Patent Abstract:
The invention relates to a wiper blade ( 10 ) of a windshield wiper provided with a protective rail ( 32, 44, 56, 72, 88 ), comprising a base body ( 34 ) that has an essentially V-shaped cross section and a wiper lip ( 36 ) of the wiper blade ( 10 ) and that is detachably fixed to the wiper blade ( 10 ) with the aid of fixing elements ( 38, 52, 58, 78, 90 ). It is proposed that the wiper blade ( 10 ) consist of a wiper strip ( 14 ) with at least one flat, bar-type, elastic support element ( 26 ) and a spoiler ( 12 ), wherein the protective rail ( 32, 44, 56, 72, 88 ) rests on the support element ( 26 ) or spoiler ( 12 ).

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a wiper blade of a windshield with a protective rail. 
     Known windshield wipers have a wiper arm that is connected to the wiper blade in an articulated manner. The wiper blade includes a supporting bracket system or a flat, bar-shaped, elastic support element, which guides a wiper strip over a vehicle window, a windshield or a rear window. This wiper strip is comprised of an elastomer, e.g., a natural or synthetic rubber or of ethylene propylene. It has a top strip, which is connected via a tilting web with a wiper lip that is adjacent to the vehicle window. The tilting web is formed by two longitudinal grooves that are open to the outside. 
     Covering the wiper strip with a protective rail before a new motor vehicle is preserved in order to assure that the wiper strip is in a perfect state when the motor vehicle is delivered is known from DE 30 05 965 A1. The protective rail is not removed until the new motor vehicle is delivered to an end consumer after the final preservation. If, however, the windshield gets dirty during interim storage of the motor vehicle, during preservation, etc., or if sight is impaired by rain, it is not easy for the motor vehicle&#39;s wiper system to clean the windshield so that the motor vehicle can be moved around, because the protective profile is rigid and hard and is only partially adjacent to the windshield. 
     As a result, the protective rail has a flexible band on the side facing the windshield, which, e.g., is extruded onto the protective rail. Said protective rail is comprised preferably of hard PVC and the band of soft PVC. 
     The protective profile is fixed to the wiper blade, in that it engages with claws in the longitudinal grooves, which form the tilting web. The protective rail does not protect the parts of the wiper strip that project beyond the wiper lip. In addition, the hard protective rail can follow the curvatures of the vehicle window only to a slight degree. 
     EP 0 635 411 A1 discloses a wiper blade with a protective rail, whose base body has a V-shaped cross-sectional profile and clasps a wiper lip of a wiper strip, in that inwardly pointing webs engage in longitudinal grooves of the wiper strip. A top strip of the wiper strip is held by claws, which are part of a supporting bracket system and engage in additional longitudinal grooves of the wiper strip. Formed on the base body of the protective rail beyond the inwardly pointing webs are lateral fingers, which can extend over the entire length of the wiper blade and laterally cover the claws, wherein the fingers have inwardly bent shoulders, which can be used to clip the protective rail on the claws. A wiper lip is externally fixed on the edge of the protective rail, where the side walls of the base body converge in a V-shape. This gives the protective rail the possibility of drying and cleaning the vehicle window. However, because of its great bending resistance moment, the protective rail is very resistant to bending around the vertical axis so that it is only able to adapt to the curvature of the vehicle window in a negligible manner. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the invention, the wiper blade consists of a wiper strip with at least one flat, bar-type, elastic support element and a spoiler, wherein the protective rail rests on the support element or spoiler. As a result, the protective rail can be designed to be relatively flat and it is therefore more flexible. Moreover, said protective rail attaches to the spoiler or to the elastic support element so that the entire wiper strip is protected by the protective rail and the spoiler. Since the support element or the spoiler is pre-bent in such a way that it has a greater curvature than the vehicle window, the protective rail, which can be comprised of a similar material as the spoiler, is also pre-bent so that said protective rail can easily follow the curvature of the vehicle window under the pressure force of a wiper arm. The protective rails can have a wiper lip on the side facing the vehicle window in order to dry and clean the vehicle window. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, it can also be expedient, however, for a supplemental wiper blade to be detachably fixed to the spoiler or to a spoiler protection. This supplemental wiper blade can be designed very simply and be shorter than the normal wiper blade. It expediently has a plastic carrier, which carries a wiper rubber and is detachably fixed to the spoiler or to the spoiler protection via a fixing element, e.g., in that the fixing element is clipped to the spoiler or to the spoiler protection on both sides of the wiper blade each with a clip on both sides of a connecting element of the wiper blade. 
