BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION AND THE PRIOR ART

The present invention relates generally to cleaning and finishing of the windows of a vehicle. In particular, the invention pertains to a scraper according to the preamble of claim 1 .

In all countries where there are temperature changes over the freezing point of water people experience problems with frost and ice on the vehicle windows. Naturally, this problem has the largest influence on the windows' exterior surfaces. However, there is no doubt that also the interior surfaces of a vehicle's windows may be covered with fogging, which when the temperature drops below the freezing point is converted into frost and ice. These surface coatings may, in turn, be removed via the defrosting function and/or the air heating system of the vehicle. For example, the time required for removing the surface coating depends on the efficiency of the defrosting function and/or the air heating system, the current temperature and the thickness of the surface coating. Under unfavorable conditions, the removal time may be substantial and may not fit within an acceptable de- lay time for the driver before he/she must start driving the vehicle. Driving for example a car that has severely delimited visibility is, of course, associated with major risks both for the driver himself/herself and his/her co-road users. Thus, a mechanical complement means to the defrosting function and the air heating system, such as a scraper, is desired. However, the known ice scrapers are intended to be used on the exterior surfaces of the windows, and are therefore ill suited for use on the interior surfaces of the windows, especially the windshield.

US 6,516,490 shows an ice scraper for removing ice and/or snow from vehicle windows. The ice scraper includes a grip part and a straight and stiff blade part attached thereto. Furthermore, a deflector is attached to the grip part, which deflector is adap- ted to prevent removed ice and/or snow to contact the user's hand.

US 4,121 ,316 describes a hand carried scraper for removal of ice or frost from vehicle windows and windshields. The scraper comprises an essentially flat and flexible means with an edge that follows the surface from which ice or frost shall be removed. The back side of the flexible means is provided with a saw tooth pattern for efficient removal of thicker ice layers.

US 4,712,269 discloses an ice scraper with a deformable blade, which is attached to a grip structure via a rubber device. When pressure is applied against the grip structure the blade may thereby be shaped to follow the shape of a wind shield, which leads to an efficient contacting between the blade and the windshield.

PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRIOR ART

The known solutions have specific advantages when finishing the exterior of a windshield. All of these solutions, however, are problematic when cleaning the interior of a windshield, since on these scrapers the blade is not adapted to follow the profile of the surface, which normally is concave due to the fact that the exterior surface is convex. Moreover, for aerodynamic reasons the windshield of a vehicle has a vertical angle such that its interior surface faces more or less downwards. This, in turn, leads to that ice and/or frost that has been removed from the interior surface inevitably falls down on the below structures, such as the dashboard and the components there. When the ice crystals melt into water this may cause internal damages and/or impair the surface layer of the components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a solution that solves the above problem and thus enables an efficient and convenient removal of fogging, frost and ice from the interior of a windshield.

According to the invention, the object is achieved by the scraper described initially, wherein the flexible blade is configured to be shape adapted to about against a surface whose profile is concave. The scraper also has a collecting means for receiving frost and/or ice having been removed from the surface. The collecting means is arranged with an inlet essentially parallel to the distal edge of the flexible blade. This scraper is advantageous, since it offers an efficient access to the concave interior side of a windshield and prevents an un- desired downfall of ice crystals when being used.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the inlet to the scraper's collecting means has a width which is equal to a length of the distal edge of the flexible blade, i.e. the cutting edge that abouts against the surface to be scraped. Thereby, the risk is minimized that any removed frost and ice falls outside of the collecting means, and an overall good function is guaranteed.

According to another embodiment of the invention, in addition to the proximal and distal edges, the flexible blade has two sides being opposite to one another and being attached to a first side and a second side respectively of the grip part in such a manner that compressing the first and second sides results in that the flexible blade bulges and the distal edge attains a convex profile. Consequently, this profile is well adapted to about against a surface having a concave profile. Thereby, a concave surface, such as the interior of a windshield, may be cleaned efficiently via the distal edge of the flexible blade.

