Abstract:
The invention relates to a windshield wiper, having a drivably supported wiper arm which on its free end carries a wiper blade, and the wiper blade is joined detachably and pivotably to the wiper arm by means of a retaining bracket, and for the sake of adapting different wiper arms and retaining brackets, the connection is made via an adapter element. The point of departure for the proposal is that the adapter element ( 28 ) can be disposed pivotably about 180°, and for the detachable and pivotable connection between the wiper arm ( 12 ) and the retaining bracket ( 22 ) a detent connection exists both between the adapter element ( 28 ) and the wiper arm ( 12 ) and between the adapter element ( 28 ) and the retaining bracket ( 22 ).

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a windshield wiper. 
     Windshield wipers of a generic type are known. They are typically used for wiping motor vehicle windows, to assure a clear view for a vehicle driver. To that end, the windshield wipers have a wiper arm, which can be set into a pivoting or swinging motion by a wiper drive mechanism. The wiper arm is connected by one end to a wiper shaft that is solidly fixed to the vehicle body, while the other, free end of the wiper arm carries a wiper blade. To connect the wiper blade to the wiper arm, a retaining bracket is provided, which is detachably and pivotably connected to the free end of the wiper arm. The detachable arrangement makes it possible to replace worn wiper blades, while the pivotable arrangement allows the wiping motion to be adapted to curved windows. It is known to connect the wiper arm to the retaining bracket via an adapter element, which makes it possible to adapt the wiper arm to the retaining bracket. It is disadvantageous that this adapter element is tailor-made for a particular wiper arm or retaining bracket, so that a corresponding number of different adapter elements have to be on hand that are typically shipped along with the wiper blades, and the adapter element that fits must then be selected from them. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a windshield wiper which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art. 
     In keeping with these objects, one feature of present invention, resides, briefly stated, in a windshield wiper which has a drivably supported wiper arm; a wiper blade carried on a free end of said wiper arm; a retaining bracket detachably and pivotably connecting said wiper blade with said wiper arm; an adapter element connecting said wiper arm and said retaining bracket, said adapter element having a shape which permits a form-and force-locking connection with said wiper arm and said retaining bracket, said adapter element is detachably arrangeable on said wiper arm and said retaining bracket in individual positions in which said adapter element is pivoted by 180° with respect to said wiper arm and having a different shape characteristic permitting adaptation to differently shaped wiper arms. 
     The windshield wiper of the invention offers the advantage over the prior art that it is possible to adapt the detachable and pivotable connection between the wiper arm and the retaining bracket by means of a single adapter element. Because the adapter element, by means of mounting rotated about 180°, allows different wiper arms to be connected detachably and pivotably to the retaining bracket, and a detent connection exists between each adapter element and the wiper arm and the retaining bracket, it is possible in a simple way, by mounting the adapter element in a suitably rotated position, to permit simple, fast mounting of wiper blades on different wiper arms. 
     In a preferred feature of the invention, it is provided that the adapter element has shape characteristics that make a form lock with a wiper arm to be mounted an absolute prerequisite, so that incorrect mounting, for instance with an adapter element oriented wrong, is impossible. 
     Further advantageous features of the invention will become apparent from the other characteristics recited in the dependent claims. 
    
    
     DRAWING 
     The invention will be described in further detail below in terms of exemplary embodiments, in conjunction with the associated drawings. Shown are: 
     FIG. 1, a schematic view of the entire windshield wiper; 
     FIG. 2, an exploded view of a connection point between a wiper arm and a retaining bracket; 
     FIGS. 3-6, perspective views of an adapter element mounted on different wiper arms; and 
     FIG. 7, a perspective view of an adapter element in a further exemplary embodiment. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows a windshield wiper  10 . The windshield wiper  10  has a wiper arm  12 , one end  14  of which is disposed on a wiper shaft  16  in a manner secured against relative rotation. The other, free end  18  of the wiper arm  12  carries a wiper blade  20 . The wiper blade  20  is retained by a retaining bracket  22 , which via a fastening part  24  is connectable detachably and pivotably to the end  18  of the wiper arm  12 . The pivotable connection is made via a pivot pin  26 , which extends approximately at right angles to the wiper shaft  16 . 
     FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the connection region between the fastening part  24  of the retaining bracket  22  and the end  18  of the wiper arm  12 . The fastening is effected via an adapter element  28 . The adapter element  28  has a through opening  30  that is open at the periphery and extends axially in the direction of the pivot pin  26 . The through opening  30  is disposed approximately centrally in the adapter element  28 . For forming a slot  32 , a longitudinal face  34  has a shoulder  36 , whose face  38  extending radially to the through opening  30  opens out into a jacket face of the through opening  30 . Because of the embodiment of the shoulder  36 , the adapter element  28  has a first portion  40  with a height h 1  and a second portion  42  with a height h 2 . On the longitudinal face  44  opposite the longitudinal face  34 , a detent tongue  46  is formed. A further detent tongue  48  (FIG. 4; not visible in FIG. 2) is embodied on the longitudinal face  34  in the region of the portion  40  of the adapter element  28 . The end faces  50  and  52  joining together the respective longitudinal faces  34  and  44  each merge via a radius with the longitudinal faces  34  and  44 ; the radius of the end face  50  is determined by the height h 1 , and the radius of the end face  52  is determined by the height h 2 . 