     The clips are located in the vicinity of the connecting element, via which the wiper blade is connected to a wiper arm in an articulated manner, so that the ends of the supplemental wiper blade can easily follow the curvature of the vehicle window. While the protective rail, which in this case does not need to have a wiper lip, is mounted before preservation of the new vehicle, the supplemental wiper blade is expediently not mounted until after preservation. As a result, it is not subjected to the temperatures and chemical influences during preservation so that wear is reduced and the wiping properties are improved. 
     The protective rail can simply be detachably connected to the spoiler, if its base body towards the spoiler has a flange that is bent outwardly by approx. 90° on each of its longitudinal sides, which flange engages in a longitudinal groove that is open to the inside, which is formed by two ribs of the spoiler, wherein the flange rests on the sides of the ribs that face one another. Due to the pre-bent spoiler, the flange is adjacent to both ribs with an initial tension so that the protective rail does not have to be additionally secured in the longitudinal direction. 
     According to another embodiment of the invention, a longitudinal groove that is open to the inside is adjacent to the base body of the protective rail, in which groove an outwardly oriented rib of the spoiler engages. The longitudinal groove is expediently formed by a flange that is bent to the outside from the base body of the protective rail and an inwardly oriented groove wall that is formed on said flange. The outwardly oriented rib of the spoiler advantageously forms, with an inwardly oriented rib, a groove that is open to the outside, in which the groove wall of the protective rail engages so that a nested, positively-engaged connection is formed between the protective rail and the spoiler. 
     The protective rail can also be clipped on the lower portion from the outside. In this case, a holding profile is used that attaches to an outwardly bent flange on the base body of the protective rail. The holding profile clasps the lower portion of the spoiler in the region of the support element so that the protective rail is held on the spoiler by the flange and an upper leg of the holding profile. In order to easily clip the protective rail on the spoiler, one embodiment of the invention provides for a ridge to be formed on the leg of the holding profile of the protective rail, which ridge is bent away from the outer contour of the spoiler. The ridge facilitates both the assembly as well as disassembly of the protective rail. If the wiper blade has an end cap on its ends, it is therefore advantageous if the flange of the protective rail as well as the holding profiles with the ridges have recesses in the region of the end cap. 
     Instead of the holding profile formed on the protective rail, individual clips can also be provided that are used to fix the protective rail to the lower edge of the spoiler. In this case, a holding profile of the clip clasps the lower portion of the spoiler with a leg in the region of the support element, while a part that is bent away from the spoiler of the outwardly oriented flange of the base body of the protective rail engages in a longitudinal groove of the clip, which is open to the inside. As a result, the clip presses the protective rail with its outwardly oriented flange against the lower side of the spoiler. Several clips are provided over the length of the wiper blade in a distributed manner. 
     However, the protective rail can also be held in the longitudinal grooves of the wiper strip via inwardly pointing webs, wherein the side walls of the base body of the protective rail project beyond the longitudinal ribs towards the spoiler and rest on the support element or the support elements. Another variation provides for the spoiler to be protected by a spoiler protection, which is adapted to the outer contour of the spoiler. As a result, the spoiler is also protected in an advantageous manner during preservation so that its surface cannot be damaged. At the same time, the protective rail can be fixed to the spoiler protection, and namely as a rule in a same manner as to the spoiler itself. The advantage of this, however, is that after removing the protective rail and the spoiler protection, no holding elements are left on the spoiler that foster the collection of dirt and can interfere with the optical appearance. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Additional advantages are yielded from the following description of the drawings. Exemplary embodiments of the invention are depicted in the drawings. The drawings, the description and the claims contain numerous features in combination. The person skilled in the art will also observe individual features expediently and combine them into additional, meaningful combinations. 
