Support element for a wiper blade forming part of a wiper squeegee for motor vehicle windscreen and method for making same

• US 6,305,066 B1
• Filed: 07/16/1999
• Issued: 10/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Schmidt, Thomas, Reiss, Juergen, De Paoli, Albano, Merkel, Wilfried, Kotlarski, Thomas, Just, Bernhard, Bald, Rolf
• Primary Examiner(s): Graham, Gary K.
• Application Number:
  US09/284,307
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• Field of Search: 152/500.01, 152/504.3, 152/504.4, 152/503.61, 152/503.2, 264/108, 425/542, 298/972, 294/50
• US Class Current: 29/450
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 45/0005 using fibre reinforcements
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/38 Wiper blades provided with liquid spreading means B60S1/524; provided with gas spreading means B60S1/546
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/3867 pin formed on the interior of side walls
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/3875 rectangular section
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 2001/3812 Means of supporting or holding the squeegee or blade rubber
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4987 Elastic joining of parts

Abstract

A support element for a wiper strip belonging to a wiper blade for motor vehicle windows is proposed, which assures proper contact of a wiper strip, belonging to the wiper blade, with the window to be wiped. The support element is embodied as elongated in bandlike fashion, and it comprises an elastic plastic. The rubber-elastic wiper strip, elongated in bandlike fashion, can be secured to the support element longitudinally axially parallel. An especially durably operationally reliable support element is obtained if the support element is made from a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic plastic, and the fibers are admixed with the plastic.

Claims

1. A method for producing a support element (12) in combination with a wiper strip of a wiper blade (10) of a motor vehicle, the support element being spring-elastic and connectable to a free end of (20) of a driven wiper arm (18) and formed as an elongated band-shaped element which is made from a fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastic material, in which fibers are admixed with a plastic material, and the wiper strip (14) being an elongated band-shaped elastic strip extending longitudinally parallel to the support element (12) and secured directly to a bottom side of the support element, and the support element comprising a connection device (16) for connecting the support element to the free end of the wiper arm, the connecting device being provided on an upper side of the support element, wherein when the wiper blade presses against a window surface to be washed, a tension is built in the spring-elastic support element thereby ensuring a proper contact of the wiper strip (14) with the window surface to be washed wherein the connection device (16) includes two stubs (30, 32) positioned in a center portion of the support element (12) and spaced apart from one another parallel to a length of the support element and are connected to one another via a connection peg (22) extended crosswise to the length of the support element, the method in which the fiber-reinforced plastic material is introduced via a filling opening in to a middle portion of a closed mold (50) in an axial direction of the connection peg (22) of the support element to be produced, so that the fiber-reinforced plastic material is forced from the middle portion out via the stubs (30, 32) to the ends of the support element, and the finished support element can be removed after an opening of the mold, wherein the connection device (16) for connecting the support element to the free end of the wiper arm (18) is integrally formed with the support element (12), wherein the connection device (16) includes two stubs (30, 32) positioned in a center portion of the support element (12).