     The end  18  of the wiper arm  12  forms a hook  54 , and a portion  56  extending parallel to the end  18  has a spacing h. The portion  56  merges via an inner jacket face  58  with the end  18 ; the jacket face  58  extends at a radius defined by the height h. A peripheral opening  62 , pointing in the direction of a free space  60  formed between the end  18  and the portion  56 , is embodied on the portion  56 . 
     The retaining bracket  22  has a U-shaped profile—when viewed in cross section—between whose legs  64  and  66  the pivot pin  26  extends. In the region of the pivot pin  26 , there is a recess  68  whose length is greater than a length of the adapter element  28 . 
     For mounting the wiper arm  12  together with the retaining bracket  22 , the adapter element  28  is first snapped in detent fashion onto the pivot pin  26 . To that end, a width of the slot  32  toward the through opening  30  is embodied such that a locking connection results. A diameter of the through opening  30  is substantially equivalent to a diameter of the pivot pin  26 , so that the adapter element  28  is rotatably supported on the pivot pin  26 . As a result, on the one hand the pivotable connection between the wiper arm  12  and the retaining bracket  22  is made possible, and on the other—as will be described in further detail in conjunction with the subsequent drawings—it is possible to position the adapter element  28  in different ways. The end  18  of the wiper arm  12  is slipped onto the mounted adapter element  28 ; depending on the given height h, either the portion  40  or the portion  42  of the adapter element  28  is introduced into the free space  60  of the end  18  of the wiper arm  12 . Thrusting the adapter element  28  into the free space  60  causes either the detent tongue  46  or the detent tongue  48 , depending on the position of the adapter element  28 , to reach the region of the detent opening  62 , so that a form- and force-locking connection is brought about between the adapter element  28  and the wiper arm  12 . 
     Various possibilities for the detent connection between the adapter element  28  and the wiper arm  12  are shown in FIGS. 3-6. Elements identical to those of FIG. 2 are provided with the same reference numerals and will not be described again. For the sake of simplicity, the retaining bracket  22  has not been shown. 
     In the view shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the height h at the wiper arm  12  is equivalent to the height h 1  of the portion  40  of the adapter element  28 . The adapter element  28  is thrust with its portion  40  into the free space  60 , until a form lock exists between the end face  50  and the jacket face  58 . At the same time, the detent connection is made between the detent protrusion  48  and the detent opening  62  (not visible in FIG.  3 ), so that a form- and force-locking connection exists between the adapter element  28  and the wiper arm  12 . 
     In the variant embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the hook  54  of the wiper arm  12  is embodied such that the height h of the free space  60  is equivalent to the height h 2  of the portion  42  of the adapter element  28 . In order to achieve a form- and force-locking connection between the wiper arm  12  and the adapter element  28  here as well, the adapter element  28  need merely be rotated 180° about the pivot pin  26 , so that the portion of the adapter element  28  engages the free space  60 . The force-locking connection is made via a detent connection between the detent protrusion  46  and the detent opening  62 . The detent protrusion  48 , partly visible in the view of FIG. 4, can additionally act to support the end  18  of the wiper arm  12 . 
     In FIGS. 5 and 6, further variant embodiments are shown, which pertain to different designs of the hook  54  of the wiper arm  12 . The portions  58  can for instance have different lengths, so that the portion  40  or the portion  42  of the adapter element  28  either only partly fills up the free space  60 , as shown in FIG. 5, or only partly engages the inside of the free space  60 , as shown in FIG.  6 . The detent openings  62  are embodied to suit the length of the portions  56  of the hooks  54 , so that the force-lock between the adapter element  28  and the wiper arm  12  remains assured by the detent connection. 
     It is readily apparent from the illustrations in FIGS. 2-6 that by means of a single adapter element  28 , differently embodied wiper arms  12 , and in particular with differently embodied hooks  54 , can be connected to the retaining bracket  22 . 
     In FIG. 7, the adapter element  28  is shown in a further exemplary embodiment. Identical elements to those of the preceding drawing figures are again provided with the same reference numerals and are not described again. For the force-locking connection of the adapter element  28  to the wiper arm  12 , the adapter element  28  has clamping hooks  70 . The clamping hooks  70  extend outward past the end faces  50  and  52  of the adapter element  28  and form bearing faces  70  and  72 , respectively, that extend parallel to the end faces  50  and  52  and in particular coaxially to the end faces  50  and  52  that extend at a radius. As a result, a gap  74  is formed between the end face  50  and the bearing face  70 , or the end face  52  and the bearing face  72 ; its curvature corresponds to the curvature of the hook  54  of the wiper arm  12 . The wiper arm  12  is thrust with its hook  54  laterally into the gap  74 , thereby creating a form and force lock between the adapter element  28  and the wiper arm  12 .