Windshield wiper device

Abstract

The invention relates to a windshield wiper device (10) for cleaning a windshield (12) of a vehicle, comprising a wiper arm (22), a wiper blade adapter (34), and a wiper blade (14), wherein the wiper blade (14) has at least one cleaning device comprising at least one first fluid channel (36) for a cleaning fluid and at least one, preferably several, nozzle elements (102) connected to the first fluid channel (36). It is proposed that at least one puncture element (60) for introducing an access opening (31) into the first fluid channel (36) be provided on the wiper arm (22) and / or wiper blade adapter (34).

Description

Prior ArtThe invention relates to a windshield wiper device, in particular for a motor vehicle, according to the species of the independent claim.In the prior art, plug-and-socket connections are provided for contacting the fluid line between the wiper arm and the wiper blade. These are complicated and cost-intensive.Disclosure of the InventionThe invention is based on a windshield wiper device for cleaning a windshield of a vehicle, having a wiper arm, a wiper blade adapter and a wiper blade, wherein the wiper blade has at least one cleaning device having at least one first fluid channel for cleaning fluid and at least one, preferably a plurality of, nozzle elements connected to the first fluid channel. It is proposed that at least one puncturing element for introducing an access opening into the first fluid channel is provided on the wiper arm and / or wiper blade adapter.The present invention has the advantage that the connection between the fluid channel in the wiper blade and a feed line of the cleaning liquid outside the wiper blade can be produced cost-effectively using particularly simple means. The implementation of a puncturing element enables a direct and precise introduction of an access opening into the fluid channel. The puncturing element requires a low integration effort and can be implemented with particularly simple means. This contributes to a cost-effective production of the windshield wiper device. At the same time, the use of the puncturing element opens up the possibility of making the wiper strip unit replaceable as a reflow solution. This means that the wiper strip unit, which can have the fluid channel and the nozzle elements, can be replaced separately if necessary, without having to replace the entire windshield wiper device. This modularity not only facilitates maintenance, but also allows users to replace only the required parts, which can result in additional cost savings.The measures listed in the dependent claims result in advantageous refinements and improvements of the features specified in the main claim.According to an advantageous further development of the invention, the wiper arm and / or the wiper blade adapter has at least one second fluid channel which is designed to be connectable to the first fluid channel via the puncturing element.A particularly simple and cost-effective solution can be provided in particular in that the puncture element has at least one hollow needle connected to the second fluid channel, which hollow needle is designed to pierce a wall surrounding the fluid channel for the introduction of an access opening to the first fluid channel. Preferably, the first fluid channel is arranged in a wind deflector element and / or a wiper strip unit.In order to make possible a simpler puncturing of the wall, the wall according to a particularly preferred development of the invention has a puncture section in the region of the access opening, which puncture section is formed more easily pierceable by the at least one hollow needle. The puncture section preferably has a wall material with reduced hardness and / or increased ductility compared to the wall adjoining the puncture section, wherein the wall material is preferably formed at least partially structured, in particular pre-perforated, in the puncture section.For easier puncture, it can furthermore be provided according to a further advantageous development of the invention that the wall in the puncture section has a material tapering, in particular a wall thickness reduced by at least 1 / 5, preferably at least 1 / 3, particularly preferably at least 1 / 2, compared to the wall adjoining the puncture section.For optimum local introduction of force at the puncture point, it can be provided according to an advantageous development of the invention that an outer edge region of the puncture section has a stiffening structure, in particular a stiffening ring.Furthermore, for improved punctureability, it can be provided that the hollow needle has a penetration tip, wherein the penetration tip is preferably formed in a beveled manner. The hollow needle can be particularly sharp-edged, in particular in the region of the penetration tip.According to an advantageous further development of the invention, the wiper blade has at least one wind deflector element and a wiper strip having at least one wiper base body and at least one wiper lip, wherein the first fluid channel is formed at least partially in the wind deflector element and / or in the wiper strip.According to an advantageous development of the invention, a puncturing element has a plurality of hollow needles, wherein a plurality of puncturing elements are preferably provided.A simple and particularly stable connection of the puncturing element can be provided in particular in that the wiper arm and / or the wiper blade adapter has at least one holding element for receiving the at least one puncturing element. Preferably, the wiper blade adapter and / or the holding element is pivotably mounted. Preferably, the holding element is designed to be elastic. Preferably, the holding element