Heated wiper blade

Abstract

TITLE: Heated wiper blade of a windshield wiper blade Wiper blade (12) of a wiper blade (10) in particular a windshield wiper comprising a wiping lip (32) for cleaning a surface (14). A heating electric wire (50) is integrated in the body of the wiper blade (12). The wiping lip (32) and a tilting spacer (30) are connected to the head (28). The heating electric wire (50) is integrated in the body of the wiper blade (12) in the region of its wiping lip (32). Figure 1

Description

Title of the invention: Heated wiper blade FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a heated wiping blade for a wiper or windshield wiper blade and its application.

[0002] Although the wiping blade is made of a flexible material having properties close to those of rubber and this material is natural or synthetic rubber or a material with similar characteristics, and for this reason it is sometimes called a "rubber blade", to simplify the presentation of the invention, expressions such as:

[0003] - wiping blade made of rubber or rubbery material,

[0004] - body made of rubber or rubbery material,

[0005] - rubber wiping corner,

[0006] will be replaced by simplified synonymous expressions:

[0007] - wiping blade,

[0008] - body or body of the blade,

[0009] - corner. STATE OF THE ART

[0010] Wiper blades of wiper blades, for example, windshield wiper blades, usually have a wiping lip which, in operation, comes into contact with the surface to be cleaned, such as, for example, a window. At cold temperatures, in particular, when the window to be cleaned is icy, the operation of the wiper blade is inefficient and for this reason, the wiper blade is heated so that at low temperatures, a regular wiping quality and reduced operating noise are obtained.

[0011] Thus, according to document DE 10 2018 219 929 A1, a wiping blade is known whose surface is coated with a heating layer.

[0012] Also known, according to document DE 10 2019 219 515 A1, is a windscreen wiper blade, in particular for a motor vehicle window, with an electric heating element connected to a carrier element of the windscreen wiper blade.

[0013] Furthermore, according to document DE 8603821, a various windscreen wiper blade is known, the heating electric wire of which is integrated into the plastic material of the windscreen wiper blade.

[0014] DISCLOSURE AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The subject of the invention is a wiper blade for a wiper blade, in particular windshield wiper comprising a wiping lip for cleaning a surface, this blade being characterized in that a heating electric wire is integrated into the body of the wiping blade.

[0016] Thus, the invention relates to a wiper blade for a wiper blade, in particular a windshield wiper, which has a wiping lip used to clean a surface. The wiper blade comprises a body in which a heating electric wire is integrated.

[0017] The particular advantage of the invention is that the presence of the electric heating wire directly in the rubber material of the wiper blade ensures direct heating of the wiper blade equipped with this wiper blade, the area of ​​which is exposed to low temperatures or icing because in its absence this could lead to particularly serious drawbacks during the operation of such a wiper blade.

[0018] In particular, at low temperatures, the reduction in elasticity of the rubber body of a wiper blade can result in an unsatisfactory wiping image. This is also true for icing of the wiper blade which can occur in this area.

[0019] According to another characteristic, the heating electric wire is integrated into the body, in particular in the longitudinal direction of the wiping blade. The wiping blade itself preferably has a structure with a wiping corner having a wiping lip for its side facing the surface to be cleaned; the corner of the wiping blade is connected to the head of the wiping blade by a tilting spacer. Preferably, the heating electric wire is integrated into the corner of the wiping blade.

[0020] According to a particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention, the electric heating wire has the form of a braid of metal wire. This braid is, for example, similar to fabric. The particular advantage of this embodiment is to be able to heat, if necessary, in a simple manner, entire surface areas of the body of the wiping blade.

[0021] According to a further advantageous development, the body of the wiping blade is made of a thermally conductive rubber material. The thermally conductive rubber material is a rubber material which contains thermally conductive fillers. A thermally conductive rubber material within the meaning of the present description corresponds to rubber materials having a thermal conductivity greater than 1 W / mK. The thermally conductive filler is, for example, graphite, metallic fillers such as, for example, copper or steel particles as well as ceramic fillers or fillers such as, for example, boron nitride.

[0022] According to another advantageous characteristic, in the context of the manufacture of the rubber body, the heating wire integrated in the rubber body is co-extruded with the material of the rubber body. Alternatively, the production can also be carried out by injection molding. In both cases, a wiper blade according to the invention is obtained in a simple manner.

[0023] The invention also relates to a wiper blade comprising a wiper blade. The wiper blade has electrical contacts, for example, for the contacts of the wiper blade, thus forming electrically conductive plug-in contacts. The advantage of this embodiment is that the wiper blade can be manufactured separately from the heating wire, and then the electrical contacts of the heating wire integrated in the wiper blade and those of the wiper blade or wiper blade can be joined together by a plug-in connection. The wiper blade or wiper blade itself can be electrically connected via the wiper arm to the electrical voltage source, such as, for example, the power source of the motor vehicle.

[0024] The wiping blade according to the invention, that is to say the wiping blade comprising this blade, can be used advantageously for windscreen wipers of motor vehicles, aircraft or railway vehicles as well as for cleaning fixed glazing of buildings or even sensor surfaces. Brief description of the drawings

[0025] The present invention will be described below in more detail with the aid of embodiments shown in the attached drawing in which:

[0026] [Fig.l] Schematic section of a wiper blade according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0027] DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0028] [Fig. 1] is a schematic section of a wiper blade 10 according to the invention. The wiper blade 12 shown here as bearing against a window 14, has a mainly three-part structure. The wiper blade 12 comprises a fixing segment 28, a tilting spacer 30 and a wiping lip 32. The wiping lip 32 is connected to the fixing segment 28 in a quasi-tilting manner by the tilting spacer 30 to move the wiping lip 32 over the window 14 in operation.

