BACKGROUND OF THE I TVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention relates to wash wiper switch control assemblies for vehicles such as automotive cars and trucks, and more particularly to a wash wiper switch control assembly for controlling the on/off operation of a plurality of windshield wipers of the vehicle in addition to controlling the application of windshield washer solvent to the windshield of the vehicle.

2. Discussion

Many present day automobiles, trucks and other motor vehicles include some form of wash wiper switch control assembly. The wash wiper switch control assembly typically performs two functions: controlling the on/off operation of a plurality of windshield wipers of the vehicle as well as the application of windshield washer solvent to the windshield of the vehicle. Many such switch control assemblies further allow intermittent wiper operation and operator control over the frequency of wiper operation. This allows the speed of the windshield wipers to be increased or decreased within a predetermined range by the operator rotating a cover member of the switch assembly, to thereby allow the speed of the wipers to be tailored to the environmental conditions such as the severity of a rain storm which the vehicle is passing through.

Such prior developed wash/wiper switch control assemblies typically include a cover member which is graspable by the operator, a spring at least partially disposed within the cover member, an actuator member which is at least partially disposed within the cover member in such a manner that rotation of the cover member causes a corresponding rotation of the actuator member, a wiper contact member physically secured to the actuator member and a wash contact member which is physically secured to the interior of the cover member. The wiper contact member operates to selectively complete a circuit secured to a lever member of the assembly as the cover member is rotated, which controls the speed of operation of the wipers as the cover member is rotated by the operator. As an example, rotating the cover member counter-clockwise might cause the intermittency of the wiper operation to be reduced (Le., the wipers operate less frequently) while rotating the cover member clockwise might increase the frequency of operation of the wipers. The wash contact member, being a separate component part, typically is disposed such that when the cover member is pushed in by the operator towards the lever member against

the biasing force provided by the spring, the wash contact member engages a portion of a circu board mounted to the lever member. This activates a windshield washer solvent pump to cau windshield washer solvent to be applied to the windshield while the cover member is held in depressed position. While the above described washAviper switch control assembly has proven to be extreme useful in controlling a plurality of independent functions of the washAviper components of t vehicle, the wiper contact member and the wash contact member, being separate component par which must be separately secured to the actuator and the cover member in at least t independent steps. This has somewhat increased the cost and complicated the manufacture such washAviper switch control assemblies. Since washAviper switch control assemblies are us in large volumes, the added cost of requiring two staking operations to independently secure t wiper contact and the wash contact member to the actuator member and cover member, as w as the added complexity to the manufacturing of this assembly because of these two requir steps, has represented a sizeable manufacturing component cost Accordingly, it would be highly desirable if the wiper contact and the wash contact cou be integrated in a manner such that a single component part is formed from these two individu component parts. A single washAviper contact member would significantly simplify the over manufacture of the washAviper switch control assembly. Such a single component would also sa costs by eliminating one of two manufacturing steps presently required in independently staki the wash contact member and the wiper contact member to their respective components. St further, reliability could be increased if the wash contact member and wiper contact member we manufactured as a single, integrally formed component which could be secured as a single pie component to the actuator member of such a switch control assembly. Such a single pie washAviper contact member would improve reliability by eliminating the positional variatio between the wash contact member and the wiper contact member when these components a independently secured as two separate component parts to the cover member and the actuat member.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide an integrally form washAviper contact member for use in a washAviper switch control assembly, where the washAvip contact member can be secured as a single component part to the actuator member of t assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above and other objects are provided by an integrally formed washAviper contact member in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. T e washAviper contact member includes a central body portion having a plurality of wiper contact arms protruding therefrom and formed integrally with the central body portion, and a wash contact arm formed integrally with the central body portion. The washAviper contact member is securable as a single component part to the actuator member. The central body portion includes a plurality of apertures which accept a corresponding plurality of bosses on the actuator to allow the washAviper contact member to be precisely positioned on the actuator member and subsequently staked or otherwise secured to the actuator member via conventional staking techniques. Since the washAviper contact member is a single, integrally formed component part, the manufacture of the overall switch control assembly is simplified since the entire washAviper contact member can be secured in a single step to the actuator. As will be appreciated, with previously developed washAviper switch control assemblies, the wash contact member and wiper contact member were separate component parts which were secured in two steps independently of each other to the cover member and the actuator member. By manufacturing the washAviper contact member as a single, integrally formed component, the process and cost of manufacturing the overall switch control assembly is reduced and reliability improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The various advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art by reading the following specification and subjoined claims and by referencing the following drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a prior art wash contact member and wiper contact member; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a switch control assembly incorporating the integrally formed washAviper contact member of the present invention;

