Abstract:
An adapter for a windshield wiper assembly, the adapter including a head, a body connected to the head, the body including a downwardly extending hole, a tail connected to the body, a flap connected to the head at a hinge, and a receiving portion generally defined by the body and the tail, wherein the flap covers the receiving portion and the downwardly extending hole when in a closed position, so that the flap faces the body with the receiving portion disposed between the flap and the body, wherein the tail extends away from the body in a manner parallel to a hinge axis of the hinge and perpendicular to an axis defined by the head and the body, and wherein an end of the flap is connected to the head at the hinge.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is Continuation Application of U.S. Ser. No. 12/564,557, filed Sep. 22, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/099,460 filed Sep. 23, 2008. The entirety of the above-identified applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention is directed generally to adapters for a windshield wiper assembly. More particularly, the present invention is directed to adapters configured to cooperate with one or more windshield wiper arm designs so that an adapter is usable with different windshield wiper arms. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    Various types of windshield wiper assemblies having a body utilizing a pair of leaf spring elements are known. For example, one windshield wiper assembly uses two parallel pieces of spring steel to secure a squeegee therebetween. The two pieces of spring steel are spot welded together in spaced apart relationship with a portion of the squeegee being located between the two pieces of spring steel. Although this background art windshield wiper assembly eliminates the necessity of having multiple frame elements to make up the body of the windshield wiper assembly, the spot welding prevents easy replacement of the squeegee. 
         [0006]    Additionally, various types of windshield wiper arms are available which utilize respective adapters for connection of the windshield wiper assemblies to the windshield wiper arms, respectively. Thus, generally, a particular adapter may be usable only with a particular type of windshield wiper arm. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a windshield wiper assembly, which eliminates the above problems encountered with windshield wiper assemblies according to the background art. 
         [0008]    The adapters of the present invention are usable with different windshield wiper arms. 
         [0009]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, an adapter for a windshield wiper assembly includes a head; and a body connected to the head and configured to cooperate with a bracket of a windshield wiper assembly to attach the windshield wiper assembly to a windshield wiper arm, the body including a bulge portion, and a cutout defining portion. 
         [0010]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, an adapter for a windshield wiper assembly includes a head; a body connected to the head and configured to cooperate with a bracket of a windshield wiper assembly to attach the windshield wiper assembly to a windshield wiper arm, the body including a hole in an intermediate portion thereof; and a leg portion. 
         [0011]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, an adapter for a windshield wiper assembly includes a head; a body connected to the head; a tail connected to the body; a flap connected to the body; and a receiving portion generally defined by the body and the tail, wherein the flap covers the receiving portion when in a closed position. 
         [0012]    Further scope of applicability of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  shows various types of arms for a windshield wiper usable with brackets according to embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIGS. 2A-2E  are various views of an adapter according to one example embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIGS. 3A-3E  are various views of an adapter according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIGS. 4A-4B  are various views of an adapter according to another example embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0018]      FIGS. 5A-5E  are various views of an adapter according to another example embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar parts. 
         [0020]    Additionally, the disclosures of U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,103, U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,059 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,082, having the same inventor as this application, are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  shows various types of arms for a windshield wiper usable with adapters according to embodiments of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the referenced various types of arms may be side pin arms  10  and  11 , pinch tab arms  12  and  13 , a hook arm  14 , and a side saddle arm  15 . 
         [0022]    The side pin arms generally include a side extending pin or an extension that enable attachment of an arm to an adapter. For example, the side pin arm  10  includes a single pin that is inserted into a single hole on a side of an adapter to secure the side pin arm  10  to an adapter. The side pin arm  11  may be of various configurations, one of which has two pins that are inserted into holes on a side of an adapter, and others that have extensions that cooperate with the adapter, to secure the side pin arm  11  to the adapter. The pinch tab  12  and the pinch tab button  13  are arms that generally grab the adapter for attachment, while the hook arm  14  is used to slide an adapter in between the hook portion for the attachment. Finally, the side saddle arm  15  is used to insert the arm into an opening of an adapter for attachment. Accordingly, although each type of arm will cooperate with only one adapter that is specialized for that the arm, generally, the adapters according to various embodiments of the present invention are configured to cooperate with a plurality of types of arm. 
