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 a track of an attachment member, said coupler further including a nose and an elevated platform that are disposed between said sidewalls, said deck also including a slanted mid-deck that is slanted with respect to the elevated platform and defined by a cross-rib and a pair of rectangular openings disposed on either side of said cross-rib between said elevated platform and a back wall, said mid-deck cooperating with said back wall to define a locking shoulder, said slanted mid-deck further providing clearance for an arm on an attachment member having a pin and arm/bent tab combination, a pair of flanges extend outwardly beyond each of said sidewalls to provide releasable engagement with an attachment member, said deck including a cantilevered beam disposed between said flanges so as to define a distal end of said deck, said distal end acting as a retaining tab for the pinch-type attachment member; and
said saddle further including a main deck and a coupler mount having a pair of aligned apertures, each of said side walls of said coupler including an inward surface that face one another, said inward surfaces adapted to operatively engage a portion of said coupler mount of said saddle, said inward surface further including posts that extend transversely from their respective inward surface and toward one another, said posts operatively adapted to engage said aligned apertures of said coupler mount and provide a bearing surface about which said coupler may pivot relative to said saddle.
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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.
38 Citations
25 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 a track of an attachment member, said coupler further including a nose and an elevated platform that are disposed between said sidewalls, said deck also including a slanted mid-deck that is slanted with respect to the elevated platform and defined by a cross-rib and a pair of rectangular openings disposed on either side of said cross-rib between said elevated platform and a back wall, said mid-deck cooperating with said back wall to define a locking shoulder, said slanted mid-deck further providing clearance for an arm on an attachment member having a pin and arm/bent tab combination, a pair of flanges extend outwardly beyond each of said sidewalls to provide releasable engagement with an attachment member, said deck including a cantilevered beam disposed between said flanges so as to define a distal end of said deck, said distal end acting as a retaining tab for the pinch-type attachment member; and said saddle further including a main deck and a coupler mount having a pair of aligned apertures, each of said side walls of said coupler including an inward surface that face one another, said inward surfaces adapted to operatively engage a portion of said coupler mount of said saddle, said inward surface further including posts that extend transversely from their respective inward surface and toward one another, said posts operatively adapted to engage said aligned apertures of said coupler mount and provide a bearing surface about which said coupler may pivot relative to said saddle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. 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 a 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; said coupler mount having a pair of aligned apertures, each of said sidewalls of said coupler includes an inward surface that face one another, said inward surfaces adapted to operatively engage a portion of said coupler mount of said saddle, said inward surfaces further including posts that extend transversely from their respective inward surface and toward one another, said posts operatively adapted to engage said aligned apertures of said coupler mount and provide a bearing surface about which said coupler may pivot relative to said saddle; and wherein said carrier includes first and second ends, a front wall, a back wall disposed opposite said front wall that extends between said first and second ends of said carrier, and a top surface, said carrier further including a shelf that borders said seat on at least three sides thereof, a ledge extends between two portions of said shelf along said back wall, and a pair of apertures are formed on said front wall of said carrier opposite said back wall, said seat, shelf, ledge and apertures cooperating to locate and fix said saddle relative to said carrier. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification