WINDSCREEN WIPER ARM

Abstract

A windscreen wiper arm (1), comprising a mounting head (2) mountable on a drive shaft (3) and a first arm member (4) at one end thereof being pivotally connected to the mounting head (2) by means of a pivot pin (8) and at another end thereof being rigidly connected to a second arm member (5) arranged to be connected to an elongated wiper blade (6) to be placed in abutment with the windscreen to be wiped. The first (4) and said second (5) arm members can oscillate to-and-from between a first reversal position and a second reversal position. The second arm member (5) is made in one piece and has a substantially U-shaped cross-section defining a housing between a base and legs of said U-shaped cross-section. The housing is arranged to accommodate at least one channel (14, 15) for a washing liquid and/or electricity wiring.

Claims

1. A windscreen wiper arm, comprising a mounting head mountable on a drive shaft and a first arm member at one end thereof being pivotally connected to the mounting head by means of a pivot pin and at another end thereof being rigidly connected to a second arm member arranged to be connected to an elongated wiper blade to Be placed in abutment with said windscreen to be wiped, and wherein said first and said second arm members can oscillate to-and-from between a first reversal position and a second reversal position, wherein said second arm member is made in one piece and has a substantially U-shaped cross-section defining a housing between a base and legs of said U-shaped cross-section, wherein said housing is arranged to accommodate at least one channel for a washing liquid and/or electricity wiring.

2. The windscreen wiper arm according to claim 1, wherein said first arm member has a substantially U-shaped cross-section, and wherein a part of said second arm member extends between legs of said U-shaped cross-section of said first arm member.

3. The windscreen wiper arm according to claim 2, wherein said legs of said U-shaped cross-section of said second arm member abut said legs of said U-shaped cross-section of said first arm member at the location of their interconnection.

4. the windscreen wiper arm according to claim 2, wherein said first and second arm members are glued, welded or soldered together.

5. The windscreen wiper arm according to claim 1, wherein said second arm member is made integrally from a single sheet material, and wherein parts of said sheet material are folded outwardly to form said legs of said U-shaped cross-section of said second arm member.

6. The windscreen wiper arm according to claim 1, wherein said at least one channel for a washing liquid is arranged to be connected to a spraying nozzle connected to said second arm member or said wiper blade or a connecting device interconnecting said wiper blade and said second arm member

7. The windscreen wiper arm according to claim 1, wherein a part of said mounting head extends between said legs of said U-shaped cross-section of said first arm member and beyond said pivot pin.

8. A vehicle provided with a windscreen wiper arm according to claim 1.

9. A method for manufacturing a windscreen wiper arm, comprising a mounting head mountable on a drive shaft and a first arm member at one end thereof being pivotally connected to the mounting head by means of a pivot pin and at another end thereof being rigidly connected to a second arm member arranged to be connected to an elongated wiper blade to be placed in abutment with said windscreen to be wiped, and wherein said first and said second arm members can oscillate to-and-from between a first reversal position and a second reversal position, wherein said second arm member is made in one piece and has a substantially U-shaped cross-section defining a housing between a base and legs of said U-shaped cross-section, wherein said housing is arranged to accommodate at least one channel for a washing liquid and/or electricity wiring.

Description

THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to figures illustrated in a drawing, wherein:

[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a windscreen wiper arm according to the invention (with a windscreen wiper blade); and

[0021] FIG. 2 shows schematic front and perspective views of a part of the windscreen wiper arm of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a preferred variant of a windscreen wiper arm 1 according to the invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the windscreen wiper arm 1 according to the invention comprises a plastic mounting head 2 which can be fixed for rotation to a shaft 3 driven, via a mechanism not illustrated, by a small motor. The windscreen wiper arm 1 further comprises a plastic first arm member 4 supported by the mounting head 2. The windscreen wiper arm 1 further comprises a plastic second arm member 5 rigidly connected to the first arm member 4. The second arm member 5 in turn supports a schematically depicted wiper blade 6 with the help of a connecting device 7. The first arm member 4 is pivotally connected to the mounting head 2 by means of a pivot pin 8, for example in the form of a rivet. A spring (not shown) is hooked with its first end on the mounting head 2 and with its second end on to the second arm member 5 in order to ensure that the second arm member 5 and thus the wiper blade 6 connected thereto is pressed onto a windscreen to be wiped. In use, the shaft 3 rotates alternately in a clockwise and in a counter-clockwise sense carrying the mounting head 2 into rotation also, which in turn draws the first and second arm members 4,5 into rotation and by means of the connecting device 7 moves the wiper blade 6.

[0023] As illustrated, in interconnecting the connecting device 7 and the second arm member 5 use is made of a so-called bayonet connection, wherein a resilient tongue 9 of the connecting device 7 during a sliding movement is initially pushed inwards against a spring force and is then allowed to spring back into a correspondingly shaped hole 10 of the second arm member 5, thus snapping, that is clipping the resilient tongue 9 into the hole 10. By subsequently pushing in again the resilient tongue 8 against the spring force (as if it were a push button), the connecting device 7 together with the wiper blade 6 maybe released from the windscreen wiper arm 2. The wiper blade 6 is of the so-called flat blade type, wherein the wiper blade 6 includes at least one longitudinal groove, in which groove a longitudinal strip of a carrier element is disposed in order to bias the wiper blade 6.

[0024] As illustrated, the first arm member 4 has a substantially U-shaped cross-section near the pivot pin 6 comprising legs or sidewalk, wherein the sidewalls extend between a part of the mounting head 2 and beyond the pivot pin 6. the part of the mounting head 2 is provided with opposite surfaces. The first arm member 4 is pivotally connected to the mounting head 2 by means of the pivot pin 8, wherein the first arm member 4 can be pivoted between a wiping position (or working position), wherein the first arm member 4 extends parallel to a windscreen to be wiped, and an elevated or upright position (or service position), wherein the first arm member 4 and/or a windscreen wiper blade 6 to be attached to the second arm member 5 can be repaired or replaced.

[0025] With reference to FIG. 2, the second arm member 5 is made in one piece and has a substantially U-shaped cross-section defining a housing 11 between a base 12 and legs 13 of the U-shaped cross-section. the housing 11 is arranged to accommodate a channel 14 for a washing liquid and a channel 15 for electricity wires. As depicted, a part of the second arm member 5 extend between inside the U-shaped cross-section of the first arm member 4, wherein the legs 13 of the U-shaped cross-section of the second arm member 5 abut the legs of the U-shaped cross-section of the first arm member 4 at the location of their interconnection. In this case the first and second arm members 4,5 are welded together.

[0026] The invention is not restricted to the embodiment shown, but also extends to other preferred embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.