Windshield heated wiping system
First Claim
1. A cleaning system for a windshield of a vehicle having an engine having a heat source comprising:
- a fluid nozzle having an outlet directed towards the windshield,a source of windshield cleaning fluid,a housing defining a fluid chamber,a piston disposed in said fluid chamber and having a periphery in sealing contact with said housing, said piston dividing said fluid chamber into an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber, said piston being movable between a first position and a second position in said fluid chamber,means for resiliently urging said piston towards said first position,means for fluidly connecting said outlet chamber to said nozzle,means for transferring heat from the heat source to said outlet chamber,means for providing pressurized fluid from said source of fluid to said inlet chamber to thereby move said piston from said first position towards said second position to thereby pump fluid in said outlet chamber through said fluid connecting means to said nozzle,said piston forming an opening between said piston periphery and said housing at said second position to fluidly connect said inlet and outlet chambers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A windshield wiper system for an automotive vehicle is disclosed in which the windshield wiper washer fluid is heated and delivered to the windshield through the rubber wiping element. In one embodiment, the windshield wiper fluid is heated to a substantial level of temperature and pressure within a sealed reservoir by the heat from the engine coolant system. In another embodiment, a tubular electrical high intensity heating element with turbulent counter flow is used to instantly heat the windshield wiper fluid, and the heating element is automatically electrically energized in response to fluid flow through the tubular heating element. In another embodiment electrical direct current vehicle power or selectively alternating current external power is used to heat fluid to a substantial level of temperature and pressure within a sealed insulated reservoir. A novel windshield wiper blade is also disclosed in which the wiper blade has a longitudinally elongated fluid chamber formed along its length. The fluid chamber is closed at one end and connected to the source of the washer fluid at its other end. A plurality of longitudinally aligned slits is formed through the wiper blade to the outlet edge to uniformly dispense the heated washing fluid downstream of wipe direction, and onto the vehicle windshield while one or more openings are also formed in the wiper blade to direct a portion of the heated washing fluid to the joints in the wiper support frame to remove ice binding the wiper frame flex joints. Additionally, the dual configuration of the blade edge is such that the second edge pair wears out sequentially to the first edge pair effectively doubling the clean wiping life of the blade.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A cleaning system for a windshield of a vehicle having an engine having a heat source comprising:
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a fluid nozzle having an outlet directed towards the windshield, a source of windshield cleaning fluid, a housing defining a fluid chamber, a piston disposed in said fluid chamber and having a periphery in sealing contact with said housing, said piston dividing said fluid chamber into an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber, said piston being movable between a first position and a second position in said fluid chamber, means for resiliently urging said piston towards said first position, means for fluidly connecting said outlet chamber to said nozzle, means for transferring heat from the heat source to said outlet chamber, means for providing pressurized fluid from said source of fluid to said inlet chamber to thereby move said piston from said first position towards said second position to thereby pump fluid in said outlet chamber through said fluid connecting means to said nozzle, said piston forming an opening between said piston periphery and said housing at said second position to fluidly connect said inlet and outlet chambers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A cleaning system for a windshield of an automotive vehicle having an internal combustion engine comprising:
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a fluid nozzle having an outlet directed towards the windshield, a source of windshield cleaning fluid, means for fluidly connecting said fluid source to said nozzle, means for pumping fluid from said fluid source through said fluid connecting means and to said nozzle, means fluidly connected in series with said fluid connecting means for heating said cleaning fluid, said heating means comprising an elongated, tubular electrical heating element having an interior which forms a part of said fluid connecting means so that at least a portion of fluid flow from said source to said nozzle flows through said interior of said heating element, and means for selectively electrically energizing said heating element. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification