Connecting member in windshied wiper

A windshield wiper of the type including a wiper arm having a U-shaped tip end, a wiper blade having a primary lever which has spaced parallel side walls on the lengthwise central portion and a pin extending between the side walls, and a connecting member for connecting the wiper arm with the primary lever and including a main body having a generally U-shaped outer surface corresponding to the U-shaped tip end of the wiper arm, a generally cylindrical bore for rotatably engaging with the pin of the primary lever, and flange portions for slidably engaging with the side walls of the primary lever. The connecting member is formed of two halves being split along a plane perpendicular to the pin of the primary lever, and the flange portions of respective halves for slidably engaging with the side walls of the primary lever are projecting toward side walls of the primary lever at the opposite ends in the lengthwise direction of the primary lever as compared with the lengthwise central portions.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a windshield wiper for use in a vehicle such as 
an automobile and, particularly, to a connecting member in the windshield 
wiper which connects a wiper arm having a U-shaped end with a primary 
lever of a wiperblade. 
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART 
A wiper arm having a U-shaped tip end is publicly known and, typically, as 
shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a wiper arm 1 (only the tip end portion is shown 
in the drawings) has a generally U-shaped tip end 1a and an opening 2 in 
one leg of the U-shaped portion. The wiper arm 1 is detachably connected 
to a wiperblade 3 (only the central portion is shown in the drawings) of a 
wiper through a connecting member 7. The connecting member 7 includes a 
generally cylindrical portion 9 being adapted to be rotatably assembled 
with a pin 6 of the wiperblade through a cutout 8, an extending portion 
extending from the cylindrical portion for defining together with the 
cylindrical portion a generally U-shaped outer surface complementary with 
the generally U-shaped inner surface of the tip end 1a of the wiper arm 1, 
flange portions 10 and 11 for slidably engaging with and being received 
between opposite side walls 4 and 5 of the wiperblade 3, and a projection 
12 formed on the extending portion of the connecting member 7 for engaging 
with the opening 2 in the U-shaped tip end 1a of the wiper arm 1. 
In such prior art device, there are shortcomings such that there is 
sometimes excessive clearance between opposite outer surfaces of the 
flanges 10 and 11 of the connecting member 7 and opposite side walls 4 and 
5 of the wiperblade 3 due to the manufacturing tolerance and the like. It 
is possible to avoid such deficiency by manufacturing parts at a high 
accuracy which inevitably increases the cost. 
The present invention aims to provide a connecting member in a windshield 
wiper avoiding the shortcomings aforementioned. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a windshield wiper of the type including a 
wiper arm having a U-shaped tip end with an opening being formed in the 
lower leg of the U-shaped tip end, a wiper blade having a primary lever 
which has spaced parallel side walls on the lengthwise central portion and 
a pin extending between the side walls, and a connecting member for 
connecting the wiper arm with the primary lever and having a generally 
cylindrical connecting portion for rotatably engaging with the pin of the 
primary lever, flange portions for slidably engaging with side walls of 
the primary lever and a generally U-shaped outer surface portion 
corresponding to the U-shaped tip end of the wiper arm with a projection 
corresponding to the opening in the wiper arm being formed thereon. The 
connecting member according to the invention is formed of two halves being 
split along a plane perpendicular to said pin or generally along the 
widthwise central plane, and respective halves have flange portions for 
slidably abutting with the side walls of the primary lever on opposite 
ends in the lengthwise direction of the primary lever, said flange 
portions being projecting toward side walls of the primary lever as 
compared with the lengthwise central portion. 
The flange portions can resiliently engage with the side walls of the 
primary lever such that it is possible to absorb any clearance between the 
connecting member and the primary lever in the widthwise direction of the 
primary lever. 
Preferably, the generally U-shaped outer surface portion of the connecting 
member is adapted to engage resiliently with the inner surface of the 
generally U-shaped tip end of the wiper arm. 
Preferably, a widthwise extending cutout is formed in the generally 
cylindrical portion of the connecting member for assembling the connecting 
member with the pin of the primary lever with the cutout being provided at 
the location near to the rear direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 1 shows a connecting member 15 according to a first embodiment of the 
invention. The connecting member 15 consists of two halves 15A and 15B 
being formed by splitting along the widthwise central plane. There are 
formed on respective halves 15A and 15B flanges 16 and 17, the lengthwise 
opposite end portions 16a, 16b and 17a, 17b of which project toward 
corresponding side walls 4 and 5 of the primary lever 3 to which the 
flanges abut as compared with the lengthwise central portion. It will be 
understood that the wording "lengthwise" and "widthwise" are referred 
relative to the primary lever 3, such that the primary lever 3 has 
widthwise spaced side walls 4 and 5 on the lengthwise central portion. 
To fittingly assemble the two halves 15A and 15B together, there are formed 
projection and recess fitting portions 18 and 18. (Only two projections 
are shown in FIG. 1 on the half 15A, and correspondingly shaped recess 
formed in the half 15B are not shown.) It will be understood that, in the 
embodiment, the projections are formed on one 15A of the two halves and 
the other 15B has only the recesses, but, it is possible to provide 
projections and recesses on both of two halves 15A and 15B. 
Similar to the prior art device shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, there are provided 
widthwise extending cutouts 8 and generally cylindrical inner surface 
portions 9, however, according to the invention, the cutouts 8 extend in 
the inclined downward and rearward direction while the cutout 8 in the 
prior art extends in the downward direction. The construction of the 
invention provides for increased strength, rigidity and durability of the 
connecting member, particularly when a load acts on the connecting member 
in the downward direction during the operation of the wiperblade. 
The flanges 16a, 16b and 17a, 17b of the connecting member 15 can 
resiliently engage with the inner surfaces of the side walls 4 and 5 of 
the primary lever 3 owing to their structural resiliency, thus, it is not 
required to provide a high accuracy in manufacturing the connecting 
member, thereby reducing the cost. 
FIG. 2 shows a modified form, which differs from the connecting member of 
FIG. 1 in that the configuration of the projection and recess portions 18 
is modified, and that a slit 20 is provided which provides for reduction 
of radial play between the pin 6 and the connecting member 15 and for play 
between the wiper arm and the connecting member. 
In FIGS. 1 and 2, a slit 23 is formed in each of the flange portions 16b 
and 17b on the rear sides of the two halves 15A and 15B, and the slit 23 
provides increased structural resiliency and further reduction in play 
between the connecting member and the primary lever. 
The two halves 15A and 15B of the connecting member 15 of FIGS. 1 and 2 are 
formed separately, however, it is possible to manufacture the two halves 
unitarily and, thereafter, to separate them and to assemble together. FIG. 
3 shows an example forming the two halves unitarily. In FIG. 3, the tip 
end portions 21a and 21b of respective halves 15A and 15B of the 
connecting member 15 of FIG. 2 are connected together through a thin 
thickness portion 22 in die forming the member 15 unitarily and, 
thereafter, the two halves are separated by cutting the thin thickness 
portion 22 and are assembled together. 
As shown in FIG. 2, the slit 20 formed in the half 15A such that a 
circumferential end of the cylindrical bore 9 defined between the bore 9 
and the slot 8 and between the slit 20 and the widthwise inner end of the 
half 15A defines a diameter larger than that of the bore 9, so that the 
radial play between the wiper arm and the connecting member can further be 
reduced. 
It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments 
shown in the drawings, and various changes or modifications may easily be 
applied for those skilled in the art within the scope of the present 
invention which is defined by the claims.