Pop-up washer nozzle with defrost feature
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsDavid Brian Glickman, Paul Kenneth Dellock, Stuart C. Salter, Venkatesh Krishnan, Jose Garcia Crespo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus, according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a housing and a plunger moveable between a retracted position within the housing and an extended position to spray fluid on a vehicle component. A heater is mounted for movement with the plunger. A method according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, molding a heater element and a body having an internal channel extending between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet together to form a plunger configured to spray fluid out of the fluid outlet.
Claims18
An apparatus, comprising:
- a housing that has an open end and an enclosed end opposite of the open end to define an internal cavity;
- a plunger, moveable within the internal cavity between a retracted position and an extended position to spray fluid on a vehicle component, and wherein a head of the plunger extends outwardly of the open end of the housing when in the extended position, and wherein the plunger includes an internal fluid channel extending from a fluid inlet to a fluid outlet;
- a resilient member that biases the plunger to the retracted position, wherein the resilient member is positioned within the internal cavity and surrounds the body;
- and
- a heater mounted for movement with the plunger, wherein the heater comprises a wire element that is molded and enclosed within a body of the plunger and surrounds the internal fluid channel.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a housing that has an open end and an enclosed end opposite of the open end to define an internal cavity;
- a plunger mounted within the internal cavity, the plunger comprising a body having an internal channel extending between a fluid inlet and a nozzle at a fluid outlet, wherein the plunger is moveable between a retracted position and an extended position to spray fluid out of the nozzle;
- a resilient member that biases the plunger to the retracted position, wherein the resilient member is positioned within the internal cavity and surrounds the body;
- and a heater mounted for movement with the plunger, wherein the heater comprises a wire element that is molded and enclosed within the body of the plunger and surrounds the internal channel.
A method, comprising:
- providing a housing that has an open end and an enclosed end opposite of the open end to define an internal cavity;
- molding a heater element and a body having an internal channel extending between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet together to form a plunger configured to spray fluid out of the fluid outlet, and including forming the heater element as a wire element that is molded and enclosed within the body of the plunger such that the wire element surrounds the internal channel within the body;
- positioning the plunger within the internal cavity such that the plunger is moveable between a retracted position and an extended position;
- and
- positioning a resilient member within the internal cavity to bias the plunger to the retracted position.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a housing that has an open end and an enclosed end opposite of the open end to define an internal cavity;
- a plunger moveable within the internal cavity between a retracted position and an extended position to spray fluid on a vehicle component, and wherein a head of the plunger extends outwardly of the open end of the housing when in the extended position;
- a resilient member that biases the plunger to the retracted position, wherein the resilient member is positioned within the internal cavity;
- a heater mounted for movement with the plunger, wherein the heater is embedded within a body of the plunger and surrounds an internal fluid channel within the plunger;
- and
- wherein the heater comprises a heater wire element that is molded and enclosed within the body of the plunger such that the heater wire element surrounds the internal fluid channel within the body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.