckle holder 51 contains the secondary frame 30 within its channel 54, the turn-buckle holder 51 can be placed between the pivot extension walls 23 of the primary frame 20, and a rivet 50 (shown in
An embodiment of the disclosed concept utilizing an alternative novel pivoting structure for pivotably connecting primary and secondary frames 20, 30 together at a central pivot connection portion is illustrated in
Also provided is an embodiment of secondary frame 30 having wings or legs 38 protruding downwards from either side of secondary frame 30 between recesses 32. Each wing 38 is provided with a hole 39. As shown, bushing 151 may be placed over secondary frame 30, with primary frame 20 placed over bushing 151, all three mutually securable by rivet 50 through mutually aligned holes 24, 153, 39. By interposing bushing 151 between frames 20, 30, a joint connection may be provided permitting increased bendability while separating frames 20, 30 from frictionally wearing against each other. By including bushing 151 in an embodiment of the pivoting structure, frictional wearing between frames 20, 30 is reduced or avoided, thereby reducing maintenance because bushing 151 is easily replaceable.
Bushing 151 may thus be dimensioned to form a complimentary shape in order to be interposed between primary frame 20 and secondary frame 30. Specifically, side walls 152 may be parallel or substantially parallel with wings 25, 38, while wall 156 may be parallel or substantially parallel with walls 21, 31. The complimentary shape may also include holes 153, 24, 39 mutually aligned along a joint axis in order to mutually receive rivet 50, or other known or to be developed connectors. In some embodiments, one or both holes 153 in bushing 151 includes a protruding channel 154 on the inner side of bushing 151 which may be fittable into hole 39 thereby further securing bushing 151 to secondary frame 30 and preventing any frictional wear between the rivet 50 and the secondary frame 30. The complimentary shape may be described as a substantially “U” shape as viewed from a side profile, however it should be understood to a person of ordinary skill in the art that additional complimentary shapes are contemplated as within the scope of the invention. For instance, wings 25, 38 and side walls 152 may project at a non-perpendicular angle away from their respective walls 21, 156, 31, and aligned holes 24, 153, 39 may not be co-axial, rather are mutually securable by a non-linear connector as opposed to rivet 50. Such an alternative complimentary shape may offer the benefit of increased pivotability.
The ends of the secondary frame 30 may either be provided with a wiper strip holder, such as the claws 43 on the tertiary frames 40, 41, or may with a connection extension 36 having a structure to connect to a tertiary frame 40, 41. In certain embodiments, as shown in
The tertiary frames 40, 41 may be symmetrical tertiary frames 40 or asymmetrical tertiary frames 41. In certain embodiments, as shown in
Whether symmetric or asymmetric, the tertiary frames are provided with claws 43 which support the wiper strip 15. The wiper blade described herein can use any of the traditional wiper strips known in the art, which generally have a base portion having grooves into which metal vertebrae are inserted to provide lateral support for the wiper strip 15. Alternatively, the wiper blade described above can be implemented using the wiper strip carrier described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/558,624, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and is attached hereto.
As shown in
The novel “soft” cover 60 introduced in this provisional patent application can be used with any known type of wiper blade, including the above-described wiper blade, beam blades,
The wiper blade covers on commercial wiper blades (whether with or without spoilers) generally have a hard plastic cap (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,293,321 and 7,523,520) hovering over the connection device (See U.S. Pat. No. 6,944,905). Particularly in beam blades, the hard plastic cap above the cover must leave a gap between the top surface of the cover and the bottom surface of the cap. Failure to leave such a gap results in the cap pushing down on the cover during the operation of the wiper blade, which compresses the material of the cover, and exerts a force onto the beam or other support structure, which can have adverse effects on the wipe quality of the wiper blade. Similarly, designing a connection device to form a contact seal with a cover can really only be done by custom-tailoring the wiper blade to a particular curvature of a particular windshield. Thus for aftermarket wiper blades, where the manufacturer does not know what windshield its products will be used on, the required specific calculations cannot be made across multiple windshields, and thus the same problem of cover-material compression and adverse forces on the beam/support structure may be present on some windshields but not others. Accordingly most wiper blade manufacturers (particularly after-market manufacturers) provide wiper blades with a gap between the cover and the cap or other structure that covers it. The novel “soft” cover 60 presented in this application solves these problems by reversing the order of the pieces. This allows the relatively softer material on the cover side sections 64 stretch when necessary as the wiper moves over the windshield, which lessens or eliminates the adverse forces put upon the beam, vertebrae and/or support structure of the wiper blade. At the same time the relatively harder material of the cover center section 61 helps secure the connection with the cover side sections 64. Persons of skill in the art will recognize that it is not necessary for the cover center section 61 to be made from a harder material than the cover side sections 64. Indeed they can be made from the same material. Suitable materials for both the cover center section 61 and the cover side sections 64 include natural and synthetic rubber, plastic, and other materials known in the art. However, in some embodiments it has been found advantageous to use a plastic material with a Shore hardness A values above 90 in the cover center section 61, and plastic, natural rubber, or synthetic rubber material with Shore hardness A values between 60 and 90 in the cover side sections 64. Improved results have been found using a material of Shore hardness A between 80 and 88 in the cover side sections 64, as it is still flexible enough not to affect the beam/support structure, but hard enough to maintain good grips on the cover center section 61 as well as on the wiper blade's primary frame 20, secondary frame 30, tertiary frame 40, 41 and/or a beam (in the case of beam blades and/or hybrid blades).
