GB2052414A - Window and window wiper - Google Patents

Abstract

A car windscreen or window has one or more, preferably two, grooves 5 within the area of the window that is swept by a windscreen wiper. The edges of the grooves 6 clean the wiper blade 3 as the blade passes over the groove. The grooves 5 preferably form a slight angle with the wiper blade when the blade passes over the groove. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Window and window wiper This invention refers to a window or other lighttransmitting surface which is to be cleaned by a device such as a motor car windscreen wiper. The wiper itself is cleaned at every sweep over the win dow.

When a vehicle is travelling on wet and muddy roads, particularly in rainy weather, various types of dirt will adhere to the windscreen wiper blades of the vehicle. The initially smooth wiping surface of the wiper blades will thus be irregular and the wiping effect will be appreciably impaired. Various cleaning devices are available on the market for removing such accumulations of dirt and re-establishing the original smooth condition of the wiping surfaces of the wiper blade. These devices are usually equipped with two opposed scraper surfaces with an intervening narrow gap and are designed for fitting over the wiper blade and running along the blade for cleaning it. However, such cleaning devices cannot be used while the vehicle is being driven, when the need for cleaning is greatest.

To keep the wiper blade clean, it has earlier been proposed to fit special strips or bands to the outside of the windscreen within the swept area of the blade, arranged so that the blade slides over them, such strips or bands are intended for glueing to the windscreen surface, but the adhesion to the surface is not always the best possible. In addition, the strips or bands either have an abrasive effect, e.g. are made of abrasive strips, or are provided with an abrasive surface coating, such as a surface coating of abrasive particles. However, this abrasive action involves the risk of the wiper blade being scratched.

Since strips or bands secured to the outside of the windscreen and arranged so that the blade will slide over them project from the surface of the windscreen, the travel of the blade will be bouncy, particularly at higher linear speeds of the blade.

We have discovered an arrangement which can eliminate these shortcomings.

Thus, the present invention consists in a lighttransmitting surface having one or more grooves, preferably two grooves, such that when the surface is repeatedly wiped with a wiper blade the groove is traversed by the blade, causing the blade to be cleaned by the edge of the groove.

The light transmitting surface is preferably the surface of a window such as a vehicle windscreen or back window, and these will generally be of glass.

The or each groove is preferably 1 mm or less in depth and preferably has the shape in cross-section of three sides of a rectangle (this shape will be referred to herein as rectangular). The groove is preferably straight, and, if more than one groove is provided, the grooves are preferably substantially parallel.

The invention also consists in a panel or plate having the special surface, and a window wiper juxtaposed such that the or each groove forms a slight angle in the plane of the panel or plate with the wiper blade when the blade passes over the groove. This slight angle means that a shearing action between the edges of the groove and the blade occurs, which results in more effective cleaning of the blade.

The grooves may be ground in the finished windscreen or be formed during production of the windscreen. Since the grooves are in the glass itself, they cannot move relative to the window. The grooves are formed as a recess in the glass surface, and the blade therefore slides appreciably more uniformly over the grooves than a strip or band projecting above the glass surface. According to a suitable design form, the grooves in the windscreen are made so that they form a slight angle with the longitudinal direction of the wiper blade, and only part of the blade edge is therefore in contact with the scraping edges of the grooves at any one time, and the blade edge is scraped clean gradually along the entire length of the blade. In this manner, the blade slides extremely uniformly over the grooves.

When the scraper edges are formed by the longitudinal edges of the grooves, the dirt particles removed from the blade will be retained in the grooves in a reliable manner, which is not possible when projecting strips or bands secured to the surface of the windscreen are used, since the blade then entrains already removed particles.

The invention is further illustrated by the accompanying drawing, wherein: Figure 1 shows schematically a windscreen with wipers on a vehicle viewed from the front, the windscreen being provided with the cleaning device in accordance with the invention; and Figure 2 shows a section to a larger scale along line Il-Il of Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows a cleaning device 1, which is formed on the outside of a vehicle windscreen 2 at the bottom edge of the swept area 4 of a wiper blade 3. In the design shown in Figure 2, the cleaning device consists of two grooves 5 ground in the surface of the windscreen, both with a rectangular cross-section. Both longitudinal edges of each of the grooves 5 form a sharp scraper edges 6.

When wiper blade 3 moves past the cleaning device 1, both of its surfaces will be scraped clean against edges 6 when the blade moves in the opposite direction across grooves 5. Grooves 5 are preferably somewhat longer than blades 3, so that the entire blade will be scraped clean. Dirt removed from the blade is collected in the grooves 5 and is not wiped back onto the windscreen 2. When the blade 3 entrains water on the succeeding wiper stroke, this water flushes away the dirt from the grooves.

As shown in Figure 1, grooves 5 form a slight angle in relation to blade 3. The blade edge will therefore gradually be scraped clean over the entire length of blade 3. In this manner, blade 3 slides very uniformly over groove 5.

The depth of the scraper grooves Sin the figures have been exaggerated for the sake of clarity. Tests have been demonstated that a groove with a depth smaller than 1 mm is sufficient for keeping the blade clean. Moreover, tests have shown that such a shallow groove will not appreciably affect the strength of the windscreen.

Claims (1)

1. 2. A surface according to Claim 1, having two substantially parallel grooves.

   3. A surface according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the or each groove is 1 mm or less in depth.

   4. A surface according to any one of Claims 1, 2 and 3, in which the or each groove is substantially rectangular in cross-section.

   5. A surface substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

   6. A light-transmitting plate or panel having a surface according to any one of Claims 1 to 5.

   7. A plate according to Claim 6, suitable for use in a window.

   8. A plate or panel according to Claim 7, suitable for use as a vehicle windscreen or rear window.

   9. A plate or panel according to Claim 8 or Clwm 9 and a window wiper juxtaposed such that the or each groove forms a slight angle in the plane of the plate or panel with the wiper blade when the blade passes over the groove.

   10. A device for cleaning wiper blades in wiper devices for windows, such as the windscreens of vehicles, the device comprising at least one scraper edge on the outside of the window and in the swept area of the wiper blade over which edge the wiper blade is arranged to slide when the wiper device is in operation, characterised in thatthe scraping edge consists of two grooves formed in the surface of the windscreen.

   New claim filed on 15 January 198 .Superseded claim 1

   1. A light-transmitting surface having two grooves which define four scraper edges, such that when the surface is repeatedly wiped with a wiper blade the grooves are transversed by the blade causing the blade to be cleaned by the edge of the groove.