Device for controlling a windscreen wiping system

• US 5,227,705 A
• Filed: 06/17/1992
• Issued: 07/13/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Leopold Kostal GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Leopold Kostal GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Bendicks, Norbert, Levers, Jurgen
• Primary Examiner(s): Ro, Bentsu
• Application Number:
  US07/899,768
• Time in Patent Office: 391 Days
• Field of Search: 318/434, 318/444, 318/483, 318/DIG. 2, 15/250 R, 15/250.12, 15/250.17
• US Class Current: 318/444
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/0818 including control systems responsive to external conditions, e.g. by detection of moisture, dirt or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/0833 Optical rain sensor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 318/02 Windshield wiper controls

Abstract

A device is provided for controlling a windscreen wiping system, which mainly comprises a control stage, a clock generator unit comprising a switch and a clock-pulse generator, an I/V converter, a phase-selective rectifier and an amplifier with a low-pass filter as well as an optoelectronic apparatus having a plurality of beam transmitters, a beam guide element and a plurality of beam receivers. Such a device is intended to solve the technical problem of effecting automatic adjustment of the control system even under very widely varying measuring conditions determined in particular by the various damping factors of different types of windscreen. This is achieved in that the circuit arrangement of the windscreen wiping system has a control stage provided with a basic setting value, which is substantially determined by the optoelectronic apparatus when the screen is optimally clean and represents the quasi static conditions of the components provided for detecting the coating present on the screen, and in that the basic setting value is stored in a non-volatile memory of the circuit arrangement and is used as the starting value for all subsequent startups of the windscreen wiping system.

Claims

1. A device for controlling a windscreen wiping system comprising a drive motor for driving at least one windscreen wiper arm for cleaning the outer surface of a windscreen, an optoelectronic apparatus disposed in the wiped area on the inner surface of the windscreen and including at least one beam transmitter and at least one beam receiver, and a circuit arrangement connected to the optoelectronic apparatus and the drive motor, with the beams which are emitted from the at least one beam transmitter in clocked form being modified between the beam transmitter and the beam receiver by a coating on the windscreen so that the signals received by the beam receiver are varied in dependence upon the coating present on the windscreen and said signals being converted by the circuit arrangement, which includes at least one I/V converter which amplifies the alternating component of the received signal, a phase-selective rectifier which acts as a narrow-band filter and rectifies the clocked component of the output signal of the I/V converter, and low-pass filters which receive the output from the phase-selective rectifier and filter out the interference quantities of the circuit components of the device, and convert the filtered output into control signals by means of which operation of the drive motor is determined,

wherein the circuit arrangement of the windscreen wiping system further comprises a control stage provided with a basic setting value, which is substantially determined by the optoelectronic apparatus when the windscreen is optimally clean and represents quasi-static conditions of the components of the device, provided for detecting the coating present on the windscreen, and the basic setting value is stored in a non-volatile memory of the circuit arrangement and is used as a starting value for all subsequent startups of the windscreen wiping system.

2. The device for controlling a windscreen wiping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control stage is associated with the at least one I/V converter for the purpose of setting a conversion factor of the I/V converter.

3. The device for controlling a windscreen wiping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control stage is associated with the at least one beam transmitter for the purpose of setting transmitting current of the at least one beam transmitter.

4. The device for controlling a windscreen wiping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control stage is associated both with the at least one I/V converter for the purpose of setting the conversion factor and with the at least one beam transmitter for the purpose of setting the transmitting current of the beam transmitter.

5. The device for controlling a windscreen wiping system as claimed in claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4, wherein amplitude control is provided for setting the transmitting current of the at least one beam transmitter.

6. The device for controlling a windscreen wiping system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the transmitting current setting of the at least one beam transmitter is effected in the range of 1 to 16 dB in stages each of 1 dB and the setting of the conversion factor of the I/V converter is effected in the range of 0 to 50 dB in stages each of 10 dB.

7. The device for controlling a windscreen wiping system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the optoelectronic apparatus comprises a plurality of beam transmitters and beam receivers, each beam transmitter including a transmitting current setting.

8. The device for controlling a windscreen wiping system as claimed in claim 7, wherein each beam transmitter is an IR-LED.

9. The device for controlling a windscreen wiping system as claimed in claim 8, wherein each beam receiver is an IR-photodiode.