This application is a continuation - in - part of application Serial Number 08/684,172 filed July 19, 1996

5 FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the reconditioning of wiper blades to permit

reuse of the blades by reconditioning the bottom surface and bottom edges thereof.

This avoids having to replace the blade after minor cuts or scrapes or dirt occur on the edges of the wiper blades which make them essentially unusable.

l o BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The maintenance of a clean automobile windshield is very important

from a safety standpoint. Any streaking or failure to remove dirt or grime from a

windshield during driving obscures the driver's vision and makes driving hazardous.

The common way of maintaining a clean windshield is by utilizing the well known

is oscillatingly driven wiper blades. These wiper blades operate intermittently or

continuously to keep the windshield clean and may be augmented by a window

cleaning solution that is sprayed on the windshield. The blades require sharp edges and

must be resilient to allow it conform to any misalignments or local surface defects.

Unfortunately, during the driving of the automobile, grit and debris accumulate on the 0 windshield which in addition to wearing out the rubber blade often results in the

cutting or nicking of portions of the edges of the wiper blade. When this occurs, the

wiper blade does not operate efficiently and often leaves streaks which makes it

difficult to see, particularly in inclement weather. A typical available wiper blade is

made of a rubber compound that is formed with relatively thin edges that rub against

the window to clean the window during the motor-driven oscillating action. The cuts and scrapes and dirt accumulation that normally occur along the blade edges are very small in nature but while small do damage to the cleaning action which substantially reduces the wiper blades cleaning efficiency. Needless to say, reconditioning avoids replacing the entire blade if only slightly damaged.

Since the wiper blades are made of an elastomeric material, such as a

rubber compound, they can easily be reconditioned, and various types of reconditioning devices have previously been employed. Most nicks and cuts and imperfections can be refurbished by removal of 0.001", to 0.010", of material The function of the reconditioning device is to remove any of the material that has accumulated on the blade bottom and reinstitute sharp even edges and clean opposed side faces. While there have been various devices known to accomplish this, there has long been a need to provide a very simple, inexpensive, relatively small device that can be kept in the glove compartment of the car and can be usable to effectively recondition the blade with very little effort. Needless to say, the ability to recondition the blade provides a longer life to the wiper blades and avoids having to replace the blades very often due to an occasional scrape or nick, which in and of itself makes the blade almost unusable. It is desirable to provide a tool that will remove material from the blade bottom and bottom edges to reconstitute the blade into its desirable configuration. This must be done in an even action throughout the entire length of the

blade to refurbish the blade to make it efficient and convenient to use. Most windshield wiper blades can be refurbished from 2 to 4 times. It can be appreciated that the device should be simple to use and provide for uniform sharp edge portions of

the wiper blade. Furthermore with this novel and unique tool the blade can be cleaned in place thus precluding having to remove the blade from its holder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a simple,

elongated member that includes a handle portion and a plurality of slots wherein there is provided an uneven or bumpy surface or an abrasive material on the bottom thereof and on the sides if desired which slots are designed to receive the wiper blade. In a preferred embodiment the member is formed of a single plastic material such as

polypropylene or nylon which is formed in a mold by injection molding. A longitudinal movement of the tool relative to the wiper blade which blade is in contact with the uneven bottom surface or abrasive material at the bottom of the slots that receive the blade results in the smoothing out of the bottom of the blade and sharpening the

bottom edges by removing any accumulated debris on the blade bottom and the nicks and other imperfections in the wiper blade engaging surface. The cross section of the novel wiper blade reconditioning tool can be circular and have a series of chordal

shaped grooves or can include annular grooves which are formed with uneven or bumpy surfaces or contain a grit material at the bottom of each that serve to remove the excess material found on the blade edges and bottom to form a smooth wiping surface. If it is desired to clean the sidwalls of the blade the sidewalls of the slots can also include grit or a bumpy surface. In addition, you can use a square, triangular, or other shaped member that includes a plurality of grooves containing uneven surfaces or

adhesive material to sharpen the edges of the wiper blade. In a preferred embodiment the annular grooves or slots are formed with varying widths to accommodate blades of

different widths. To also accommodate blades of various widths the widths of the individual grooves can be varied around the circumference of the tool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A simple illustration of various embodiments of the novel wiper reconditioning tool is set forth below, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cylindrical tool containing annular slots illustrating a wiper blade being reconditioned;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the tool shown in FIG. 1; and FIG. 3 is a second embodiment showing a rectangular shaped tool having slots therein;

FIG. 4 is a cylindrical tool formed of a plastic material in which the annular slots are reduced in thickness starting from the end of the tool; and the bottom of the grooves are formed with uneven surfaces;

FIG. 5 illustrates a cylindrical tool in which the slots are identical but the width thereof varies around the circumference of the tool.

