BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a windshield wiper and more particularly to a non-bracket windshield wiper.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
A conventional windshield wiper for automobile, as shown in FIG. 7, is comprised of a bracket structure holding a rubber blade 10. The bracket structure comprises an arm holder frame 201, two arms 202 respectively riveted to the two distal ends of the arm holder frame 201 with a respective rivet 402, and two extension strips 203 respectively riveted to the distal ends of the arms 202 with a respective rivet 402 to hold the rubber blades 10. Further, a pivot shaft 301 is transversely riveted to the arm holder frame 201 on the middle for mounting to a windshield. This design of windshield wiper has a complicated structure formed of multiple component parts. The fabrication and assembly process of this design of windshield wiper are complicated, resulting in a high manufacturing cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention to provide a non-bracket windshield wiper which saves much material cost and is easy to assemble without rivets. It is another object of the present invention to provide a non-bracket windshield wiper which allows free replacement of the rubber blades. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the non-bracket windshield wiper comprises an H-shaped and smoothly arched elastic metal bow strip, which has a middle neck and two longitudinal crevices at two sides of the neck, a holder frame mounted with a packing member and affixed to the middle part of the elastic metal bow strip for mounting to a windshield, two holding strips respectively coupled to the longitudinal crevices of the elastic metal bow strip, two back rubber strips respectively coupled to two top engagement structures of the holding strips, a rubber wiper blade coupled to two bottom engagement structures of the holding strips, and two end caps respectively capped on the two ends of the elastic metal bow strip.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a non-bracket windshield wiper according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the elastic metal bow strip for the non-bracket windshield wiper according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the non-bracket windshield wiper according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a part of the non-bracket windshield wiper according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a windshield wiper according to the prior art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIGS. 1˜3, a non-bracket windshield wiper in accordance with the present invention comprises a elastic metal bow strip 1, two holding strips 2, two back rubber strips 3, a rubber wiper blade 4, and two end caps 5.
The elastic metal bow strip 1 has a neck 11 on the middle, two elongated crevices 12 longitudinally aligned at two sides of the neck 11 (see FIG. 2), two retaining notches 111 on the two opposite lateral side edges thereof corresponding to the neck 11, for the mounting of a holder frame 13, which is mounted with a rubber packing member 14 (see FIG. 3). FIGS. 2 and 3 show the elastic metal bow strip 1 straightly extended out. Before application, the elastic metal bow strip 1 is stamped into a smoothly arched shape (see FIG. 1). Further, the elastic metal bow strip 1 has a hook notch 15 at each of the two opposite sides of the two opposite ends.
The two holding strips 2, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, are preferably made of a flexible plastic material, each having a top engagement structure 21 and a bottom engagement structure 22 symmetrically disposed at the top and bottom sides, and two coupling grooves 23 extending along the length and symmetrically disposed at the two opposite lateral sides. The holding strips 2 are respectively inserted into the elongated crevices 12 of the elastic metal bow strip 1 to force the coupling grooves 23 into engagement with the elastic metal bow strip 1 (see FIG. 5). The top engagement structure 21 comprises a plurality of pairs of engagement blocks 211 arranged in two rows for securing the back rubber strips 3. The bottom engagement structure 22 is formed of two hook strips arranged in parallel for securing the rubber wiper blade 4.
Each back rubber strip 3 has two sidewalls 31 that are smoothly inwardly arched in transverse direction and joined at the top side, and a coupling rail 32 longitudinally disposed at the bottom side between the two sidewalls 31. By means of forcing the coupling rails 32 of the back rubber strips 3 into engagement with the pairs of engagement blocks 211, the back rubber strips 3 are coupled to the holding strips 2 (See FIG. 5). The coupling rail 32 can be an integrated rail, or formed of a plurality of separated segments. Further, the two smoothly arched sidewalls 31 can be made to have an equal height and equal curvature. Alternatively, the two smoothly arched sidewalls 31 can be made to have different heights and different curvatures. According to this embodiment, the two smoothly arched sidewalls 31 have an equal height and equal curvature.
The rubber wiper blade 4 is a narrow rubber strip having a predetermined length. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the rubber wiper blade 4 has a buffer strip 42 longitudinally disposed on the middle, a coupling rail 41 longitudinally disposed at the top side of the buffer strip 42, and a tapered wiping blade body 43 longitudinally disposed at the bottom side of the buffer strip 42. By forcing the coupling rail 41 of the rubber wiper blade 4 into engagement with the bottom engagement structure 22, the rubber wiper blade 4 is coupled to the holding strips 2 (see FIG. 5).
The two end caps 5 are respectively capped on the two distal ends of the elastic metal bow strip 1 and forced into engagement with the hook notches 15 and respectively abutted against the distal ends of the back rubber strips 3.
As indicated above, the invention uses the elastic metal bow strip 1, the two holding strips 2, the two back rubber strips 3, the rubber wiper blade 4 and the two end caps 5 to constitute a non-bracket windshield wiper for attaching to a windshield to maintain clear vision of the windshield. The installation of the non-bracket windshield wiper is simple without the use of any rivets, thus saving much material and installation cost. Further, the invention allows easy replacement of the rubber wiper blade 4.
FIG. 6 illustrates the connection between the holder frame 13 and the rubber protector 14. As illustrated, the holder frame 13 has two engagement blocks 133 symmetrically disposed at two opposite lateral sides and respectively engaged into the retaining notches 111 of the elastic metal bow strip 1, a plurality of bottom mounting legs 131 symmetrically disposed at two sides that are respectively hammered down and firmly secured to the bottom side of the elastic metal bow strip 1 after the engagement blocks 133 are engaged into the respective retaining notches 111, and a pivot shaft 132 transversely disposed at the top for mounting to a windshield.
A prototype of non-bracket windshield wiper has been constructed with the features of FIGS. 1˜6. The non-bracket windshield wiper functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.
Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
Patent Grant
7503095