       The drawings show: 
         FIG. 1  A perspective cross section through a wiper blade in accordance with the invention 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  Variations of  FIG. 1   
         FIG. 4  A perspective representation of an end of a wiper blade with an end cap 
         FIG. 5  A variation of  FIG. 3   
         FIG. 6  A wiper blade with a protective rail, which is resting on a support element 
         FIG. 7  A wiper blade with a protective rail and a spoiler protection 
         FIG. 8  A perspective representation of a wiper blade with a supplemental wiper blade 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A wiper blade  10  has a wiper strip  14  with a wiper lip  16 , which is connected via a tilting web  18  with a top strip  20 . The top strip  20  features two opposing longitudinal grooves  24 , which form a web  22 . A flat, bar-shaped, elastic support element  26  is inserted into each of these grooves. The support element  26  is pre-bent in the longitudinal direction such that the wiper blade  10  is adjacent to a vehicle window with an appropriate pressure distribution under the pressure force of a wiper arm (not shown). 
     The wiper blade  10  also has a spoiler  12 , which has two inwardly oriented longitudinal grooves  28  towards the support elements  26 , in which the support elements  26  engage and thereby hold the spoiler  12  on the wiper blade  10 . 
     In the direction of the wiper lip  16 , the longitudinal groove  28  of the spoiler  12  is delimited by an inwardly pointing rib  30 . In the embodiment according to  FIG. 1 , another longitudinal groove  40  is adjacent to the rib  30  on each longitudinal side, which groove is delimited by another rib  42  in the direction of the wiper lip  16 . 
     A protective rail  32  clasps with its base body  34 , which has a V-shaped cross section, the wiper lip  16  and the adjacent portion of the top strip  20 , so that the wiper strip  14  is protected for one by the protective rail  32  and secondly by the spoiler  12  against the effects of the environment. The protective rail  32  is mounted before the preservation of a new vehicle and dismounted shortly before delivery of the vehicle to a customer. The protective rail  32  in the embodiment in  FIG. 1  has on the edges of its base body  34  a flange  38  that is bent to the outside by approx. 90 degrees, which engages in the longitudinal grooves  40  of the spoiler  12 . Said protective rail is therefore securely guided on the spoiler  12  and can assume the prescribed curvatures of the spoiler  12  with an appropriate selection of material. The protective rail  32  has a wiper lip  36  in order to execute the cleaning and drying function. As a result, the windshield wiper can be actuated before delivery of the vehicle without the wiper lip  16  or the vehicle window being damaged. 
     The embodiment in  FIG. 2  differs from the embodiment in  FIG. 1  in that the spoiler  12  has, on its longitudinal sides, instead of the longitudinal grooves  40  that are open to the inside, two longitudinal grooves  46  that are open to the outside, which are formed, on the one hand, by the inwardly pointing rib  30  and, on the other hand, by an outwardly pointing rib  48  attached thereto. 
     On the edges of its V-shaped diverging base body  34 , a protective rail  44  has an outwardly bent flange  54 , which forms, with groove walls  52 , longitudinal grooves  50  that are open to the inside. The groove walls  52  engage in the longitudinal grooves  46  of the spoiler  12  that are open to the inside, while the outwardly oriented rib  48  of the spoiler  12  engages in the longitudinal groove  50  of the protective rail  44  that is open to the inside. 
     In the case of the embodiment in  FIG. 3 , a protective rail  56  also has outwardly diverging flanges  54  on the edges of the V-shaped diverging base body  34 , however, attached to these flanges are holding profiles  58 , whose legs  60  clasp the laterally projecting parts of the spoiler  12  in the region of the support elements  26 . In order to better clip these on the spoiler  12  for easier assembly of the protective rail  56 , the leg  60  has, on its free longitudinal edge, a ridge  62  that is bent away from the outer contour of the spoiler  12 . The ridge  62  facilitates both assembly as well as disassembly of the protective rail  56 , which in a mounted state is held on the spoiler  12  between the leg  60  and the flange  54 . 
     The embodiment according to  FIG. 4  corresponds essentially to the embodiment according to  FIG. 3 . However, the wiper blade  10  has an end cap  64 , which is fixed on the support elements  26 , overlaps the spoiler  12  on the end side and fixes the support elements  26 . In the region of the end cap  64 , the flange  54 , the receptacle profile  58  with its leg  60  and the ridge  62  have a recess  66  for the end cap  64  so that the front walls  68  of the receptacle profile  58  are opposite from the facing fore part  70  of the end cap  64 . The play between the fore parts  68  and  70  is selected so that it is great enough that no coercion occurs when the wiper blade  10  bends. 
     The embodiment according to  FIG. 5  differs from the embodiments according to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  in that, in the case of the protective rail  72 , separate clips  78  are provided instead of a holding profile  58 , and these clips fix the protective rail  72  on the laterally projecting edges of the spoiler  12 . For this purpose, the protective rail  72  has, on the edges of the V-shaped diverging base body  34 , outwardly bent flanges  74  with parts  76  bent towards the wiper lip  36 . These parts engage in longitudinal grooves  80  of the clips  78 . The longitudinal grooves  80  are delimited towards the inside by legs  82 . The clips  78  clasp the laterally projecting edges of the spoiler  12  with a holding profile  84  and a leg  86  so that the flange  74  of the protective rail  72  is pressed against the inwardly oriented rib  30  of the spoiler  12  by the clips  78 . Because of the clips  78 , the protective rail  72  has a low bending resistance moment so that it is easily able to adapt to the curvatures of the vehicle window. 
     A protective rail  88  according to an embodiment in  FIG. 6  is particularly simple and economical. It has inwardly oriented ribs  90  on its base body  34 , which engage in longitudinal grooves  92  on the sides of the tilting web  18 . The parts of the protective rail  88  that project beyond the ribs  90  towards the spoiler  12  rest on the support elements  26  so that the wiper strip  14  is protected all around from the environment. 
     In many cases, it is desirable for not only the wiper strip but also the spoiler  12  to be protected during preservation of the vehicle so that said spoiler does not get damaged during preservation or become unsightly while the vehicle is being kept at the ready. 
     For this purpose, the embodiment in accordance with  FIG. 7  has a spoiler protection  94 , which is adapted to the outer contour of the spoiler  12  and can be slid over the spoiler  12  from the longitudinal side or clipped on crosswise to it. The spoiler protection  94  has outwardly pointing holding rails  96  similar to the groove walls  52  of the spoiler  12  in  FIG. 2 , which engage in the inwardly open longitudinal grooves  50  of the protective rail  44 . As for the rest, the protective rail  44  and the spoiler protection  94  can be designed in accordance with the embodiments of the protective rails  32 ,  56  and the spoiler  12  according to the embodiments in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 . 
     A supplemental wiper blade  98  that has a plastic holder  102  for a wiper rubber  100  is provided on the wiper blade  10  in the embodiment in  FIG. 8 . The plastic holder  102  is fixed to the lower side edges of the spoiler  12  via a fixing element  104  having clips  106 . In this case, the clips  106  are each arranged laterally in the vicinity of a connecting element  108  for the articulated connection to a wiper arm (not shown). The supplemental wiper blade  98  can assume the wiping function better than the wiper lip  36  on the protective rails  32 ,  44 ,  56 ,  72  and  88  since it is not mounted until after the preservation of the vehicle and therefore is not subjected to the temperatures and chemical influences during preservation. The supplemental wiper blade  98  can be designed more simply and be shorter than a normal wiper blade  10 .

Technology Classification (CPC): 1