Windscreen wiper with elongated, curved backbone
First Claim
1. A windscreen wiper which includesan elongate backbone which is curved in a plane, is of a resiliently flexible material and which has a connecting formation at a portion intermediate its length for connection to a displacing and force applying member;
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the backbone having first and second longitudinal ends and a mounting surface defined along the length thereof from said first longitudinal end to said second longitudinal end, said backbone being secured to said wiper blade, said curved backbone being substantially coextensive with said wiper blade, said backbone having a transverse cross-sectional profile defining a thickness and a width thereof, the thickness of said backbone being greatest at said intermediate portion and gradually decreasing along at least a first portion of said backbone, which is defined between said connecting formation and said first longitudinal end,the backbone having a free-form curved profile in a plane, whereby the backbone defines an x-y plane, a z-axis extending perpendicularly from the x-y plane;
the backbone having a suitably varying cross-sectional profile along its length and a suitable free-form curvature, such that a double integral ZT is less than 1.0 mm, where ##EQU6## where l is a cantilever length of the backbone from the connecting formation to the first longitudinal end of the backbone and Izz (x) is the moment of inertia about the z-axis at a position x along the backbone from the connecting formation, R(x) is the radius of curvature of the backbone at position x expressed in metres, and Iyy (x) is the moment of inertia about the y-axis at position x.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A windscreen wiper includes an elongate curved backbone which is of a resiliently flexible material and which has a connecting formation at a position intermediate its length for connection to a displacing and force applying member. The backbone has a free-form curved profile in a plane, thereby to define a transverse axis perpendicular to the plane. The backbone further has a suitably varying transverse cross-sectional profile along its length such that if it is clamped at its connecting formation and a test force of 1N applied at a tip in a direction that is parallel to the transverse axis, the tip is displaced less than 1.0 mm.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A windscreen wiper which includes
an elongate backbone which is curved in a plane, is of a resiliently flexible material and which has a connecting formation at a portion intermediate its length for connection to a displacing and force applying member; - and
a wiper blade attached to the backbone; the backbone having first and second longitudinal ends and a mounting surface defined along the length thereof from said first longitudinal end to said second longitudinal end, said backbone being secured to said wiper blade, said curved backbone being substantially coextensive with said wiper blade, said backbone having a transverse cross-sectional profile defining a thickness and a width thereof, the thickness of said backbone being greatest at said intermediate portion and gradually decreasing along at least a first portion of said backbone, which is defined between said connecting formation and said first longitudinal end, the backbone having a free-form curved profile in a plane, whereby the backbone defines an x-y plane, a z-axis extending perpendicularly from the x-y plane; the backbone having a suitably varying cross-sectional profile along its length and a suitable free-form curvature, such that a double integral ZT is less than 1.0 mm, where ##EQU6## where l is a cantilever length of the backbone from the connecting formation to the first longitudinal end of the backbone and Izz (x) is the moment of inertia about the z-axis at a position x along the backbone from the connecting formation, R(x) is the radius of curvature of the backbone at position x expressed in metres, and Iyy (x) is the moment of inertia about the y-axis at position x. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification