Detector of stains on a transparent plate surface

• US 6,614,015 B1
• Filed: 09/10/2001
• Issued: 09/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Valeo Systemes D'Essuyage (Valeo SE)
• Original Assignee: Valeo Systmes D'Essuyage
• Inventors: Sabater, Jacques, Ba, LoanMy Le
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen, Stephone B.
• Application Number:
  US09/869,620
• Time in Patent Office: 722 Days
• Field of Search: 250/216, 250/227.24, 250/227.25, 250/339.1, 250/339.11, 250/341.8, 250/513, 250/514, 15D/IG.15, 73/290.1, 340/602, 318/483, 356/135, 356/136
• US Class Current: 250/227.24
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/0822 characterized by the arrangement or type of detection means
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/0837 with a particular arrangement of the optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/8806 Specially adapted optical and illumination features

Abstract

A detector of stains on a transparent plate surface is arranged on an internal surface of the plate and includes an emitter for emitting a modulated light signal towards the inside of the plate and a receiver for receiving the signal after it has been reflected on an external surface of the plate. An optical unit made with a material having an index substantially higher than the plate, is arranged on the internal surface of the plate. The optical unit is made up of at least three faces returning the light signal and an interface with the internal surface of the plate through an optical coupler. A deflector deflects the signal from the emitter toward the plate and from the optical unit towards the receiver. At least two reflections on the external surface of the plate are produced through the optical coupler without reflection on the internal surface of the plate.

Claims

1. A detector of stains for the surface of a transparent plate that has two parallel, opposite faces, an internal face and an external face, the detector, arranged on the internal face of the plate, and including emitting means for emitting a modulated light signal in the direction of the interior of the plate and a receiving means for receiving the signal after the signal has been reflected on the external face of the plate, characterized by also containing an optical unit, made of a material with an index higher than one and transparent to the modulated light signal, the optical unit placed on the internal face of the plate and including at least two deflection faces for the light signal in order to form a trajectory included between the emitting means and the receiving means, and a bottom interface with the internal face of the plate across from a optical coupling means and by deviation means from the signal of the emitting means, so that the signal reflects a first time on the external face of the plate according to a direction included in an initial incidence plane and the deviation means of the signal towards the receiving means, the deflection faces successively orienting the signal towards the external face in at least one incidence plane non-parallel to the initial incidence plane so that the trajectory of the light signal between the emitting means and the receiving means creates at least two reflections on the external face of the plate across from the optical coupling means without reflection on the internal face of the plate.

2. The stain detector according to one of claims 1, characterized by the deflection faces being made up of the rear face, the upper face, and the front face.

3. The stain detector according to claims 1 characterized by the deflection faces being made up of the front face and the rear face, the front face and the rear face being inclined in order to make a direct deflection of the signal towards the plate.

4. The stain detector according to claim 1, characterized by the optical coupling means is formed of silicon.

5. The stain detector according to claim 1, characterized by an interferential filter disposed between the output face and the receiving means attached to the spectral band of the signal to eliminate light interference.

6. The stain detector according to claim 1, characterized by the optical unit and the optical coupling means being mass-colored to eliminate light interference.

7. The stain detector according to claim 1, characterized by a heating element being placed near or against one of the faces of the optical unit in order to eliminate condensation.

8. The stain detector according to claim 1, characterized by the emitting means and the receiving means being attached to a treatment unit formed on a printed circuit board in order to produce a modulation in amplitude of the signal of an emitting diode and a synchronous detection of the signal received by a photo detector cell.

9. The stain detector according to claim 1, characterized by the deflection faces being subjected to a treatment reflecting the light signal.

10. The stain detector according to claim 1, characterized by the faces of the optical unit, other than the deflecting faces and the interface, being covered with a material absorbing the light signal.

11. The stain detector according to claim 1, characterized by the emitting means and the receiving means are placed adjacent to each other.

12. The stain detector according to claim 1, characterized by the deflection faces being subjected to aluminizing.

13. The stain detector according to claim 1, characterized by the deflection faces being covered in a layer of material reflecting the light signal.

14. The stain detector according to claim 1, characterized by the optical unit having a general outline of a parallelepiped rectangle having a front face, an upper face, a rear face, two lateral faces, and a bottom face interfacing with the plate.

15. The stain detector according to claim 14, characterized by the optical coupling means being formed of a flexible layer of material transparent to the light signal, the layer being compressed between bottom face of the optical unit and the internal face of the plate.

16. The stain detector according to claim 14, characterized by the light signal penetrating in the optical unit via an input face situated in the front face of the optical unit, and leaving the optical unit via an output face situated in the front face while the number of reflections on the external face of the plate is even and on the rear face the number of reflections is odd.

17. The stain detector according to claim 16, characterized by the input and output faces of the unit forming lenses.

18. The stain detector according to claim 17, characterized by the lenses being coupled to an optical deflector to define the deviation means.

19. The stain detector according to claim 17, characterized by at least one of the lenses being a convex lens having at least a non-spherical surface.

20. The stain detector according to claim 17, characterized by at least one of the lenses being a convex lens having at least a spherical surface.

21. The stain detector according to claim 17, characterized by at least one of the lenses being a Fresnel lens.

22. The stain detector according to claim 17, characterized by the lenses being an integral part of the optical unit.