The present invention relates to a windscreen wiper device of the flat blade type comprising an elastic, elongated carrier element, as well as an elongated wiper blade of a flexible material, which can be placed in abutment with a windscreen to be wiped, which wiper blade includes at least one longitudinal groove, in which groove at least one longitudinal strip of the carrier element is disposed, which windscreen wiper device comprises a connecting device for an oscillating arm, wherein said oscillating arm can be pivotally connected to said connecting device about a pivot axis near a free end thereof, with the interposition of a joint part, wherein said windscreen wiper device comprises a slider engaging around said oscillating arm near said free end thereof, said slider being slidable along the oscillating arm between an operating position, wherein said joint part is secured to said oscillating arm, and an assembly position, wherein said joint part can be released from said oscillating arm. Said longitudinal strip is also called a “flexor”, while said connecting device is also indicated as a “connector". The groove may be open or closed. Preferably, said joint part is also detachably connected to said connecting device.

Preferably, said wiper blade comprises a spoiler at a side thereof facing away from the windscreen to be wiped. The spoiler is also called an "air deflector” and is preferably made in one piece with said wiper blade through extrusion. Said longitudinal groove is preferably a central longitudinal groove accommodating said longitudinal strip. Said connecting device is preferably fixedly connected to the longitudinal strip(s) particularly through a welding, brazing (“soldering"), gluing or clamping operation or with the help of a pin inserted through said connecting device and said longitudinal strip(s). In the alternative or in addition thereto, said connecting device is clamped onto the flexible material of the wiper blade, particularly in case the latter is equipped with a central longitudinal groove for the carrier element. In the alternative or in addition thereto, said connecting device comprises a slit for accommodating said wiper blade and/or said longitudinal strip(s), wherein said slit comprises retention means for retaining said connecting device in place.

In use, said oscillating ami is connected to a mounting head mounted on a drive shaft, wherein said oscillating arm at one end thereof is pivotally connected to the mounting head by means of a pivot pin and at another end thereof is connected to said wiper blade placed in abutment with said windscreen to be wiped. In use, the shaft rotates alternately in a clockwise and in a counter- clockwise sense carrying the mounting head into rotation also, which in turn draws the oscillating arm into rotation and by means of said connecting device moves the wiper blade. Said oscillating arm can thus oscillate to-and-from between first and second reversal positions. It is noted that the present invention is not restricted to automobiles, but also refers to rail coaches and other (fast) vehicles.

A windscreen wiper device is generally known. This prior art windscreen wiper device is designed as a so-called "flat blade" or "yokeless blade", wherein no use is made of several yokes pivotally connected to each other, but wherein the wiper blade is biased by the carrier element, as a result of which it exhibits a specific curvature. A disadvantage of the known windscreen wiper device is that the interconnection between the slider and the joint part needs to be improved and that mutually different joint parts are needed for left hand drive (LHD) cars versus right hand drive (RHD) cars.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved windscreen wiper device, wherein these disadvantages are obviated, in the sense that at minimum costs - without using complex machinery and additional tools - an aerodynamic, but reliable and controllable interconnection between the slider and the joint part is realized. More in particular, an object of the present invention is to propose an improved windscreen wiper device, wherein a single type joint part can be used for LHD and RHD cars, without negatively affecting the aerodynamic performances of the arm.

In order to accomplish that objective, a windscreen wiper device of the type referred to in the introduction is characterized according to the invention in that said joint part comprises at least one resilient tongue extending in longitudinal direction of said wiper blade, wherein in the operating position of said slider said resilient tongue snaps behind a transverse protrusion on said slider. Hence, the slider, preferably in the form of a cap covering the free end of the oscillating arm from the outside, is secured in its operating position by a snap (or “clip”) retention. The resilient tongue is used as a push button.

Particularly, said joint part is symmetric with a plane of symmetry along the longitudinal axis of said wiper blade, and preferably intersecting the pivot axis. Symmetry enables the joint part to be more universally used. A symmetric joint part can for example be used in windscreen wiper devices for both left hand drive and right hand drive vehicles. Furthermore, using a symmetric joint part reduces the number of unique components in for example a butterfly windscreen wiper system. During assembly of the windscreen wiper device, the joint part cannot be wrongly orientated with respect to an oscillating arm when connecting the oscillating arm to the connecting device due to its symmetry. The symmetry of the joint part thereby simplifies the use of the joint part and saves time. In particular, a windscreen wiper device with a joint part being symmetric with a plane of symmetry perpendicular to the pivot axis, and/or a plane of symmetry being substantially symmetric with a plane of symmetry parallel to the longitudinal axis of said wiper blade (and preferably intersecting the pivot axis), enables it to be used for both left hand drive cars and right hand drive cars, as the windscreen wiper device can be inverted without losing the ability to connect the oscillating arm to the joint part.

It is noted that the present invention is not restricted to the use of only one longitudinal strip forming the elastic carrier element that is particularly located in a central longitudinal groove of the wiper blade. Instead, said carrier element may also comprise two longitudinal strips, wherein said strips are disposed in opposite longitudinal grooves of the wiper blade. Said groove(s) may be closed at one outer end.

In a preferred embodiment of a windscreen wiper device in accordance with the invention said joint part comprises two resilient tongues extending from an end wall of said joint part in longitudinal position of said wiper blade, wherein each resilient tongue cooperates with a corresponding transverse protrusion extending laterally inwardly on said slider, and wherein said resilient tongues are movable from an inward position, wherein said joint part can be released from said oscillating arm, and an outward position, wherein said joint part is secured to said oscillating arm. Particularly, said transverse protrusion is hook-shaped. By reducing the distance between the resilient tongues (acting as parallel push buttons) by hand, the slider is able to move from its operating position towards its assembly position, thereby enabling removal of the unit consisting of the wiper blade, connecting device and joint part from the oscillating arm.

In another preferred embodiment of a windscreen wiper device according to the invention said oscillating arm, at the location of its connection to said joint part, has a U-shaped cross-section with a base and two opposite legs, and wherein each leg comprises a recess having an open circumference cooperating with a cam extending laterally outwardly from a corresponding side wall of said joint part. Particularly, said oscillating arm and said joint part are interconnected by moving said cams of said joint part inside said recesses of said legs of said U-shaped cross-section of said oscillating arm in order to block any longitudinal movement of said joint part relative to said oscillating arm towards and away from said free end of said oscillating arm.

In another preferred embodiment of a windscreen wiper device in accordance with the invention said joint part comprises an upwardly extending protrusion engaging into a corresponding shaped hole inside said base of said U-shaped cross-section of said oscillating arm, and wherein said slider comprises a correspondingly shaped recess with an open circumference abutting said upwardly extending protrusion in an operating position of said slider in order to block any longitudinal movement of said joint part relative to said oscillating arm towards and away from said free end of said oscillating arm. Hence, in the operating position of the slider, the upwardly extending protrusion on the joint part is caught inside the hole in the oscillating arm and the recess in the slider. Preferably, said upwardly extending protrusion has a step-like profile.

In another preferred embodiment of a windscreen wiper device according to the invention said connecting device comprises laterally outwardly extending protuberances engaging into correspondingly shaped holes of said joint part, said protuberances having a cylindrical shape with a cylindrical axis, and wherein a circular sector of at least one of said protuberances is removed over at least part of a length, along said cylindrical axis, from a free end of said at least one protuberance. Preferably, an outer perimeter of said circular sector faces said oscillating arm. By having a circular sector of a protuberance removed from a free end of the protuberance over at least part of the length of the protuberance, the connecting device is made narrower along the height thereof where connecting ends of oscillating arms may vary in width. Thereby, various arm- specific joint parts can be clipped onto the connecting device, including joint parts made locally narrower (e.g. having a narrow top portion) due to a particularly narrow connecting end of an oscillating arm, without the arm being raised upwards from the connecting device, which is the case for the prior art connecting device, as described above. In other words, the connecting device is locally narrowed by (at least partially) removing a circular sector of the protuberance, such that a narrow top portion of a joint part may engage the connecting device where it is locally narrowed. Since only a sector instead of all of the protuberance is removed over at least part of the length of the protuberance, the protuberance can still engage with recesses of wider joint parts, i.e. for wider connecting ends of oscillating arms. The protuberance thus retains the functionality of the protuberance of the aforementioned prior art, while enabling in addition the connecting device to be used in windscreen wiper devices with an oscillating arm having a particularly narrow connecting end, without causing the aforementioned increased wear and stress due to a raised position of the oscillating arm with the narrow connecting end, as is the case for the aforementioned prior art windscreen wiper device. It is noted that the term “circular sector” may also be replaced by “circular segment”, and vice versa, without departing from the scope of the invention.

Preferably, an outer perimeter of said circular sector faces said oscillating arm. By having an outer perimeter facing the oscillating arm, the circular sector of the protuberance is removed at a side of the protrusion facing away from the wiper blade and at a location where a joint part for an oscillating arm with a narrow connecting end is narrow (i.e. the top portion of the joint part where the oscillating arm connects with the joint part). The circular sector of the protuberance is removed in this location for the purpose of being compatible with the joint part that is narrow at said location, i.e. a joint part having a narrow top portion.

