Rubber wiper blade element with friction reducing agent that continuously migrates to the surface

Abstract

A windscreen wiper device is provided including a longitudinally extending wiper strip of a flexible material. At least one carrier of a spring-like material operatively supports and biases the wiper strip into a predetermined configuration. The windscreen wiper device further includes a connecting device for connection with a wiper arm. The flexible material is formed of flexible material, such as rubber, with a friction reducing agent consisting of at least one amide distributed homogeneously throughout the flexible material. Upon vulcanization, a portion of the friction reducing agent migrates to an outer surface of the flexible material to form a friction reducing film having hydrophobic properties. The friction reducing film provides a low friction interface between the flexible material and a windshield under wet and dry conditions. The low friction minimizes the load on the wiper device and thus extends the life of the wiper device.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.