According to an additional embodiment of the invention, the flexible blade and the first and second sides of the grip part are arranged to form delimiting surfaces of the collecting means. The grip part also preferably includes a main side that is parallel to the flexible blade. Also this main side forms a delimiting surfa- ce of the collecting means. Such an integration of the collecting means into the grip part is advantageous because the design thereby becomes compact as well as cost efficient to produce.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the first and second sides of the grip part are arranged such that the grip part has a general hour glass shape. Namely, this facilitates the user's grip of the scraper, and at the same time the collecting means may contain a relatively large amount of frost and ice.

According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the inlet is surrounded by a U-shaped collar, which is arranged such that a bilge part thereof adjoins said main side of the grip part and the opening of the inlet is widest at a mid section of the distal edge of the flexible blade. This collar is advantageous because it stabilizes the design and allows an uncomplicated transport of removed frost and ice into the collecting means.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the length of the main side of the grip part exceeds the length of the flexible blade between the proximal side of the flexible blade, and the flexible blade is attached to the grip part such that the inlet of the inlet to collecting means has an opening side parallel to the flexible blade. This design provides a further enhanced collection of removed frost and ice.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the distal edge of the flexible blade comprises a cutting edge configured to cut away frost and/or ice from a surface over which the distal edge is pushed. Hence, the scraper is provided with a good scrape off capability.

According to still another embodiment of the invention, the scraper comprises a relatively stiff blade, which is arranged along a secondary side of the grip part. The secondary side is oriented essentially parallel to the distal edge of the flexible blade. By turning the scraper one half revolution around its length axis the scraper's relatively stiff blade may thereby be used for scraping off the exterior of a vehicle's windows.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the scraper comprises at least one force conveying element, which is located inside the collecting means and connects the flexible blade me- chanically to a side of the grip part opposite thereto. Hence, by for example pressing the thumb against said side of the grip part, a user can apply a force against the flexible blade such that this abouts well against the surface that is to be processed. Preferably, therefore, at least one of the at least one force conveying element is arranged proximate to the distal edge of the flexible blade.

Further advantages, beneficial features and applications of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and the dependent claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is now to be explained more closely by means of preferred embodiments, which are disclosed as examples, and with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the proposed scraper according to one embodiment of the invention,

Figures 2a-b illustrate how a distal edge of a flexible blade of the scraper can be given a desired convex shape according to one embodiment of the invention,

Figures 3a-b show side views of the proposed scraper accor- ding to one embodiments of the invention,

Figure 4 shows a side perspective view of a scraper according to one embodiment of the invention, and

Figure 5 shows, by example, how the flexible blade of the scraper can be adapted to about against a surface having a concave profile. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

We refer initially to Figure 1 , which shows a perspective view of a proposed scraper 100 according to one embodiment of the in- vention. The scraper 100 is arranged to remove fogging, frost and/or ice from a surface, which, in turn, is assumed to have a concave profile, such as the interior of a windshield of a motor vehicle.

The scraper 100 comprises a grip part 120 and a flexible blade 140. The grip part 120 is adapted to be gripped by the hand of a user, and therefore preferably has an hour glass shape. The exterior of the grip part 120 may also be provided with knurling and/or rubber insertions for increased friction to the user's hand. The flexible blade 140 is connected to the grip part 120 along a proximal edge 140p and is configured to be shape adapted to the concave surface profile along a distal edge 140d.

Figures 2a and 2b illustrate how such a shape adaption may be accomplished according to one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2a shows a perspective view of the scraper 100 seen from the front towards the proximal edge 140p. In this view, an inlet 165 to a collecting means 160 (see Figure 4) in the scraper 100 is visible. The collecting means 160 is configured to receive fogging, frost and/or ice having been removed from the surface via the scraper 100. The inlet 156 is therefore arranged essen- tially parallel to the distal edge 140d of the flexible blade 140 and preferably has a width equal to the length of the distal edge 140d of the flexible blade 140.

