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US 4,244,774 AGranted
Apparatus to apply pre-glued strips of resistive material to a car rear window
OwnerNormand Deryinventor
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OwnerNormand Deryinventor
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An apparatus for the installation of a defroster of the resistive type on the rear window of a completely assembled motor vehicle. The defroster comprises heating conductors in the form of thin pre-glued strips of solid copper or copper alloy applied to the inside surface of the rear window in a first direction with two spaced apart connecting conductors in the traverse direction. The apparatus is used for applying the various parallel heating conductors to the inside surface of the window. It comprises a guide member temporarily retained against the inside surface of the rear window, and a carrier having a head which receives and applies the strips of pre-glued copper conductor to the rear window, a base adapted to roll along the guiding edge defined by the guide member, and an upright shaft for supporting the head affixed, adjustable distance away from the base. The head is free to rotate around the axis of the shaft at least within limits, and it is also pivotable about an axis which is perpendicular to the shaft and parallel to the window engaging member of the head.
Apparatus for applying pre-glued conductors in strip form onto the inside surface of a rear window in a motor car thereby to provide a series of parallel, equally spaced apart heating conductors extending transversaly of said rear window and adapted for defrosting said rear window, said apparatus comprising a guide member presenting a straight edge and having means for temporarily securing said guide member adjacent and parallel to the lower edge of said rear window, said apparatus also comprising a carrier consisting of a base, an upright shaft extending upwardly from said base, and a head releasably mounted to said shaft, said base comprising a cross-bar extending perpendicularly to said shaft and two spaced apart wheels, one at each end of said cross-bar with said wheels extending below the lower edge of said cross-bar in order to be able to roll along said straight edge while maintaining said shaft perpendicular to said straight edge, said shaft being essentially straight of constant cross-section and having a plurality of equally spaced apart index marks along its length, said head having locking means for releasably constraining same against displacement along said shaft, said head also comprising a coupling through which said shaft projects and a window engaging member pivotally supported on said coupling about a first axis which is essentially perpendicular to the length of said shaft, said coupling allowing at least some degree of rotation of said window engaging member about said shaft, said window engaging member having a pressure surface parallel to said first axis, and a groove leading toward one end of said pressure surface, said groove receiving and guiding said pre-glued strip of conductor toward said rear window and toward said pressure surface, said window engaging member also having means extending across said groove a short distance above the bottom of said groove which distance is just sufficient to allow free running of said pre-glued strip of conductor along said groove, said pressure surface comprising two spaced apart contact means adapted to run over said strip of conductor during application thereof.
Apparatus as defined in 7 wherein said contact means as defined by two small rollers rotatably mounted to said window engaging member around two parallel spaced apart axes which are parallel to said line.
An applicator of pre-glued conductor in strip form for the installation of resistive defrosters on the inside surface of the rear window of a motor vehicle, said applicator comprising a coupling and a window engaging member pivotally mounted to said coupling, said coupling having a transverse bore for receiving a shaft and a retractable spring loaded pin extending into said bore to enter into any one of a plurality or equally spaced apart peripheral grooves on said shaft thereby to pivotally mount said coupling to said shaft, said window engaging member having a pressure surface along one side, a groove along an other side leading toward one end of said pressure surface, the width of said groove being constant and sufficient to receive said conductor with the free wide surface thereof in contact with the bottom wall of said groove and its pre-glued surface facing outwardly of said groove, said window engaging member also comprising a pivotable groove cover having at least two spaced apart covering members projecting into said groove short of the bottom thereof and a protective film separator means disposed between said covering members but spaced outwardly therefrom, said protective film separator means comprising a first freely rotatable roller whose axis extends across said groove and a protective film separating blade disposed tangentially of said first roller and mounted to said groove cover whereby said pre-glued conductor feeding into said groove with its protective film in place passes under the first covering member over said first roller where said blade separates said film from the layer of adhesive on said pre-glued conductor, then under said second covering member, said second covering member comprising a second freely rotatable roller whose axis is parallel to that of said first roller, said second roller being so disposed as to allow said layer of adhesive to roll thereon, said pressure surface comprising a third and a fourth freely rotatable, spaced apart rollers mounted on axes which are parallel to that of said first roller, said third and fourth rollers being wider than said pre-glued conductor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.