Wiper control system
First Claim
1. A wiper control system for detecting an amount of raindrops landed on a windshield of a vehicle and driving a wipe operation of a wiper to wipe the landed raindrops, the wiper control system comprising:
- raindrop sensing means capable of detecting the amount of landed raindrops for each of a plurality of wipe cycles of the wiper;
average landed raindrop amount calculation means for calculating an average value of the amount of landed raindrops for the plurality of wipe cycles;
vehicle acceleration sensing means for determining an acceleration of the vehicle;
wipe operation mode selection means for selecting a wipe operation mode, wherein the wipe operation mode selection means selects the wipe operation mode of the wiper based on the acceleration of the vehicle and one of the amount of landed raindrops and the average amount of landed raindrops;
determination means for determining based on the vehicle acceleration whether or not to implement the wipe operation mode selection based on the average amount of landed raindrops, whereinthe wipe operation mode selection means selects the wipe operation mode based on the average amount of landed raindrops when it is determined by the determination means that the wipe operation mode selection is implemented based on the average amount of landed raindrops and the wipe operation mode selection means selects the wipe operation mode based on any one of the amount of landed raindrops and the vehicle acceleration when it is not determined that the wipe operation mode selection based on the average amount of landed raindrops is implemented.
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Abstract
A wiper control system for detecting an amount of raindrops landed on a windshield of a vehicle and driving a wipe operation of a wiper to wipe the landed raindrops. The wiper control system includes raindrop sensing means, average landed raindrop amount calculation means, vehicle acceleration sensing means, and wipe operation mode selection means. The raindrop sensing means is capable of detecting the amount of landed raindrops for each of a plurality of wipe cycles of the wiper. The average landed raindrop amount calculation means calculates an average value of the amount of landed raindrops for the plurality of wipe cycles. The vehicle acceleration sensing means detects an acceleration of the vehicle. The wipe operation mode selection means selects a wipe operation mode based on the acceleration of the vehicle and any one of the amount of landed raindrops and the average amount of landed raindrops.
16 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A wiper control system for detecting an amount of raindrops landed on a windshield of a vehicle and driving a wipe operation of a wiper to wipe the landed raindrops, the wiper control system comprising:
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raindrop sensing means capable of detecting the amount of landed raindrops for each of a plurality of wipe cycles of the wiper; average landed raindrop amount calculation means for calculating an average value of the amount of landed raindrops for the plurality of wipe cycles; vehicle acceleration sensing means for determining an acceleration of the vehicle; wipe operation mode selection means for selecting a wipe operation mode, wherein the wipe operation mode selection means selects the wipe operation mode of the wiper based on the acceleration of the vehicle and one of the amount of landed raindrops and the average amount of landed raindrops; determination means for determining based on the vehicle acceleration whether or not to implement the wipe operation mode selection based on the average amount of landed raindrops, wherein the wipe operation mode selection means selects the wipe operation mode based on the average amount of landed raindrops when it is determined by the determination means that the wipe operation mode selection is implemented based on the average amount of landed raindrops and the wipe operation mode selection means selects the wipe operation mode based on any one of the amount of landed raindrops and the vehicle acceleration when it is not determined that the wipe operation mode selection based on the average amount of landed raindrops is implemented. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A wiper control system for detecting an amount of raindrops landed on a windshield of a vehicle and driving a wipe operation of a wiper to wipe the landed raindrops, the wiper control system comprising:
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raindrop sensing means capable of detecting the amount of landed raindrops for each of a plurality of wipe cycles of the wiper; average landed raindrop amount calculation means for calculating an average value of the amount of landed raindrops for the plurality of wipe cycles; vehicle acceleration sensing means for determining an acceleration of the vehicle; wipe operation mode selection means for selecting a wipe operation mode, wherein the wipe operation mode selection means selects the wipe operation mode of the wiper based on the acceleration of the vehicle and one of the amount of landed raindrops and the average amount of landed raindrops; and wherein the wipe operation mode selection means selects the wipe operation mode based on a change between an earlier average amount of landed raindrops and a later average amount of landed raindrops calculated in the order of wipe cycles in the case where the wipe operation mode is selected based on the average amount of landed raindrops.
