EP0102622A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Wiper speed control system for an automotive windshield wiper
Assignee: Nissan Motor Co Ltd
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Filing: 1983-08-31
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2003-08-31
Abstract
Abstract A wiper speed control system for an automotive wiper controls the operational speed of a wiper in accordance with rain conditions. The control system includes a rain sensor detecting rain conditions to produce an analog signal having an amplitude depending upon the detected rain conditions. The analog sensor signal is converted into a digital pulse signal by a converter for application to a digital circuit system. A control signal is produced by digitally processing the pulse signal. The control signal is applied to a wiper driver circuit to adjust the operational speed or timing in accordance with the control signal.
Inventors
- 👤 Yasuhiro Shiraishi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 18:07
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60S; B60S1/00; B60S1/02; B60S1/04; B60S1/06; B60S1/08; B60S1/0818; B60S1/0822; B60S1/0859; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S15/00; Y10S15/15; Y10S318/00; Y10S318/02
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
78 words
A wiper speed control system for an automotive windshield wiper comprising: a rain sensor for producing a sensor signal having a value indicative of rain conditions; means for producing a digital rain-condition data signal according to said sensor signal value; means for producing.a wiper control signal based on said rain-condition data signal; and a wiper driver motor responsive to the wiper control signal to drive a wiper at a rate variable in accordance with said wiper control signal.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
78 words
A wiper speed control system for an automotive windshield wiper comprising: a rain sensor for producing a sensor signal having a value indicative of rain conditions; means for producing a digital rain-condition data signal according to said sensor signal value; means for producing.a wiper control signal based on said rain-condition data signal; and a wiper driver motor responsive to the wiper control signal to drive a wiper at a rate variable in accordance with said wiper control signal.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
59 words
The control system as set forth in claim 1, which further comprises a signal generator for outputting a digital signal with a constant value to said wiper control signal producing means, and said wiper control signal producing means is responsive to the sum of said rain-condition data signal value and said constant-value signal for producing said wiper control signal.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
65 words
The control system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said rain sensor comprises a vibration sensor which detects the rain conditions by detecting vibrations created by the impact of a rain drop onto a sensor surface thereof, said vibration sensor comprising a vibrator with said sensor surface, a piezoelectric element for detecting magnitude of vibration of said vibrator to produce said rain-condition data signal.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
The control system as set forth in claim 3, wherein said sensor surface of said rain sensor has an area greater than 1 00 mm 2 .
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
34 words
The control system as set forth in claim 3, wherein said vibrator of said rain sensor is provided the natural resonate frequency in a range of from approximately 10 KHz to approximately 25 KHz.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
20 words
The control system as set forth in claim 3, wherein said sensor surface is inclined approximately parallel to a whindshield.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
The control system as set forth in claim 3, wherein said sensor surface is inclined front-to-rear with respect to vehicle travel at an angle of 5° to 25 0 to the horizontal.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
59 words
The control system as set forth in claim 6, which further comprises a signal generator for outputting a digital signal with a constant value to said wiper control signal producing means, and said wiper control signal producing means is responsive to the sum of said rain-condition data signal value and said constant-value signal for producing said wiper control signal.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
58 words
The control system as set forth in claim 7, which further comprises a signal generator for outputting a digital signal with a constant value to said wiper control signal producing means, and said wiper control signal producing means is responsive to the sum of said rain-condition data signal and said constant-value signal for producing said wiper control signal.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
103 words
A wiper speed control system for an automotive wiper comprising: a rain sensor including a vibrator with a sensor surface exposed to rain and vibrating in accordance with rain conditions, said rain sensor producing a sensor signal having an amplitude corresponding to the magnitude of vibration of said vibrator; a converter means for converting said sensor signal into a digital signal representative of the detected rain conditions; means for processing said digital signal to produce a driver signal; and a wiper driver motor responsive to the driver signal for driving a windshield wiper at a rate variable in accordance with said driver signal.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
103 words
A wiper speed control system for an automotive wiper comprising: a rain sensor including a vibrator with a sensor surface exposed to rain and vibrating in accordance with rain conditions, said rain sensor producing a sensor signal having an amplitude corresponding to the magnitude of vibration of said vibrator; a converter means for converting said sensor signal into a digital signal representative of the detected rain conditions; means for processing said digital signal to produce a driver signal; and a wiper driver motor responsive to the driver signal for driving a windshield wiper at a rate variable in accordance with said driver signal.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
43 words
ll. The control system as set forth in claim 10, wherein said rain sensor further includes a piezoelectric element detecting the magnitude of vibration of said vibrator and producing said sensor signal with an amplitude corresponding to the vibration magnitude of said vibrator.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
28 words
The control system as set forth in claim 11, wherein said converter means comprises a shaping circuit which shapes said sensor signal into a train of digital pulses.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
37 words
The control system as set forth in claim 12, wherein said processing means is a counter which counts the pulses of said pulse train and produces said driver signal whenever the counter value reaches a predetermined value.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
48 words
The control system as set forth in claim 13, wherein said driver motor is responsive to said driver signal to drive said windshield wiper for a given period of time so as to control the timing between intermittent strokes of the wiper in dependence upon said driver signal.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
66 words
The control system as set forth in claim 14, which further comprises a pulse generator adapted to output a constant-frequency pulse signal to said counter, said counter counting the pulse of both said constant-frequency pulse signal and said digital signal to produce said driver signal whenever the sum of the pulse from said converter means and the pulse from said pulse generator reaches the predetermined value.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
22 words
The control system as set forth in claim 14, wherein said sensor surface has an area of more than 100 mm 2.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
34 words
The control system as set forth in claim 11, wherein said vibrator of said rain sensor is provided the natural resonate frequency in a range of from approximately 10 KHz to approximately 25 KHz.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
34 words
The control system as set forth in claim 11, wherein said rain sensor is mounted on a cowl top panel of the vehicle and said sensor surface is inclined approximately parallel to a windshield.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
39 words
The control system as set forth in claim 11, wherein said rain sensor is mounted on a cowl top panel of the vehicle and said sensor surface is inclined at an angle of about 5° to 25 0 .
References Cited (Backward Citations)
JPS57130747U
Cited
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