US-12623616-B2 - Corner part for a wiper panel assembly for a ground vehicle

US12623616B2US 12623616 B2US12623616 B2US 12623616B2US-12623616-B2

Abstract

A corner part for a wiper panel assembly for a ground vehicle, the corner part comprising an outside panel, having an outside face and an inside face both extending substantially parallel to an upward direction of the corner part; and a drain, having an outlet opening at the outside face, an inlet located at the inside face and opening at the inside face in the upward direction, and a channel, connecting the inlet to the outlet.

Inventors

Johan Forsgren
Jacob RAINE
Anders Tenstam

Assignees

VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230703
Priority Date: 20220713

Claims (11)

1 . A corner part for a wiper panel assembly for a ground vehicle, the corner part comprising: an outside panel, having an outside face and an inside face both extending substantially parallel to an upward direction of the corner part; and a drain, having: an outlet, opening at the outside face; an inlet, located at the inside face and opening at the inside face in the upward direction; and a channel, connecting the inlet to the outlet; wherein the outlet is located in a frontward direction relative to the inlet.
2 . The corner part of claim 1 , wherein the inlet is located in the upward direction relative to the outlet.
3 . The corner part of claim 1 , wherein, in a rearward direction perpendicular to the upward direction, the outside face and the inside face are delineated by a rear edge of the outside panel, and wherein the corner part further comprises a lateral wing, protruding from the outside face at the rear edge, being perpendicular to the outside panel and substantially parallel to the rearward direction.
4 . The corner part of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the inlet and outlet is funnel-shaped.
5 . The corner part of claim 1 , wherein an airfoil is formed at the outlet.
6 . The corner part of claim 1 , wherein, in the upward direction, the outside face and the inside face are delineated by a top edge of the outside panel and wherein the corner part further comprises a front wall, protruding from the top edge substantially in the upward direction, positioned close to the inlet and being oriented transversally relative to the top edge.
7 . The corner part of claim 1 , wherein the drain is formed integrally with the outside panel.
8 . The corner part of claim 1 , wherein the corner part comprises an inside part, assembled with the outside panel at the inside face thereof, the inside part forming at least one portion of the channel and of the inlet of the drain.
9 . A vehicle cab comprising a wiper panel assembly comprising the corner part of claim 1 , the vehicle cab further comprising a windscreen, wherein the corner part is adjacent to a bottom corner of the windscreen and the inlet of the corner part is located at the bottom corner of the windscreen.
10 . A ground vehicle comprising the vehicle cab of claim 9 .
11 . The ground vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the ground vehicle is a truck, a coach, a bus, or a van.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 22184788.2, filed on Jul. 13, 2022, and entitled “CORNER PART FOR A WIPER PANEL ASSEMBLY FOR A GROUND VEHICLE,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates generally to the technical fields of vehicle body parts and draining of liquids such as rainwater. In particular aspects, the disclosure relates to a corner part for a wiper panel assembly for a ground vehicle, a vehicle cab and a ground vehicle. The disclosure can be applied in heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks, buses, and construction equipment, or even in passenger cars or other vehicle. Although the disclosure will be described with respect to a particular vehicle, the disclosure is not restricted to any particular vehicle. BACKGROUND The cab of known vehicles such as trucks, coaches or buses usually includes a wiper panel assembly. The wiper panel assembly is located at the front of the vehicle, between the windscreen and the front panels having the front grilles for cooling the engine. The wiper panel assembly is adjacent to a bottom edge of the windscreen. The windshield wipers are often implanted in front of the wiper panel assembly or at the back thereof. The wiper panel assembly usually has two corner parts, one at each lateral ends thereof, positioned adjacent to two corresponding bottom corners of the windscreen. A disadvantage of known wiper panel assemblies is that, when the vehicle reaches cruise speed, rainwater may strip from the corners of the wiper panel assembly and end up on the side windows, causing reduction of the driver's visibility by the water flowing along the side window and, over time, by accumulation of dirt carried by the rainwater. SUMMARY The disclosure proposes to improve a driver's visibility and/or to reduce the flowing of water along an area of a ground vehicle to be avoided, such as a side window of the ground vehicle. An aspect of the disclosure concerns a corner part for a wiper panel assembly for a ground vehicle, the corner part comprising an outside panel, having an outside face and an inside face both extending substantially parallel to an upward direction of the corner part. The corner part further comprises a drain, having: an outlet, opening at the outside face, an inlet, located at the inside face and opening at the inside face in the upward direction, and a channel, connecting the inlet to the outlet. When in use, the upward direction may be oriented upwards. Hereby, a technical effect includes that, when in use, in particular at cruise speed such as 60-90 kph (kilometers per hour), drained liquids including rainwater and/or windshield washer may be received at the inlet of the drain, carried to the outlet via the channel and strip outside of the drain from the outlet. An advantage is that the drain may be configured to direct the flow of drained liquids along a desired path and/or to strip according to a desired trajectory. In particular, this may reduce the risk of drained liquids reaching an area of the ground vehicle to be avoided, such as a side window of the ground vehicle. In use, at a top edge of the outside panel, the inside face may be facing or be adjacent to a bottom corner of a windscreen of the ground vehicle, while the outside face may be oriented towards the outside of the ground vehicle. The corner part may constitute a part of an outer shell of the cab of the ground vehicle. In certain examples, the inlet is located in the upward direction relative to the outlet. In other words, the inlet is located above the outlet, considering the orientation of the ground vehicle when the ground vehicle stands or travels on a road. Hereby, a technical effect is that the inlet may be positioned higher for better catching of drained liquids, in particular coming from a windscreen of a vehicle, while the outlet may be positioned lower for releasing the drained liquids under the area of the ground vehicle to be avoided, such as the side window. In certain examples, the outlet is located in a frontward direction relative to the inlet. Preferably, the frontward direction is perpendicular to the upward direction and substantially parallel to the outside panel. In other words, the outlet is located forward relative to the inlet, considering the forward direction of travel of the ground vehicle. Hereby, a technical effect is that the relative position of the inlet and the outlet promotes that the strip of drained liquids outgoing from the outlet is directed substantially opposite to the upward direction (i.e. downward) even at cruise speed, thus reducing the risk that the area of the ground vehicle to be avoided is reached by the strip of drained liquids, in particular if the inlet is also positioned in the upward direction relative to the outlet. In this configuration, gravity promotes flowing of the drained liquids from the inlet to the outlet as slow speeds.