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the washAviper switch control assembly of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the interior of the cover member of the switch control assembly of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the opposite end of the cover member shown in Figure 3, taken in accordance with directional line 5 in Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the integrally formed washAvipe contact member of the present invention;

Figure 7 is a plan view of the conductive traces of a printed circuit assembly used i connection with the washAviper contact member of the present invention; and Figure 8 is a side view of the actuator with the washAviper contact member secure thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring initially to Figure 1, there is shown a prior art wash contact member 10 an wiper contact member 12. The wash contact member 10 includes a pair of arm members 14 an 16 and a plurality of apertures 18 and 20 which allow the wash contact member 10 to be secure to the cover member of a washAviper switch control assembly. The wiper contact member 12 als includes arm members 22, 24, 26 and 28, in addition to a plurality of apertures 30 and 32. Th apertures 30 and 32 allow the wiper contact member 12 to be secured to an actuator member a switch control assembly. Thus, two separate manufacturing steps are required to secure thes components 10 and 12 to their associated component parts within a conventional switch contr assembly. The requirement for securing each separately, as will be appreciated, increases the co of manufacture of the overall switch control assembly as well as increasing its complexit Reliability can also be compromised because the positioning of the wash contact member on i associated component part (i.e., typically a operator rotatable cover member) needs to b relatively precise to enable proper contact to be made between the contact arms 14 and 16 whe the arms 14 and 16 are urged against appropriate traces on a printed circuit board assembly t selectively activate a washer solven pump. Thus, it would be highly desirable to incorporate bot the wash contact member 10 and the wiper contact member 12 into a single component pa which can be secured to a single associated component of the switch control assembly, such as a actuator member thereof, in a single manufacturing step. Such a washAviper contact memb would reduce the cost of manufacture of the overall switch control assembly, simplify manufactur and improve the overall reliability of the switch control assembly.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, there is shown a washAviper switch control assembl 34 incorporating an integrally formed washAviper contact member 36 (Figure 3) in accordanc with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The washAviper switch control assembl

34 generally comprises an operator graspable and rotatable cover member 38, a spring 40, a actuator member 42, the washAviper contact member 36 and a lever member 44. With referenc

to Figures 3 and 4, the spring 40 fits within the cover member 38 in conventional fashion within a plurality of generally circular, raised portions 46 and 48 (Figure 4) which help to keep the spring 40 centered within the cover member 38 during assembly and during operation of the switch control assembly 34. With brief reference to Figure 5, the cover member 38 includes a central opening 50 having a key 52.

With further reference to Figure 3, the actuator member 42 includes a raised rib 54 on a shaft portion 56 thereof which is adapted to fit within the key 52. In this manner, rotation of the cover member 38 by an operator causes a corresponding rotational movement of the actuator member 42. The actuator member 42 also typically includes a plurality of boss portions 58, 60 and 62. A bore 64 extends through the entire length of the actuator member 42.

