Patent ID: 8024836

Claim:
A beam blade windshield wiper assembly comprising: a rubber wiping element adapted to contact a surface to be wiped; an elongated beam having first and second longitudinal ends and lateral outside edges facing away from one another between said first and second longitudinal ends, said beam being of a resiliently flexible material to apply a force from an intermediate position between said first and second longitudinal ends to said first and second longitudinal ends; and an airfoil having an attachment portion and an upper portion extending between first and second distal ends, said attachment portion integrally attached to the upper portion and including a flat rib and a pair of legs depending therefrom to operatively engage a portion of said rubber wiping element, said upper portion including a solid base having a leading edge that extends from said base toward said wiping element and a spoiler that extends from said base in a manner opposite to said leading edge, wherein said base is spaced from said rib so as to define a space therebetween that is adapted to receive said elongated beam and wrap around and engage said lateral outside edges of said beam so as to retain said beam in the lateral position, said base and said elongated beam cooperate to define a cavity having a laterally extending portion that is less than the lateral extent of said space adapted to provide flexibility between a limited extent of said upper portion of said beam and said attachment portion during operational movement across the surface to be wiped.