Apparatus for and method of automatically controlling operation and speed of windshield wipers
First Claim
1. A windshield wiper control apparatus for detecting impacts of water on a vehicle and controlling operation of a windshield wiper comprising:
- a. means for generating a signal representative of an amount of water contacting a vehicle by monitoring sound from impacts on a surface of the vehicle; and
b. means for operating the windshield wiper in response to a level of the signal.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic windshield wiper control system detects and monitors impacts on a vehicle'"'"'s surface due to water drops in order to automatically and appropriately control the speed of the windshield wipers. Preferably, the automatic control system is activated when the manual windshield wiper control is switched to the intermittent setting. An operator can still manually select the slow and fast continuous speed settings of the windshield wipers. An acoustic sensor is mounted behind an exterior surface of the vehicle, preferably the outer casing of a side rear-view mirror. The acoustic sensor detects noises due to impacts on the surface and generates an electrical signal representing the impact noises. The electrical signal from the acoustic sensor is filtered, thereby electronically isolating the frequency components due to the impacts of water drops and creating a filtered signal. A voltage signal is then formed representative of the frequency of the impacts of water drops on the surface. When the automatic control system is activated, the speed of the windshield wipers is controlled based on the level of the voltage signal. The voltage signal is compared to first and second threshold values. If the voltage signal rises above the first threshold value, a single sweep function of the windshield wipers is automatically activated. When the voltage signal rises above the second threshold value, a continuous fast sweep function of the windshield wipers is automatically activated.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A windshield wiper control apparatus for detecting impacts of water on a vehicle and controlling operation of a windshield wiper comprising:
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a. means for generating a signal representative of an amount of water contacting a vehicle by monitoring sound from impacts on a surface of the vehicle; and b. means for operating the windshield wiper in response to a level of the signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A windshield wiper control apparatus for detecting impacts of water on vehicle and controlling operation of a windshield wiper comprising:
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a. means for detecting an amount of water contacting a vehicle by monitoring sound of water impinging on a surface of the vehicle, wherein the means for detecting generates a signal representing an amount of water contacting the vehicle; b. means for operating the windshield wiper when a level of the signal rises above a predetermined threshold level. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of controlling operation of a windshield wiper comprising the steps of:
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a. detecting an amount of water contacting a vehicle by monitoring sound beneath a surface of the vehicle; b. generating a signal representative of the amount of water detected; and c. operating the windshield wiper in response to a level of the signal. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of controlling operation of a windshield wiper comprising the steps of:
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a. audibly detecting a frequency of impacts on a surface of a vehicle; b. generating a first signal representative of the frequency of impacts on the surface; c. filtering the first signal to isolate only the frequency of impacts on the surface due to water drops, thereby creating a second signal; d. comparing the second signal to a predetermined threshold value; and e. automatically operating the windshield wiper when the second signal exceeds the predetermined threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification