UNIVERSAL COUPLER FOR A BEAM BLADE WINDSHIELD WIPER ASSEMBLY
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A beam blade windshield wiper assembly having a universal coupler assembly, said windshield wiper assembly comprising:
- a wiping element that contacts the surface to be wiped, at least one elongated beam having a pair of longitudinal ends, and a coupler assembly;
said coupler assembly including a carrier that is mounted to said at least one elongated beam between said longitudinal ends;
a saddle that is removably received and retained by said carrier; and
a coupler that is adapted to be mounted to said saddle, said coupler including a pair of sidewalls, and a deck disposed between said sidewalls, said deck serving to cooperate with said sidewalls to define a rest that is adapted to operatively receive the track of an attachment member, said coupler further including a pair of flanges extending outwardly beyond each of said sidewalls to provide releasable engagement with an attachment member.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A beam blade windshield wiper assembly having a universal coupler assembly including a carrier, a saddle that is removably received and retained by the carrier, and a coupler that is operatively mounted to the saddle. The carrier, saddle, and coupler cooperate to accommodate various sizes of “pinch-type” attachment members, “push-button-type” attachment members, as well as “side-pin-type” and “pin-and-bent-tab-type” attachment members that are used to connect the wiper arm and the windshield wiper assembly.
75 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A beam blade windshield wiper assembly having a universal coupler assembly, said windshield wiper assembly comprising:
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a wiping element that contacts the surface to be wiped, at least one elongated beam having a pair of longitudinal ends, and a coupler assembly; said coupler assembly including a carrier that is mounted to said at least one elongated beam between said longitudinal ends; a saddle that is removably received and retained by said carrier; and a coupler that is adapted to be mounted to said saddle, said coupler including a pair of sidewalls, and a deck disposed between said sidewalls, said deck serving to cooperate with said sidewalls to define a rest that is adapted to operatively receive the track of an attachment member, said coupler further including a pair of flanges extending outwardly beyond each of said sidewalls to provide releasable engagement with an attachment member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A beam blade windshield wiper assembly having a universal coupler assembly, said windshield wiper assembly comprising:
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a wiping element that contacts the surface to be wiped, at least one elongated beam having a pair of longitudinal ends, and a coupler assembly; said coupler assembly including a carrier that is mounted to said at least one elongated beam between said longitudinal ends, said carrier including a top surface and a seat formed on said top surface of said carrier; a saddle that is removably received and retained in said seat of said carrier, said saddle including a main deck, a coupler mount, and a locking mechanism for releasably engaging said carrier, said main deck adapted to be cooperatively received in said seat formed by said carrier; and a coupler that is adapted to be mounted to said saddle, said coupler including a pair of sidewalls, and a deck disposed between said sidewalls, said deck serving to cooperate with said sidewalls to define a rest that is adapted to operatively receive the track of an attachment member, said coupler further including a pair of flanges extending outwardly beyond each of said sidewalls to provide releasable engagement with an attachment member. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification