Automatic removal of water from vehicle surfaces
First Claim
1. A system for removing water from a surface of a transparent body part of a ground vehicle which transparent body part is arranged to enable optical registration of objects outside of the vehicle, the system comprising:
- at least one wiper configured to sweep one or more flexible blades across the surface of the transparent body part, thus transporting any water on said surface to a particular side of this surface;
a controller unit configured to control the operation of the at least one wiper; and
at least one remote sensor configured to register sets of features of other ground vehicles,wherein the controller unit is configured to;
determine, based on the set of features registered in respect of at least one other vehicle, a point in time when a substantial amount of water is expected to hit said surface of the transparent body part; and
control the at least one wiper such that, before said point in time, the at least one wiper is placed at a predetermined position on said surface; and
at said point in time initiate a stroke of the at least one wiper from the predetermined position over said surface.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Water is removed from the windshield of a ground vehicle via a wiper sweeping across the windshield, thus transporting the water thereon to a particular side. At least one remote sensor registers set of parameters in respect of other ground vehicles. A controller unit determines a point in time when a substantial amount of water is expected to hit the windshield of the own vehicle as the result of another vehicle moving proximate thereto and controls the operation of the wiper such that, before said point in time, the wiper is placed at a predetermined position. At said point in time, a stroke of the at least one wiper is initiated from the predetermined position over said surface. In one embodiment, this means moving the at least one wiper in a continuous sweep such that it passes the predetermined position at said point in time.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system for removing water from a surface of a transparent body part of a ground vehicle which transparent body part is arranged to enable optical registration of objects outside of the vehicle, the system comprising:
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at least one wiper configured to sweep one or more flexible blades across the surface of the transparent body part, thus transporting any water on said surface to a particular side of this surface; a controller unit configured to control the operation of the at least one wiper; and at least one remote sensor configured to register sets of features of other ground vehicles, wherein the controller unit is configured to; determine, based on the set of features registered in respect of at least one other vehicle, a point in time when a substantial amount of water is expected to hit said surface of the transparent body part; and control the at least one wiper such that, before said point in time, the at least one wiper is placed at a predetermined position on said surface; and
at said point in time initiate a stroke of the at least one wiper from the predetermined position over said surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A vehicle, comprising a system for removing water from a surface of a transparent body part of a ground vehicle which transparent body part is arranged to enable optical registration of objects outside of the vehicle, the system comprising:
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at least one wiper configured to sweep one or more flexible blades across the surface of the transparent body part, thus transporting any water on said surface to a particular side of this surface; a controller unit configured to control the operation of the at least one wiper; and at least one remote sensor configured to register sets of features of other ground vehicles, wherein the controller unit is configured to; determine, based on the set of features registered in respect of at least one other vehicle, a point in time when a substantial amount of water is expected to hit said surface of the transparent body part; and control the at least one wiper such that, before said point in time, the at least one wiper is placed at a predetermined position on said surface; and
at said point in time initiate a stroke of the at least one wiper from the predetermined position over said surface.
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11. A computer implemented method for removing water from a surface of a transparent body part of a ground vehicle which transparent body part is arranged to enable optical registration of objects outside of the vehicle, the method comprising:
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sweeping at least one wiper having a respective at least one flexible blade across the surface of the transparent body part, thus transporting any water on said surface to a particular side of this surface; registering, via at least one remote sensor, sets of features of other ground vehicles; determining, based on the set of features registered in respect of at least one other vehicle, a point in time when a substantial amount of water is expected to hit said surface of the transparent body part; controlling the at least one wiper such that, before said point in time, the at least one wiper is placed at a predetermined position on said surface; and initiating, at said point in time, a stroke of the at least one wiper from the predetermined position over said surface. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising software instructions for operation by a computing processor, said instructions comprising:
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instructions for sweeping at least one wiper having a respective at least one flexible blade across the surface of the transparent body part, thus transporting any water on said surface to a particular side of this surface; instructions for registering, via at least one remote sensor, sets of features of other ground vehicles, instructions for determining, based on the set of features registered in respect of at least one other vehicle, a point in time when a substantial amount of water is expected to hit said surface of the transparent body part; instructions for controlling the at least one wiper such that, before said point in time, the at least one wiper is placed at a predetermined position on said surface; and instructions for initiating, at said point in time, a stroke of the at least one wiper from the predetermined position over said surface.
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Specification