FIG. 6 is an end view of the tool illustrated in Fig. 5; and

FIG. 6A, 6B and 6C are cross-sectional views taken along lines 6A-6A, 6B-6B, and 6C-6C of Fig. 6

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 consist of a cylindrical

member 10 made of a plastic such as nylon or polypropylene or other suitable material having a handle portion 12 and a plurality of annular recesses or grooves 14 at the bottom 15 thereof and sides 17 at one end thereof. Located in the annular grooves 14

is a grit material 16 that can either be impregnated into the plastic during the forming of the tool or be inserted and glued into the grooves. By way of example only, the cylinder 10 has a diameter of approximately 0.25" and may be on the order of 5" long and have three grooves about 0.125" wide and a depth of about 0.09". If desired, the grooves may be chamfered to facilitate orientation of the blade in the groove. Also, V- shaped grooves could be employed if desired. The slots 14 are substantially the width

X to receive a wiper blade 18 having a working area 19 defined by sharp edges 20, 22. The width of the slot is made to accommodate most wiper blades. Thus when the wiper blade 18 is inserted into an annular groove 14 and the tool 10 moved transversely thereto with the blade bottom 19 engaging the bottom 15 of the slot, the wiper blade will be reconditioned back to the original desired configuration with the edges 20, 22 free of nicks and cuts and therefore be fully efficient when used as a

wiper blade. It is to be noted that the tool is such that it can be held in one hand by the

handle 12 and the wiper blade can be reconditioned while still in its holder. It is not necessary to remove the wiper blade from its holder, although this can be done if desired.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a tool 24 which is substantially

rectangular in cross section and provided with transverse grooves 26 having a bottom 28 and sidewalls 30, which grooves contain grit material 16 located on the bottom to provide the abrasive action to smooth out the wiper blade.

The grit material normally has a size on the order of 100 to 2,000

fineness, but normally the optimum range is grit of 350 to 500. Various grades of abrasive, such as a coarser or less coarse abrasive, depending on the wiper blade to be

reconditioned, can be used. The grit material can be aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, or other appropriate material To glue the adhesive in place if this method is selected would call for a waterproof, weather-resistant adhesive such as an epoxy resin

While both embodiments illustrated in Figs 1 -3 are shown employing grit material the essence of the invention incorporates an uneven surface at least at the bottom of the grooves which can be provided by grit as shown in Fig 1-3 or by forming an uneven surface such as bumps 32 during the injection molding of the tool. In this case the tool is made of a single material.

Referring now to Fig 4 there is illustrated a tool in which the annular slots have a reduced width starting with 14A to 14D. Thus, if the blade has a particular thickness the tool will be positioned to receive the blade into a slot that it fits and longitudinally moved relative to the blade to reconstitute the blade bottom 19 and edges 20, 22. The slots 14A - 14D can be formed with an irregular or bumpy surface 32 created during the forming of the plastic tool as shown or it can include a grit material 16. Having slots of various widths allows it to accommodate blades of

various widths and thus it becomes a more universal tool.

As shown in Figure 5 the slots can all be identical but have varying widths around the circumference thereof to accommodate blades of various widths

Specifically, Figure 5 is a side elevation of tool 40 showing 2 slots 42 that vary in thickness around the circumference of the cylindrical tool 40 Fig 6 A, 6B,

and 6C illustrate in detail the width of slot 40 at cross-sections 6A-6A, 6B-6B, and

6C-6C respectively.

It is to be noted that each slot 42 will increase in width through 180° such as indicated in Figs 6A, 6B, and 6C at x, y, and z and then through the remaining

180° gradually return to width x.

It is believed that other configurations would fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended to cover by the invention all such embodiments that fall therein.