Wiper pivot shaft air inlet grill seal

Abstract

In a windshield wiper drive assembly having a pivot shaft and housing for passage through an aperture formed in a panel of a vehicle, a seal is provided formed as a unitary one-piece cap and seal body. The one-piece body has a cap with a longitudinally extending aperture engageable at one end with the housing and at another end with the pivot shaft. An integrally formed seal portion is provided to be engaged with the panel of the vehicle after installation. The cap has an enlarged portion for snap-fit with respect to the housing, and a reduced portion for sealing engagement with the pivot shaft. The sealed portion extends radially and longitudinally from an inner edge adjacent an outer longitudinal edge of the enlarged portion of the cap toward an outer edge adjacent an outer longitudinal edge of the reduced portion of the cap. The seal portion can extend beyond the outer longitudinal edge of the reduced portion of the cap. The seal portion can taper from a larger wall thickness adjacent to the inner edge to a thinner wall thickness adjacent to the outer edge. The seal portion is composed of an elastomeric material of sufficient rigidity to maintain a conical shape until flattened against the panel of the vehicle during installation.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.