Wiper Blade Support Elements for Uniform Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wiper blades for motor vehicle windows often experience uneven surface pressure and increased noise during operation, particularly due to inadequate distribution of mechanical load and material properties at elevated temperatures, leading to suboptimal contact and higher material requirements.
Innovation Solution
The wiper blade employs two parallel, spring-elastic support elements with opposite curvatures and a material connection at their ends, ensuring even surface pressure and reduced noise through a structured mechanical pre-bending design, allowing for efficient force distribution and improved contact pressure properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If a single support element is used in conventional wiper blades, then the structure is simple, but the surface pressure distribution is uneven and noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support element is divided into multiple strip-like spring-elastic segments arranged parallel to each other. These segmented support elements work together to distribute the mechanical load more evenly across the wiper strip, achieving uniform surface pressure on the window while reducing noise during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the support elements are given different mechanical pre-bends tailored to local requirements. The support elements have varying curvatures along their length to compensate for local deformation characteristics, ensuring optimal contact pressure distribution across different regions of the wiper blade.
2Reliability
If material properties are increased to handle elevated temperatures, then reliability improves, but material requirements and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support elements are designed with specific spring-elastic properties and mechanical pre-bends that allow them to maintain reliable performance under elevated temperatures. By optimizing the elastic parameters and pre-bend configurations, the system achieves temperature resilience without requiring excessive material quantities or specialized high-temperature materials.
3Stress or pressure
If the wiper blade is designed for even surface pressure, then contact pressure properties improve, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support elements feature asymmetric cross-sections (triangular, rectangular, or trapezoidal) with different moments of inertia about different axes. This asymmetric geometry is deliberately designed to achieve even surface pressure distribution when the elements are subjected to loading, as the asymmetric shape allows for optimized stress distribution across the contact area.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design achieves uniform surface pressure between the wiper blade and window, reduces noise, and lowers material requirements, resulting in an inexpensive wiper blade with enhanced contact pressure performance, even at elevated temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
a band-like, spring-elastic support unit (18)... two parallel, spring-elastic support elements (20, 22)... Due to the resilient property of the support elements, these can be deformed elastically by the action of force
Implementation Method 2
If the at least two strip-like, spring-elastic support elements have different mechanical pre-bends in at least one operating state, a uniform surface pressure between the wiper blade and the window can be achieved in a structurally particularly simple manner
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The wiper blade has a rubber-elastic wiper strip (12) which is provided with respect to main extension direction (16) on a belt-like elastic supporting unit (18). A terminal device (30) is arranged in central portion (24) of the supporting unit. The terminal device is provided with connecting portion (32) which is attached with a wiper arm (34). The supporting unit arranged parallel to the windscreen (10) is provided with band-like resilient support elements (20,22) made of aluminum, steel or plastic.