Accordingly a cover center (“hard”) section 61 is provided with side connecting structures 62, and top recesses/holes 63 which receive corresponding side receiving structures 65 and top projections 66 from the cover side sections 64. The cover center section 61 is preferably, but not necessarily, made from a harder material than the cover side sections 64.
As shown in
A second type of novel cover—a “hard” cover 70 is presented in
The center cover segment 71 may also have a lip 714 which can cover the sides of the connection device, and hold grips 715 and/or other structures which can help secure the center cover segment 71 to the primary frame 20. Additional internal grips 717, 718 can be located along the inner surface of the center cover section 71 and may also help secure the center cover section to the primary frame 20. As can be seen in
As shown in
The secondary cover segment may have an end section 75, or it may have a second receiving wall 725 with a second receiving channel 726 and a second seating recess 727 which connect the secondary cover segment 72 to a tertiary cover segment 73. Persons of skill in the art will recognize that it is not necessary for the cover 70 to be symmetric, or to have the same number of segments on each side of the center cover segment 71. As discussed above, persons of skill in the art will also recognize that the projections and recesses connecting the cover segments may be reversed, and that other pivoting structures such as rivets may be used to make the pivoting connection between the cover segments.
As illustrated in
An embodiment of a tertiary cover segment is illustrated in
As can be seen in
The receiving channel 712 and second receiving channel 726 may be provided with a ramp or chamfer structure to facilitate the insertion of the corresponding projection 722 and second projection 732 into same.
The tertiary cover segments 73 may be provided with internal grips to secure the segments to the corresponding portion of the cover, as described above relating to the internal grips of the center cover segment 71 and the secondary cover segments 72. The tertiary cover segment may also be provided with ribs between the side walls to give them additional structural strength and stability. Indeed, ribs may be provided to any of the cover segments 71, 72, 73, or cover sections 61, 62 described above, and the ribs may also help form the internal grips of all such structures. Persons of skill in the art will also recognize that there are numerous shapes that the internal grips can take, as described above, or as otherwise known in the art, including “L” shaped grips, “C” shaped grips, etc.
The tertiary cover segment 73 may optionally connect to additional cover segments (not shown), or may have on their outer end an end section 75. The end section 75 of the cover 70 may optionally have a securing structure, connecting the end section to the frame of the wiper blade. One such structure is depicted in
A novel hybrid wiper blade is presented in
The connection between the beams 130 and the primary frame 120 is preferably formed by a pivot joint of some sort. This may be accomplished in any method currently known in the art. For example the beams 130 may be provided with structures (similar to a connection device 10, 110) having a two pairs of claws which are crimped, welded or form-fitted onto the beams 130, and having two parallel side walls having which may have projection, recesses or holes, rivets or other structures which can attach to recesses or holes, projections, clips and/or holes, and other complementary structures on the ends of the primary frame 120 in order to form a pivoting connection. The beams 130 may be symmetric across the pivot joint in length and/or curvature, or asymmetric (as shown in
Tertiary frames 140 are secured to the beams 130, and in turn secure the wiper strip (and any vertebrae, and/or wiper strip carrier as described above. The connection between the beams 130 and the tertiary frames 140 may be made in any manner known in the art, including the use of pivoting studs 44 and other pivot joints known in the art as described above. Like the inner and outer tertiary frames 40,41 described above, the hybrid blade depicted in
The descriptions set forth above are meant to be illustrative and not limiting, and persons of skill in the art will recognize that various common and known deviations from the above described structures are considered to be within the scope of the disclosed concepts described herein.
Claims
1. A wiper blade comprising:
- a wiper strip;
- a primary frame having a top side and opposite ends, a connection device capable of connecting the wiper blade to a wiper arm disposed on the top side of the primary frame, and a connection structure disposed on one of the opposite ends of the primary frame, the connection structure including pivot extension walls;
- a secondary frame having a central pivot connection portion and two leg portions extending from the central pivot connection portion, a pivot structure disposed on the central pivot connection portion of the secondary frame; and
- wherein the pivot structure disposed on the secondary frame is connected with the connection structure on the primary frame, the secondary frame pivotable about a pivot axis extending through the pivot structure and the connection structure.
