Universal coupler for a beam blade windshield wiper assembly

1. A beam blade windshield wiper assembly having a universal coupler assembly, said windshield wiper assembly comprising:

a wiping element that contacts the surface to be wiped, at least one elongated beam having a pair of longitudinal ends, and a coupler assembly;

said coupler assembly including a carrier that is mounted to said at least one elongated beam between said longitudinal ends, said carrier including a top surface and a seat formed on said top surface of said carrier;

a saddle that is removably received and retained in said seat of said carrier, said saddle including a main deck, a coupler mount, and a locking mechanism for releasably engaging said carrier, said main deck adapted to be cooperatively received in said seat formed by said carrier; and

a coupler that is adapted to be mounted to said saddle, said coupler including a pair of sidewalls, and a deck disposed between said sidewalls, said deck serving to cooperate with said sidewalls to define a rest that is adapted to operatively receive the track of an attachment member, said coupler further including a pair of flanges extending outwardly beyond each of said sidewalls to provide releasable engagement with an attachment member; said carrier further including first and second longitudinal ends, a front wall, a raised back wall disposed opposite said front wall that extends between said first and second longitudinal ends of said carrier, and a top surface, said carrier further including a shelf that borders said seat on at least three sides thereof, a ledge extends between two portions of said shelf along said back wall, and a pair of apertures are formed on said front wall of said carrier opposite said back wall, said seat, shelf, ledge and apertures cooperating to locate and fix said saddle relative to said carrier; and

said back wall of said carrier includes a pair of pockets disposed spaced from one another, said saddle including a locking mechanism that cooperates with said pair of pockets formed on said back wall of said carrier to releasably mount said saddle to said carrier, said locking mechanism further including a pair of locking tangs that extend upwardly from said main deck and that correspond to said pair of pockets formed on said back wall of said carrier, said locking tangs being complimentarily received in said pockets so as to fix said saddle relative to said carrier.

2. A beam blade windshield wiper assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said coupler mount has a pair of aligned apertures, each of said sidewalls of said coupler includes an inward surface that face one another, said inward surfaces adapted to operatively engage a portion of said coupler mount of said saddle, said inward surfaces further including posts that extend transversely from their respective inward surface and toward one another, said posts operatively adapted to engage said aligned apertures of said coupler mount and provide a bearing surface about which said coupler may pivot relative to said saddle.

3. A windshield wiper assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein each said locking tang includes an upstanding finger that may be articulated so as to provide a release clearance to disengage said saddle from said carrier.

4. A windshield wiper assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said main deck of said saddle further includes a pair of locking tabs that are adapted to be cooperatively received in said apertures formed in said front wall of said carrier, such that said locking mechanism of said saddle facilitates a snap fit attachment to said carrier.

5. A windshield wiper assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said saddle includes a bottom wall having a pair of spaced shoulders that are adapted to cooperatively mate with said shelf that borders said seat on said carrier.