is designed to be displaceable in the longitudinal direction.A particularly precise puncturing can be provided in particular in that the puncturing element has a slotted link element in which the at least one hollow needle is guided.DRAWINGSExemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and explained in more detail in the following description. The following are shown: FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a windshield wiper device according to the invention in an exploded illustration, FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a detail of a windshield wiper device, FIGS. 3 a, 3 b show a schematic sectional illustration through a wiper blade according to a first and a second embodiment, FIG. 4 is a plan view of a puncture section according to FIG. 2 b, FIG. 5 shows a schematic sectional illustration through a wiper blade with a link element according to one embodiment, FIG. 6 shows a schematic illustration of a holding element.DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTSIn the various embodiments, like parts are given the same reference numerals.FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a wiper blade 14 of a windshield wiper device 10. The wiper blade 14 has a longitudinal direction L as the main direction of extent. In particular, the longitudinal direction L is substantially parallel to a main extension direction of the wiper blade 14. the longitudinal direction L is preferably at least substantially perpendicular to a provided wiping direction of the wiper blade 14. Preferably, the wiper blade 14 comprises a wiper blade adapter 34. preferably, the wiper blade 14 comprises two wind deflector elements 28 a, 28 b. According to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, the wind deflecting elements 28 a, 28 bhave in each case a plurality of nozzle elements 102. It is also conceivable for the nozzle elements to be arranged on the wiper strip unit 16.The nozzle elements 102 are preferably introduced by means of lasers as nozzle openings into the wiper blade 14, in particular the wind deflector element 28 a, 28 b. The wiper blade 14 furthermore preferably has a spring rail 17 and a wiper strip unit 16 having a wiper base body 15 and a wiper lip 13. Preferably, the wiper strip unit 16 is designed to be replaceable. Preferably, at least one wind deflecting element 28 a, 28 band / or the wiper strip unit 16 has at least one first fluid channel as a supply of the cleaning liquid to the nozzle elements 102.The wiper blade 14 illustrated in FIG. 1 can be a first wiper blade 14 aof an inner circle zone or a second wiper blade 14 bof an outer circle zone for cleaning a front windshield of a vehicle. The wiper blade adapter 34 is preferably designed such that it can be connected to a wiper arm 22 (not illustrated here). Preferably, the wiper blade adapter 34 and / or the wiper arm 22 has at least one second fluid channel 38 which is preferably configured to be connected to a reservoir of a cleaning liquid.In FIG. 2, the connection between the wiper arm 22 and the wiper blade 14 is shown in simplified form. The windshield wiper device 10 has a wiper arm 22, a wiper blade adapter 34 and a wiper blade 14. The wiper blade adapter 34 is designed to fasten the wiper blade 14 to the wiper arm 22. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the wiper blade 14 has a first fluid channel 36. According to one embodiment, the wiper arm 22 and the wiper blade adapter 34 each have, in sections, a second fluid channel 38 which is connected to a reservoir for a cleaning liquid. For connecting the first fluid channel 36 to the second fluid channel 38, the cleaning device of the windshield wiper device now has a puncturing element 60. According to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 2, the puncture element 60 has a hollow needle 61. The puncturing element 60 is provided for introducing an access opening 31 into the first fluid channel 36. In the punctured state, the second fluid channel 38 is thus configured to be fluidically connected to the first fluid channel 36 via the puncturing element 61.According to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 a, 3 b, 4 and 5, the puncture element 60 has a hollow needle 61 in each case. However, it is also conceivable for the puncture element 60 to have a plurality of hollow needles, which can be held in a common holding element 100 or different holding elements 100. The puncturing element 60 is preferably arranged on the wiper arm 22 or wiper blade adapter 34 and can preferably be moved manually via the wiper arm 22 and / or the wiper blade adapter 34 in the direction of the mounting arrow 62.The hollow needle 61 preferably has an inner diameter which is suitable for introducing a sufficiently large amount of fluid or partial fluid quantity into the first fluid channel 36 for cleaning the disk 12. The inner diameter is preferably greater than 1 mm, preferably between 1 mm and 3 mm, so that a sufficient amount of fluid can be introduced into the fluid channel 36 and simultaneously icing of the hollow needles 61 can be advantageously prevented. The inner diameters of individual hollow needles may be different from one another.If the puncturing element 60 is moved towards the wiper blade 14, the hollow needle 61 pierces and pierces the wall 30 of the wiper blade, so that an access opening 31 to the first fluid channel 36 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 2 aand 2 b, the wall of the wiper blade can have a puncturing section 42 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is punctured by the hollow needle 61.Below the puncturing section, the wiper blade has a first fluid channel for a cleaning liquid. After piercing the wall 30, the hollow needle 61 forms