Windshield Wiper Creep Reduction via Preload
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Solution Overview
Problem
Windshield wiper devices face issues with material creep and smearing, especially on curved windshields, due to changing environmental conditions and material properties over the device's lifespan, leading to unwiped areas and reduced wiping quality.
Innovation Solution
A windshield wiper device design featuring an elongate upper and lower part with flexible connecting elements, preloaded to reduce primary creep behavior by at least 80%, using a mold for mechanical or thermal loading to maintain consistent material characteristics and improve adaptation to windshield curvature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the wiper blade uses flexible upper and lower parts with connecting elements, then the adaptation to windshield curvature is improved, but the material creep and smearing increase over time
Solution Approach 1:
The wiper blade is preloaded in a mold before final installation to compensate for future creep behavior. This preliminary action creates initial tension in the connecting elements that counteracts the material creep that will occur during service, thereby maintaining wiping quality consistency over time while preserving the flexible adaptation to windshield curvature.
Solution Approach 2:
The preload applied during molding creates an opposing force to the expected creep deformation. By applying this anti-action in advance, the connecting elements are pre-tensioned to resist the creep forces that will develop during normal operation, preventing smearing and maintaining reliable wiping performance.
2Reliability
If the wiper blade is preloaded to reduce creep behavior, then the wiping quality is improved, but the production complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The preload application is integrated into the molding process itself, combining two operations (molding and preloading) into a single manufacturing step. This eliminates the need for separate post-molding preload operations, thereby reducing production complexity while achieving the desired creep behavior reduction and improved wiping quality.
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
The solution effectively reduces material creep and smearing, ensuring a high and constant wiping quality by compensating for creep through film hinges and maintaining consistent material properties, thus enhancing the wiper's performance across various conditions.
Implementation Method 1
the first film hinge and/or the second film hinge are configured such that a creep of the elongate upper part and/or of the elongate lower part is substantially compensated by way of a creep of the first film hinge and/or of the second film hinge
Implementation Method 2
loading the windshield wiper device before final installation of the windshield wiper device on a vehicle, such that, after final installation of the windshield wiper device, a primary creep behavior of the windshield wiper device is substantially reduced
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for reducing material creep processes of a windshield washer device. The method comprises the providing (201) of a windshield washer device for a vehicle. The windshield washer device comprises a wiper blade (2) having an elongated top part (10) and an elongated bottom part (12), which are designed to be at least partially bendable. Furthermore, there is a plurality of connecting elements (18) for connecting the top part and the bottom part, wherein the connecting elements are spaced apart from each other along a longitudinal extension (8) of the wiper blade. The connecting elements (18) are designed to enable a movement of the top part (10) and the bottom part (12) relative to each other, having a movement component along a longitudinal extension (8) of the wiper blade. The method further comprises a loading (202) of the windshield wiper device before final assembly of the windshield wiper device on a vehicle such that, after final assembly of the windshield wiper device, a primary creep behavior of the windshield wiper device is substantially reduced, in particular by at least 80%.