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7. A wiper control system for detecting an amount of raindrops landed on a windshield of a vehicle and driving a wipe operation of a wiper to wipe the landed raindrops, the wiper control system comprising:
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raindrop sensing means capable of detecting the amount of landed raindrops for each of a plurality of wipe cycles of the wiper; average landed raindrop amount calculation means for calculating an average value of the amount of landed raindrops for the plurality of wipe cycles; vehicle acceleration sensing means for determining an acceleration of the vehicle; wipe operation mode selection means for selecting a wipe operation mode, wherein the wipe operation mode selection means selects the wipe operation mode of the wiper based on the acceleration of the vehicle and one of the amount of landed raindrops and the average amount of landed raindrops; and wherein the average landed raindrop amount calculation means includes;
storage means for storing the amounts of landed raindrops in the order of wipe cycles; and
sample number setting means for setting the number of samples as a parameter for averaging the amounts of landed raindrops, wherein an average amount of landed raindrops is calculated from the latest amount of landed raindrops detected based on the number of samples and the previous amounts of landed raindrops except for the latest amount of landed raindrops. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A wiper control method for detecting an amount of raindrops landed on a windshield of a vehicle and driving a wipe operation of a wiper to wipe the landed raindrops, the wiper control method comprising:
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detecting the amount of landed raindrops for each of the plurality of wipe cycles of the wiper; calculating an average value of the amount of landed raindrops for the plurality of wipe cycles; determining an acceleration of the vehicle; selecting a wipe operation mode, wherein selection of the wipe operation mode of the wiper is based on the acceleration of the vehicle and one of the amount of landed raindrops and the average amount of landed raindrops; and determining based on the vehicle acceleration whether or not to implement the wipe operation mode selection based on the average amount of landed raindrops; wherein the wipe operation mode is selected based on the average amount of landed raindrops when it is determined that the wipe operation mode selection is implemented based on the average amount of landed raindrops and the wipe operation mode is selected based on any one of the amount of landed raindrops and the vehicle acceleration when it is not determined that the wipe operation mode selection based on the average amount of landed raindrops is implemented. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A wiper control method for detecting an amount of raindrops landed on a windshield of a vehicle and driving a wipe operation of a wiper to wipe the landed raindrops, the wiper control method comprising:
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detecting the amount of landed raindrops for each of a plurality of wipe cycles of the wiper; calculating an average value of the amount of landed raindrops for the plurality of wipe cycles; determining an acceleration of the vehicle; and selecting a wipe operation mode, wherein selection of the wipe operation mode of the wiper is based on the acceleration of the vehicle and one of the amount of landed raindrops and the average amount of landed raindrops; and wherein the wipe operation mode is selected based on a change between an earlier average amount of landed raindrops and a later average amount of landed raindrops calculated in the order of wipe cycles in the case where the wipe operation mode is selected based on the average amount of landed raindrops.
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15. A wiper control method for detecting an amount of raindrops landed on a windshield of a vehicle and driving a wipe operation of a wiper to wipe the landed raindrops, the wiper control method comprising:
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detecting the amount of landed raindrops for each of the plurality of wipe cycles of the wiper; calculating an average value of the amount of landed raindrops for the plurality of wipe cycles; determining an acceleration of the vehicle; selecting a wipe operation mode, wherein selection of the wipe operation mode of the wiper is based on the acceleration of the vehicle and one of the amount of landed raindrops and the average amount of landed raindrops; and wherein calculating the average value of the amount of landed raindrops for the plurality of wipe cycles includes storing the amounts of landed raindrops in the order of wipe cycles; and setting the number of samples as a parameter for averaging the amounts of landed raindrops, wherein an average amount of landed raindrops is calculated from the latest amount of landed raindrops detected based on the number of samples and the previous amounts of landed raindrops except for the latest amount of landed raindrops. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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Specification