Wiper

Abstract

A wiper (1) comprising an elongate cleaning strip (2) which is substantially made of flexible material and a holder (3) for fixating the cleaning strip (2). Viewed along the longitudinal direction (9) of the cleaning strip (2), the cleaning strip (2) comprises a wiping edge (4) for wiping panes, and a wiping strip (5) comprising said wiping edge (4) which extends beyond the holder (3) along substantially its entire length. The holder (3) furthermore comprises retaining supports (6) which, at the location of the ends (7) of the wiping strip (5), extend along the wiping strip (5) almost as far as the wiping edge (4).

Claims

1. Wiper comprising an elongate cleaning strip which is substantially made of flexible material and a holder for fixating the cleaning strip, wherein the cleaning strip comprises a wiping strip which protrudes with respect to the holder along substantially its entire length and comprises a wiping edge which extends along the longitudinal direction of the cleaning strip wherein the holder, at the location of the two ends of the wiping strip, comprises a respective retaining support with a support surface which extends opposite the surface of the wiping strip and extends substantially up to the wiping edge in order to retain the wiping strip locally during use of the wiper, wherein, viewed along the longitudinal direction of the cleaning strip, a distance between the support surface of the retaining supports and the surface of the wiping strip diminishes towards the ends of the wiping strip.

2. Wiper according to claim 1, wherein the retaining supports, at least at the location of the wiping strip, are substantially made of a material whose elasticity is lower than the elasticity of the material of the cleaning strip.

3. Wiper according to claim 1, wherein the retaining supports, at least at the location of the wiping strip are substantially made of a material with a hardness of less than 150 Shore D.

4. Wiper according to claim 2, wherein the retaining supports, at least at the location of the wiping strip, are substantially made of plastic.

5. Wiper according to claim 1, wherein the support surface of each retaining support touches an opposite surface of the wiping strip at the location of the ends of the wiping strip.

6. Wiper according to claim 5, wherein the retaining supports keep the wiping strip, at the location of its ends, in a bent position with respect to the longitudinal direction of the wiping strip.

7. Wiper according to claim 1, wherein each retaining support has an end edge which extends along the surface of the wiping strip almost as far as the wiping edge, and which in this case makes an angle with the longitudinal direction, this angle being between 5 and 30.

8. Wiper according to claim 1, wherein the holder comprises an elongate central portion which extends along the longitudinal direction of the cleaning strip, and in that the retaining supports are attached to the ends of the central portion and thus form the ends of the holder.

9. Wiper according to claim 8, wherein the central portion has a plate part which extends along the top surface of the cleaning strip up to said wiping strip with wiping edge, so that the wiping strip remains free, and in that each retaining support comprises an end edge which continues above the wiping strip from the plate part and extends obliquely to the end of the wiping strip at the location of the wiping edge at an angle with the longitudinal direction, viewed along the plane of the top surface, said angle being between 5 and 20.

10. Wiper according to claim 8, wherein the central portion is substantially made of metal.

11. Wiper according to claim 8, wherein the retaining supports extend along the end portions of the cleaning strip.

12. Wiper according to claim 11, wherein the end portions of the cleaning strip are bevelled in the direction of the wiping edge.

13. Wiper according to claim 12, wherein the end portions of the cleaning strip are bevelled divergently in the direction of the wiping edge.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the following description, a wiper according to the present invention is described in detail. The sole aim of this detailed description is to indicate how the invention can be embodied and to illustrate the particular features of the invention and explain them, where necessary. Therefore, this description can by no means be regarded as a limitation of the scope of this patent protection. Likewise, the area of application of the invention cannot be limited on the basis of the following description.

(2) In this description, reference is made to the attached figures, in which:

(3) FIG. 1 shows a top view of a wiper according to the invention;

(4) FIG. 2 shows a front view of the wiper illustrated in FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 3 shows a rear view of the wiper illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

(6) FIG. 4 shows a bottom view of the holder of the wiper illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3;

(7) FIG. 5 shows a side view of the wiper illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3;

(8) FIG. 6 shows a detail view of the top view illustrated in FIG. 1;

(9) FIG. 7 shows a detail view of the front view illustrated in FIG. 2;

(10) FIG. 8 shows a front view of a retaining support of the wiper illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3;

(11) FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the wiper illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(12) The wiper (1) comprises an elongate cleaning strip (2), made of rubber, and a holder (3) for fixating the cleaning strip (2). Viewed along the longitudinal direction (9) of the cleaning strip (2), the cleaning strip (2) comprises a wiping edge (4) for wiping panes, and a wiping strip (5) comprising said wiping edge (4) which extends beyond the holder (3) along substantially its entire length.

