Patent Application
20150307064
The present invention relates to automotive accessories and, more particularly, to an abrasive strip that can be applied to an exterior of a windshield to permit a windshield wiper blade to pass thereover to clean, renew and restore the windshield wiper blade.
Windshield wiper blades operate by passing a flexible strip of material, such as rubber, or the like, over a windshield surface, thereby cleaning the surface of the windshield via a squeegee action. However, if a particle gets stuck onto the windshield wiper blade, the boundary between the blade and the windshield surface is no longer smooth and squeegee action of the wiper on the windshield surface can streak as it passes.
Moreover, buildup of dirt, oxidation, fine debris, pollen and the like, on a wiper blade and negatively affect the ability of the wiper to smoothly pass along the windshield surface.
Also, as a windshield wiper ages, the blade becomes less and less effective from dirt, wear, cracks and chips. Even a wiper blade of limited age can be seen to be extremely dirty, as just running a finger along the blade can turn one's finger black with dirt. Not only does this reduce the ability of the wiper blade to clean the windshield, the wiper can also become noisy while being operated.
To overcome these issues, wiper cleaners are used. These cleaners, however, require the user to manually clean the wiper blade, often with a rag and a solvent, for example. This, however, may not be done, as, when a user is reminded to clean the wiper blades (via operation of the windshield wipers), the weather is usually not suited for working on the wiper blades. Therefore, the problem often continues to worsen over time.
As can be seen, there is a need for a device that can effectively and easily clean the wiper blades without requiring additional work of the user.
In one aspect of the present invention, a method for treating a blade operating on a glass surface comprises passing the blade over an abrasive strip affixed to the glass surface; and contacting a wiping edge of the blade with the abrasive strip to repair, restore, refinish, re-sharpen and remove foreign substances therefrom.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method for treating a wiper blade on a windshield of a vehicle comprises passing the wiper blade over an abrasive strip attached to the windshield during operation of the wiper blade of the vehicle; and contacting a wiping edge of the wiper blade with the abrasive strip to repair, restore, refinish, re-sharpen and remove foreign substances therefrom.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.
The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a device that can be applied upon or included into a windshield that has an abrasive exterior surface. The device can be applied to the windshield at a location over which the windshield wiper will pass, thereby causing the abrasive exterior to contact the wiper blade, cleaning the wiping surface of the wiper blade to provide an even and clean squeegee action as the wiper passes over the windshield.
Referring to
The abrasive strip 10 can attach to the windshield 12 by various manners, such as with an adhesive pre-applied to the strip, with a glue, by film coating, by a cling adhesion, or the like.
The strip 10 may be made of various materials, such as paper, plastic, rubber, textile, or the like, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the strip 10 may be applied in liquid form to the windshield 14, forming the strip 10 as the liquid dries. In this embodiment, the liquid may have a substance (such as sand alumina, or the like) that may create an abrasive surface when the liquid dries. The liquid may have a sufficient viscosity such that the liquid will not run down and/or off the windshield upon application thereto and will stay in place while the liquid dries.
In some vehicles, while the windshield wipers are in continuous use, they may or may not pass over the abrasive strip 10, however, when the wipers are turned off, the wiper blades 14 may be disposed/stored at a lower position lower than the lowest position the wiper blades 14 reach while operating. In this case, the abrasive strip 10 may be disposed so that the wipers pass over the abrasive only when the wiper blades 14 are turned on or off and not while in continuous operation.
In some vehicles, the wiper blades 14 may move to their lowest point, even during operation. In this embodiment, the wiper blades 14 may pass over the abrasive strip 10 during each wipe of the windshield 12.
In either case, the wiper blades 14 pass over the abrasive strip 14, cleaning the wiper blade 14 and improving their effectiveness.
In still other embodiments, the abrasive strip 10 may be applied at a maximum stroke position of the wiper blade 14. This embodiment may be most suitable for single wiper blades or opposed wiper blades, where the maximum stroke position may be along a side of a windshield 14, for example, as shown in
Typically, the abrasive strip 10 may be provided in a length equal to or slightly longer than the wiper blade 14. In some embodiments, as shown in
The abrasive adhesive of the present invention may be used on any vehicle having a windshield. This can include a front windshield or a rear window, for example. In addition, the abrasive adhesive may be useful for window washers, where the abrasive adhesive may be applied to one or more windows to allow a window washer to pass their squeegee thereover, thus cleaning the squeegee blade.
It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 61/985,49, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61985499 | Apr 2014 | US |