2. The wiper blade of claim 1, further comprising:
- an additional connection structure disposed on the other opposite end of the primary frame, the additional connection structure including pivot extension walls each having a hole, the holes of the pivot extension walls substantially aligned along an additional pivot axis;
- an additional secondary frame having a central pivot connection portion and two leg portions extending from the central pivot connection portion, an additional pivot structure disposed on the central pivot connection portion of the secondary frames, the additional pivot structure including a pair of holes, the wiper blade connected to at least one of the leg portions of both the secondary frame and the additional secondary frame,
- wherein the pivot structure disposed on the secondary frame is connected with the connection structure on the primary frame, the holes of the pivot structure substantially aligned along the pivot axis with the holes of the pivot extension walls.
3. The wiper blade of claim 1 wherein the pivot structure is a separate structure attached to the secondary frame.
4. The wiper blade of claim 1, wherein the pivot structure includes a bushing provided between the secondary frame and the primary frame.
5. The wiper blade of claim 1, wherein the pivot extension walls each include a hole, the holes of the pivot extension walls substantially aligned along the pivot axis, and
- the pivot structure including a pair of holes substantially aligned with holes of the pivot connection walls along the pivot axis.
6. The wiper blade of claim 5, wherein a rivet is insertable through the aligned holes of the pivot connection walls and the pivot structure along the pivot axis.
7. The wiper blade of claim 5, wherein the secondary frame includes a pair of wings extending from the central pivot connection portion, each including a hole substantially aligned with the holes of the pivot connection walls and the pivot structure along the pivot axis.
8. The wiper blade of claim 7, wherein a rivet is insertable through the aligned holes of the pivot connection walls, the pivot structure, and the wings of the secondary frame along the pivot axis.
9. The wiper blade of claim 7, wherein the central pivot connection portion and the pair of wings, the pivot structure, and the connection structure are dimensioned to have a complimentary shape.
10. The wiper blade of claim 1 wherein one of the two leg portions is longer than the other leg portion.
11. The wiper blade of claim 1 further comprising at least one tertiary frame, wherein at least one leg portion of the secondary frame is provided with a tertiary frame connection structure, and wherein the at least one tertiary frame is connected to the tertiary frame connection structure of the least one of the secondary frames.
12. The wiper blade of claim 1 further comprising a cover.
13. The wiper blade of claim 12 wherein the primary frame further comprises a cover-connection structures.
14. The wiper blade of claim 12 wherein the cover is a segmented hard cover, and wherein the cover segments connect to one another via pivot joints, and wherein the cover is secured to the wiper blades at cover connection structures on the primary frame or secondary frame.
15. The wiper blade of claim 12 wherein the cover comprises a cover center section and two cover side sections that are made from a soft, elastic material, wherein the cover side sections cover the ends of the cover center section and extend to the ends of the wiper blade.
16. A wiper blade comprising:
- a wiper strip;
- a primary frame, having a top side and opposite ends, a connection device having a base attached to the primary frame on the top side, the connection device capable of connecting the wiper blade to a wiper arm disposed on the top side of the primary frame, the primary frame further including a connection structure disposed on one of the opposite ends of the primary frame;
- a secondary frame having a central pivot connection portion and two leg portions extending from the central pivot connection portion, a pivot structure disposed on the central pivot connection portion of the secondary frame; and
- wherein the pivot structure disposed on the secondary frame is connected with the connection structure on the primary frame, the secondary frame pivotable about a pivot axis extending through the pivot structure and the connection structure.
17. The wiper blade of claim 16 wherein the connection device is disposed side-saddle to the wiper blade.
18. The wiper blade of claim 16 wherein the base of the connection device is recessed into the top side of the primary frame
19. The wiper blade of claim 16, wherein the connection device is attached by having a protrusion on each end of the connection device secured into a respective receiving hole in the primary frame.
20. A wiper blade comprising:
- a wiper strip;
- a force distribution structure having opposite ends, the wiper strip connected to the force distribution structure; and
- a cover, wherein the cover is a segmented hard cover comprising a plurality of cover segments, and wherein the cover segments connect to one another via pivot joints, and wherein the cover is secured to the wiper blades at cover connection structures on the primary frame or secondary frame, wherein at least one of the cover segments has an end wall.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 15, 2013
Publication Date: Aug 29, 2013
Applicant: Pylon Manufacturing Corp. (Deerfield Beach, FL)
Inventor: Pylon Manufacturing Corp.
Application Number: 13/840,256
International Classification: B60S 1/38 (20060101);