(13) The holder (3) comprises an elongate central portion (10) made of metal and two retaining supports (6) which are attached at the ends of the central portion (10). The retaining supports (6) are made of polypropylene and have a certain degree of flexibility. The flexibility of the retaining supports (6) is not as great as the flexibility of the cleaning strip (2). The retaining supports (6) are glued to the central portion (10). In an alternative embodiment, the retaining supports may also be attached to the central portion by clamping, without gluing.

(14) The central portion (10) is a bent metal plate. This metal plate is bent in such a way that the central portion (10) comprises a channel part (18) with a channel (14) and a plate part (17), the plate part (17) extending from one side of the channel part (18).

(15) Each retaining support (6) comprises a clamp part (12) which is clamped on and glued to an end of the central portion (10) and comprises a support part (13) with a support surface for retaining the cleaning strip (2).

(16) Furthermore, the cleaning strip (2) is releasably connectable to the holder (3). If the cleaning strip (2) is connected to the holder (3) and the wiper (1) is therefore able to perform its wiping function, the wiper (1) is constructed as follows:

(17) Viewed along the longitudinal direction (9) of the cleaning strip (2), an end strip is arranged in the channel (14) of the holder (3) and in a channel (15) of the support part (13) of the retaining support (6). The channel (14) of the holder (3) and the channel (15) of the support part (13) are in line with one another. The end strip of the cleaning strip (2) is situated in said channels (14, 15) and is retained in the holder (3) in this way. The bottom surface of the cleaning strip (2) is only partly covered by said channels (14, 15). In this case, the holder (3) is no obstacle to placing the bottom surface of the cleaning strip (2) against a pane. Since the cleaning strip (2) is made of rubber, it has a certain flexibility, as a result of which the cleaning strip (2) will bend upwards when the bottom surface of the cleaning strip (2) is positioned on a pane. The plate part (17) of the central portion (10) extends along the top surface of the cleaning strip (2) between the end strip and the wiping strip (5) comprising the wiping edge (4). As a result thereof, the upward movement of the cleaning strip (2) is limited. This is necessary to ensure that the cleaning strip (2) does not bend too far, so that the wiping edge (4) always makes contact with the pane during wiping of the pane.

(18) At the location of the ends (7) of the wiping strip (5), the support surfaces of the support parts (13) extend along the wiping strip (5) substantially as far as the wiping edge (4). The bottom end edge (8) of the support part (13) which extends at the front side of the wiper (1) makes an angle ((3) of +/10 with the longitudinal direction (9) of the cleaning strip (2), viewed in the plane of the top surface of the cleaning strip (2), and makes an angle () of +/10 with the longitudinal direction (9) of the cleaning strip (2), viewed at right angles to the plane of the top surface of the cleaning strip (2). Furthermore, the end portions of the cleaning strip (2) are bevelled from the rear side to the front side, so that the wiping strip (5) comprising the wiping edge (4) is longer than said end strip. The end portions of the cleaning strip (2) make an angle of substantially 48 with the longitudinal direction (9) of the cleaning strip (2). Each support part (13) of said retaining support (6) has substantially the same bevel as the ends of the cleaning strip (2). The end (11) of the support part (13) extends entirely along a said end portion of the cleaning strip (2), so that substantially the top surface of the cleaning strip (2) is delimited by the support parts (13) at the location of said end portions of the cleaning strip (2). As a result thereof, upward displacement of the wiping strip (5) is limited at the location of its ends (7).

(19) Furthermore, the retaining supports (6) are configured such that they make contact with the cleaning strip (2) at the location of its end portions and that they become further removed from the cleaning strip (2) in the direction of the central portion (10). As a result thereof, the space (16) between the retaining supports (6) and the cleaning strip (2) increases in the direction of the central portion (10). This means that the ends (7) of the wiping strip (5) with wiping edge (4) are retained very reliably and that the wiping strip (5) is also still retained in the vicinity of said ends (7) thereof, but to a lesser degree than said ends (7) themselves.

(20) The retaining supports (6) are made of polypropylene and have a certain elasticity. The elasticity is less than that of the rubber of the cleaning strip (2), so that these retaining supports (6) are able to partly prevent the bending of the cleaning strip (2). The ends (7) of the wiping strip (5) themselves are partly pressed down by the support parts (13) at the location of the wiping edge (4), as a result of which the wiping strip (5) is bent to a certain degree in the direction towards its ends (7). Since the support parts (13) have a certain elasticity, this bending of its ends (7) may be annulled by placing the wiping edge (4) against a pane in order to wipe the pane. The wiping edge (4) then forms a substantially straight line, so that the wiper (1) is able to wipe the pane across its entire length. Due to the retaining supports (6), the risk of the ends (7) of the wiping strip (5) with the wiping edge (4) moving from the pane onto the rim of the pane is reduced.

(21) The holder (3) is usually also provided with a handle for better maneuverability of the holder (3). The handle is not shown in the figures.