The flexible blade 140 comprises two opposing sides. According to one embodiment of the invention, these sides are attached to a first side 121 and a second side 122 respectively of the grip part 120. Specifically, the sides of the flexible blade 120 are attached to the grip part 20 in such a manner that when the first and second sides are compressed the flexible blade 140 is for- ced to bulge and the distal edge 140d attains a convex profile. This is illustrated in Figure 2b, where the dashed line indicates a neutral position for the distal edge 140. By applying a compression force F of different magnitude against the sides 121 and 122, the bulge of the flexible blade 140 can be controlled and thus the concave shape of the distal edge 140d can be adapted, such that the distal edge abouts against the concave profile of a given surface. This will be illustrated more closely below with reference to Figure 5. To further enhance the grip and to give the user good control over the flexible blade 140 the first and second sides 121 and 122 of the grip part 120 are arranged such that the grip part 120 has a general hour glass shape.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the scraper 00 comprises at least one force conveying element 191 and 192 respectively inside the collecting means 160. The at least one force conveying element 191 and 192 connects the flexible blade 140 mechanically with a side opposite thereto of the grip part 120. Each of the force conveying elements 191 and 192 thus extends from an inner side of the flexible blade 140 to the side of the collecting means 160, which forms a wall of the grip part 20 being opposite to the flexible blade 140.

The force conveying elements 191 and 192 are desirable; since they enable a user of the scraper to, for example by pressing the thumb against said side of the grip part 120, apply a force against the flexible blade 140. This, in turn, results in that the flexible blade 140 can easily be caused to bulge and about against the surface desired to be processed. It is therefore especially preferable if at least one of the force conveying elements 191 and/or 192 is arranged proximate to the distal edge 140d of the flexible blade 140, via which the processing is effected.

Figures 3a, 3b and 4 show side views and a side perspective view of the proposed scraper 100 according to one embodiment of the invention. As can be seen, here, the delimitation surfaces of the collecting means 160 are formed by the flexible blade 140, the first side 121 , the second side 122 and a main side of the grip part 120, which is arranged parallel to the flexible blade 140.

Figure 3 specifically illustrates how applying a force F _T on the outside of the main side of the grip part 120, to the area where the force conveying elements 191 and 192 are located, causes the flexible blade 140 to bulge, such that its distal edge 140d thereby can about against a surface and efficiently process the same. As is apparent from Figures 2a and 2b, the inlet 165 to the collecting means 160 is surrounded by a U-shaped collar 163, which is arranged such that a bilge part thereof adjoins the main side of the grip part 120. The opening of the inlet 165 is widest at a mid section of the distal edge 140d of the flexible blade 140. Namely, this is advantageous, since it stabilizes the design, and at the same time, allows an uncomplicated transport of removed fogging, frost and ice into the collecting means 160.

It is preferable if the length of the main side of the grip part 120 exceeds the length of the flexible blade 140 between the proxi- mal side 140p and the distal side 140d, and if the flexible blade 140 is attached to the grip part 120, such that the inlet 165 to the collecting means 160 has an opening side being parallel to the flexible blade 140. This is advantageous because it improves the collection of the removed fogging, frost and ice. It is further preferable if the scraper 100 comprises a relatively stiff blade 180, which is arranged along a secondary side of the grip part 120. The secondary side, in turn, is preferably oriented essentially parallel to the distal edge 140d of the flexible blade 140. The relatively stiff blade 180 is configured to remove frost and ice from flat or convex surfaces, such as the exterior sides of a vehicle's windows. By turning the scraper 100 one half revolution around its length axis A, a user of the scraper 100 may thereby utilize the relatively stiff blade 180 to scrape off selected parts of a vehicle's exterior surface.

Figure 5 shows, by example, how the flexible blade 140 of the proposed scraper 100 can be adapted to about against a surface having a concave profile 500. According to what has been des- cribed above referring to Figure 2b, the distal edge 140d may be caused to attain an adapted convex shape by applying a suitable force F against the first and second sides 121 and 122 respectively of the grip part 120. Accordingly, the distal edge 140d is shape-adapted to a certain concave profile 500 of the surface, such as the interior side of a vehicle's windshield. To ensure good function of the scraper 100 the distal edge 140d of the flexible blade 140 preferably has a cutting edge configured to cut away fogging, frost and/or ice from a surface over which the distal edge 140d of the blade is pushed. Moreover, the above- described design of the inlet 165 to the collecting means 160 vouches for that essentially all the removed fogging, frost and ice is transported into the collecting means 160 provided that the scraper 100 is pushed such that the inlet 165 has a movement direction with a horizontal direction component and/or a direction component upwards.

The invention is not restricted to the described embodiments in the figures, but may be varied freely within the scope of the claims