When the windshield wiper was invented
10/14/2012
The windshield wiper is almost 110 years old. In 1903, the American Mary Anderson patented a hand-operated windshield wiper system. In 1908, Heinrich von Preussen also received a patent for a similar device. In 1926, Bosch introduced the first electrically operated windshield wiper, and in 1929 Baron Rothschild invented a similar system. It was not until 1964 that Robert Kearns invented the intermittent windshield wiper.
The development continued, in particular the wiper blade technology and flat bar wipers that adapted to the shape were important innovations, as was the rain sensor, which relieved the driver of the task of switching the wipers on and off. Much earlier, the operation of the windshield wiper moved from the dashboard switch to the lever on the steering column. And Mercedes-Benz used retractable windscreen wipers in the 1979 S-Class (W126 model series), which were intended to be less disruptive to aerodynamics.
Despite all the innovations, the windshield wiper is a component of the modern car that does not differ significantly from the technologies that were installed 30 or 50 years ago. However, over the last 110 years, there have always been interesting and sometimes adventurous mechanical designs that were intended to improve the driver's view out of a rainy (or snowy) car. Not all of them were successful, and some "improvements" disappeared without a trace.
It should also be noted that not all windshield wiper designs that we see on classic cars are always appropriate to the time of vehicle construction, as these devices were of course often improved in the interests of comfort.