         [0023]      FIGS. 2A-2E  are various views of an adapter according to one example embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 2A  is a top plan view of the adapter  200 ,  FIG. 2B  is a side elevational view of the adapter  200 ,  FIG. 2C  is a bottom plan view of the adapter  200 ,  FIG. 2D  is a cross-sectional view of the adapter  200  at line A in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2E  is a back end view of the adapter  200 . 
         [0024]    As shown in  FIG. 2B , the adapter  200  includes a head  210  and a body  220 . The adapter further includes a bulge portion  230 , and a cutout defining portion  240  generally located in the body  220 . The bulge portion accommodates a hole  230  that is generally circular, while the cutout defining portion  240  includes a notch  241 , a first hole  242 , a second hole  243 , a channel  244  and an extending portion  245 . 
         [0025]    The first and second holes  242  and  243  are generally circular, and communicate with each other via the channel  244 . The first and second holes  242 ,  243  are generally the same size, but such is not required, and the channel  244  extends directly from the first hole  242  to the second hole  243 . The width of the channel  244  is generally narrower than the diameter of the first and second holes  242 ,  243 , and the width of the notch  242  is narrower than the width of the channel  242 , but such is not required. The notch  242  is on an opposite side of the first hole  242  from the channel  244 . 
         [0026]    The extending portion  245  extends from the body  220  opposite the hole  230  (or the bulge hole), beyond a lower portion of the body  220 . The extending portion  245  accommodates the second hole  243  so that a portion of the second hole  243  is formed within the extending portion  245 . The notch  241 , the first hole  242 , the channel  244  and the second hole  243  are generally collinear, and are symmetric about a line defined by centers of the first and second holes  242 ,  243 . 
         [0027]    As shown in  FIG. 2C , the head  210  has side walls  211 , and the body  220  has side walls  221 . The width of the head  210  is smaller than the width of the body  220 . Additionally, as shown in  FIG. 2C , the cutout defining portion  240  has a plurality of walls  245  formed perpendicularly to the side walls  221  of the body  220 . The walls  245  are parallel to the channel  244 . Additionally, as shown in  FIG. 2D , the curvature of the bulge hole  231  may be 82.60 mm, but such is not required. Other curvatures are within the scope of the embodiment. 
         [0028]    In embodiments of the present invention, the hole  231  may be formed on only a single wall of the side walls  221  or both, and the first and second holes may be formed on only a single wall of the side walls  221  or both. By having the bulge hole  230 , and the first and second holes  242 ,  243 , the adapter  200  is usable with the side pin arm  10  and also the side pin arm  11 . 
         [0029]      FIGS. 3A-3E  are various views of an adapter according to another example embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 3A  is a top plan view of the adapter  300 ,  FIG. 3B  is a side elevational view of the adapter  300 ,  FIG. 3C  is a bottom plan view of the adapter  300 ,  FIG. 3D  is a front end view of the adapter  300 , and  FIG. 3E  is a back end view of the adapter  300 . 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 3B , the adapter  300  includes a head  310 , a body  320 , and a leg portion  330 . The body  320  includes a hole  321  in an intermediate portion, and has a flared opening and a notch on opposite sides of the hole  321 . The leg portion  330  extends away from the body  320 , and includes an attaching portion  331 , a bent portion  332 , legs  333 ,  334  and feet  335 . 
         [0031]    The leg portion  330  is attached to the body  320  via the attaching portion  331 , which extends generally parallel to an upper surface of the body  320 . The attaching portion  331  is connected to a bent portion  332 , which first extends generally perpendicular to the attaching portion  331 , then connects to the legs  333  and  334 . The legs  333  and  334  extend outward from the body  320  in a generally V-shaped configuration as shown in  FIG. 3A , and are respectively attached to feet  335 . The legs  333  and  334  are not generally parallel to the body  320  as shown in  FIG. 3A . The legs  333  and  334  are not symmetric. As shown in  FIG. 3A , for example, the leg  333  generally diagonally extends immediately out from the bent portion  332 , while the leg  334  is further translated to the side (upper part of  FIG. 3A ) before diagonally extending towards the foot  335 . 
         [0032]    Unlike the legs  333  and  334 , the feet  335  are generally parallel to the body  320 . The feet  335  have a first notch  336  and a pair of second notches  337 . The first notch  336  is formed on an upper end of the feet  335  while the pair of second notches  337  extend vertically on the feet  335 . As shown in  FIG. 3A , the cross-sectional shape of the first notch  336  is rectangular, while the cross-sectional shape of the pair of second notches  337  are semi-circles. 
         [0033]    As shown in  FIG. 3E , the body  320  include side walls  324  respectively having a first flap  322  and a second flap  323 . The first and second flaps  322  and  323  generally extend in a lengthwise direction of the body  320 , and also extend outward and perpendicularly from the side walls  324 . The length of the first and second flaps are different as shown in  FIG. 3E . Accordingly, the adapter  300  is usable with both the pinch tab arm  12  and the pinch tab button arm  13  of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0034]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are various views of an adapter according to another example embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 4A  is a plan view of an adapter  400   a  and  FIG. 4B  is a plan view of an adapter  400   b . In  FIG. 4A , shown is the adapter  400   a  having a body  420  with arm locks  421  located to the sides thereof. Similarly, in  FIG. 4B , shown is the adapter  400   b  having a body  422  with arm locks  423  located to the sides thereof. 
         [0035]    The arm locks  421  are respectively located on opposite sides of the body  420 , and the arm locks  423  are respectively located on opposite sides of the body  422 . Accordingly, the arm locks  421  and  423  more easily release the respective adapters  400   a ,  400   b  from attached windshield wiper arms. 
         [0036]      FIGS. 5A-5E  are various views of an adapter according to another example embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 5A  is a top plan view of the adapter  500 ,  FIG. 5B  is a side elevational view of the adapter  500 ,  FIG. 5C  is a bottom plan view of the adapter  500 ,  FIG. 5D  is a front end view of the adapter  500 , and  FIG. 5E  is a back end view of the adapter  500 . 
         [0037]    As shown in  FIG. 5B , the adapter  500  includes a head  510 , a body  520 , a tail  530 , a flap  540 , and a receiving portion  550  generally defined by the body  520  and the tail  530 . Both the body  520  and the flap  540  are attached to the head  510 . The body  520  extends parallel to and away from the head  510 . As shown in  FIG. 5C , the head  510  includes sidewalls  511 , and the body  520  includes side walls  521 ,  522  and  523  that are generally collinear. The sidewalls  522  (inner sidewalls) of the body  520  are nested within the interior of the head  510  between the parallel sidewalls  511 , while the sidewalls  523  (support sidewalls) of the body  520  support the tail  530 . The sidewalls  521  (main sidewalls) of the body  520  connects the inner sidewalls  522  to the support sidewalls  523 . 
         [0038]    As shown in  FIG. 5B , in the inner sidewalls  522  is located a first hole  524  in an intermediate portion next to the main sidewalls  521 . The first hole  524  has a flared opening and a notch on opposite sides of the first hole  524 . Additionally, as show in  FIG. 5C  is a second hole  525  that is formed in a portion of the body  520  connected to the head  510 . As shown in  FIGS. 5B and 5C , the second hole  525  is formed approximately at a location that is between the main sidewalls  521 . 
         [0039]    As shown in  FIG. 5B , the flap  540  includes side walls  541  that define a rectangular shape or profile (shown in  FIG. 5E ), a top cover  543 , and a pin  542 . The flap  540  is movable from a raised position (opened position) shown in  FIG. 5B , to a lowered position (closed position) that is not shown. In the lowered position, the flap  540  is rotated about a portion that is connected to the head  510 , and covers a top of the receiving portion  550 . When the flap  540  is lowered, the pin  542  is inserted into the hole  525  to secure the flap  540 . 
         [0040]    Prior to the flap  540  being lowered, a wiper arm (not shown) having a rectangular shape that matches the rectangular shape or profile of the side walls  541  is received in the receiving portion  550 . When the flap  540  is lowered on the received wiper arm (not shown), the wiper arm is secured to the adapter  500 . The shape or profile of the side walls  541  need not be rectangular, and other shapes or profiles are within the scope of the invention. 
         [0041]    The tail  530  further includes additional flaps  531  that secure another part of the arm to rest on the additional flaps  531 . Thus, the additional flaps  531  afford greater stability of a connection between the adapter  500  and an arm. 
         [0042]    The invention thus being described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. For example, an upper surface of each side wall of the bracket may have a notch formed therein if necessary to accommodate various adapters. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.