With further reference specifically to Figures 3 and 6, the preferred embodiment of the washAviper contact member 36 includes a central body portion 66, a plurality of wiper contact arms 68, 70, 72 and 74 integrally formed with the central body portion 66 and extending outwardly away from a plane formed by the central body portion 66. It should be noted that the wiper contact arms 68-74 are also straight, that is, they extend generally longitudinally from the central body portion 66. From Figure 1, it will be noted that the wiper contact arms 22-28 of the prior art wiper contact member 12 extend along curved paths. The generally straight wiper contact arms 68-74 further help to improve reliability of operation and simplify manufacture of the washAviper contact member 36. With further reference specifically to Figure 6, the washAviper contact member 36 includes a wash contact arm 76 which is integrally formed with the central body portion 66. The central body portion 66 includes a plurality of openings 78, 80 and 82, as well as a central opening 84. The actuator member 42 also can be**een to include a first rotation stop 86 and a second rotation stop 87 integrally formed thereon. The first and second rotation stops limit the degree of rotation of the actuator member 42 when the actuator member 42 is placed over a shaft 94 of the lever member by alternately abutting a raised rib 95 as the actuator member 42 is turned clockwise and counter-clockwise. The actuator member 42 is therefore essentially identical to prior art actuator members. From the drawing of Figure 6, the wiper contact arms 68-74 extend toward the viewer, away from the central body portion 66, whOe the wash contact arm 76 is formed so as to extend away from the viewer beginning at approximately area 88 of the length thereof.

With brief reference to Figures 6 and 8, the actuator 36 can be seen to include a notched portion 91 which limits the rearward (Le., leftward in Figure 8) movement of the wash contact arm 76. Preferably, the washAviper contact member 36 contact arm is manufactured such that when installed the arm 76 is abutting an edge 91a of the notch 91.

With reference now to Figures 3 and 7, the lever member 44 (Figure 3) includes dispos thereon a printed circuit assembly 90 (Figure 7). The printed circuit assembly 90 has an openi 92 to enable it to be placed over the shaft 94 (Figure 3) of the lever member 44 in conventio fashion. The printed circuit assembly 90 shown in Figure 7, includes a plurality of electrica conductive traces 96 which are arranged to make contact with the wiper contact arms 68-74 wh the switch control assembly 34 is assembled It will be appreciated that the layout of t conductive traces of the printed circuit assembly 90, shown in Figure 5, is virtually identical prior art printed circuit assemblies used for this purpose. As the cover member 38 is used rotate the actuator member 42, the wiper contact arms 68-74 selectively contact the various tra 96 which causes various circuits of the printed circuit assembly 90 to be energized, thus causi on/off operation of a plurality of windshield wipers of the vehicle as well as controlling t intermittency of operation of the windshield wipers.

With further reference to Figures 3 and 6-7, when the operator pushes in on the co member 38, a raised shoulder portion 39 of the cover member 38 abuttingly engages portion (Figure 6) of the wash contact arm 76. This causes the wash contact arm 76 to be push inwardly towards the printed circuit assembly 90 and to make contact with a predetermined o of the conductive traces 96 while the cover member 38 is held inwardly by the operator. Sin the cover member 38 is keyed to the actuator member 42, the position of the raised shoul portion 39 is maintained over portion 98 of the wiper contact arm 76 regardless of the rotatio position of the cover member 38.

The washAviper contact member 36 of the present invention may be manufactured fr a wide variety of electrically conductive materials, but is preferably manufactured from cop alloy. By manufacturing the washAuper contact member 36 as a single component, the mem 36 can be secured to the bosses 58-62 of the actuator member 42 by conventional staki techniques in a single staking step. Thus, two independent staking operations on separ component parts of the switch control assembly 34 are not required By manufacturing t washAviper contact member 36 as a single component part, the reliability of the overall swit control assembly 34 is increased since the positional variation between the separate wash cont member 10 and wiper contact member 12 (Figure 1) of prior art designs is eliminated As also be appreciated, the overall cost of manufacturing the switch control assembly 34 is reduc by using a single component washAviper contact member 36.

Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the present invention can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this invention has been described in connection with particular examples thereof, the true scope of the invention should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, specification and following claims.