System for detecting droplets on a translucent surface
First Claim
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1. A system for detecting droplets on a translucent surface comprising:
- a camera which, upon activation, acquires an image of at least a portion of the translucent surface and generates an output signal representative of said image, a radiation source which, upon activation, illuminates the at least a portion of the translucent surface, a control circuit which selectively activates said camera and said radiation source, a processor which receives said camera output signal and, through image processing, generates an output signal representative of the magnitude of droplets on the at least a portion of the translucent surface.
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Abstract
A system which detects droplets on a translucent surface having a camera which, upon activation, acquires an image of a portion of the surface. A radiation source, upon activation, illuminates the portion of the translucent surface while a control circuit selectively activates both the camera and the radiation source. A processor receives a captured image from the camera and, through image processing, generates an output signal representative of the number of droplets on the portion of the translucent surface.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A system for detecting droplets on a translucent surface comprising:
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a camera which, upon activation, acquires an image of at least a portion of the translucent surface and generates an output signal representative of said image, a radiation source which, upon activation, illuminates the at least a portion of the translucent surface, a control circuit which selectively activates said camera and said radiation source, a processor which receives said camera output signal and, through image processing, generates an output signal representative of the magnitude of droplets on the at least a portion of the translucent surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. For use in conjunction with a translucent windshield and a variable speed windshield wiper which, when activated, wipes droplets from the windshield, a system for detecting droplets on the windshield comprising:
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a camera which, upon activation, acquires an image of at least a portion of the windshield and generates an output signal representative of said image, a radiation source which, upon activation, illuminates the at least a portion of the windshield, a control circuit which selectively activates said camera and said radiation source, a processor which receives said camera output signal and, through image processing, generates an output signal representative of the magnitude of droplets on the at least a portion of the translucent surface, a wiper speed control circuit which receives said processor output signal and varies the speed of the windshield wiper as a function of said processor output signal. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for detecting droplets on a translucent surface comprising the steps of:
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acquiring an image of at least a portion of the translucent surface, generating an output signal representative of said image, illuminating the at least a portion of the translucent surface, image processing said image to generate an output signal representative of the magnitude of droplets on the at least a portion of the translucent surface. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification