Wiper Blade Adapter with Adjustable Sliding Spring Guide
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connection devices for wiper blades to wiper arms lack flexibility and secure articulation, particularly in accommodating different wiper arm designs and ensuring adequate pivoting angles, leading to potential misalignment and reduced operational efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A connection device featuring a sliding spring with a guide rail and locking mechanism that allows for adjustable positioning on a base panel, combined with a retaining spring and adapter design that includes a central web and transverse pins for secure attachment and pivoting freedom, enabling either toplock or sidelock connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed adapter design is used for connecting wiper blades to wiper arms, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but it lacks flexibility to accommodate different wiper arm designs and ensures adequate pivoting angles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by introducing a sliding spring that can be adjusted to different positions along the adapter. This allows the connection device to adapt to various wiper arm designs and pivoting angle requirements. The sliding spring moves along the longitudinal axis of the adapter and can be locked in different positions, providing dynamic adjustability rather than a fixed structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection device is segmented into distinct functional components: the adapter with guide rail, the sliding spring with locking mechanism, and the retaining spring assembly. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while working together as a integrated system, enhancing adaptability without proportionally increasing overall complexity.
2Reliability
If a simple adapter design is used, then manufacturing is easier, but secure articulation and proper alignment are not ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The sliding spring acts as an intermediary element between the adapter and the retaining spring. It provides both guidance and positioning functions, ensuring proper alignment while allowing for adjustment. The locking mechanism on the sliding spring secures the retaining spring in the correct position, ensuring reliable articulation without requiring complex manufacturing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by allowing the sliding spring to be positioned at different locations along the adapter's longitudinal axis. This positional parameter can be adjusted to accommodate different wiper arm designs and pivoting angle requirements. The locking mechanism enables discrete positioning at specific intervals, providing reliable articulation through controlled parameter variation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the retaining spring is fixed in position, then the structure is simpler, but it cannot accommodate different wiper arm designs and pivoting angles
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining spring is transformed from a fixed component to a dynamic one through the sliding mechanism. It can be positioned at different locations along the adapter and locked in place. This dynamic positioning capability allows the same connection device to accommodate various wiper arm designs and pivoting angles without requiring multiple different components.
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding spring with locking mechanism performs preliminary positioning action before the final assembly. By pre-positioning the retaining spring at the appropriate location along the adapter, the system ensures proper alignment and pivoting angle are established before the wiper blade is fully installed, simplifying the overall assembly process.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
The invention relates to a connection device (10) for the articulated connection of a wiper blade (28, 30) to a wiper arm, wherein a connection element (12, 120, 126) is tightly connected to the free end of the wiper arm, and the connection element is connected in an articulated manner via mounting means (88, 122, 124) to an adapter (22, 24), and the adapter is tightly seated on a support element (28) of the wiper blade (28, 30). It is suggested that a base cover (18), which surrounds the adapter (22, 24) and which can be attached to the adapter or to the support element (28), has a guide rail (66) running in the longitudinal direction (136), and that a push-spring (16) is mounted thereon and is adjustable in the longitudinal direction (136), and that the push-spring can be attached to a guide block (112) of the base cover (18) in different positions with different offset distances (114, 116, 118) in the longitudinal direction (136) of the guide rail (66) by means of locking means (68, 70, 72), wherein the guide block is connected to the end of the guide rail (66) on the wiper arm side.