In another preferred embodiment of a windscreen wiper device in accordance with the invention said cylindrical axis is coaxial with said pivot axis. By having a cylindrical axis that is coaxial with the pivot axis, said protuberance can define the pivot axis when pivotally connecting the connecting device and an oscillating arm with the interposition of a joint part. Regardless of the joint part or oscillating arm used in the pivot connection, the pivot axis remains the same, being defined by the cylindrical axis of the protuberance of the connecting device.

Preferably, said protuberances are provided with coaxial through holes. By comprising protuberances provided with coaxial through holes, said connecting device can be pivotally connected to said oscillating arm near its free end about a pivot axis of a transverse pivot pin provided on said oscillating arm, said pivot pin being inserted into said coaxial through holes of said protuberances of said connecting device. Particularly, said joint part has an at least substantially U-shaped cross-section at the location of its connection to said connecting device, wherein said joint part in each leg of said U-shaped cross-section is provided with a recess provided coaxially with said pivot axis, said recesses being coaxial, and wherein said pivot pin is inserted into said coaxial recesses and into said coaxial through holes of said protuberances of said connecting device. Accordingly, the pivot pin can fix the relative positions of the oscillating arm, the joint part, and the connecting device.

In another preferred embodiment of a windscreen wiper device according to the invention said circular sector comprises an area of at least a quarter of a base of said at least one protuberance or substantially half of a base of said at least one protuberance. If a part of a length of at least one of said protuberance is removed from an area all around the free end of said protuberance, i.e. when the circular sector comprises an area equal to said base of said at least one protuberance, the connecting device would not retain the possibility to be universally used, because the connecting device would lose compatibility with wider connecting ends of oscillating arms. By removing a part of a length of at least one of said protuberances from an area of substantially half around the free end of said protrusion, connecting ends from relatively narrow to relatively wide can be connected to the connecting device with the interposition of an arm-specific joint part. The circular sector comprising an area of substantially half around the free end, i.e. half of said base of said protuberance, enables an optimal shape of the protrusion for the connecting device to be universally used. In particular, the circular sector comprising an area of substantially half of said base enables a suitable fit for joint parts of both narrow and wider connecting ends of oscillating arms.

The present invention also relates to an oscillating arm as a single unit arranged to be pivotally connected to a windscreen wiper device of the flat blade type, said oscillating arm comprising a slider engaging around said oscillating arm near a free end thereof, said slider being slidable along the oscillating arm between an operating position, wherein a joint part of said windscreen wiper device is secured to said oscillating arm by at least one resilient tongue of the joint part snapping behind a transverse protrusion on said slider , and an assembly position, wherein said joint part can be released from said oscillating arm.

Further, the present invention also refers to a joint part as a single unit arranged for pivotally interconnecting a windscreen wiper device of the flat blade type and an oscillating arm about a pivot axis near a free end thereof, wherein said joint part comprises at least one resilient tongue in the operating position of said slider snapping behind a transverse protrusion on said slider.

Finally, the present invention also concerns a connecting device as a single unit arranged for pivotally interconnecting a windscreen wiper device of the flat blade type and an oscillating arm about a pivot axis near a free end thereof, with the interposition of a joint part, wherein said connecting device comprises laterally outwardly extending protuberances arranged to engage into correspondingly shaped holes of said joint part, said protuberances having a cylindrical shape with a cylindrical axis, and wherein a circular sector of at least one of said protuberances is removed over at least part of a length, along said cylindrical axis, from a free end of said at least one protuberance.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to figures illustrated in a drawing, wherein: figure 1 shows in perspective and schematically a part of a wiper blade of a windscreen wiper device in a preferred variant of the invention, wherein first a joint part is mounted on top of a connecting device firmly attached to said wiper blade (figures la and lb), and wherein subsequently an oscillating arm is slid in longitudinal direction over said joint part (figure 1c), all for a RHD car); figure 2 corresponds to figure 1 , with the difference that the same joint part is mounted on top of the same connecting device for a LHD car ; figure 3 shows in perspective and schematically the successive steps for mounting an oscillating arm on the unit of the joint part and the connecting device firmly attached to the wiper blade of figure 2 ; figure 4 corresponds to figure 3, but seen from below; and figure 5 corresponds to figure 4, but the oscillating arm being partly cut open.