a liquid access to this first fluid channel 36, so that a cleaning fluid, which flows through the second fluid channel 38, can pass via the hollow needle 61 into the first fluid channel 36. The first fluid channel 36 is in turn connected to at least one, preferably a plurality of nozzle elements, via which the cleaning liquid is subsequently sprayed onto the disk.Preferably, the second fluid channel 38 is connected to a fluid reservoir from which the cleaning liquid is removed. It is conceivable for each hollow needle 61 to be configured to be connected to a separate second fluid channel 38 which in turn have its own reservoirs. However, it is also conceivable for a second fluid channel 38 to supply a plurality of hollow needles with fluid.FIG. 3 ashows a simplified sectional view through a wiper blade 14. The wiper blade 14 has a first fluid channel 36. The first fluid channel is preferably surrounded by a wall 30. The wall has a puncture section 42 which is pierced by at least one hollow needle 61 of the puncture element 60. According to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 2 a, the wall material 44 is formed to be tapered in the region of the puncture section. Preferably, the wall material 44 has a reduced wall thickness 46 in the region of the puncture section at least 1 / 5, preferably 1 / 3, particularly preferably 1⁄2, compared to the wall thickness 48 surrounding the puncture section 42.According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is also conceivable for the puncturing section 42 to be formed from a different material than the surrounding wall 30. It is also conceivable for the puncture section 42 to have depressions which facilitate engagement of the hollow needle 61. Preferably, the puncturing section 42 is designed as a predetermined breaking point. It is also conceivable that the puncture section 42 has pores which facilitate puncturing.According to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 3 aand 3 b, the hollow needle 61 has a penetration tip 66, wherein the penetration tip 66 is preferably formed in a beveled manner. Preferably, the penetration tip is sharp-edged in such a way that the wall 30 can be pierced with little assembly effort. In the assembled state, the penetration tip 66 is preferably arranged within the first fluid channel 36. The first fluid channel 36 can also have a round, oval or other diameter suitable for the flow against the nozzle elements.In Fig. 3b, a further embodiment of the invention is depicted. In contrast to FIG. 3 a, the puncture section 42 has a wall material with reduced hardness and / or increased ductility compared to the wall 30 adjoining the puncture section. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 b, the wiper blade 14 has a stiffening structure 70, in particular a stiffening ring, in the outer edge region 80 of the puncture section 42. The stiffening structure 70 is particularly advantageously designed to reduce the wall 30 from yielding under the assembly force, so that the assembly force can be introduced completely into the penetration point. Furthermore, the reinforcing structure 70 can be provided to prevent tearing in the region of the puncture site. FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the embodiment according to FIG. 3 b.According to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5, the puncturing element 60 has a slotted link element 90 which is designed for guiding the at least one hollow needle 61. For this purpose, the link element 90 has a guide structure 92, in particular a guide channel, which is suitable for restricting the freedom of movement of the hollow needle 61 in at least one, preferably two, spatial directions. The hollow needles 61 have a penetration tip 66 in order to facilitate the piercing of the wall in the region of the puncture section 42.According to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5, the hollow needle 61 is guided in a slotted link element 90, which enables precise and stable contacting and also reduces the risk of damage. In addition, the wall 30 of the wiper blade 14 is uniformly pressed against the wall 30 by the gate element 90 which is configured in a planar manner when the wall is pierced, such that local force peaks can be reduced. According to a preferred embodiment, the guide channel 92 has a sliding layer 94.FIG. 6 shows a possible embodiment of a fastening of the puncturing element 60 to a wiper arm 22 or a wiper blade adapter 34. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the wiper arm 22 and / or the wiper blade adapter 34 has at least one retaining element 100 for receiving the at least one puncturing element 60. The hollow needle 61 is preferably accommodated in a holding element 100 on a side facing away from the penetration tip 66, so that a reliable puncturing can be made possible by means of the assembly movement of the wiper arm 22 or of the wiper blade adapter 34.According to an advantageous further development, the holding element 100 is designed as a bridge element, in particular an elastic bridge element, which enables longitudinal displacement in the longitudinal direction L of the hollow needle 61. During a movement of the wiper blade 14, the hollow needle 61 can thus be moved together with the wiper blade 14 in the mounted state, i.e. in the inserted state. Alternatively or additionally, it is also conceivable for the holding element 100 itself to be mounted so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction L, so that the contacting is reliably maintained during the movement of the wiper blade 14. According to an advantageous further development of the invention, the wiper blade adapter 34 and / or the holding element 100 is designed to be pivotably mounted.

