The use of windshield wipers is critical to ensuring that rain, dew, and other forms of liquid moisture are efficiently and effectively removed from the windshield of vehicles. However, when ice, hard packed snow, or other frozen precipitation forms on windshields, commonly used windshield wipers, with their resilient, flexible rubber blades, are ineffective. In fact, the use of these wipers on ice usually results in damaging of the blades.
Various attempts have been made to connect ice scraper elements to windshield wipers. These prior wiper systems have proven to be either ineffective in removing frozen precipitation from windshields or impractical in that they are difficult to effectively attach to existing wipers. Other prior wiper/scrapers are complex devices which utilize multiple parts, making them expensive to manufacture and, inevitably, to replace.
It is thus the object of the present invention to provide a windshield wiper with ice scraper attachment which overcomes the disadvantages and limitations of prior windshield wipers and windshield wiper systems.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a windshield wiper which effectively serves not only to remove water from the windshield, but which also can easily and simply be converted to an ice scraper.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a windshield wiper having an ice scraper which can be slideably adjusted outward toward the windshield of a vehicle, when needed, to effectively and efficiently remove ice, hard packed snow, and other frozen precipitation from the windshield.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a windshield wiper which can be adjustably retracted away from the windshield when it is not needed, in order to allow its wiper blade to perform the windshield water clearing function.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a windshield wiper which consists of only a few parts and thus is inexpensive to manufacture and less susceptible to requiring repair.
These and other objects are accomplished by the present invention, a windshield wiper with a wiper arm having a window clearing blade and an ice scraper component located above the blade. The outer edges of the blade and scraper component are curved, so as to be configured to the shape of the windshield of the vehicle. Wing nut and screw attachment means allows the scraper component to be slideable between a position in which the scraper component is slid forward of the blade and contacts the windshield to perform its ice clearing function and a second position in which it is retracted away from the windshield of a vehicle to allow the blade to perform its water clearing function.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention, itself, however, both as to its design, construction and use, together with additional features and advantages thereof, are best understood upon review of the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Windshield wiper 1 of the present invention comprises an upper wiper support arm 2 fixedly secured to water clearing blade 4. Blade 4 is made of rubber or equivalent flexible resilient material. Support arm 2 of windshield wiper 1 also comprises ice scraper component 8, at all times located above both the support arm and blade 4. Attachment means, in the form of screws 12 and 14 and corresponding threaded wing nuts 16 and 18, are provided to join and connect these windshield wiper components. Screws 12 and 14 extend through support arm 2 of windshield wiper 1 to blade 4 to fixedly connect the support arm to the blade. Screws 12 and 14 are positioned in fore and aft extending slots 20 and 22 through scraper component 8, to maintain the scraper component in position atop the support arm. Upon threading of wing nuts 16 and 18 around screws 12 and 14, scraper component 8 is tightly held against support arm 2.
Outer edges 24 and 26 of blade 4 and scraper component 8 are both curved so as to be configured to the shape of windshield 30 of the vehicle 32. The radii of curvature of outer edges 24 and 26 are substantially the same, as best seen in
When scraper component 8 is to be used to scrape ice and frozen snow off windshield 30, wing nuts 16 and 18 are loosened from threaded screws 12 and 14. This allows scraper component 8 to be slid forward of blade 4, along screws 12 and 14 positioned in slots 20 and 22 of the scraper component. Scraper component 8 is slid forward enough so that its curved surface 22 contacts windshield 30 and blade 4 is not in contact with the windshield. See
When scraper component 8 is no longer needed to remove frozen precipitation, wing nuts 16 and 18 are again loosened from screws 12 and 14. Scraper component 8 is then slid rearward, along screws 12 and 14 positioned in slots 20 and 22 of the scraper component, so that its curved surface 22 no longer contacts windshield 30. See
The present invention thus provides a novel windshield wiper which can not only be utilized for normal windshield water clearing purposes, but also can readily and simply be converted for scraping ice and frozen snow off the windshield, without damaging the resilient flexible water clearing blade of the windshield wiper.
Certain novel features and components of this invention are disclosed in detail in order to make the invention clear in at least one form thereof. However, it is to be clearly understood that the invention as disclosed is not necessarily limited to the exact form and details as disclosed, since it is apparent that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20160016540 A1 | Jan 2016 | US |