[0029] The fixing segment 28 comprises fixing means for fixing the wiper blade 12 to the carrier element 18. The carrier element 18 comprises, for example, two rails; it is made in the form of a flexible non-metallic strip, made of convexly bent steel. The fixing means 28 comprises, for example, two grooves 34 each receiving a rail of the carrier element 18. The carrier element 18 receives the wiper blade 12 between its two rails. In particular, the fixing segment 28 is held by the grooves 34 of the wiping blade 12 between the two rails of the carrier element 18.

[0030] The grooves 34 form a T-section segment 36 in the fixing segment 28; this segment is partly above, i.e. on the upper side of the carrier element 18 not facing the wiping lip 32. An electrical supply 26 of the heating installation is horizontal, offset, relative to this segment 36 of the fixing segment 28.

[0031] The carrier element 18 is further enclosed by a casing 16. This has a shape substantially in the form of an inverted U-shaped section with a base 38 and two branches. The free ends of the branches surround the rails of the carrier element 18 in the manner of clamps. The base 38 is in the form of a deflector 40. The branches of the inverted U-shape of the casing 16 further have, as an option, a first liquid channel 42 and a second liquid channel 44. The channels 42, 44 allow the supply of cleaning liquid for spraying it onto the window 14 while the wiper blade 10 according to the invention passes over the window 14.

[0032] The wiper blade 12 further comprises an electric heating wire 50 which is, for example, integrated in the rubber body of the wiper blade 12. The electric heating wire 50 is, for example, housed in the rubber material in the longitudinal direction of the wiper blade 12. Preferably, the electric heating wire 50 is integrated in the material of the wiper lip 32. According to an alternative embodiment, in the region of the tilting spacer 30 or the fixing segment 28, an electric heating wire is integrated. This thus also makes it possible to provide at least two electric heating wires in the rubber material of the wiper blade 12. Furthermore, it is possible to use a heat-conducting rubber material as the rubber material of the wiper blade 12.

[0033] The rubbery material of the wiper blade 12 comprises, in addition to the usual rubbery material such as natural rubber NR, chloroprene rubber CR or synthetic rubber EPDM, thermally conductive fillers. These fillers may be, for example, of an organic nature such as graphite, or of a metallic nature, for example, in the form of copper particles or of a ceramic nature such as, for example, in the form of boron nitride particles. Typically, the thermally conductive rubbery material has an overall thermal conductivity of 1 WmK or greater than this threshold. The electrical contact of the heating electric wire 30 is made, for example, by a contact by connection to the end of the wiper blade 12.Thus, the ends of the wiper blade 12 may have electrical connection contacts with corresponding electrical contacts in the region of the carrier element 18 or the deflector blade 40, thereby to have electrical contact.

[0034] The wiping blade 12 can be produced, for example, by coextruding an electric heating wire with a corresponding rubber material to form the wiping blade 12 or by integrating an electric heating wire into the wiping blade 12 when the latter is produced by an injection process.

[0035] Alternatively, the electric heating wire 50 may have the form of a metal braid. It is then, for example, a woven structure, a metal wire in analogy with the usual weaving techniques. This makes it possible to heat surface areas in the rubbery material of the wiper blade 12. It is also possible to have several braids of wire or wire fabric integrated in proximity, in particular to the surface in the rubbery material of the wiper blade 12.

[0036] NOMENCLATURE OF MAIN ELEMENTS

[0037] 10 Wiper blade

[0038] 12 Wiper blade

[0039] 14 Glass

[0040] 16 Envelope

[0041] 18 Carrier element

[0042] 26 Power supply

[0043] 28 Fixing segment / fixing means / head

[0044] 30 Tilting spacer

[0045] 32 Wiper lip

[0046] 34 Groove

[0047] 36 Segment of the fixing means

[0048] 38 Base of the U-shape

[0049] 40 Deflector blade

[0050] 42 Channel

[0051] 44 Channel

[0052] 50 Heating wire

Claims

Claims

1. Wiper blade (12) of a wiper blade, in particular a windshield wiper, comprising a wiping lip (32) for cleaning a surface (14), blade characterized in that a heating electric wire (50) is integrated into the body of the wiper blade (12).

2. Wiper blade (12) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a wiping lip (32) and a tilting spacer (30), * the wiping lip (32) being connected to the head (28) of the wiping blade by the tilting spacer (30), and * the electric heating wire (50) is integrated in the body of the wiping blade (12) in the region of the wiping lip (32).

3. A wiping blade (12) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the heating electric wire (50) is integrated into the body of the wiping blade (12) in the direction of longitudinal extension of the wiping blade (12).

4. Wiper blade (12) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electric heating wire (50) is in the form of a braid of wires.

5. Wiper blade (12) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least two electric heating wires (50) are integrated into the body (12) of the wiper blade.

6. Wiper blade (12) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the body of the wiper blade (12) is made at least partly of a heat-conducting rubber.

7. Wiper blade (12) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises electrical connections (26) for the operation of the heating wire (50).

8. Wiper blade (12) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the body of the wiper blade (12) is coextruded with the heating wire (50).

9. Wiper blade (10) comprising a wiper blade (12) according to one of the preceding claims and further comprising at least one carrier element (18), wiper blade characterized in that it comprises electrical contacts for the operation of the electric heating wire (50) integrated in the material of the wiper blade (12).

10. Wiper blade (10) according to claim 9, characterized in that the electrical contacts of the wiper blade (10) form a plug-in connection with the electrical contacts of the wiper blade (12).

11. Use of a wiping blade (12) according to one of claims 1 to 8 or a windscreen wiper blade according to claims 9 and 10, as a motor vehicle windscreen wiper, a rail vehicle windscreen wiper or an aircraft windscreen wiper as well as for wiping and cleaning building glazing or sensor surfaces.

Images