Figures 1 through 5 refer to a windscreen wiper device 1 of the flat blade type in accordance with the invention, built up of a wiper blade 2, in the longitudinal sides of which opposing longitudinal grooves 3 are formed, and of longitudinal strips 4 (“flexors”) made of spring band steel, which are fitted in said longitudinal grooves 3. Said strips 4 form a flexible carrier element for the robber wiper blade 2, as it were, which is thus biased in a curved position (the curvature in operative position being that of a windscreen to be wiped). As shown, the windscreen wiper device 1 is furthermore built up of a connecting device 5 of plastic material for a windscreen wiper arm 6. Said connecting device 5 cooperates with a joint part 7 being a single constructional element, wherein said windscreen wiper arm 6 can be pivotally connected to said connecting device 5 about said pivot axis, with the interposition of said joint part 7. With reference to figures 4 and 5 , said connecting device 5 comprises inwardly extending legs 8 integral therewith engaging around longitudinal sides of the wiper blade 2, at the location of said grooves 3, as a result of which the connecting device 5 is firmly attached to the unit consisting of the wiper blade 2 and the strips 4. Said connecting device 5 comprises two cylindrical protuberances 9 extending outwardly (figures 1, 2 and 3). These protuberances 9 pivotally engage, at the location of said pivot axis, in identically shaped recesses 10 provided in opposite walls of the joint part 7. Hence, said joint part 7 is connected to said connecting device 5 through a snapping/clipping operation. As usual, said windscreen wiper arm 6 is connected to a mounting head mounted on a drive shaft (not shown). In use, the shaft rotates alternately in a clockwise and in a counter-clockwise sense carrying the mounting head into rotation also, which in turn draws the windscreen wiper arm 6 into rotation and by means of said connecting device 5 moves the wiper blade 2. Said windscreen wiper arm 6 can thus oscillate to-and-from between, first and second reversal positions.

As shown in figures 1 and 2, a circular sector 11 of the protuberances 9 is removed, the circular sector 11 comprising an area of substantially half of a circular base of each protuberance 9. An outer perimeter 12 of the circular sector 11 faces the windscreen wiper arm 6 in the windscreen wiper device 1. Due to the removed semi-circular sector 11 , a semi-circular extension portion 13 protrudes outwardly. The joint part 7 comprises correspondingly shaped protrading parts 14 in the form of a semi circle in use supporting the extension portions 13 on either side of the connecting device 5.

As depicted in the figures, the windscreen wiper arm 6 comprises a slider 15 engaging around said windscreen wiper arm 6 near said free end thereof. The slider 16 is formed by a cap and covers said free end from the outside. The cap-like slider 15 can be slid along the windscreen wiper arm 6 between an operating position (shown in figures 1c, 3c, 4c and 5c), wherein said joint part 7 is maintained onto said windscreen wiper arm 6, and an assembly position (see figures 3b, 4b and 5b), wherein said joint part 7 can be released from said windscreen wiper arm 6. In the assembly position, the cap-like slider 15 is slid towards the free end of the windscreen wiper arm 6, whereas in the operation position the cap-like slider 15 is slid away from said free end (i.e. in use towards a mounting head). In the operating position two resilient tongues 16 on the joint part 7 extending from an end wall thereof in longitudinal position of said wiper blade 2 snap behind two corresponding hook-shaped protrusions 17 extending laterally inwardly on said slider 15. In this operating position of the slider 15, the protrusions rest in correspond inwardly extending chambers 18 of the resilient tongues 16. By gripping the resilient tongues 16 by hand and by pressing them laterally inwardly, the protrusions on the slider 15 can be disengaged from their respective chambers 18, so that the slider 15 can be slid toward its assembly position. The resilient tongues 16 are then allowed to spring back against their spring force.

As depicted in figures 4 and 5, said windscreen wiper arm 6, at the location of its connection to said joint part 7, has a U-shaped cross-section with a base and two opposite legs, and wherein each leg comprises two recesses 19 having an open circumference cooperating with corresponding cams or notches 20 extending laterally outwardly from a corresponding side wall of said joint part 7. Said windscreen wiper arm 6 and said joint part 7 are interconnected, with the slider 15 in the assembly position, by moving said cams 20 of said joint part 7 inside said recesses 19 of said legs of said U-shaped cross-section of said windscreen wiper arm 6 in order to block any longitudinal movement of said joint part 7 relative to said windscreen wiper arm 6 towards and away from said free end of said windscreen wiper arm 6. The slider 15 may then be slid towards its operating position.

In the operating position of the slider 15, an upwardly extending protrusion 21 on the joint part 7 engages into a corresponding shaped hole 22 inside said base of said U-shaped cross-section of said windscreen wiper arm 6. Said slider 15 comprises a correspondingly shaped recess 23 with an open circumference abutting said upwardly extending protrusion 21 in an operating position of said slider 15 in order to block any longitudinal movement of said joint part 7 relative to said windscreen wiper arm 6 towards and away from said free end of said oscillating arm 6. In other words, the in the operating position of the slider 15 the protrusion 21 is confined inside the hole 22 and the recess 23 (figure 3c).

The present invention is not restricted to the preferred embodiment shown, but extends also to other preferred variants falling under the scope of the appended claims.