Claims

Windscreen wiper device (10) for cleaning a window (12) of a vehicle, having a wiper arm (22), a wiper blade adapter (34) and a wiper blade (14), wherein the wiper blade (14) has at least one cleaning device having at least one first fluid duct (36) for a cleaning liquid and at least one, preferably a plurality of, nozzle elements (102) connected to the first fluid duct (36), characterized in that at least one puncturing element (60) for introducing an access opening (31) into the first fluid duct (36) is provided on the wiper arm (22) and / or wiper blade adapter (34).Windscreen wiper device (10) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the wiper arm (22) and / or the wiper blade adapter (34) has at least one second fluid duct (38) which is designed such that it can be connected to the first fluid duct (36) via the puncturing element (60).Windscreen wiper device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the puncturing element (60) has at least one hollow needle (61) which is designed to pierce a wall (30) surrounding the fluid channel (36) in order to introduce an access opening (31) to the first fluid channel (36).Windscreen wiper device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wall (30) has, in the region of the access opening (31), a puncturing section (42) which is formed more easily pierceable by the puncturing element (60).Windscreen wiper device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the puncturing section (42) has a wall material (44) with reduced hardness and / or increased ductility compared to the wall (30) adjoining the puncturing section (42), wherein the wall material (44) is preferably formed at least partially structured, in particular pre-perforated, in the puncturing section (42).Windscreen wiper device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that wall (30) in the puncturing section (42) has a material tapering, in particular a wall thickness (46) which is reduced by at least 1 / 5, preferably at least 1 / 3, particularly preferably at least 1 / 2, compared with the wall thickness (48) of wall (30) adjoining the puncturing section (42).Windscreen wiper device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a stiffening structure (70), in particular a stiffening ring, is arranged in the outer edge region (80) of the puncturing section (42).Windscreen wiper device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hollow needle (61) has a penetration tip (66), wherein the penetration tip (66) is preferably designed in a beveled manner.Windscreen wiper device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wiper blade (14) has at least one wind deflector element (28a, 28b) and a wiper strip unit (16) having at least one wiper base body (15) and at least one wiper lip (13), wherein the first fluid duct (36) is formed at least partially in the wind deflector element (28a, 28b) and / or in the wiper strip unit (16).Windscreen wiper device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one puncturing element (60) has a plurality of hollow needles (61), wherein preferably a plurality of puncturing elements (60) are provided.Windscreen wiper device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wiper arm (22) and / or the wiper blade adapter (34) has at least one retaining element (100) for receiving the at least one puncturing element (60).Windscreen wiper device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wiper blade adapter (34) and / or the retaining element (100) are designed to be pivotably mounted.Windscreen wiper device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the puncturing element (60) has a slotted link element (90), in which the at least one hollow needle (61) is guided.

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